October Fall

Their roots might be in the Chicago scene, but for the members of October Fall—vocalist/guitarist Pat D'Andrea, guitarist Clark Harrison, pianist Owen Toomey, bassist Greg Shanahan, and drummer Nick Scalise—pop music is their passion. As a child, there was always music playing in the D'Andrea house. Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, and Stevie Ray Vaughn all became trusted friends, especially when D'Andrea transferred from a public junior high to a private Catholic high school, making him the dreaded "new kid." D'Andrea would sit in his bedroom, play guitar, vent and, inadvertently, write songs. While attending one of his sister's musicals, D'Andrea met a fellow loner, Clark Harrison, and the two began jamming together as Silver Lining. With lofty aspirations and a budding arsenal of songs, the duo soon changed its name (to October Fall) and solidified a line-up of Chicago's best and brightest players (Toomey, Scalise and Shanahan). After selling out shows being just the opening band, the whole city was taking notice and so was the one of the scene's most-beloved alumni—Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, who signed the band to his Fueled By Ramen imprint, Decaydance. From there, the band prepared to record their debut album and soon hit the road with Ashlee Simpson. The inspiration for the title of October Fall's debut, A Season In Hell, comes from a cult classic film, Eddie and the Cruisers, that actually premiered in theaters before any of the bands' members (all of which are still in their teens) were even born. In summer of 2005, the band migrated west to record at The Green Room in Los Angeles, California, with producer Mike Green (Yellowcard, Rufio, Paramore). However, the songs they traveled with were not the songs that ended up on A Season In Hell, a collection of 11 tracks, all infused with equal parts pop and circumstance. "Walking," the song that set October Fall's sound in motion, is a piano-driven rocker about a girl who can't look at herself in the mirror. Not content to simply write about heartaches and heartbreaks, "Hey Hey" tackles the tough tale of a turbulent friendship. A Season In Hell also features guest appearances by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump (on "Second Chances") and Paramore's Hayley Williams (on "Keep Dreaming Upside Down").