History
Early years (2003-2006)
After all playing in different bands in the
Ocala music scene, singer Jeremy McKinnon, guitarists Neil Westfall and Tom Denney, bassist Joshua Woodard, and drummer Bobby Scruggs came together in 2003. Soon after, the band embarked on a "DIY" tour, playing well over 200 shows, making a name for themselves. They were signed to
Indianola Records, from which they recorded their first full length, titled
And Their Name Was Treason
in May 2005. The album sold 8,000 copies on word of mouth alone, but the band felt that bigger and better things were to come. "A friend of mine said he had the AIM screenname of someone at
Victory Records,” Woodard said. "I didn’t believe him, but I still started communicating with the guy. We IM’ed back and forth for about six months, and it happened that we were playing with the band
On The Last Day in a town outside of Chicago—and this guy was going to be there filming it. It was our first time we ever played in Illinois, yet the 50-60 kids there were singing along to our tunes like they’d been fans all their lives. The guy asked if we’d do a showcase for Victory, we said sure, and the rest is a new beginning for A Day To Remember."
Victory Records (2007-present)
Soon after signing with Victory, the band with their new drummer Alex Shellnutt went into Zing Studios to record their second full length. The album, titled
For Those Who Have Heart
was released in January 2007 on Victory Records and peaked at #17 on
Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart and #43 on the Top Independent Albums chart. On September 24, 2007, they put a cover of
Kelly Clarkson's hit single, "
Since U Been Gone" on their
MySpace. This was later featured on the re-release of
For Those Who Have Heart
, released in February 2008.
A Day to Remember toured the
United Kingdom for the first time ever in January 2008, and were later nominated for "Best International Newcomer" at the 2008
Kerrang! Awards,
[1] but lost to
Black Tide.
[2] Afterwards, the band had a lengthy tour opening for
Silverstein along with
The Devil Wears Prada, and
Protest the Hero (who dropped off the tour and were replaced by
A Static Lullaby). They then played The Bamboozle Left on April 6 at the
Verizon Amphitheater in
Irvine, California, one of the two days at the 2008
Bamboozle Festival in
East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 3 and 4, as well as the
Download Festival in June, and the
2008 Vans Warped Tour. Before playing the Download Festival, they toured the UK with
The Devil Wears Prada and
Alesana on the Road To Download Tour. In mid 2008, the band played all the U.S. dates of the "Easycore Tour" along with
New Found Glory,
Four Year Strong,
Crime in Stereo and
International Superheroes of Hardcore.
A remixed and remastered version of their first album,
And Their Name Was Treason
, titled
Old Record
, was released on October 28, 2008 through Victory Records. In December 2008, A Day to Remember toured Australia with
Parkway Drive,
Suicide Silence,
The Acacia Strain and
Confession. That month, the band also finished the recording their third studio album,
Homesick.
It was released on February 2, 2009 in Europe and February 3, 2009 in the United States and placed at #21 on Billboard's Top 200 Listings and at #1 on Top Independent Albums. It was additionally featured in
Rolling Stone's "Top 40 Albums" that month, hitting number 21. Following two sold-out UK tours, A Day to Remember went on a European tour in February 2009, with the leg of the tour that took the band to Germany for the first time supported by For The Fallen Dreams and Kenai.
A Day to Remember was scheduled to tour the United States from March to May 2009 with
The Devil Wears Prada,
Sky Eats Airplane and
Emarosa. Prior to the tour, Tom Denney broke his wrist; filling in for him is Kevin Skaff formerly of
Four Letter Lie. They also toured the UK with For The Fallen Dreams and Azriel. They are also scheduled to play all dates of
Warped Tour 2009, to play at
Download Festival 2009, to tour Asia, Australia and New Zealand in August and September, and support
Bring Me The Horizon on their October 2009 tour of the United Kingdom along with
August Burns Red. The band also contributed a track to
Punk Goes Pop 2 record from
Fearless Records, covering
The Fray's
Over My Head (Cable Car)
.
On June 2, 2009, the band announced that Tom Denney had left the band. The band stated that Denney left because he wants to focus on his marriage, a family, and his recording studio. However, he will remain a part of the writing process. His official replacement is Kevin Skaff, formerly of
Four Letter Lie.
ADTR confirmed playing at the Download Festival 2009, in Donington Park, UK. Playing second stage, along with Parkway Drive and other acts. They also played a headlining warm up show in Manchester, the day before Download Festival, on the 11th June at Jabez Clegg which sold out in minutes.
"The Downfall of Us All" was released as
DLC on the
Warped Tour 01 Pack for
Rock Band and
Rock Band 2, whilst "NJ Legion Iced Tea" was released as DLC on the
Victory Track Pack for
Guitar Hero: World Tour on July 9th, 2009.
They were set to play Reading & Leeds Festival in 2009 but pulled out due to an unnamed member having to have surgery.
They are set to do their first headlining tour along with Parkway Drive, In Fear and Faith, and I See Stars starting in September.
ADTR are scheduled to play the
Soundwave in 2010.
Band members
;Current members
- Jeremy McKinnon - lead vocals
- Neil Westfall - guitars, backing vocals
- Kevin Skaff - vocals, guitars
- Joshua Woodard - bass
- Alex Shelnutt - drums, percussion
;Former members
- Tom Denney - guitars
- Bobby Scruggs - drums
Discography
- And Their Name Was Treason
(2005)
- For Those Who Have Heart
(2007)
- Old Record
(2008) (remastered version of And Their Name Was Treason)
- Homesick
(2009)
References
- Kerrang Awards 2008
- Best International Newcomer winner - Kerrang Awards 2008