Hidden in Plain View is an American

emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

and

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

band from northern

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. They formed in 2000 and originally disbanded in 2007. During this seven-year run, the group released records with four record labels (most notably the independent label

Drive-Thru Records Drive-Thru Records was a California-based independent record label owned by siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines. The label was partially responsible for popularizing the pop-punk/emo merger sound of the early to mid-2000s. After facing financi ...

), including two full-length albums and three

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

. Hidden in Plain View played numerous venues, including The Capitol in

Shamokin, Pennsylvania Shamokin - (; Saponi Algonquian languages, Algonquian ''Schahamokink'', meaning "place of eels") (Unami language, Lenape Indian language: Shahëmokink) is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Surrounded by Coal Township ...

, and concert tours such as the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...

and the Drive-Thru Records Invasion Tours in the United States, Europe and Japan. In 2015 they reunited and released an EP entitled ''Animal'' via

Rise Records Rise Records is an American record label currently based in Beaverton, Oregon, mainly focusing on alternative rock, heavy metal, and punk rock music artists. History Rise was founded in 1991 by Craig Ericson in Nevada City, California. He relea ...

. In 2022, the band released their latest EP ''Tantrums''.

History

Hailing from towns around

Hopatcong, New Jersey Hopatcong ( ) is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 14,362, a decrease of 785 (−5.2%) from the 2010 U ...

, Hidden in Plain View formed in August 2000, when former 8 Over Par members Joe Reo (vocals) and

Rob Freeman Robert Andrew Freeman (born March 26, 1981, in Andover, New Jersey) is the guitarist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter for the pop punk/post-hardcore group Hidden in Plain View. He owns/works at The Pilot Studio as a record producer. Bi ...

(guitar/backing vocals) merged with former Jersey Nonsense members Kenny Ryan (guitar) and Chris Amato (bass), as well as Derek Reilly (drums). The name "Hidden in Plain View" refers to a situation at singer Reo's day job in a supermarket, where a customer used the expression after needing help finding a blatantly visible item. With this original line-up, the band recorded a three-track demo and soon got in touch with the local record label DAB Records, who released their Chris Badami produced debut ''Find'' in March 2001. With the label facing

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

, and the band substituting Jay Snyder for Reilly (who went on to form Red Light Green Light), Hidden in Plain View were picked up by Note to Self Records in early 2002. For their second EP titled ''Operation: Cut-Throat'', the band exchanged their heavy distortion guitars and genre-typical fast-paced drums for a lighter, more uplifting sound, yet they still maintained a degree of melancholy, especially in the lyrics and vocal melodies. The CD was released on June 11, 2002. Before the end of the year, Ryan left to co-form

Rushmore Records Rushmore Records was formerly a subsidiary of Drive-Thru Records. As of September, 2006, Rushmore became an imprint label due to the project being largely unsuccessful. History In 2002, two years before the label's official establishment, Rushmo ...

(now

) signing

Houston Calls Houston Calls was an American rock band, based in Rockaway, New Jersey, United States. They formed in 2003 and were signed to Rushmore Records (a subsidiary of Drive-Thru Records). On June 9, 2009, they announced their official breakup.http: ...

, while he was replaced by Mike Saffert. Even though a full-length had been announced by Note to Self, who had since been licensed by LLR Recordings, Hidden in Plain View signed with southern California pop-punk label

in June 2003. Simultaneously with the announcement of their signing, LLR re-printed ''Operation: Cut-Throat''. The band went on and recorded four songs for their self-titled Drive-Thru debut. After the recording of the EP, Snyder left the band to start John Connor (Negative Progression Records). ''Hidden in Plain View'' was released in November 2003, featuring the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

picturing his replacement,

Newnan, Georgia Newnan is a city in and the county seat of Coweta County, Georgia, United States, about southwest of Atlanta. Its population was 42,549 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 33,039 in 2010 United States census, 2010. History N ...

resident Spencer Peterson, born in

Oil City, Pennsylvania Oil City is the largest city in Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States. Known for its prominence in the initial exploration and development of the petroleum industry, it is located at a bend in the Allegheny River at the mouth of Oil Cre ...

. Peterson was a student at the Atlanta Institute of Music when he joined the band at the age of 19. In 2004, the band appeared on the

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immergl� ...

tribute album ''Dead and Dreaming: An Indie Tribute to Counting Crows'' and the Drive-Thru Christmas compilation '' Happy Holidays from Drive-Thru Records'', and toured extensively in both the United States and the United Kingdom. They also recorded their first full-length album, '' Life in Dreaming'', which dropped in early 2005, showcasing a much more mature, yet edgier and at times darker sound than the band's previous EPs, thanks to the latest two additions to their line-up, Saffert, and Peterson. A demo version of their song "Bleed for You" was contributed to the compilation album ''Take Action! Volume 04 ''. The majority of 2005 was spent touring domestically and internationally, as the band played 24 dates of the

, visited Japan for the first time, and co-headlined the European Drive-Thru Invasion Tour 2005, which hit sixteen cities in seven countries across Europe. On October 16, 2005, Hidden in Plain View participated in

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...

's ''Dew Circuit Breakout'' (a television battle of the bands), competing in the New York City finals against

Pete Miser Peter Aaron Ho (born February 3, 1971), known by the stage name Pete Miser, is an American Hip Hop rapper and producer living in New York City. Biography Originally from Portland, Oregon, Miser is involved in the hip-hop scene in the North ...

. In January 2007, the band announced that they have broken up, citing creative differences. The follow-up record previously recorded, titled '' Resolution'', was released on Drive-Thru Records on July 24, 2007. The CD leaked onto file-sharing networks on July 15, 2007. On April 16, 2013, Hidden in Plain View announced via their Twitter that they were reuniting for one show, at the Theater of the Living Arts in Philadelphia, US. The show took place on September 7, 2013. In 2015, the band announced they were embarking on a tour in celebration of the 10th anniversary of their debut album. They also announced that they would be releasing their EP on Rise Records, called ''Animal''. In 2022, the band released a five song EP titled ''Tantrums''.

Members

*Joe Reo – vocals *

– guitar, vocals *Mike Saffert – guitar *Chris Amato – bass *Nick Pultz – drums

Former members

*Derek Reilly – drums *Kenny Ryan – guitar *Jay Snyder – drums *Spencer Peterson – drums

Discography

Albums

* '' Life in Dreaming'' (2005) * '' Resolution'' (2007)

EPs

* ''Find'' (2001) * ''Operation: Cut-Throat'' (2002) * ''Hidden in Plain View'' (2003) * ''Animal'' (2015) * ''Tantrums'' (2022)

Non-album tracks

* "Mr. Jones" – released on ''Dead and Dreaming: An Indie Tribute to Counting Crows'' (2004) * "Hot 'n' Sexy" – released on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the 7" vinyl single "Ashes Ashes" (2004) * "Christmas Song" – released on '' Happy Holidays from Drive-Thru Records'' (2004) * "Bleed For You" – released on ''Punk the Clock Vol. 1'' (2004) * "Bleed For You (demo)" – released on ''Take Action! Volume 04'' (2004) * "I Ran" – released on '' Punk Goes 80's'' (2005) * "Ferriswheel" – released on the three-track demo * "Kicking Stones" – released on the three-track demo * "To Your Grave" – released on the three-track demo

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups disestablished in 2007 Musical groups established in 2000 American post-hardcore musical groups Emo musical groups from New Jersey American screamo musical groups Drive-Thru Records artists Pop punk groups from New Jersey Alternative rock groups from New Jersey