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Lifer is an American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band formed in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It ...
in 1999. They were originally active from 1999 to 2002, releasing their sole full-length album through the major label
Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...
and
Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...
.


History


Early days (1999–2000)

The group originally formed as Strangers with Candy in the spring of 1999, having acquired the name after a girl at a party suggested it to them.
They were initially known for performing covers of modern acts, including
Coal Chamber Coal Chamber is an American nu metal band formed by Dez Fafara and Meegs Rascón in Los Angeles in 1992, initially under the name She's in Pain. The original lineup also consisted of bassist Rayna Foss and drummer Jon Tor. Mike Cox replaced Tor ...
,
Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...
,
Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and tu ...
,
House of Pain House of Pain was an American hip hop trio that released three albums in the 1990s. The group consisted of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, and Everlast. They are best known for their 1992 hit single " Jump Around", which reached number 3 in their nati ...
,
Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
,
Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American nu metal band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto (drummer), John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers (bassist), Sam ...
,
Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...
, Sublime and
Tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...
. In 2000, Strangers with Candy entered
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's ''Ultimate Cover Band Contest'', quickly becoming a fan-favorite with covers of "
Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff (producer), John Ratcliff. The 1985 international ...
" (by
A-ha A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...
), "
Guerrilla Radio "Guerrilla Radio" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine and the lead single from their 1999 album ''The Battle of Los Angeles''. It became the band's only Billboard Hot 100 song, charting at #69. The band won the Grammy Award f ...
" (by
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...
) and " Nookie" (by Limp Bizkit). The MTV exposure helped the band gain fans all over the world, and also caught the attention of the music industry. On July 10 of that year, they signed a six-record contract with
Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...
and
Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...
. Vocalist Nick Coyle claimed in 2001 that the band's success on the series was not the sole reason they landed a major label deal, recalling "We sold a lot regionally. Some record labels saw us and were like 'who is this band selling all these CDs' and they picked us up." The band immediately went on to change their name to Driver (and later Lifer), after legal complications with the
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...
of the same name.


Self-titled album (2000–2001)

In late 2000,
Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band Rush. In 1968, he co-founded a band (which later became Rush) with drummer John Rut ...
(of
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
pioneers Rush) agreed to produce the band's self-titled debut album. Regarding their choice of producer, guitarist Aaron Fink said in November 2000 "We wanted a player rather than just a standard producer." The album was recorded with Lifeson at Longview Farms in
North Brookfield, Massachusetts North Brookfield is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,735 at the 2020 census. The town includes the census-designated place of North Brookfield (CDP). History North Brookfield was first settled in ...
. Around this time, Lifer also recorded a studio version of their "Take On Me" cover for 2001's ''
Not Another Teen Movie ''Not Another Teen Movie'' is a 2001 American teen parody film directed by Joel Gallen and written by Mike Bender, Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson, Phil Beauman, and Buddy Johnson. It features Chyler Leigh, Chris Evans, Jaime Pressly, Er ...
''. However, it was never released, as they were unhappy with how it sounded. Following the August 14, 2001 release of their self-titled debut, Lifer toured with like-minded acts such as
Cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjectivity, subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute t ...
and
Dope Dope may refer to: Chemistry Biochemistry * Dope, a slang word for a euphoria-producing drug, particularly: ** Cocaine ** Cannabis (drug) ** Heroin ** Opioid * DOPE, or 1,2-Dioleoyl-''sn''-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, a phospholipid * Discret ...
. By the end of 2001, Lifer's founding guitarist and bassist Aaron Fink and Mark Klepaski had quit due to internal disagreements and the self-titled record's lack of success. Fink recalled in 2003 "We got a small deal on Universal and they are so huge. They're like the biggest company. Their roster is so huge. We weren't a band that had a lot of hits so, there were obviously more important things for the label to do. They kinda caught wind that there were problems in the band so they didn't want to push it, I think. It's hard. Our first single didn't hit. LA was very hit oriented. If you didn't have a hit – we couldn't even get our manager on the phone and you know that's a bad sign. So Mark ames Klepaski – the bass playerquit." Fink and Klepaski went on to join the popular
Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
act
Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...
.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
claims they are "far from a carbon copy of Lifer – instead, they favored a radio-friendly
post-grunge Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...
approach that was aggressive and forceful yet melodic." DJ Tony Kruszka, who had joined in 2000, also departed the band for unknown reasons.


''IV'' and breakup (2002)

Lifer continued into 2002, with Derek Spencer and Ian Wiseman handling guitar and bass duties. This lineup recorded an independent EP that year titled ''IV''. Nick Coyle subsequently decided to rename Lifer under the moniker myDownfall, as the recent material the new lineup had been writing featured more of a melodic rock sound. myDownfall would eventually split in 2003. Coyle went on to play in several bands as both a vocalist and guitarist, such as The Drama Club, Stardog Champion and, most recently, Cold.


Reunion shows, reformation and new music (2010–present)

Lifer performed an acoustic reunion show in support of three-year-old Emalee Kate Kachurkain, who had cancer. The concert took place in
Berwick, Pennsylvania Berwick is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located southwest of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre. As of the 2020 United States census, 202 ...
on August 14, 2010 with all the original members minus Chris Lightcap, who was on tour with
Shinedown Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of his previous band, Dreve. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original ...
. Turntablist Tony Kruszka handled drum duties. Lifer performed 10 previously released songs which included, "Ugly", "Parade", "New", "Key of Me", "Swallow", "No Need", "Perfect", "Not Like You", "Boring" and "Breathless". "Key of Me" hadn't been played since Lifer was known as Strangers with Candy in 2000. In July 2018, Coyle announced a second acoustic reunion show with Aaron Fink, performing songs from the debut album and covers from the Strangers with Candy era. The show took place in their home town of Wilkes-Barre on August 24, 2018. Coyle and Fink have since reformed the band with a new lineup featuring former turntablist Tony Kruszka on drums and Mike Morgan (of Nick Coyle's other band The Drama Club) on bass. On March 31, 2020, Lifer released their first new single in 18 years titled "The Start of Something Else".


Musical style and influences

The members of Lifer claimed their influences as
Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and tu ...
,
Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...
,
Sevendust Sevendust is an American Rock music, rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vinnie Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly (musician), John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon an ...
,
Godsmack Godsmack is an American Rock music, rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is currently composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. Since its formation, Godsmack has released eig ...
,
Tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...
and
Glassjaw Glassjaw is an American post-hardcore band from Hempstead, New York. It was formed in 1993 by vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck. The band is known for their intense live shows, as well as their frequent line-up changes. Despite ...
. According to
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, the band travels "within the darkest lines of
alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
inspirations, presenting soul-rupturing themes composed of raging guitar strains and fierce and brutal rhythms controlled by mind-gazing lyrics." Lifer garnered heavy comparisons to Sevendust and Tool, although their sound has also been likened to
Factory 81 Factory 81 were an American nu metal band from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Formed in 1997, the band was active until 2003. Biography The band had not initially decided on a name until Nathan Wallace wore a shirt bearing a patch which re ...
,
Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...
, Liquid Gang,
Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American nu metal band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto (drummer), John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers (bassist), Sam ...
,
Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...
,
Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...
and
Skrape Skrape was an American nu metal band formed in Orlando, Florida in 1997. History Skrape originally formed in 1997 under the name "Jojo", they later renamed to "Skrape" two years later. Prior to their formation in 1997, members had been involved ...
. Tony Kruszka stated that after their success on MTV's ''Ultimate Cover Band Contest'', they were told to "change the music around and to change our style and start playing the lighter stuff to draw more people", remarking that "I think that us not changing anything with our style is why people want to see us play."


Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Kurt Morris gave Lifer's self-titled debut a highly negative one and half star review, criticizing their apparent lack of originality. He wrote "Lifer's self-titled debut amounts to little more than another filler in music bins at major chain music stores and a quick single at airplay on the local hard rock radio station. Singer Nick Coyle has a good voice and shows himself capable of good harmonies, especially on such songs as 'Ugly', but this quickly dissipates into the aptly named song 'Boring.'"


Members

Current lineup *Nick Coyle – vocals *Aaron Fink – guitar, backing vocals *Tony Kruszka – drums , turntables, backing vocals *Mike Morgan – bass Past members *Mark Klepaski – bass *Jonathon Kamor- guitar *Chris Lightcap – drums *Derek Spencer – guitar *Ian Wiseman – bass Timeline


Discography


Albums

* ''Lifer'' (2001)


EPs

* ''No Need'' (2000, as Strangers with Candy) * ''IV'' (2002, songs would later appear as part of Nick Coyle's band myDownfall)


Singles

* "Boring" (2001) * "Not Like You" (2001) * "Breathless" (2001) * "Wake Up" (2002) * "The Start of Something Else" (2020) * "Born Again" (2020) * "Lighting in a Bottle" (2020) * "Hate Me Love Me" (2021) * "Left Right Left" (2022)


Music videos

* "Boring" (2001) * "Born Again" (2020) * "Hate Me Love Me" (2021)


Appearances

* "
White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Melle Mel, released as a 12" in 1983 on Sugar Hill Records. The song, which warns against the dangers of cocaine, addiction, and drug smuggling, is one of Melle Mel ...
" (2000, '' Take a Bite Outta Rhyme: A Rock Tribute to Rap'' compilation) (as Driver) * "Parade" (2001, '' NHL Hitz 2002'') * "Breathless" (2002, ''
The Scorpion King ''The Scorpion King'' is a 2002 action adventure film directed by Chuck Russell. The film stars Dwayne Johnson (credited as The Rock) as the lead, with Steven Brand, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov, and Michael Clarke Duncan in supporting roles. It ...
'' soundtrack)


References


External links

* * {{Authority control American alternative metal musical groups American nu metal musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups reestablished in 2018 1999 establishments in Pennsylvania Universal Records artists