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Lo-Pro 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 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of
Aaron Lewis Aaron Francis Lewis (born April 13, 1972) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and founding member of the alternative metal band Staind, with whom he released eight studio albums. Since 2010, he has p ...
of
Staind Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and ...
, the band signed to a major
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
,
Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
, and released their debut album, ''
Lo-Pro Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...
'' in 2003. After a year of touring in support of the album, they would be dropped from their label. The band stayed together, but it would be almost six years until any further music releases, with the band opting to record and re-record several album's worth of material, participate in side-projects, and perform live shows prior to finalizing new material for release. The long gap in releases in turn lead to a number of consecutive releases in the following years, including the '' Letting Go'' EP in 2009, a second album, '' The Beautiful Sounds of Revenge'', in 2010, and an acoustic album, '' Bittersweet'', under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
"Life on Planet 9", in 2011. The band briefly returned to working under the Lo-Pro name to release a third studio album, '' Disintegration Effect'', in 2013, before returning to the "Life On Planet 9" moniker to release '' The Theory of Everything'' in 2014, and '' Higher'' in January 2017. Concurrently, Murray and ex-
bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...
John Fahnestock have also started up and released music under a new band called White Noise Owl as well.


History


Formation and ''Lo-Pro'' (2002–2004)

In the late 1990s, vocalist Pete Murray and guitarist Neil Godfrey formed and recorded two albums in the band Ultraspank. After the poor sales of their second album, ''
Progress Progress is movement towards a perceived refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. It is central to the philosophy of progressivism, which interprets progress as the set of advancements in technology, science, and social organization effic ...
'', the band parted ways with their record label and ultimately disbanded. Initially burned out with the music industry, Murray and Godfrey eventually met up and began working on music together, refreshed being able to work without the pressures of dealing with a label. The two put together a demo album in one of their bedrooms, where they recorded everything between the two of them; Godfrey handling all guitar work and Murray handling vocals and all other aspects through programming in
Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...
. They were able to attract the attention of
Aaron Lewis Aaron Francis Lewis (born April 13, 1972) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and founding member of the alternative metal band Staind, with whom he released eight studio albums. Since 2010, he has p ...
, of
Staind Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and ...
, who had just started up his own vanity record label, "413 Records", at
Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
. Lewis made the band the first to be signed to the label, stating that he felt even the early rough demo sounded "better than 80 percent of the albums released today." After being signed based on the demo alone, Murray and Godfrey needed to assemble a full band for the band's for recording their debut album. The band recruited Tommy Stewart, the previous drummer for
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 ...
, as their drummer. Additionally, John Fahnestock, who had met Murray and Godfrey while touring alongside Ultraspank in the band Snot at Ozzfest 1998, was also recruited as the bassist. The band rounded out the lineup with second guitarist Pete Ricci. With the band assembled, recording for the album began in January 2003. The band worked with
music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
Don Gilmore, who had previously worked with
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 ...
and
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
. The band recorded for the first half of the year, and then released ''
Lo-Pro Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...
'' on September 30, 2003. It peaked at no. 9 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...
chart, and stayed on the chart for two weeks. One single was released, "
Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...
", which peaked at no. 20 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...
and no. 27 on
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
. The track also appeared in the
989 Studios 989 Studios was a division of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) that developed games for PlayStation consoles and Windows personal computers. Their games include ''EverQuest'', '' Twisted Metal III'', '' Twisted Metal 4'', '' Syphon Fi ...
game ''
MLB 2004 ''MLB 2004'' is a 2003 baseball video game developed by 989 Sports and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. An abridged version for the PlayStation more faithful to its predecessors was released the same month. Unlike ...
'' for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
. Murray said of the single "It's definitely not about watching football or going to church. It's really about how I've never had anything to look forward to on Sunday. I never liked going to school or going to a job, and when Sunday comes, you just know things are gonna hit the wringer the following day."Staind's Lewis Makes Lo-Pro Look Like Chopped Liver, But It's All Love – Group released self-titled debut Tuesday.
''Mtv.com.'' October 3, 2003.
The band had planned on releasing a second single, bassist Jonathan Fahnestock had even asked the internet community to vote for which track it would be, but it never surfaced. However, the track "Ignition" was featured in the 2004 PC game ''The Ultimate Dodge Garage''. The band toured extensively alongside Staind and
Three Days Grace Three Days Grace is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Asphodel–Norwood, Norwood, Ontario, in 1992 originally as Groundswell. Groundswell played in various local Norwood backyard parties and area establishments before disbanding in 1 ...
into 2004. Additionally, on April 24, 2004, they released a 3 track acoustic EP exclusively through Napster, containing acoustic takes of "Sunday", "Ignition", and "Not Me". However, by June 2004, the band announced that they had been dropped by Geffen Records.Lo-Pro Has Parted Way With Geffen
''Melodic.net.'' June 9, 2004.
Despite this, the band confirmed that they were still on good terms with Lewis and Staind, were not disbanding, and were in fact already working on writing and recording more music.


''Letting Go'' and ''The Beautiful Sounds of Revenge'' (2005–2010)

After the loss of their record label, the band would stay together, but would not formally release music again until 2009. The band would go several years with minimal outward communication with the public, but would instead commonly release a new song for internet streaming once or twice a year to show they were still together and progress was being made on future releases.Fredrickson, Mark:

" ''Ink19.com.'' February 2008.
The band would allude to ''Let It Go'' as a tentative title for future releases at the time. From their
Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
account, they streamed early versions of many songs, including the track "Ingenious" in May 2005,New Song With Lo-Pro Online
''Melodic.net.'' May 19, 2005.
"Breathe" in May 2006, "Blame Me" in June 2006, and "Texas" and "You Lie" in August 2007. During these years, a number of different side-projects were also initiated by various members of the band. Murray, taking a break from creating music, turned to more producer-type roles. Most notably, he engineered and co-produced
industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten and Chrom ...
band Ghost Machine's album '' Hypersensitive'', where he worked with future
Five Finger Death Punch Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead g ...
vocalist
Ivan Moody Ivan L. Moody (born Ivan Lewis Greening on January 7, 1980) is an American singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch (FFDP). He performed for several other bands including Motograter and Gho ...
and The Clay People's guitarist John Stevens. After completing the album, Murray started up a new band with Stevens, and Walter Flakus of
Stabbing Westward Stabbing Westward is an American industrial rock/alternative rock band. Christopher Hall (musician), Christopher Hall and Walter Flakus formed the band in 1985 in Macomb, Illinois. The band released an extended play in 1992, followed by four ...
, called
Chokt Chokt is an American industrial rock band featuring Pete Murray (American musician), Pete Murray of Lo-Pro and Ultraspank, Walter Flakus of Stabbing Westward, and Ghost Machine (band), John Stevens of Ghost Machine (band), Ghost Machine and The ...
. Described as an outlet for music that didn't quite fit Lo-Pro, a formal album was never released, although nine songs were streamed online over the course of time before Lo-Pro would release another album. Meanwhile, Tommy Stewart worked as a short-term replacement drummer for a number of bands such as
Fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...
and Everclear, while John Fahnestock initially started a new band, "Noise Within" before eventually leaving permanently when his previous band, Snot, reformed with a new lead singer as Tons. He would be replaced by past Ultraspank member Jerry Olivera. In 2007, the band began to focus on a more acoustic-driven songs. Upon Aaron Lewis wrapping up touring in support Staind's '' Chapter V'' album, Lo-Pro joined him for a short acoustic tour. The band debuted a number of songs that would later be released on future album, including tracks "Letting Go", "Hang On", "Today", and "All I Have". Murray mentioned the possibility a live DVD release of these concerts, though such a release has yet to surface. Additionally, the band started another Myspace page up under the name of "Lo-Pro Acoustic", and streamed several new acoustic studio tracks, including "Clean the Slate", the otherwise unreleased "This is Not Goodbye", and a cover of Filter's song " Consider This". In an early 2008 interview, Murray detailed the band's progress and future plans:
"We really want to release something but we're the most prolific we've ever been so we've been recording like crazy. It's hard to stop. We've got a couple of rock records almost ready and we're almost done with our acoustic record, we promise...You're definitely going to hear a raw version of Lo-Pro which was always our intention. I love our first record but, holy crap, it was over-produced. We don't nit pick as much anymore, we move on. The acoustic album will be a first as well....We're lagging but we're really hoping the get this acoustic record out first in the spring with a rock record right behind it."
Despite plans to release music in early 2008, the band feared the material felt more like a demo than a finished product, so they began to rework, expand, and further polish the material more in further recording sessions with Angus Cooke.Markunas, Jim:
Lo-Pro – Interview with Pete Murray
" ''CWG Magazine.com.'' April 16, 2010.
The band would post two more tracks, "This Way" and "Get Out of My Way" in August 2008, neither of which would make the cut for future releases. Murray would also release a demo of a
piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
-based cover version of the song " Drive" by
The Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...
, of which he was unsuccessful in convincing band members to record a full band version. The early version of "Texas" was even featured briefly in the '' Scrubs'' episode " My Bad Too" in 2008. The band spent the first half of the year quietly working recording more music, before announcing in May 2009 that they would be part of the "Stimulate This" tour in mid-2009 with Staind,
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 ...
,
Halestorm Halestorm is an American Rock music, rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. Siblings Lzzy and Arejay founded the band in ...
, and Chevelle. The band would also briefly join
Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...
's reunion arena tour, around the same time-frame, playing on some of the dates where Creed would record their live DVD ''
Creed Live ''Creed Live'' is the first concert film by the American rock band Creed (band), Creed, recorded on September 25, 2009, in Houston and released on December 8, 2009. The performance broke the world record for the most cameras (239) used at a liv ...
'', which broke the world record for most video cameras used at a live music event. With the album still not ready, but the band wanting something to release to capitalize on the high-profile touring, they instead opted to release a six track
extended play 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 ...
titled '' Letting Go''. The band would release a physical copy at their live shows in July, and a digital copy in October. The physical version contained six tracks, "Texas", "Hang On", "Alive", "Today", "Breathe", and "Letting Go", while the digital version lacked the track "Alive". Murray mentioned that "Alive" was kept off due to "single potential" for their future full-length album, although the track had already been made available for free download just prior to touring. After the 2009 touring, the band returned to the studio and completed their second full album, which they would announce to be '' The Beautiful Sounds of Revenge''. The band announced they had signed to smaller indie label "Rocket Science Ventures" and that the album would be released on May 25, 2010, though it was eventually delayed two weeks to June 8 to fit a few more songs on the album. The album's first and only single would be the track " Alive", which was released on May 4, 2010. The album contained all tracks from ''Letting Go'' except for "Today", plus an additional nine tracks, although many were reworked versions of tracks streamed in the time between the two albums. The band toured in support of the album in the second half of 2010, most notably an acoustic show in the benefit concert being put on Aaron Lewis in support of his charity foundation "It Takes A Community" on August 14, 2010. Additionally, the final version of the song "Texas" is a playable track for the game '' Tap Tap Revenge 3''.


''Bittersweet'' (2011)

After the release of ''The Beautiful Sounds of Revenge'', Murray confirmed that there were still intentions of releasing an acoustic album as he had alluded to in the years prior, but the band had wanted to return from their inactivity with an album with an electric sound closer to their original album first, then proceed with the acoustic material. Recent comments have confirmed working on recording acoustic material. In August 2010, they released a new acoustic version of "Clean the Slate", different from the version available on their Myspace in 2007. It was originally in contention for the acoustic album, but was ultimately left off. Murray confirmed again that the album was still coming out, and was due out sometime in Spring 2011, and that there'd be a holiday preview of a song off the album with a "Yule Log" video, much like how they had done previously on New Year's Eve 2009. One new song, "Sweet Silence", was debuted in this fashion. On July 31, Murray announced that the album would be titled '' Bittersweet'', and would actually be released under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
"Life on Planet 9". Despite releasing it under this new name, Murray confirmed that it was still the Lo-Pro acoustic album, containing the same members, that had been working for years. It was first released in physical format at a live show on August 20, 2011, and was made available on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
on August 20, 2011. The album was digitally released on CDBaby on August 24, and on August 25 on iTunes. The album contains a new version of the song "Wheels", a song Lo-Pro had demoed for their self-titled album in 2002. On December 21, Murray posted the yearly Yule Log, revealing a new song entitled "Ammunition".


''Disintegration Effect'' (2012–2013)

In early 2012, Murray confirmed that the band had started the process of putting together their third studio album, but said that, unlike prior releases, they wouldn't be leaking or streaming tracks beforehand because it sounded "different". Murray also confirmed that the band would continue to record their more acoustic/electronic material under the "Life on Planet 9" moniker, concurrently with the third Lo-Pro album, and released a new track for it titled "What Would You Say". Despite both moving concurrently, the band's primary focus would be releasing the third album under the "Lo-Pro" name. By the end of the year, the band has completed eight songs for the album and were aiming for an early 2013 release. In December 2012, Murray narrowed it down further, stating that the band was aiming for a February 2013 release date. A ninth track was completed in January 2013. By early February, Murray stated that the band had started the mixing process, and that the album release would likely fall into March 2013. He also announced that a Life on Planet 9 album would be released after the album. On April 22, 2013, Murray announced that the title of the third album would be '' Disintegration Effect'', which was released on May 14, 2013.


Side-projects and other releases (2014–present)

After the release of ''Disintegration Effect'', Murray joined a new band, called White Noise Owl with original Lo-Pro bassist John Fahnestock. They released an EP, '' Until We Meet Again'', on March 11, 2014, and have recorded a full-length album as well, which is scheduled for release in 2017. Two more albums under the "Life On Planet 9" moniker were recorded and released as well: '' The Theory of Everything'' in 2014, and '' Higher'' on January 31, 2017. On April 2025, the band released a new song "Pathetic", their first song since 2013.


Musical style and influences

MTV described the band's musical style as a form of melodic
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
. Influences for the band include bands such as
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
and
Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...
. Murray specifically says several bands have influenced his vocals, including
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
and U2, and the music of
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
.


Members

;Current members * Pete Murray – vocals, programming (2002–present) *Neil Godfrey – guitar (2002–present) *Pete Ricci – guitar (2002–present) *Jerry Oliviera – bass (2009–present) * Tommy Stewart – drums (2002–present) ;Former members *John Fahnestock – bass (2002–2008)


Discography

;Albums *''
Lo-Pro Lo-Pro is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Pete Murray and Neil Godfrey after the disbandment of their previous band, Ultraspank, in 2001. After attracting the attention of Aaron Lewis of Staind, the band signed to a major record label, ...
'' (2003) *'' The Beautiful Sounds of Revenge'' (2010) *'' Disintegration Effect'' (2013) ;Under pseudonym "Life on Planet 9" *'' Bittersweet'' (2011) *'' The Theory of Everything'' (2014) * '' Higher'' (2017) * ''Steady EP'' (2020) ;EPs *'' Letting Go'' (2009) ;Singles *"
Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...
" (2003) *" Alive" (2010)


References


External links

* * {{Authority control 2002 establishments in California Musical groups from Los Angeles Alternative rock groups from California Musical groups established in 2002 American alternative metal musical groups Hard rock musical groups from California