Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label recording contract with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

in 1996. The band released their self-titled debut album in 1997, with the band largely consisting of Jenkins (vocals, rhythm guitar), Cadogan (lead guitar), Arion Salazar (bass guitar), and Brad Hargreaves (drums). Shortly after the release of the band's second album in 1999, ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

'', with the same line-up, Cadogan was released from the band under controversial circumstances. The band continued, but with many line-up changes and long gaps between album releases for the next 15 years. The band released '' Out of the Vein'' in 2003 and ''

Ursa Major Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear", referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa M ...

'' in 2009 with guitarist Tony Fredianelli, but parted ways with him shortly afterwards, leaving only Jenkins and Hargreaves as the remaining core members. The band's lineup stabilized again in the mid-2010s, adding Kryz Reid (lead guitar), Alex Kopp (keyboards), and Alex LeCavalier (bass guitar). The new lineup led to increased output with less time between releases - ''

Dopamine Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. It is an amine synthesized ...

'' (2015), and a string of EPs, '' We Are Drugs'' (2016) and '' Thanks for Everything'' (2018). After Kopp was replaced by Colin Creev, sixth and seventh studio albums ''

Screamer The screamers are three South American bird species placed in Family (biology), family Anhimidae. They were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar beak, bills, but are more closely related to the family Anatidae, i.e. ducks ...

'' (2019) and '' Our Bande Apart'' (2021) were released. The band found commercial success in the late 1990s, with ''Third Eye Blind'' and ''Blue'' certified platinum six times and single platinum in the United States, respectively. Several songs were commercial successes as well, with " Semi-Charmed Life", " Jumper", and " How's It Going to Be", all reaching the Top 10 of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and " Never Let You Go" reaching the Top 20. Third Eye Blind has sold around 12 million records worldwide.

History

Formation and early years: 1990–1996

The band's origins trace back to the early 1990s, with

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Stephan Jenkins writing music, but struggling to hold together a consistent musical lineup. Originally, Jenkins started his music career as one half of an interracial rap duo "Puck and Natty" with musician Herman Anthony Chunn, who went by the stage name "Zen". The two managed to attract some attention from

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, ...

s - enough to get one of their few recorded songs "Just Wanna Be Your Friend" on a soundtrack for the television drama ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...

''. The two were in talks of being signed with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

, but Jenkins did not see eye to eye on the label's views on the musical direction or what

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 ...

they would work with, and negotiations fell through. The group broke up shortly afterwards, and while short-lived, it was in the group that Jenkins first developed connections in the industry, and wrote the first iteration of what would become Third Eye Blind's biggest hit, " Semi-Charmed Life". After the "Puck and Zen" experience, Jenkins moved into the direction of starting a rock band instead. Jenkins recounted that over the span of a few years, he would recruit members, only to have them drop out because of drug addiction or join other bands. Jenkins would write and workshop early material with musician Jason Slater for years before the band started up formally, and the two recorded the band's first demo together in 1993. Jenkins reconnected with music producer and

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...

David Gleeson, a contact from his Puck and Natty days, to be able to record demos at professional studios like Skywalker Ranch. Gleeson assisted in the sessions, but eventually had a falling-out with Jenkins and stopped working with the band. George Earth also played guitar on some demos. Much of the contents of the first demo, such as the track "Hold Me Down", were scrapped and shelved entirely, but Jenkins continued to work on some material like "Semi-Charmed Life" or " Alright Caroline" that were eventually released. Around this time, guitarist Tony Fredianelli auditioned for the band, though according to Slater, Jenkins believed him to be "too eavymetal" for the band. Around the time frame of 1993 and 1994, Slater departed the band, while guitarist Kevin Cadogan and bassist Arion Salazar joined. The band cycled through a number of drummers including Adrian Burley, Steve Bowman ( Counting Crows), and Michael Urbano (

Smash Mouth Smash Mouth is an American Rock music, rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994 and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). Harwell's ...

). Salazar noted that the band struggled to make much progress prior to the arrival of Cadogan, and felt that the songs really started to develop when Cadogan's big guitar sound was added to Jenkin's more stripped-down demos. The two became songwriting partners, with Jenkins writing lyrics and Cadogan helping him brainstorm musical ideas; together, they worked on a second set of demos. The band toured locally during 1994 and early 1995, building up a following. However, in July 1995, the band hit a significant setback with a disastrous "Battle of the Bands" performance that would see the winner be offered a record deal. Urbano (the drummer at the time) quit shortly before the show, Jenkins was sick and unable to perform well, and Cadogan blew out his guitar amp two songs into the show. They lost the contest, and with it, the potential record deal and the confidence of their management and studio team, who left the band right afterwards. On the verge of breaking up, the band instead regrouped and recruited two new key people: Drummer Brad Hargreaves and manager Eric Gotland, a long-time personal friend and confidant of Jenkins. Jenkins, Cadogan, Salazar, and Hargreaves would go on to be the core lineup for the band during the recording of its first two studio albums. Through past connections of Slater and Gotland, Third Eye Blind started recording a third demo with producer and sound engineer

Eric Valentine Eric Dodd, known professionally as Eric Valentine, is an American record producer who began his career as drummer and producer in the heavy metal band T-Ride. He subsequently produced albums for artists such as Good Charlotte, Lostprophets ...

, with some additional funding from a partially interested

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

, from late 1995 to February 1996. Valentine noted that he had heard the demos the band had recorded prior to his arrival, but felt they were "not ready" and needed to be reworked or discarded. He later expressed more satisfaction with material he had worked on. RCA passed on the band after hearing the material, but the demos instead attracted the attention of

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

. Label founder

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

invited the band to perform at a band showcase in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in March 1996.Whiting, Sam
Third Eye Blind Spots a Big Gig
''San Francisco Chronicle'', 13 April 1996. Retrieved 2008-03-29. During Third Eye Blind concerts at the time, it was customary for the band to have a

piñata A piñata (, ) is a container, often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth, that is decorated, filled with candy, and then broken as part of a celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico. The idea of breaking a container fill ...

release candy above their mosh pits, yet at the showcase for the record executives, lead singer Jenkins released live crickets from the piñata instead. Cadogan noted that the performance was ultimately unsuccessful, and Davis passed on signing the band; however, but the event built hype and notoriety for the band, and Salazar noted that the well-developed, 14-song demo they had recorded with Valentine still had helped the band feel more prepared to deal with record labels. In April 1996, after Jenkins had challenged

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

executive Dave Massey in a meeting, the band landed an opening gig for

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentSan Francisco Civic Auditorium. In an unlikely scenario for an opening act, the band was invited back for an encore after playing their initial setGanahl, Jane
Blind Faith
''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the He ...

'', November 9, 1997. Retrieved 2008-03-28. and was paid double by the concert promoter.Condon, Nadine. (2003) ''Hot Hits, Cheap Demos: The Real-World Guide to Music Business Success'', pp. 148-149. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. In addition, Jenkins' production of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

duo The Braids' cover of

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

's "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...

" gained major-label attention. Afterwards, the band found themselves in a bidding war among record labels, and after another showcase in June 1996 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, the band signed a contract with

Sylvia Rhone Sylvia Rhone (born March 11, 1952) is an American record company executive. Since 2019, she is the Chairman and CEO, chair and CEO of Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Rhone served previously in senior positions at Vested ...

because they believed that contract offered the most artistic freedom. The contract was later reported as the largest publishing deal ever for an unsigned artist at the time.

Debut album ''Third Eye Blind'': 1997–1998

While the band had finally accomplished their goal of getting signed, troubles persisted with the band. Jenkins and Valentine clashed; Valentine was hired as a sound engineer, but felt he was tasked with duties that a full-fledged music producer would do, without the pay that would normally come with the role. Valentine ended up getting a co-production credit, but people involved felt he did far more for the album than technically credited for. Valentine also criticized Jenkins's decision to buyout all of Zen's early contribution to album material. Jenkins contended that he heavily reworked any of Zen's contributions. Cadogan also became disillusioned throughout the recording sessions. His understanding was that his role in the band was of an equal partnership with Jenkins, but did not feel he was treated as such. Valentine reported that while Jenkins and Cadogan recorded good material together, they were constantly at odds with one another in the studio, with their relationship deteriorating over time as they finished the album. Additionally, unbeknownst to the rest of the band until years later, even though both Cadogan and Jenkins were signed to the deal from the record label, days prior to the signing, Jenkins secretly set up a Third Eye Blind Inc" as a corporation, and named himself the sole owner and shareholder, giving him complete control over all legal and financial matters in the band. Despite the issues, the band's debut album, '' Third Eye Blind'', was finished and released in April 1997. As a new artist, the album did not particularly debut high in the US all-format ''Billboard'' 200 album's chart, and only ever peaked at number 25 on the chart, but consistently sold each week, staying on the chart for over a year straight. Sales approached 1 million in the US by the end of 1997. The album's sales were propelled by the success of their first single, the long-worked-upon and finalized version of " Semi-Charmed Life". It not only performed well on rock radio, topping the ''Billboard''

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 ...

chart for 8 weeks, but also found crossover success, peaking at number 4 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart. Four subsequent singles - " Graduate", " How's It Going to Be", " Losing a Whole Year", and " Jumper" - kept the album selling well into 1998. "How's It Going to Be" and "Jumper" similarly succeeded "Semi-Charmed Life" as crossover hits as well, peaking at number 9 and 5 respectively on the all-format ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The album would go on to be certified platinum six times by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, indicating over six million copies sold in the US. Meanwhile, ''Billboard'' named it the number one modern rock track of the year. The band toured extensively in support of the album, including opening for large acts such as U2 and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

in late 1997, before quickly graduating to headlining status afterwards throughout 1998. The band toured extensively throughout the year, including a 3-month tour with

and a larger venue

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

tour mid-year, and a college tour with

Eve 6 Eve 6, stylized as EVE 6 or EVƎ 6, is an American rock band formed in 1995 in Southern California, best known for its hit singles " Inside Out" and " Here's to the Night". It disbanded in 2004, returned for numerous tours in 2007 with a new l ...

. The touring was seen as a success, as the band continued to book increasingly higher profile shows but the touring was not without issues, including a 1997 show where Jenkins fell unconscious after falling off the side of a stage, Salazar missing some 1997 shows because he was hospitalized by a

viral infection A viral disease (or viral infection) occurs when an organism's body is invaded by pathogenic viruses, and infectious virus particles (virions) attach to and enter susceptible cells. Examples include the common cold, gastroenteritis, COVID-19, t ...

, and an incident at a festival in 1998 where Salazar and

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

bassist Mike Dirnt got into a physical altercation.

''Blue'' and departure of Cadogan: 1999–2000

The band began work on a second album in January 1999, directly after finishing their 1998 tour with Eve 6. By March, Jenkins reported that there were already 30 songs in contention for the follow-up album, and that recording would start in April. The band were given a tight deadline of six months to submit a completely recorded album by October 1999. While Jenkins would publicly state that sessions were fast and carefree at the time, both Cadogan and Jenkins would retrospectively reflect on the sessions being very difficult. Cadogan and Jenkins were already not getting along while touring in support of their self-titled album, and Cadogan was outraged to finally find out that Jenkins had secretly legally and financially put himself in charge of the band, and of Salazar and Hargreaves' indifference to it. Cadogan recounted that he later found out that Jenkins and Godtland had started to make plans to replace Cadogan prior to even beginning work on a second album, but the plans were not acted on. Cadogan stated that he and Jenkins agreed to put aside their differences and work together on further music; Cadogan set up a 2-week period where the band would write and record early song ideas in Cadogan's house with sound engineer Jason Carmer. Cadogan noted that it was the only time in the six-month period where the band collaborated and worked together in the same room; the rest of the parts were written and recorded independently at separate times in the studio and then later compiled together into the finished album because of the animosity between them. A major point of contention was which songs to keep on the album and which ones to cut; Jenkins and Cadogan had each written songs individually, and each of them fought for more of his own songs to make the final track list. Godtland set up a voting system where each member could vote for a certain number of songs, and that process led to further animosity. Among particular contention was the track "Slow Motion", a controversial ballad written by Jenkins about a student shooting a teacher's son. While Jenkins insisted that the song was

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

, and actually anti-violence, Elektra disapproved of the track being on the album, feeling it could cause controversy because of the proximity of the

Columbine High School massacre A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...

, which had just happened in April of that year. The band and the label fought over the song's inclusion for four months, with the label proposing a compromise that would allow only the

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

to be on the album, and in return, the label would finance an EP to be released after the album, where the band could release the song in its entirety and have complete creative freedom, without restriction. Cadogan, already unhappy with his lack of ownership over the band, was the sole member of the band to object to the deal, knowing he would not have any control over the deal's terms of a cash advance and imprint label creation for the EP. On November 23, 1999, the band released their second album, ''

.'' It sold 75,000 copies in the week it was released, and by 2003 had sold 1.25 million in the U.S.Hasty, Katey
"Marilyn Manson Posts 'Grotesque' At No. 1"
'' Billboard.com''. May 21, 2003. Four singles were released from the album: "Anything", " Never Let You Go", " 10 Days Late", and " Deep Inside of You". "Never Let You Go" came close to replicating the success of the singles from the bands first album, peaking at number 14 on the ''Billboard'' all-format US singles chart. "Deep Inside of You" also made it on to the chart, albeit peaking at 69. "Anything" and "10 Days Late" performed moderately at rock radio, hitting 11 and 21 on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock song chart. ''Blue'' would be certified platinum by the RIAA, indicating over a million sold in the US; a strong achievement, but well below their first album's six time platinum achievement. Two months after the album release, on January 26, 2000, it was announced that Cadogan had been fired after playing a show at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. No reason for the termination was given at the time, just a message from Godtland that Jenkins, Salazar, Hargreaves wished him well. Cadogan was immediately replaced by Tony Fredianelli, who had briefly jammed with the band in 1993 in the band's formative years, and had sometimes supported the band as a live keyboardist as well. The new lineup toured heavily in support of the album, including a North American tour through much of 2000, including the "Dragons and Astronauts" tour with Vertical Horizon. In June 2000, Cadogan filed a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit against Jenkins. Cadogan filed suit, alleging wrongful termination, adding that his production, recording, and songwriting royalties had been withheld since being kicked out of the band. The band pushed forward with touring in the meantime, continuing to play large venues, but felt pressure from the burgeoning

teen pop Teen pop is a sub genre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards Preadolescence, preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop". About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Often, the artists themselves are teenagers during their break ...

and

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

musical movements of the time, which they fell in between without being part of either. In this time period, Jenkins considered working with

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 ...

's Fred Durst, doing some early work on collaborating on material for both of their respective bands, though none of this material ever ended up being released by either party.

''Out of the Vein'': 2001–2004

After four straight years of recording music and touring in support of it, the next couple years were quieter for the band. Originally, the band had planned on starting work on the EP they had agreed upon making as a vehicle to release the controversial "Slow Motion" song kept off of ''Blue'' by the label. The EP was originally titled ''Black'', as a companion piece to ''Blue''. Recording plans were delayed from late 2000, to early 2001. By 2001 though, Jenkins had fallen into a deep depression. He isolated himself for almost a year, and turned his attention to writing material for a third studio album, of which he amassed over 40 songs in this time. The band only played a handful of live performances, largely one-off benefit shows. Progress on the album would be slow. The third album was originally scheduled to be released in early 2002, but was delayed several times before its release in May 2003.Guthrie, Julian
"He Can See Clearly Now"
''San Francisco Chronicle''. April 20, 2003.Author unknown
"Third Eye Blind Not 'Blinded' to Success"
''Yahoo! News''. May 9, 2003. According to Jenkins, some of the reasons for the delay stemmed from a self-imposed pressure to live up to Third Eye Blind's previous successes, leading him to rewrite lyrics. The band also spent substantial time building their own recording studio in San Francisco called Morningwood Studios. During this time, the band's lawsuit with Cadogan was finally settled out of court, with the terms of the settlement undisclosed. On May 13, 2003, the band released their third studio album, '' Out of the Vein''. The album debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number 12; while the charting placement was higher than ''Blue's'' debut at 40, sales were actually substantially down, selling only 62,000 copies, compared to ''Blue's'' 74,000 copies. Two singles were released from the album: " Blinded" and "Crystal Baller". Neither songs performed to the level of prior singles; neither placed on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and only "Blinded" charted at rock radio, peaking at 35 on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock songs chart. ''Out of the Vein'' long-term sales also fell behind its predecessors, with numbers estimated around 500,000 copies as of March 2007.Uhelszki, Jaan
"Third Eye Blind's Second Coming"
''San Francisco Chronicle''. March 11, 2007.

was being absorbed into

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

at the time, and because of the merger, the band found themselves without label support; as Jenkins said, "Our record company ceased to exist. The month the record was released, Elektra Records imploded." In May 2004,

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the gl ...

cut Third Eye Blind, along with over 80 other acts, from its roster. While no specific reason was given for Third Eye Blind being cut, Atlantic co-chairman Craig Kallman said the cuts were made to get Atlantic's roster down to an appropriate size where "we can give each of our acts top priority." Plans to release an EP still persisted for a time. After the ''Out of the Vein'' sessions, the band dropped the name ''Black'' and started referring to the EP as '' Symphony of Decay''. A month after the release of ''Out of the Vein'', in June 2003, Jenkins stated to

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

that the band planned on releasing the EP as soon as September 2003. However, it was repeatedly delayed, and Hargreaves indicated that its release became difficult after their departure from Elektra, and the idea was eventually dropped altogether. The full lyrics version of "Slow Motion" would instead finally see a vehicle of release through a greatest hits collection, '' A Collection'' in 2006.

''Ursa Major'': 2005–2010

With promotional efforts for ''Out of the Vein'' fizzling out in 2004, the band would again be quieter for the next few years. Jenkins would help with producing then-girlfriend Vanessa Carlton's album ''

Harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

''; the experience motivated Jenkins to start writing a solo album of his own. At the same time, Fredianelli, Salazar, and Hargreaves had also been working on music together, and upon hearing it, Jenkins scrapped his solo plan in favor of working on a fourth studio album with the band. Work on the album began in early 2005, but progressed slowly, and Jenkins suffered from

writer's block Writer's block is a non-medical condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Writer's block has various degrees of severity, from difficulty in coming ...

and struggled to write lyrics for the songs that had been created for him by the rest of the band. As of mid-2006, the album was untitled and had a rough release date of 2007. Around this time, Salazar became disillusioned with the band, and left. Salazar wasn't immediately replaced as a member; in the coming years, Abe Millet and Leo Kramer played bass while touring, while a variety of bass players filled in while recording in the studio. In 2007, Jenkins announced that the fourth studio album had a tentative title of ''The Hideous Strength'', had around 35 songs written for it, and that some of the lyrics had become political in nature. The band continued to tour, with the band previewing work-in-progress versions of new songs while Jenkins continued to revise lyrics. Despite it being years since the band released an album, the band still maintained a strong following in live performances, and the band continued to tour while Jenkins struggled with writer's block. Fredianelli noted that lyrics were continually being rewritten, and as a result, songs often needed to be re-recorded to accommodate the changes, which continued to delay an album release. As the process would drag on, privately, internal strife would flare up again across 2008. According to Fredianelli, morale was low at the time because of the departure of Salazar, Jenkins beginning to lose interest in the band, and tensions between Jenkins and long-time friend and band manager Eric Godtland. Jenkins fired Godtland and sued him, accusing him of not paying Jenkins enough, and Godtland in turn counter-sued him, responding that the lower pay was due to lessened productivity by the band, a fault of Jenkins himself, not Godtland, and this had caused an unfair decrease in pay for Godtland himself. Fredianelli then claimed that Jenkins insisted that the rest of the band also join in and file lawsuits against Godtland too, threatening to abandon the band if they didn't. Fredianelli, not wanting to abandon the band after all the work done on the long-awaited album, went along with Jenkin's plan, creating a deposition against Godtland, creating friction between the two. As months passed, Fredianelli felt guilt about it, and apologized to Godtland, offering to change his deposition, then angering Jenkins in return. Jenkins lawsuit was eventually dismissed, and Godtland settled his case out of court. The band's touring manager would unceremoniously quit shortly after. Despite the discourse, the band persevered and by late 2008 the material they had been working on for the last five years would finally begin getting released. First, the band would release a teaser of sorts through the three song ''

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

'' EP. Secondly, two albums' worth of material had been written, but with struggles to finalize the recordings, the band opted against a formal double album release, in favor of potentially releasing two connected albums within a year's time. The plan would include releasing an ''

'' album with the material that was closest to completion, and a second ''

Ursa Minor Ursa Minor (, contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation located in the far northern celestial hemisphere, northern sky. As with the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of ...

'' album later on. Plans continued to change, though; ''Ursa Major'' was originally slated to a 15 track album released on June 23, 2009. When it was released, it ended up being an 11-song and 1 instrumental album released on August 18, 2009. The album, their first in six years, was released under their own independent label, Mega Collider Records. ''Ursa Major'' debuted at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 49,000 copies. This made it the band's highest-charting album, albeit with sales figures that were the lowest since their debut album. Third Eye Blind also topped the ''Billboard'' Rock Albums chart, Top Alternative Albums chart, and Top Digital Albums chart. Three singles were released - "Non-Dairy Creamer" from ''Red Star'' and "Don't Believe A Word" and "Bonfire" from ''Ursa Major'', but all failed to place on any ''Billboard'' chart. The band toured in support of ''Ursa Major'' throughout 2009, but in early 2010, Fredianelli was fired from the band. Irish musician Kryz Reid replaced Fredianelli on guitar, while Third Eye Blind continued to tour in support the album in 2010, most notably co-headlining The Bamboozle Roadshow between May and June 2010. Both Jenkins and Hargreaves would continue to mention an ''Ursa Minor'' release, but the focus remained on touring, and the release would eventually be cancelled by Jenkins because of the involvement and subsequent departure of Fredianelli. Fredianelli would go on to sue Jenkins for over 8 million dollars based on many claims of

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...

and missing writing credits and money and royalties owed from it. Many of the claims were rejected because of Fredinelli's accusations contradicting the actual contract he signed from Jenkins and Godtland. Still, the claims of lost wages from touring were supported, awarding $448,000 to Fredianelli.

''Dopamine'': 2011–2015

The band would again turn to extensive touring in the following years. In addition to Jenkins, Hargreaves, and newly recruited guitarist Reid, the band stopped relying on temporary studio and touring support for bass playing, and hiring a new permanent bassist, Alex LeCavalier. Additionally, for the first time, a fifth official member, Alex Kopp, was brought on as a dedicated

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

. Work on a fifth album continued, with earliest reports showing plans for a 2011 release, but writer's block continued to hamper Jenkins ability to complete lyrics for songs. The only newly recorded studio music the band would release for years was the

impromptu An impromptu (, , loosely meaning "offhand") is a free-form musical composition with the character of an ''ex tempore'' improvisation as if prompted by the spirit of the moment, usually for a solo instrument, such as piano. According to ''Allgeme ...

-written "If There Ever Was a Time" song released in support of the

Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a left-wing populist movement against economic inequality, capitalism, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial ...

movement in November 2011. Moving into 2012, with writer's block continuing to hinder the process, Jenkins would begin to advertise the album as the band's last, feeling that the volume and structure of the album format was what made the writing process difficult for him. By the end of the year, the band did a short tour in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to help inspire the writing process; the band was far enough along to announce they were shooting a music video for a track. However, the album's release continued to be delayed from 2013 to 2014 to 2015. Writer's block continued to be cited as the reason by Jenkins, though Hargreaves also noted that their past successes had afforded them the luxury of taking their time on material without having to rush it because of financial matters. In May 2015, the band announced that their fifth studio album was finally completed, and on June 16, almost six years after their last album, the album, titled, ''

'' was released. The album debuted at No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling just over 21,000 copies in its first week. Two singles were released - "Everything Is Easy" and "Get Me Out of Here" A non-album cover of

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

song " Mine" was also released to promote the album after live performances of the song received a warm reception in the touring leading up to the album's release.

''We Are Drugs'' and ''Screamer'': 2016–2019

Following the release of ''Dopamine'', the lineup of Jenkins, Hargreaves, Reid, LeCavelier, and Kopp experienced an increase in productivity not seen since the late 1990s. Jenkins announced plans for releasing an EP in 2016. On July 19, 2016, they played a benefit concert for "Musicians on Call", a charity organization, in close proximity to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

. The band took the opportunity to speak out against the Republican Party, criticizing their views on

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

, and playing tracks specifically critical of their stances, including "Jumper", and "Non-Dairy Creamer". The stunt received national coverage, and inspired the band to move forward with material. The EP, the seven track '' We Are Drugs'', was released on October 7, 2016, just 16 months after the release of ''Dopamine''. One single, the politically themed " Cop Vs. Phone Girl", was released from the EP. Jenkins announced next plans to be releasing another EP titled ''Summer Gods'' in 2017 to coincide with a tour of the same name. With the EP not ready for release by the end of the tour, the idea was scrapped and the name was instead assigned to a live album release of performances from the tour. Some new music was still released in the year though, in the form of the 20th anniversary release of their debut album. Newly recorded versions of old songs from the sessions were released, including a finalized version of the 1993 song " Alright Caroline". In June 2018, another EP was released - a collection of seven cover songs titled '' Thanks for Everything''. Jenkins stated that the act of reinterpreting the cover songs of various genres inspired the band to create another full studio album in the process. Initially announced as another EP in late 2018, the project bloomed into the band's sixth studio album in 2019. The band continued to tour into 2019, including a major co-headlining North American tour with

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mesa, Arizona, in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach ...

from June to August, called ''Summer Gods Tour 2019''. Prior to the tour, Kopp announced he was leaving the band to pursue other projects, He was replaced by Colin Creev. On October 18, 2019, the band released their sixth studio album, ''

''.

''Our Bande Apart'' and upcoming eighth studio album: 2020–present

After releasing their sixth studio album ''

'', in October 2019, the band was able to complete the first leg of the tour supporting it, but was forced to cancel the second leg of it in 2020 because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

—the first time the band had to cancel a tour in 22 years according to Jenkins. The band instead performed live online streaming performances, and largely turned to writing more new music instead. Jenkins began writing in solitude during the initial wave of lockdowns, and began recording with the rest of the band as soon as the lockdowns ended. On July 30, 2021, the band announced their seventh studio album, '' Our Bande Apart'', would be released on September 24, 2021, and released the first single from it, "Box of Bones". A second song, "Again", was released ahead of the album on August 20, featuring Best Coast singer Bethany Cosentino. The band was able to tour again, in support of the album, in 2022, with a North American tour with

Taking Back Sunday Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Amityville, New York, formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in late 1999. The band's current members are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keyboards, voc ...

and Hockey Dad. They also released an acoustic album, ''Unplugged'' in June 2022. Jenkins described it as "just basically any song that ewanted another try at." The band put on another North American tour across March and April 2023 as well. In early 2024, a new iteration of the "Summer Gods" tour was announced, with the band touring with Yellowcard from June to August 2024. Jenkin's also noted in March that the band was working on a new studio album, and that they wished to release new music prior to the tour, though he wasn't sure the whole album would be ready for release by then. New music did not release prior to the tour; Hargreaves noted that 4 to 6 songs were largely recorded since 2022, but still required Jenkins to finish writing and recording lyrics and vocals. On March 13, 2025, the band released a new song "Like A Lullaby". The song was first performed during their Tiny Desk performance, which was released the same day. The track was co-produced by Jenkins and Eric Valentine, who produced the band's debut.

Musical style and influences

Third Eye Blind's musical style has been described as

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

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 ...

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

, and

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

. Jenkins noted that he was influenced by The Clash, Jane's Addiction, and Camper Van Beethoven. Hargreaves stated that his drumming style was influenced by the Ohio Players and James Brown.

Members

Current members * Stephan Jenkins – lead vocals, guitar (1993–present) *Brad Hargreaves – drums, percussion (1995–present) *Kryz Reid – guitar (2010–present) *Alex LeCavalier – bass (2013–present) *Colin Creev – keyboards, guitar (2019–present) Former members * Kevin Cadogan – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (1993–2000) * Jason Slater – bass, backing vocals (1993–1994; died 2020) *Adrian Burley – drums, percussion (1993–1994) * Michael Urbano – drums, percussion (1994–1995) *Arion Salazar – bass, backing vocals, guitar, piano (1994–2006) * Steve Bowman – drums, percussion (1994) *Tony Fredianelli – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (2000–2010) *Alex Kopp – keyboards, guitar, piano (2011–2019) Former touring musicians *Leo Kremer – bass, backing vocals (2006–2008) *Abe Millett – bass, backing vocals, piano, keyboards (2008–2012) *Jon Pancoast – bass, backing vocals (2012–2013)

Timeline

Awards

*1997 – The band won a Billboard Music Award for Best Modern Rock Track ("Semi-Charmed Life"). *1998 – At the California Music Awards, known as the Bammies and formerly the Bay Area Music Awards, Third Eye Blind won 3 awards (including Best Album, Best Songwriting, and Best Debut Work). *1998 – Jenkins and Cadogan won a California Music Award for Outstanding Songwriters. *1999 – Third Eye Blind were nominated for 2 American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist and Favorite Alternative Artist. *1999 – Third Eye Blind won 3 California Music Awards for Outstanding Group, Outstanding Single ("Jumper") and Outstanding Artist of the Year (Stephan Jenkins). *2000 – Third Eye Blind were nominated for 7 California Music Awards. *2000 – Jenkins and Cadogan won a California Music Award for Outstanding Songwriters.

Discography

Studio albums * '' Third Eye Blind'' (1997) * ''

'' (1999) * '' Out of the Vein'' (2003) * ''

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2015) * ''

'' (2019) * '' Our Bande Apart'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Alternative rock groups from California American pop rock music groups American power pop groups Articles which contain graphical timelines Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups from San Francisco Warner Music Group artists Elektra Records artists 1993 establishments in California 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from California