From First To Last

From First to Last (sometimes shortened to FFTL) is an American band from Valdosta, Georgia. The band released their first EP titled Aesthetic in 2003 with vocalist Phillip Reardon, followed by Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count in 2004 and Heroine in 2006, both with vocalist Sonny Moore. Following the departure of Moore in February 2007 to work on his solo electro/alternative project, the band added permanent bassist Matt Manning and Matt Good moved to lead vocals/guitar. They released a self-titled album in 2008 on Suretone Records. publisher= suretone.com On August 27, 2009, From First to Last confirmed on DJ Rossstar's Punk Rock Show that they have indeed left Suretone and are now signed to Rise Records.

History

Formation and Aesthetic (2002–2003)

In November 1999, From First to Last was formed by Matt Good, Steve Pullman, Mike Blanchard, and Scott Oord under the name First Too Last. Eventually a solid lineup was formed, featuring lead screamer/vocalist Phillip Reardon, guitarist/vocals Matt Good, guitarist/vocals Travis Richter, bassist Joey Antillion and drummer Greg Taylor (then replaced by Derek Bloom). In 2003, the band released their debut EP Aesthetic on Four Leaf Recordings which featured the vocals of Good, Reardon and Richter. By the end of the year they had signed to Epitaph Records.

Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Bodycount (2004)

After the Aesthetic EP, Reardon was missing by the time they were going to record Dear Diary he had called the band and said he was to be leaving for personal reasons

. By this time Jon Weisberg had joined on bass. The band wanted to move Matt Good to lead vocals. However, Good was reluctant to take on both lead vocal and guitar duties. He wanted From First to Last to have a frontman, to connect with the crowd better. Using the social networking site MySpace, Good came in contact with a guitarist and singer from California by the name of Sonny Moore. Moore flew to Valdosta, Georgia, where Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Bodycount was being recorded, and was set to be the band's second guitarist. However, when the other band members heard Moore singing "Featuring Some of Your Favorite Words", they decided that he was much better suited for lead singer than guitarist. publisher= Epitaph Records

Matt Good and Travis Richter wrote the album in two weeks. Moore came in after the music was tracked and completed the vocals. Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count was released on June 29, 2004.

From late May to mid June 2005, From First to Last participated in the "Dead by Dawn" tour with bands Emanuel, Halifax and He is Legend. publisher= aversion.com

Heroine (2006)

The band went to Radio Star Studios in Weed, California to record their second album, produced by Ross Robinson. publisher= mtv.com As their previous bassist Weisberg had been formally asked to leave the band due to internal conflicts, producer Ross Robinson asked Wes Borland, former Limp Bizkit guitarist, to play bass on the album. Borland later played several tours with the band. The album was released on March 21, 2006. It opened on the Billboard albums chart at #25, with first-week sales of over 33,000. publisher= mtv.com Shortly thereafter in April, they signed to major label Capitol Records after bidding between that label and Warner Bros..

From mid March to mid May the band toured alongside Fall Out Boy, Hawthorne Heights, and The All-American Rejects for the "Black Clouds and Underdogs Tour" in support of their release Heroine. publisher= mtv.com

FFTL then did a short European Tour with various bands. The band then played several dates on the 2006 Vans Warped Tour, but were forced to drop out due to surgical removal of a nodule on Moore's vocal cords. He received his second nodule surgery in early July (his first being in May 2005). publisher= mtv.com Following his recovery, From First to Last went out on the "World Championship Tour" supporting Atreyu along with Every Time I Die and Chiodos. While on that tour, Moore once again had vocal cord problems and had to leave the tour. The band had planned to have guitarists Good and Richter cover Moore's vocal duties for the duration of the tour until singer of Chiodos, Craig Owens, insisted that he provide lead vocals for their sets. publisher= AbsolutePunk.net Atreyu eventually forced From First to Last to drop the tour. The band later explained, "Our plan to enable us to play the rest of the tour was disregarded and as our crew was setting up for the show in Worcester, MA we were informed that we were being kicked off of the tour. Understand that it was not our choice to leave this tour... we were forced to leave." Atreyu then returned a statement about the controversy concerning From First to Last's departure, saying, "They couldn't perform as FFTL and are no longer on this tour." publisher= AbsolutePunk.net

Self-titled album (2008–2009)

In February 2007, lead singer Moore left From First to Last to pursue a solo career. publisher= AbsolutePunk.net His decision to leave was based on his urge to create his own music, and also on the fact that singing in FFTL was putting an immense strain on his vocal cords, resulting in serious damage which needed multiple suregeries in order to be fixed. Moore has posted new recordings on his myspace and is part of a group of artists that form, modernorganic.

After vocalist Moore's departure, FFTL faced a crisis. Their label, Capitol Records, had dropped them due to financial problems. Without a vocalist, label, permanent bassist, or any money, the band almost split. Guitarist/Vocalist Matt Good, however, decided to take on lead vocals while still providing a backup guitar role. The band also quickly picked up Matt Manning to become full-time bassist .The band then spent their remaining money on a studio in which to continue work on their already-written third album.

The remaining members of From First to Last finished a headlining tour from July 21 through August 5 with guests Alesana, Vanna, Brighten, and Four Year Strong. Shortly before recording another album, the band played for a portion of the Show Must Go On tour with Hawthorne Heights, Secondhand Serenade, Powerspace, and Brighten, but later cancelled their dates on the last part of the tour to open for Deftones on a separate Canadian tour.

After completing a full mix of their new material, FFTL was picked up by Suretone Records. Shortly after they re-entered the studio to record their album again, this time with a professional crew and better quality.

The band recorded for the second time in Los Angeles, with producer Josh Abraham and seasoned engineer Ryan Williams. They have since completed the album, and at midnight on November 14, 2007, they released a new song, Two as One, on their Myspace account.

FFTL began their fall headlining tour, ''RATHER BE SLAYIN' N00BZ, starting November 1 with guests blessthefall, A Skylit Drive, and Vanna. Around the middle of the tour, the guests changed to Envy On The Coast, Pierce The Veil, Four Year Strong, Mayday Parade, Mia Medusa, and The Variant.

On November 29, FFTL announced they were going to be a part of the 2008 Hot Topic Take Action Tour. They played at the MTV Winter Valencia in Spain on March 6. On December 6, they announced they were going to be part of the 2008 Vans Warped Tour.

On May 6, 2008, FFTL released their self-titled album, and starting June 20, hit the road on the Vans Warped Tour for its entirety.

On June 28, FFTL updated their band members section of their MySpace, making Chris Lent a full time member.

From the end of September to October 12, From First to Last played on The Blackout's "Sleep All Day, Party All Night" tour in the UK, along with The Medic Droid and We Are The Ocean.

Fourth full length album (2009–present)

FFTL have stated that they will be on a break from touring late 2008. Members Travis Richter and Derek Bloom were focusing on their side project, The Color Of Violence, with tours soon after and a full length debut album, Youthanize, which was released April 7, 2009. FFTL began writing new songs early 2009 and started demoing new songs in March 2009, for their next album expected to be released late 2009 or early 2010. A full length demo of a song on the new album was put on their myspace recently, as well as the previously unheard b-side from Heroine, "Save Us". A Second Full Length Demo was added on July 3, 2009, and a message to fans that they will be announcing their recording schedule and tentative label.As of August 6, 2009, the band has began to track drums for the new record at EarthSound studios in Valdosta Georgia, with Lee Dyess.

In September 2009, Miss May I announced they will be touring with From First to Last in October 2009.

On October 1, 2009 FFTL announced that they will be touring with Greeley Estates and Therefore I am in October and November and also that they had signed to Rise Records. "I want to announce officially that we've signed with Rise Records. We are all very excited about this move and think that together with Rise we can accomplish amazing things! If you're asking yourself why we made the change, well... There's a lot of aspects about being a major label that just didn't agree with the way we like to present our band and our music and I think that by ridding ourselves of that world, we are finally gonna set ourselves free to make the best music we can and that is the most important thing for us at the end of the day". The new album yet to be titled is set for release February 2010.

The band is going to be out on the You’d Be Way Cuter In A Coffin Tour with Alesana, The Word Alive, Asking Alexandria, and Memphis May Fire.

Band members

The majority of the band switches instruments live and in the studio, but only their primary instrument is listed.

Current

Matt Good – lead vocals, guitars (2002–present)
Travis Richter – guitars, vocals (2002–present)
Matt Manning – bass, vocals (2007–present)
Chris Lent – keyboards, programming (2008–present)
Derek Bloom – drums, percussion (2002–present)

Former

Greg Taylor – drums, percussion (2002)
Phillip Reardon – vocals (2002–2003)
Joey Antillion – bass (2002–2003)
Jon Weisberg – bass (2003–2005)
Sonny Moore – lead vocals (2004–2007)

Touring

Rick Patterson – guitar (2003–2004)
Alicia Simmons-Way – bass (2005)
Wes Borland – bass (on Heroine and live shows, 2005–2006)
Matthew Fleischman – bass (2006)

The Color of Violence

The Color of Violence is a band featuring guitarist/vocalist Travis Richter and drummer Derek Bloom, going by the names of Guy Nucleosity and Glitch Killgasm, respectively. publisher= myspace.com

Discography

Albums

Aesthetic (Four Leaf Recordings, June 24, 2003)
Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count (Epitaph, June 29, 2004)
Heroine (Epitaph, March 21, 2006) US #25
From First to Last (Suretone/Interscope), May 6, 2008) US #81

Singles

Compilation appearances

"X12 Days of XXXMASX" – Released on ''A Santa Cause: It's a Punk Rock Christmas compilation album, in 2003. Featuring old vocalist Phil Reardon.
"Ride the Wings of Pestilence" was featured on Punk-O-Rama Vol. 9.
"Failure by Designer Jeans" – Non-album track, included on the Punk-O-Rama Vol. 10 compilation album, in 2005 (Also released on Smartpunk.com's Music on the Brain volume 1).
"Christmassacre" – Found on the Taste of Christmas compilation album (2005). This song does not feature Moore's vocals, as he was recovering from a vocal node surgery at the time. Instead, Richter took over lead vocals while Good did backing vocals while playing guitar.
"The Latest Plague (Atticus Ross Remix)" – Found on the Epitaph: Unsound Vol. 1 compilation album in 2006.
"I Once Was Lost, But Now Am Profound" was included in Need For Speed Undercover Soundtrack.
"Tick Tick Tomorrow" was included in Underworld Rise of the Lycans Soundtrack.
"Two as One" was included on the "NHL 09" soundtrack.

Trivia

The group has made covers of Hell March and HM2 (originating from Command & Conquer: Red Alert and Red Alert 2 respectively, and originally done by Frank Klepacki) for EA's latest C&C installment, Red Alert 3.

Signed Music Artists