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Waking Ashland was formed in November 2003 by singer/keyboardist Jonathan Jones, guitarist Ryan Lallier and drummer Thomas Lee, all of which were at that time music majors at California State University, Northridge. Robert Teegarden ? a friend of the band ? temporarily helped out to fill the vacant position on the bass guitar. Their band name stems from the aspect of connecting people through music, paired with a reference to the town of Ashland, Oregon. [1] Influenced by as diverse acts as Joe Jackson, Coldplay, The Pixies and Hüsker Dü, Waking Ashland combines emotional piano melodies with sonic distortion guitars, creating a unique sound among their genre.
In early 2004, they self-recorded and released their debut EP I Am for You. Simultaneously, the line-up was completed by guitarist Nick Rucker and bassist Derek Vaughn, replacing Teegarden. However, the two soon left the band, and a permanent bassist was found in Andrew Grosse, frontman Jones’ former bandmate in their Christian accented high school band Formula316.[2] Without record label distribution and solely through word of mouth promotion, the CD’s first pressing of 1,000 copies (being only available through the band’s website and at their concerts) sold out within a month.[3] To date, the six-song CD managed to sell over 10,000 copies.[4] Its success landed the band a booking agent and allowed them to drop out of college, to pursue a career in the music industry. |
