Quietdrive Biography

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Quietdrive is an alternative rock band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that formed in 2002. Quietdrive released their debut album When All That's Left Is You on May 30, 2006 on Epic Records. In April 2008, Quietdrive parted with Epic Records and released their album titled Deliverance on October 14, 2008 with the Militia Group. In 2009 they parted with Militia Group and released their independent EP entitled Close Your Eyes on their own independent record label Sneaker 2 Bombs Records. Their third full-length album, entitled Quietdrive, debuted on December 14, 2010 and are about to release their upcoming album, entitled Up or Down which is due to be released on April 24, 2012.

The band attended Armstrong High School located in Plymouth, Minnesota, and in ninth grade, Brandon Lanier started telling Droo Hastings that he was a great drummer,[citation needed] and that they should start a band with him and his friend Justin Bonhiver. Initially the band was a trio with Hastings as lead singer and bass guitar, Lanier playing drums, and Bonhiver on guitar. The band posted an audition for a lead singer on MP3.com. Kevin Truckenmiller entered the band after submitting his solo work, including an early incarnation of the song I Go Both Ways. Matt Kirby began attending Saint John's University with Truckenmiller. The group eventually joined together and formed in 2002 under the name "Sneaker 2 Bombs," a hard rock band which reflected the evolving Minneapolis local music scene.

Quietdrive initially built a following at The Garage youth center in Burnsville, Minnesota.[improper synthesis?] The band pursued music venues in Minneapolis but found better connection with younger crowds and stayed between suburban and city clubs. The local scene following eventually led to the Twin Cities performance of Van’s Warped Tour in 2004. Afterward, an A&R scout for Epic Records (a label under Sony BMG) began contacting the band in June 2004. Though the band had been pulling in two different directions, the members came into agreement with the record company and signed to the Epic label later in December.

When All That's Left Is You is Quietdrive's first LP, produced, engineered and mixed by Matt Kirkwold and James Harley of World Record Productions with additional mixing by Chris Lord-Alge and Mark Endert, was released in May 2006. Its first single was "Rise from the Ashes" and was featured on Electronic Arts' NHL 07 soundtrack. In 2006 the band released their cover of the Cyndi Lauper song "Time After Time" to nationwide radio play. The song is also used for the WNBA "Have You Seen Her?" advertising campaign. The song became a minor hit on pop radio, hitting #25 on the syndicated American Top 40 countdown show. It was also featured on the soundtrack of the 2006 feature film, John Tucker Must Die. The song was also featured in the trailer to the 2008 remake of the film Prom Night.

After the CD release into 2007, the band had a lengthy US tour and was featured in January 2007 as the "Artist of the Month" on Xbox Live. Quietdrive with producers Kirkwold and Harley released a new single entitled "Pretend" on their AbsolutePunk.net page in early 2007 for fans. Though the band garnered success with Epic, in April 2008 they cancelled their contract with Epic Records partly citing the restricting management of the major music industry.

Quietdrive released their second full-length album Deliverance on October 14, 2008, and supported this album with an extensive tour with announced dates in the US, UK, and Japan.

Quietdrive released their EP "Close Your Eyes" independently on October 13, 2009. Their first single was "Jessica". Robby Starbuck produced the music video, which premiered on buzznet.com on December 15, 2009. Shortly after the release of Close Your Eyes, Matt Kirby decided to leave the band. In the summer of 2010, bassist Droo Hastings also decided to leave Quietdrive while the band was touring in support of Close Your Eyes.

The band released their self-titled third studio album on December 14, 2010.

Quietdrive began a fundraising project on Kickstarter, and on July 31, 2011, just two hours before their deadline, the band exceeded their goal of $15,000 to record the cover album "Your Record Our Spin". The band began recording in October 2011, and intended the album to included 10 songs voted on by fans and one original song. In late December 2011, fans who donated $10 or more via Kickstarter began receiving their copy of the album; the final version only included the 10 songs voted on by Kickstarter-donating fans.

On February 1, 2012, Quietdrive released their single "Until the End (Acoustic)" on iTunes, with all proceeds going to the Dean Randazzo Cancer Foundation. A music video was released on YouTube that same day, featuring the Grand Nationals, Colin Kassekert, and Phil Costa of the Dallas Cowboys.

The band members occasionally play instruments other than their primary instruments listed below.