Abandon Kansas is an American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band originating from Wichita,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

that formed in 2005 and went on indefinite hiatus in 2015. The band has rebranded to Glass Age in 2019 and is making new music.

History

Abandon Kansas formed in 2005 in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

. The origins of the band's name is a play on the words A band in Kansas. Abandon Kansas released their first EP independently in 2005. It was self-titled and received little recognition. Since then, Abandon Kansas has slowly gained recognition in the

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around ...

market, achieving recognition by radio vehicles such as

RadioU WUFM (88.7 FM, "RadioU") is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Columbus, Ohio. The station retransmits its signal to several FM stations and FM translators nationwide including KRQZ, a full-service FM station licensed to Lompoc, Calif ...

, video vehicles such as TVU, and music review websites such as Jesus Freak Hideout and Indie Vision Music. Gaining attention from local, independent, and few national venues, Abandon Kansas continued releasing records. 3 EPs and 1 full-length album were released from 2006-2009. In 2009, Abandon Kansas signed with

Gotee Records Gotee Records is a record label founded by Christian hip hop performer Toby McKeehan (known professionally as ''TobyMac''), Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood. The label began as a production company. At the time of the label's founding, McKeehan wa ...

, a diverse record label founded by the

Christian pop Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

musician,

TobyMac Toby McKeehan (born Kevin Michael McKeehan; October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac or TOBYMAC), is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He was first known f ...

. In the months proceeding, Abandon Kansas released one project. Their debut EP on Gotee Records, '' We're All Going Somewhere'', was released on September 8, 2009. It contained no tracks that would be repeated on their proceeding full-length release, ''

Ad Astra per Aspera ''Ad astra'' is a Latin phrase meaning "to the stars". The phrase has origins with Virgil, who wrote in his ''Aeneid'': "''sic itur ad astra''" ('thus one journeys to the stars') and "''opta ardua pennis astra sequi''" ('desire to pursue the h ...

''. The song, "Months and Years," listed as track 5, was placed in regular rotation by

, a national radio vehicle broadcasting from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

as well as from repeaters across the United States. In 2011, Abandon Kansas released a second self-titled EP one month before releasing their debut album on

. ''

Abandon Kansas Abandon Kansas is an American alternative rock band originating from Wichita, Kansas that formed in 2005 and went on indefinite hiatus in 2015. The band has rebranded to Glass Age in 2019 and is making new music. History Abandon Kansas forme ...

'' was released on February 8, 2011 and contained four songs (including two repeats from their 2009 release) and two videos. ''

'' was released on March 8, 2011 and contained two songs from their 2011 EP. Abandon Kansas is currently on tour to promote their full-length release. "Heaven Come My Way," listed as track one, is currently in rotation on

. Abandon Kansas performed on the "Mother, May I?" tour with

Wavorly Wavorly is an American rock band from Tupelo, Mississippi. History Wavorly formed in 2001 under the name Freshmen 15, and independently released two albums under this name. The group changed its name after signing to Flicker Records because the ...

and Hyland. In early 2011, they had toured with

Swimming with Dolphins The popularity of swimming with dolphins increased in the 1980s and 1990s, occurring in over 65 countries, both as a form of therapy as well as a tourist activity. Proponents of dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) say that interacting with dolphins can ...

, as well as Mike Mains and the Branches and From Indian Lakes on the first leg of the Ad Astra Per Aspera Record Release Tour. On the second leg of the tour, they performed with

Showbread Showbread ( he, לחם הפנים ''Leḥem haPānīm'', literally: "Bread of the Faces"), in the King James Version: shewbread, in a biblical or Jewish context, refers to the cakes or loaves of bread which were always present, on a specially-de ...

, Quiet Science, and The Wedding. In 2014, Abandon Kansas signed to Emery's independent record label and is going to release the third full-length album ''alligator'' on May 11, 2015. In June 2015, a post on the Abandon Kansas Facebook page stated the following which has put the band in an indefinite hiatus: "Due to personal and relational circumstances in my life, I have decided it would be best for me and my family to cancel the rest of AK's tour dates in 2015. This is embarrassing, and I apologize for not being in a healthy enough state of mind to perform and tour. It's become clear that I need to take care of myself and deal with issues that have long been ignored. I am already in the process of doing this now. If you've purchased tickets, please still go to the shows and support the other bands. Thank you for your love and support - Jeremy;"

Band members

Current

* Jeremy Spring -

lead vocals 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 t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Nick Patrick - bass * Logan Rine -

Former

* Brian Scheideman -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Brian Nixon -

keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Chris Martin - bass * Sam Presley - bass * Tyler Clarensau -

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Brad Regier -

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s * Chet Kueffer - bass * Michael Whipple - bass * Brad Foster -

* Derek Harsch -

Keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

Discography

Studio albums

Studio EPs

References

External links

* {{Authority control American Christian rock groups Gotee Records artists Musical groups established in 2005