The Ataris are an American punk rock band from

Anderson, Indiana Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson is ...

. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is ''

So Long, Astoria ''So Long, Astoria'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Ataris, released on March 4, 2003. The album's title song alludes to the 1985 film ''The Goonies'', which is set in Astoria, Oregon. Background In February 2001, The Atar ...

'' (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting single is the cover song " The Boys of Summer" from ''So Long, Astoria''. The only constant member throughout their history has been singer/songwriter/guitarist Kristopher Roe.

History

Kung Fu Records (1996–2001)

Formed on November 1, 1996, the band originally consisted of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Kristopher Roe and guitarist Jasin Thomason. Using a 4-track, Roe wrote and recorded demos in his bedroom, using a drum machine while he searched for a full-time drummer. The band's first big break came in 1996 when Roe attended a show at the club Bogart's in Cincinnati, where Thomason passed one of the band's demo tapes to a roadie from the band. The roadie gave the tape to

Joe Escalante Joseph Patrick Escalante (born January 30, 1963) is an American television writer, film and television director, musician, radio host, and former television executive. He is known professionally as the bassist and songwriter for the punk rock ...

, bassist from the band

The Vandals The Vandals are an American punk rock band, established in 1980 in Orange County, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums, two live albums, and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped ...

who owned their own label,

Kung Fu Records Kung Fu Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996 by Joe Escalante and Warren Fitzgerald of the punk rock band The Vandals. Founded in order to release a record by the Riverside, California band Assorted Jelly Beans, the ...

. A few weeks later, Roe received a call from Kung Fu Records, who told him they were interested in putting out their record, even though he was really only searching for a drummer. The Ataris signed to Kung Fu and the label passed the tape along to various drummers. Eventually, Roe decided upon ex-

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which can ...

drummer

Derrick Plourde Derrick William Plourde (October 17, 1971 – March 30, 2005) was an American drummer, musician and artist. Born in Goleta, California, he was active from 1989 until his death in 2005. Although best known as a former member of Lagwagon, Plourd ...

. The band then proceeded to record their debut album '' Anywhere but Here'', tracking the whole thing in less than a week. The album was released on April 29, 1997 and the band held a release show party at Missing Link Records in Indianapolis on May 2. In June 1997, Roe moved from

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

, Indiana to Santa Barbara, California. Shortly afterward, Marko Desantis joined the band on bass for a short time. Thomason decided to leave the band to stay in Indiana, and the group toured as a three-piece for a short while. After a brief tour in October 1997, this lineup disbanded. Roe, out of money and living in a van, contemplated moving back to Indiana. But the band still had an upcoming tour booked with

Dance Hall Crashers Dance Hall Crashers (often abbreviated to DHC) was an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its care ...

and

Unwritten Law Unwritten Law is an American punk rock band formed in 1990 in Poway, California. They have released seven full-length studio albums and have toured internationally, including performances on the Warped Tour. They are notable for their singles " ...

, so Roe decided to give the band one more shot. He got his friend from Santa Barbara,

Mike Davenport Michael Sean Davenport (born 13 September 1968) is an American musician. Davenport was bass guitarist for The Ataris, joining the band in 1997 prior to the album '' Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits'' in which Davenport co-wrote the song ...

, to play bass. Davenport shared a small rehearsal space on East Haley Street with his friend Marco Peña, who was in a different band. One day at the rehearsal space, Roe and Davenport heard the drummer of Peña's band, Chris Knapp, playing and immediately asked him to join The Ataris. While Roe and Davenport joked that Peña would be upset over them "stealing" his band's drummer, Peña surprised them by showing up at their practice the next day, strapping on his guitar, and playing along. It turned out Peña had learned all the songs from ''Anywhere But Here''. He joined the band as a second guitarist and the foursome went on their scheduled tour. However, Peña soon left the band due to personal reasons and was replaced by Patrick Riley. From there, the band gradually increased in popularity in the underground rock scene due to their consistent touring and personal,

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

approach to the band. They then found more success with their 1998 EP ''

Look Forward to Failure ''Look Forward to Failure'' is an EP released on November 10, 1998 by The Ataris on Fat Wreck Chords. This was the first album released to feature fan favorite "San Dimas High School Football Rules", a song that would later appear on '' Blue Skies ...

'', released on San Francisco punk label

Fat Wreck Chords Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is a San Francisco, California-based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) in 1990. The label has released mater ...

. However, it wasn't until the release of '' Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits'' in 1999 that they started to gain widespread acclaim. The album's name comes from the name of a mobile home park along Highway 101 in Santa Barbara. Also, "...next 12 exits" refers to a nearby sign on Highway 101 North that reads "Santa Barbara, Next 12 Exits". The album contained personal, storytelling lyrics. After this album, Riley left the band to go back to school, and Marco Peña re-joined the band. In 2001 the band took part in the Vans Warped Tour. The band's third full-length studio album, '' End Is Forever'', was also released in 2001.

''So Long, Astoria'' (2002–2004)

In 2002, the lineup changed again, with John Collura replacing Peña on guitar. Prior to this, Collura had played in his own band Beefcake who'd toured with The Ataris. He'd also done time on tour as a guitar tech for The Ataris just prior to Peña's departure. During this same period, the Ataris' contract with Kung Fu Records expired, and the band chose to sign with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Later that year, they began recording their fourth full-length album and major label debut, ''

'', released on March 4, 2003. Produced by

Lou Giordano Lou Giordano (born c. 1957) is a record producer and recording engineer who co-founded Radiobeat Studios. He worked at Fort Apache Studios when it was located in Boston, and was a partner in the production company Prodco, which had close ties with ...

, the album's production served as a stark contrast to any of the band's past releases, as previous efforts were recorded in short time spans between tours. ''So Long, Astoria'' was widely credited for introducing The Ataris to a larger mainstream audience and generating several successful singles, including " In This Diary" and " The Saddest Song". Musically, the album showcased very personal, encrypted and slightly more optimistic songwriting with a more refined, straightforward rock sound, not unlike

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona. 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 Lind. They h ...

. This album also included their hit cover song, originally recorded by

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as "Witchy Woman", "Despe ...

, " The Boys of Summer", which much to the dismay of the band became their "accidental" second single after the radio station KROQ in Los Angeles started playing it, even though the band had already chosen the song "My Reply" as their second single. The single is their highest-charting single to date, reaching No. 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The band toured behind this record for most of 2003 and into early 2004. That year also saw the release of a low-key live album, ''Live at the Metro'', along with a track on the ''

Spider-Man 2 ''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Michael Chabon. Based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, it is the ...

'' soundtrack. ''

'' sold over 700,000 copies and was certified gold. After a number of personal, financial and artistic differences, this line-up decided to go its separate ways over the summer and fall of 2004. Davenport, interested in playing heavier music, became a founding member of the band Versus the World, while Knapp stopped playing music altogether and stayed in Santa Barbara. Looking for some time off, Roe headed back to Indiana while Collura moved back to New York; though they would later regroup to begin the recordings of the band's next album.

''Welcome the Night'' (2005–2007)

After some time off, Roe and Collura later moved forward and began writing songs that would become part of the follow-up to ''So Long, Astoria'' titled '' Welcome the Night''. They held some informal practices with some friends from New York, who played in the band Park Ranger. These sessions led to three members of Park Ranger joining The Ataris: Sean Hansen on bass, Shane Chickeles on drums, and Paul Carabello on third guitar. To round out the lineup they added longtime friends Bob Hoag, formerly of

Pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

and The Go Reflex (which was managed by Roe), on piano and keyboards, and Angus Cooke on cello. Cooke played cello on past Ataris records, and helped with production as well. Starting in 2005, the band began recording ''Welcome the Night'' at Seedy Underbelly in California, with producer Nick Launay. Writing and recording eventually took the better part of two years and was extended to multiple studios. The album was routinely delayed by Columbia. On June 10, 2006, the band announced that it had left

due to the label's internal disintegration. In November 2006, The Ataris started their own imprint, Isola Recordings, through

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

and RED Distribution, and simultaneously announced the official release date of their fifth album ''Welcome the Night'' as February 20, 2007. ''Welcome the Night'' debuted at number 85 on the ''Billboard'' charts with over 12,000 copies sold. Following the album's release, the band embarked on a tour of the United States and Europe.

''The Graveyard of the Atlantic'' (2008–present)

In June 2008, the band began demoing at The Gallows Recording Studio in Muncie, Indiana in preparation for recording in late summer, with the aim of releasing a new album in 2009. In November, the band posted a clip of a demo online. The following month, the band entered the studio to record their next album. On December 29, it was mentioned that drums had been completed and that guitars were next. In January 2009, the band went on a tour of the UK. On April 12, a demo titled "All Souls' Day" was posted on the group's Myspace. In addition, it was mentioned that their next album would be released in the summer. Between April and June 2009, the band toured the US, with shows in South Africa in the middle of this trek. After this, they appeared on the 2009 Warped Tour. The finished version of "All Souls' Day" was posted online in June 2009. On August 17, 2009, the band announced they had nearly finished recording their next album, tentatively titled ''Graveyard of the Atlantic''. They went on a short Midwest tour in November 2009. Between February and April 2010, the Ataris went on a cross-country US tour with Don't Panic, and then performed at the Windy City Sound Clash festival. Following this, they went on another US tour between July and September 2010. That same year, a two track EP, ''All Souls' Day & the Graveyard of the Atlantic'' containing just its title tracks was released under the Paper + Plastick label. In 2012, the band released a four track EP entitled ''The Graveyard of the Atlantic''. From 2013, The Ataris began a North American tour with Kris Roe as singer and the former members John Collura, Mike Davenport and Chris Knapp to celebrate the 10 years of their most successful album ''So Long, Astoria''. In 2016, the band released a six-song EP entitled ''October in This Railroad Earth'' through

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

. In 2017,

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

announced that The Ataris was going to play on the 2017 tour. On June 18, 2017, the band released a compilation titled ''Silver Turns to Rust'' on Bandcamp. This compilation featured four previously released tracks from ''The Graveyard of the Atlantic'' and six from the previously released EP ''October in this Railroad Earth''.

Musical style

The Ataris has been described as

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

, and punk rock. The band's influences include

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a s ...

, Jawbreaker,

All All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All al ...

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...

Avail Avail is an American punk rock band from Richmond, Virginia, United States. Originally from Reston, Virginia, the band formed in 1987, its members including Joe Banks, Doug Crosby, Brien Stewart, and Mikey Warstler. The only original remaining ...

, the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

, and the Replacements.

Controversy

While performing in Asbury Park, New Jersey on October 7th, 2012, frontman Kris Roe, in an admittedly drug-induced loss of inhibition and control, acted hostile towards then-drummer Rob Felicetti on stage. Kris said he had "had enough" and "could not take it anymore" as the drummer was performing “off-time” throughout their set (a claim refuted by various professional drummers). A fan had captured the incident on camera, and was subsequently uploaded to social media. Roe claimed in a follow up video regarding the incident that Felicetti was drunk during the performance, a claim Felicetti later denied.MTV News:Ataris Frontman Explains Attack On His Drummer
/ref> This incident led Felicetti to exit the band.punknews
/reF>

Band members

Current * Kristopher Roe – lead vocals, rhythm guitar , bass guitar * Dustin Phillips – drums * Dale Nixon – lead guitar * Danny Duke – bass guitar Former * Jasin Thomason – lead guitar, lead vocals *

Marko DeSantis Sugarcult is an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim Pagnotta ( lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Airin Older (bass guitar, backing vocals), Marko DeSantis (lead guitar), and Kenny Liv ...

– bass guitar *

– drums *Patrick Riley - lead guitar * Marco Peña – lead guitar *

– bass guitar *Chris Knapp – drums * John Collura – lead guitar, backing vocals, piano * Paul Carabello – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead guitar * Sean Hansen – bass guitar, backing vocals, drums *

Angus Cooke The Ataris are an American punk rock band from Anderson, Indiana. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is ''So Long, Astoria'' (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting s ...

– cello * Shane Chikeles – drums, percussion * Bob Hoag – keyboards, percussion , drums *

Christopher Swinney Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals (Now in Fire Sale) * Jacob Dwiggins – drums *

Corey Turner Corey is a masculine given name and a surname. It is a masculine version of name Cora, which has Greek origins and is the maiden name of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in a caul ...

– bass guitar *

Aaron Glass According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Ancient Greek, Greek (Septuagint): wikt:Ἀαρών, Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high p ...

– guitar *Bryan Nelson – bass guitar * Rob Felicetti – lead guitar , drums *Thomas Holst – lead guitar , rhythm guitar * Erik Perkins – drums * Brian Bonsall – lead guitar *Mike Woods – bass guitar

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:90 top:5 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:11/01/1996 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:cello value:darkblue legend:Cello id:lguitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:perc value:claret legend:Percussion id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1997 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1997 BarData = bar:Kris text:Kristopher Roe bar:Angus text:Angus Cooke bar:Jasin text:Jasin Thomason bar:Marco text:Marco Peña bar:Patrick text:Patrick Riley bar:John text:John Collura bar:Paul text:Paul Carabello bar:Christopher text:Christopher Swinney bar:Aaron text:Aaron Glass bar:Rob text:Rob Felicetti bar:Thomas text:Thomas Holst bar:Brian text:Brian Bonsall bar:Dale text:Dale Nixon bar:Bob text:Bob Hoag bar:Marko text:Marko DeSantis bar:Mike text:Mike Davenport bar:Sean text:Sean Hansen bar:Bryan text:Bryan Nelson bar:Woods text:Mike Woods bar:Duke text:Danny Duke bar:Derrick text:Derrick Plourde bar:Chris text:Chris Knapp bar:Shane text:Shane Chikles bar:Jacob text:Jacob Dwiggins bar:Erik text:Erick Perkins bar:Phillips text:Dustin Phillips PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4) bar:Kris from:11/01/1996 till:end color:vocals bar:Kris from:11/01/1996 till:end color:rguitar width:3 bar:Kris from:11/01/1996 till:03/01/1997 color:bass width:7 bar:Kris from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:bass width:7 bar:Jasin from:11/01/1996 till:12/01/1997 color:lguitar bar:Jasin from:11/01/1996 till:12/01/1997 color:vocals width:3 bar:Marko from:03/01/1997 till:12/01/1997 color:bass bar:Mike from:12/01/1997 till:01/01/2005 color:bass bar:Chris from:12/01/1997 till:01/01/2005 color:drums bar:Marco from:12/01/1997 till:05/01/1998 color:lguitar bar:Marco from:11/01/1998 till:07/01/2001 color:lguitar bar:Patrick from:05/01/1998 till:11/01/1998 color:lguitar bar:John from:07/01/2001 till:01/01/2008 color:lguitar bar:John from:07/01/2001 till:01/01/2008 color:keys width:7 bar:John from:07/01/2001 till:01/01/2008 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Paul from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:rguitar bar:Paul from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:lguitar width:7 bar:Paul from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Sean from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:bass bar:Sean from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:drums width:7 bar:Sean from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Angus from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:cello bar:Shane from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:drums bar:Shane from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:perc width:3 bar:Christopher from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2010 color:lguitar bar:Jacob from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2012 color:drums bar:Aaron from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2010 color:lguitar bar:Rob from:01/01/2010 till:10/09/2012 color:lguitar bar:Rob from:01/01/2012 till:10/09/2012 color:drums width:3 bar:Bob from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2013 color:keys bar:Bob from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2013 color:perc width:3 bar:Bob from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 color:drums width:7 bar:Bryan from:01/01/2008 till:12/01/2016 color:bass bar:Thomas from:01/01/2012 till:10/09/2012 color:rguitar bar:Thomas from:01/01/2012 till:10/09/2012 color:lguitar width:3 bar:Thomas from:10/09/2012 till:12/01/2016 color:lguitar bar:Derrick from:03/01/1997 till:12/01/1997 color:drums bar:Phillips from:01/01/2017 till:end color:drums bar:Erik from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2015 color:drums bar:Brian from:12/01/2016 till:01/01/2018 color:lguitar bar:Woods from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 color:bass bar:Duke from:06/01/2018 till:end color:bass bar:Dale from:01/01/2018 till:end color:lguitar LineData = layer:back color:studio at:04/29/1997 at:04/13/1999 at:02/06/2001 at:03/04/2003 at:02/20/2007

Discography

Studio albums *'' Anywhere but Here'' (1997) *'' Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits'' (1999) *'' End Is Forever'' (2001) *''

'' (2003) *'' Welcome the Night'' (2007) *''Hang Your Head in Hope'' (2011)

References

External links

Bandcamp profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ataris, The Musical groups established in 1995 1995 establishments in Indiana American emo musical groups American pop punk groups Skate punk groups Punk rock groups from Indiana Columbia Records artists Fat Wreck Chords artists Kung Fu Records artists Sanctuary Records artists American punk rock groups