Name Taken was an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band from
Orange, California
Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...
. They were originally known as All That's Left in October 1999 until they discovered that the name was already taken; thus the name "Name Taken".
The band started in the eighth grade where they would play shows in their amphitheatre at lunch. They later succeeded to record for such compilations as Atticus I and Warped Tour 2002.
History
The band began practicing in a basement in their drummer's house. With each of the members being only 14 or 15 years old, they played shows at backyard parties and church dances. After parting ways with one of their guitarists, Chad Atkinson, Blake Means and Bret Meisenbach (former drummer) headed into the studio to record a demo, still under the name All That's Left. They produced, printed, and sold ''The Stupid Chad EP'' \by themselves. Shortly after, they decided to add a second guitarist, Ryan Edwards. They also discovered that there was another band under the name All That's Left, so they decided a change was necessary. The title "Name Taken" was chosen. In August 2001, with a new guitar section and a new name, the band went into Love Juice Laboratories in
Riverside, CA to record yet another EP. After 3 days of recording, the EP ''The Silent Game'' was born. The recording was quickly picked up by Top Notch Records and put into pressing and released roughly 3 or 4 months later. In the following months their drummer planned to leave Name Taken; he was replaced by Danny Valencia of
Downey, CA. Now with Name Taken's line-up in full force, the band had been picked up by One Moment Management, appeared on numerous compilation CDs and showcased for numerous record labels. In December 2002, the band embarked on a west coast US tour. The band played shows in California with groups such as Yellowcard, Rufio, and Saosin, and toured with Alexis On Fire, Silverstein, Midtown, Homegrown, and Senses Fail.
In October 2003, the band played with Spitalfield on their tour of the US. In December 2003, the band signed to Fiddler Records. In January 2004, the band release a demo version of "It Sounds Prettier in Spanish" online. ''Hold On'' was released on April 13, 2004. To promote it, the band went on tour with
Salem,
From First to Last
From First to Last is an American post-hardcore band based in the Los Angeles Area and Tampa, Florida. Formed by Matt Good, Scott Oord, and Parker Nelms in November 1999, the current line-up consists of Matt Good (lead guitar, vocals), Sonny M ...
, and
Scatter the Ashes, until June. From here, they toured with
Gatsbys American Dream
Gatsbys American Dream is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. Since their founding in 2001, they have released four full-length albums and one EP. The band's self-titled fourth album, their second on Fearless Records, peaked a ...
and
Bear vs. Shark until early July 2004. In July and August 2004, the group went on tour with
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
,
Bayside,
Armor for Sleep, and
The Academy Is.... They then toured with
the Beautiful Mistake
The Beautiful Mistake is a rock band from San Diego, California. Formed in 2000, the band has released two full-length albums: the 2002 debut album, ''Light A Match, For I Deserve To Burn'', and 2004's ''This Is Who You Are''. They have also releas ...
,
Tokyo Rose
Tokyo Rose (alternative spelling Tokio Rose) was a name given by Allied troops in the South Pacific during World War II to all female English-speaking radio broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The programs were broadcast in the South Pacific ...
, My New Life and
Mock Orange in October 2004. Name Taken closed out the year touring with the Beautiful Mistake. On January 22, 2005, the music video for "Control" was posted online. They opened 2005 toured with
Relient K
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman Board Message during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after ...
and
Mae. The band announced they were breaking up on May 18, 2005 after two years of touring to pursue their college education. Chad and Blake attended
Cal State Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...
, Ryan Edwards attended
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
and went on to be a graduate student at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
.
In February 2007 they announced that they were due to play two reunion shows on May 5 and May 6, 2007 at
Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
's Chain Reaction.
Paul Riscalla assisted with drum duties for the shows. Despite the fact that both shows were sold out,
the band never regrouped to record a new album. On November 28, 2007, a message from Blake appeared o
absolutepunk.netsaying that Name Taken would in fact not be reforming and that the shows were just for fun. They released their first song in 14 years, "Blood And Bones", in July 2018.
The lyrics to the band's song "Panic" are said to have been the inspiration for the name of the platinum-selling band
Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their firs ...
.
''Panic at the disco''
''Sat back and took it so slow''
''Are you nervous? Are you shaking?''
Reception
*"Ignoring the uninspired power chord conventions of their scene, they chase each other across their respective fretboards forming tightly woven patterns." -
AbsolutePunk
''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to fea ...
review of ''The Silent Game''
*"It's more emo on the brain...roils with the urgent, slickly produced fury that defines so much of this genre." -
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
review of ''Hold On''
*"...an album that admittedly sounds a lot like every other emo-punk band in the genre, but still contains the energy and sense of melody that most of the other bands forget about." - Punknews.org review of ''Hold On''
Band members
Final line-up
*Chad Atkinson - Vocals/Bass
*Ryan Edwards - Guitar
*Blake Means - Guitar
Early members
*Juan Pereda - Drums (never played on any records)
*Danny Valencia - Drums
*Bret Meisenbach - Drums
Discography
*''The Stupid Chad EP'' (Independent, 2000)
*''The Silent Game'' (Top Notch Records, 2001)
*''Hold Your Breath, You Know How Long'' (unreleased, 2002)
*''Bayside/Name Taken''
split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
(Dying Wish Records, 2003)
*''
Hold On
Hold On may refer to:
Music Albums and EPs
* ''Hold On!'' (album), by Herman's Hermits, 1966
* ''Hold On'' (Trapeze album), or the title song, 1978
* ''Hold On'' (High Inergy album), 1980
* ''Hold On'' (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album), 1987
* ...
'' (
Fiddler Records
Fiddler Records was a small independent record label serving as the launch pad for several artists seminal to the pop, punk and emo genres. Starting as the brainchild of 16-year-old entrepreneur Amy Fleisher Madden in 1996, the label became well ...
, 2004)
*''Blood and Bones'' (Single) (Independent, 2018)
References
{{Authority control
American emo musical groups
Musical groups established in 2000
Pop punk groups from California
Musical groups from Orange County, California