To My Surprise was an American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band formed in 2002 in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. They are referred to as a side project of

Shawn Crahan Michael Shawn Crahan (born September 24, 1969), more commonly known by his stage persona "Clown", is an American musician. He is the co-founder and one of two percussionists for heavy metal band Slipknot in which he is designated #6. Crahan he ...

, a member/founder of heavy metal band Slipknot. In 2003 they released their debut album '' To My Surprise'', however after losing frontman Brandon Darner in 2004 they parted ways with their record label. 2005 saw four new members join the band to begin work on a second album and in 2006 they began performing shows in the US. However, shortly after To My Surprise canceled several upcoming appearances and disbanded without releasing a second album.

History

In June 2002,

, Brandon Darner and Steven Robinson began working on an album together. During an interview with MTV in 2003 Crahan explained; "I've been keeping in touch with the music side of myself," and that To My Surprise is "a movement towards understanding imselfand who

e is E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plur ...

" Two songs that Crahan and Darner wrote in 2002 were sent to producer

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

, without the intent of working with him. However, Rubin invited the band to Cello Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

to work on an album. On October 7, 2003, the band released their debut album '' To My Surprise'' through Roadrunner Records. A music video for the track "In The Mood" premiered on MTV's Extreme show on December 1. In 2004 "Get It To Go" featured on the soundtrack for the video game ''

MVP Baseball 2004 ''MVP Baseball'' was a baseball game series published by EA Sports, running from 2003 to 2007 with five games produced. In 2003, ''MVP'' became the official successor to EA's long-running ''Triple Play Baseball'' series, and it simulated Major L ...

''. Also in 2004, Crahan began working with Slipknot again in preparation of the release of their

third album ''Third Album'' is the third studio album released by the Jackson 5 on Motown Records, and the group's second LP released in 1970, on September 18. ''Third Album'' featured the group's fourth consecutive No. 1 single on the US pop charts, " I' ...

. At this time vocalist Darner was—as Crahan describes it—"at an age where he was ready to start his career" but Crahan had other commitments with Slipknot and Darner decided to leave To My Surprise. Shortly after this, with only releasing one album by the band, Roadrunner Records parted ways with To My Surprise. In 2005—after Slipknot had finished touring—Crahan and Robinson got back together to work on new material, enlisting the help of Dorothy Hecht, Jarrod Brom, Paul Thompson, Wade Thompson and Patrick McBride making the band twice its original size. The band were working on a second album which they planned to release through Crahan's own label Big Orange Clown Records. In 2006 it was announced that the band would release a limited edition 7" record, however the band began performing shows and this brought a halt to work in the studio. Most notably To My Surprise performed at South by Southwest, which Crahan described as "a dream come true". Prior to their performance at South by Southwest a track entitled "Jump The Gun" was released online as part of an

e-card E-card is an electronic postcard or greeting card, with the primary difference being that it is created using digital media instead of paper or other traditional materials. E-cards are made available many different ways, usually on various Intern ...

. They also planned to perform at festivals in Europe and tour the US, however the band canceled their appearances at European festivals and parted ways. Crahan said that the reason the band "died" was because it was unrealistic for him to be in this band and make it work and that "Slipknot made it impossible".

Musical style

To My Surprise found its name from people's reaction to their music, primarily based on peoples prejudice based on Crahan's most notable band Slipknot's musical style. Crahan went as far as saying "I'd have to put a gun in my mouth if it was metal," because he's already in "the best metal band in the world". Their musical style has been noted to include;

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

, new wave, pop, country rock,

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 mainstream or commerci ...

and disco. They have been compared to Cake,

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

, Faith No More,

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...

, Syd Barrett,

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

Hater Hater or Haters may refer to: Books * ''Hater'', 2006 novel by David Moody * ''Haters'' (novel), a 2006 novel by author Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez Film and TV * '' H8R'', a 2011 American reality television show on the CW * ''The Haters'' (2015 fi ...

, The Presidents of the United States of America and

Harvey Danger Harvey Danger was an American alternative rock band that was formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1992 by journalism students at the University of Washington. The band rose to prominence in 1997 with the single " Flagpole Sitta", which was later u ...

, among others.

Band members

* Dorothy Hecht – vocals, keyboards (2005–2006) * Jarrod Brom – guitars, keyboards (2005–2006) * Paul Thompson – guitars, vocals (2005–2006) * Wade Thompson – bass, vocals (2005–2006) *

– guitars, vocals, drums (2002–2006) * Stevan Robinson – guitars, vocals (2002–2006) * Brandon Darner – guitars, vocals (2002–2004) * Patrick McBride – vocals (2005–2006)

Discography

* '' To My Surprise'' (2003)

References

External links

Official MySpace profile
* {{Authority control Alternative rock groups from Iowa Musical groups from Des Moines, Iowa Musical groups established in 2002 2002 establishments in Iowa Slipknot (band) Roadrunner Records artists