Justincase was an American

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

- pop

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

from

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, best known for their 2002 single "Don't Cry for Us", which was co-written by

Michelle Branch Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums: '' The Spirit Room'' and '' Hotel Paper.'' She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop C ...

, who was one of the band's early champions. Consisting of teen siblings Hannah, Justin, and Nick Tosco, the band was signed to

Maverick Records Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Madonna, Frederick DeMann, and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev, and formerly owned and operated by Warner Music Group. It included a record label (Maverick Records), a film production ...

. Justin was lead vocalist and guitarist as well as principal songwriter. Nick played drums, and Hannah was on bass.

History

Band members Justin (the oldest, born 1983), Nick, and Hannah (the youngest) Tosco grew up in a musical household. Their father, John, worked in the

music scene and also taught guitar, while their mother, Holly Tosco, worked as a piano teacher. Justin was five years old when he wrote his first song, which was about baseball. The trio began playing gigs together before all were in junior high school.Holt, Brittany (November 4, 2002). "Charlotte siblings' band staying busy these days", ''

Winston-Salem Journal The ''Winston-Salem Journal'' is an American, English language daily newspaper primarily serving Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina. It also covers Northwestern North Carolina. The paper is owned by Lee Enterprises. ''The Journa ...

''. Their first concert was at their middle school's talent show in 1998. The Toscos met

before her debut on Maverick Records and became friends over the Internet before meeting in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

for a music convention in 2000. Justincase was signed to

in late 2001 with the help of Branch. The band released its

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut album on October 29, 2002. The album included several collaborations with Michelle Branch, including the lead single, "Don't Cry for Us". Michelle Branch promoted the album on MTV's

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

.Menconi, David (March 1, 2003). "North Carolina boasts a host of artists, labels and studios that have gained national attention and hope to attract more", '' Billboard'' 115 (9): 17–18. Other media appearances included the radio show ''

Open House Party ''Open House Party'' (often referred to as "OHP") is an American radio show hosted by Kannon (Saturday) and Joe Breezy (Sunday), branded as "The Biggest Party on the Planet!", playing contemporary hit music. From its inception in September 1987, ...

'' and

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

's TV show ''

All That ''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Michael Tollin, Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by ...

''. After their first

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was shown on MTV,

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

agreed to sponsor a short tour to further promote the album. The band played several solo shows, and also opened for Nick Carter on his ''Backstreet Boy'' tour.Amorim, Kevin (February 24, 2003). "'Street' scene gets tough: As a solo act, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter wants to rock", '' Newsday'', p. B5. '' Billboard'' writer David Menconi called Justincase an "act to watch," describing the group as "three clean-cut teenage siblings" whose music is "steeped in classic-rock verities." '' Newsday'' critic Kevin Amorim called the band's music "rootsy feel-good

Hooters Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with ...

-esque rock (hey, at least it wasn't emo)." Guitar-maker

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...

published a series of ads featuring the band. Despite heavy promotion, the album lagged commercially. Lackluster sales numbers caused Maverick to drop the band in 2003,(August 23, 2003). "Don't Cry for Them: Label drops Charlotte's justincase, group recorded one album and a video but sales not strong enough", ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

''
Convenience link
and they have been unable to secure another recording contract. The band is on a self-described "indefinite hiatus" while its members attend college and play the occasional local show. Lead singer Justin Tosco is also performing with Policy, another local band.

Justincase (album)

''Justincase'' is the band's self-titled debut studio album.

Track listing

All songs were written by Justin Tosco, except where noted. # "What I Wouldn't Do" – 3:57 # "Don't Cry For Us" (Justin Tosco,

John Shanks John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist. Early life and education John Matthew Shanks was born in New York City. Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 years old. He was in a ban ...

) – 3:42 # "I'm There" – 4:11 # "Tell Me (What I Mean To You)" (J. Tosco,

Dave Bassett David Thomas Bassett (born 4 September 1944 in Stanmore) is an English football manager and a former player. During his career he has managed Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Leicester City a ...

) – 4:01 # "Letter" (J. Tosco,

Greg Wells Greg Wells is a Canadian musician, record producer, songwriter and audio engineer. Wells has songs on over 130 million albums sold. He has worked with John Legend, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ariana Grande, Jazmine Sullivan, Kid Cudi, Adele, Rufus Wai ...

) - 3:33 # "Without You (Feat. Michelle Branch)" (J. Tosco, Shanks) – 3:59 # "Inside Your Mind" (J. Tosco, Bassett) – 3:30 # "It Was Something" – 3:58 # "Constellation" – 3:15 # "9:14" – 3:12 # "The Best That I Could Do" – 3:32

Personnel

* Justin Tosco – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards * Hannah Tosco - bass * Nick Tosco – drums, percussion, backing vocals * Michelle Branch - additional vocals on track 6 * Rick Seamster - additional guitar on tracks 8, 10, and 11; harmony on track 8 * Jason Adkins - hammond b-3 on track 11 * Roger Manning - synthesizer on tracks 4 and 7; hammond b-3 on track 4 * Dave Bassett - additional guitar and backing vocals on tracks 4 and 7 * John Shanks - additional guitars and programming on tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, and 9 * Patrick Warren - additional keyboards on tracks 1, 2, and 3

References

{{Authority control American pop music groups Family musical groups Musical groups established in 1998 2002 albums Maverick Records albums Albums produced by John Shanks Albums produced by Greg Wells