The Downtown Fiction 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 Wale ...

band from Fairfax,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The

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, ...

consisted of

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

and

lead vocalist 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 ...

Cameron Leahy,

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

and

backing vocalist 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 u ...

David Pavluk, guitarist and backing vocalist Wes Dimond, and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

Kyle Rodgers.

Music career

Lead singer/guitarist/primary

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

Cameron Leahy met former drummer Eric Jones at Westfield High School, where they became friends. They had a mutual interest in music, and formed The Downtown Fiction in the summer of 2008. They began to post demos on the band's

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

page, where their fan base initialized. Needing a bassist, Cameron and Eric added David Pavluk to the band, who also is responsible for background vocals. "The Downtown Fiction" is inspired by the cult-classic

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

'', a favorite of the band. They also added Wes Dimond, who is now a 5th grade teacher. The Downtown Fiction toured for a year, and were soon signed to

Photo Finish Records Photo Finish Records is an American independent record label founded by Matt Galle in 2006. Based in New York City, the label specializes in alternative rock, pop, and electronic artists. It was first distributed through Atlantic Records, t ...

, an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

based in New York. They toured on the

Bamboozle Road Show 2010 The Bamboozle Road Show 2010 was the third Bamboozle Road Show, an American nationwide concert tour based on the Bamboozle Festival. Each concert in the tour featured a main stage for well-known bands and a second stage for lesser known bands to p ...

and the

Warped Tour 2010 The Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the la ...

. The band was featured that year in the "100 Bands You Need To Know" issue of ''Alternative Press''. A self-titled EP by the band was released in March 2009, featuring a few of their rising hit songs, including "Is Anybody Out There?" and "Living Proof." This was succeeded by an additional EP a year later in March 2010, titled ''Best I Never Had''. Later a compilation was released, ''The Double E.P.'', incorporating all of their preceding EP's tracks, and a rough demo of "Keep On Moving." In late February 2011, the band began The Glamour Kills Tour which featured

The Ready Set Jordan Mark Witzigreuter (born November 14, 1989), known professionally as The Ready Set, is an American singer-songwriter and musician from Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. He is the lead vocalist and sole member of the act, using a backup b ...

as the headliner, along with

Allstar Weekend Allstar Weekend was an American pop rock band based in Poway, California. The band gained its popularity from MySpace and then the Disney Channel television network. The band consisted of lead singer Zachary "Zach" Porter, bassist Cameron Quis ...

, We Are The In Crowd, and briefly

Marianas Trench The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum known ...

. In August 2010, the band premiered their first music video for the single "I Just Wanna Run," which has become

RIAA Certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) operates an awards program based on the certified number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets.album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

was released. The Downtown Fiction also embarked on their first headlining nationwide tour with the same album name. The Let's Be Animals Tour featured Amely, Cady Groves, and

He Is We He Is We is an American indie pop act formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 2008 by singer Rachel Taylor and guitarist Trevor Kelly, with Taylor being the sole constant member. Career 2008–2011: Formation and early years Rachel Taylor and Trevo ...

. In Summer 2011, the band joined the Friday is Forever Tour with

We the Kings We the Kings is an American rock band formed in Bradenton, Florida, in 2005. The band's eponymous full-length debut album, released in 2007, included the platinum single " Check Yes Juliet", and went on to sell over 250,000 copies in the US. T ...

The Summer Set The Summer Set is an American pop rock band from Scottsdale, Arizona. The band consists of lead vocalist Brian Logan Dales, guitarist John Gomez, bass guitarist Stephen Gomez, and drummer Jess Bowen. The Summer Set was signed to The Militia Grou ...

Hot Chelle Rae Hot Chelle Rae ( ) (formerly known as Miracle Drug) is an American pop rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2005. Their debut album, '' Lovesick Electric'', was released on October 27, 2009. They gained widespread attention for their 201 ...

, and

Action Item Action Item is a four-piece pop rock band based out of Bergen County, New Jersey. History Action Item started off as a five-piece consisting of Cag, Li, Brozek, Buczkowski, and Politz. After self-releasing numerous songs via their Myspace page, ...

. On September 15, 2011, the band announced on their website that drummer Eric Jones was leaving the band to work in the industry side of music and live guitarist Wes Dimond would become an official band member. Later in December, the band announced Kyle Rodgers would become their new drummer. The Downtown Fiction released their fourth EP, ''Pineapple EP'', on December 20, 2011. On December 31, 2011, they opened for

and

The Romantics The Romantics are an American rock band formed in 1977 in Detroit, Michigan. The band's music is often categorized as power pop and new wave. They were influenced by 1950s American rock and roll, Detroit's MC5, the Stooges, early Bob Seger, Mo ...

at the HOTFM 2011-2012 HOT New Year's Eve Party in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. On August 5, 2012,

All Time Low All Time Low is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Towson, Maryland, in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson ...

announced their 'Rockshow at the End of the World' fall tour, with support from the Summer Set and The Downtown Fiction. The Downtown Fiction announced in April 2012 they had begun working on their

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

full-length effort in Los Angeles, CA. The band also toured

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

in September 2012. In September 2013, the band signed with Fearless Records. The video for their

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "Some Place On Earth," debuted December 18, 2013 on

VEVO Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

, which appeared later on their new record, "Losers and Kings", which was released on June 17, 2014. In the fall of 2014, The Downtown Fiction toured with fellow musicians Against the Current, The Ready Set, and Metro Station on "The Outsider's Tour." In the spring of 2015, the band accompanied Yellowcard & Finch on the Yellowcard 2015 Tour.

Recent

In late 2015,

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

announced the band's single, "I Just Wanna Run" had received Gold

RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) operates an awards program based on the certified number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets.music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Let's Fade Away" on

, the first

off their latest album, ''Alligator Tears''—released February 26, 2016.

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

.com premiered the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the second

off ''Alligator Tears'', "Hepburn Shades", on May 7, 2016, featuring actress

Matilda Lutz Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz (born 28 January 1992) is an Italian actress and model. She starred in the 2017 horror film '' Rings'' and action thriller film ''Revenge''. She also appeared in the Netflix series '' Medici - The Magnificent, Part 1'' ...

and directed by Remii Huang.

Members

Final lineup

* Cameron Leahy – lead vocals, guitar (2008–2016) * David Pavluk – bass, backing vocals (2008–2016) * Wes Dimond – lead guitar, backing vocals (2011–2016) * Kyle Rodgers – drums (2011–2016)

Past members

* Devin Cooper – bass (2008) * Alan Scarpa – rhythm guitar (2008–2010; touring member) * Eric Jones – drums (2008–2011)

Appearances in media

*They were featured in the "100 Bands You Need To Know" issue of ''Alternative Press''. *"I Just Wanna Run" is on the Hopeless RecordsSub city compilation album, ''Take Action! Volume 9''. *The band's cover of

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

's "

Super Bass "Super Bass" is a song by Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj from the deluxe version of her debut studio album, ''Pink Friday'' (2010). It was sent to American rhythmic radio stations as the album's fifth single on April 5, 2011. The song was writ ...

" appeared on 2011's '' Punk Goes Pop 4''.

Discography

''The Downtown Fiction'' (EP) (2009)

# Your Voice # Is Anybody Out There # Hold My Breath # When You're Around # No Typical Thursday Night # Living Proof # Living Proof (Acoustic Version) # Forgot It Was Christmas # Keep Moving (Rough Demo)

''Best I Never Had'' (EP) (2010)

# Best I Never Had # Oceans Between Us # I Just Wanna Run # Take Me Home # You Were Wrong # Where Dreams Go to Die

''The Double EP'' (2010)

# Best I Never Had # Oceans Between Us # I Just Wanna Run # Take Me Home # You Were Wrong # Where Dreams Go to Die # Your Voice # Is Anybody Out There # Hold My Breath # When You're Around # No Typical Thursday Night # Living Proof # Living Proof (Acoustic Version) # Forgot It Was Christmas # Keep Moving (Rough Demo)

''Let's Be Animals'' (2011)

# Thanks For Nothing # Freak # Stoned # I Just Wanna Run # She Knows # Let's Be Animals # Wake Up # Medicine For You (bonus track) # Alibi # Tell Me a Lie # Losing My Mind (bonus track) # Sierra (bonus track) # A Wonderful Surprise # Hurt Me So Good (bonus track)

''Pineapple'' (EP) (2011)

# Out in the Streets # Get It Right # Happy (Without You) # Feeling Better # Circles

''Losers & Kings'' (2014)

# Some Place on Earth # Hope I Die on a Saturday Night # Don't Count Me Out # Kiss My Friends # Santa Cruz # No Generation # Cool Kids # So-Called Life # Big Mistakes # Right Where We Left Off # Sometimes # Know My Name (Japan bonus track)

''Alligator Tears'' (EP) (2016)

# Let's Fade Away # Dream Within A Dream # Van Gogh Colors # Is This The End # Hepburn Shades

References

External links

Official Myspace
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Downtown Fiction American pop rock music groups American pop punk groups Photo Finish Records artists Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups from Virginia People from Fairfax, Virginia Musicians from Fairfax County, Virginia Fearless Records artists