Brian Fallon | |
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 Brian Fallon performing solo at Cambridge, UK, 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brian Michael Fallon |
| Born | (1980-01-28)January 28, 1980 (age 45) Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Origin | New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
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| Member of | The Gaslight Anthem |
| Formerly of |
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Brian Michael Fallon (born January 28, 1980) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main lyricist of the rock bandthe Gaslight Anthem, with whom he has recorded six studio albums. He was also a member of the duothe Horrible Crowes, alongside the Gaslight Anthem's guitar technician and touring guitarist Ian Perkins. Since 2016, Fallon has released four solo albums and oneEP.
Fallon was born inRed Bank, New Jersey, in 1980. His mother Debbie was in a folk band in the late 1960s called 'The Group Folk Singers'. Fallon spent his teen years inHackettstown, New Jersey, where he became close friends with Tom "Tommy Gunn" DuHamel of the band Communication Redlight.[2] Fallon attendedHackettstown High School.[3]
When Fallon was 17, he released a cassette under the stage name 'No Release'. He also once wanted to start a small record label to be called 'Old 45 Records'.[4]
At the age of 17, Fallon released a cassette titledThe Coffeehouse Sessions under the name No Release. It was released under Mean Little Man Productions. There are only about 200 copies of the limited release demo. There are 16 tracks on the demo which featured Chris Eissing as lead guitar on a few tracks.
With the band Amping Copper, which has been called "basically...Surrogate McKenzie version 2", Fallon was involved with the recording of the 6-track self-titled CD,Amping Copper, in 2001.
After Amping Copper, Fallon wanted to record a solo EP while maintaining the band feel. He asked a friend, Casey Lee Morgan, from the bandLanemeyer to play drums. Another friend, Mike Hemberger, played bass and produced the EP. One of Fallon's old guitar teachers, Tim Fogarty, played guitar on two tracks. Together they recordedThe American Music EP in 2004, which featured Fallon's mother on backing vocals.[4]
In 2004, Fallon, along with Michael Volpe, Chris Clementi and Mike Leboeuf, founded This Charming Man. Fallon and Volpe remained the only original members when Benny Horowitz and Alex Levine joined in late 2005. In early 2006, Volpe decided to leave the band andAlex Rosamilia was brought on board, thus bringing together the future line-up ofthe Gaslight Anthem.
This Charming Man's only full release wasEvery Little Secret in 2005, with the original lineup. Another song by the original band called "She Coulda Raised the Titanic" later became "1930" on the Gaslight Anthem's album,Sink or Swim.
Fallon has been the prominent song writer and vocalist for the Gaslight Anthem since their transition from This Charming Man. With the band he has recorded six studio albums,Sink or Swim,The '59 Sound,American Slang,Handwritten,Get Hurt andHistory Books. In 2009, he joinedBruce Springsteen on stage for the headlining set at theHard Rock Calling Festival, performing the song "No Surrender". On July 29, 2015, the band announced an indefinite hiatus after their European summer tour, which ended with an appearance at Reading Festival on August 30.[5]
Fallon said of the band, "People will always say, 'why are you doing a solo record?' And I'm like, 'because I don't have anything to say with Gaslight'. Those five records, that's what you got. That's the piece. I feel it's a lot like The Replacements. There's no new music because that's all Paul [Westerberg] and the band has to say. When the book is over, it's over. And I have like… four-and-a-half records I'm really proud of."[6]
The Gaslight Anthem reunited on March 25, 2022, with Fallon posting: "I am very pleased to announce to you all that The Gaslight Anthem is returning to full time status as a band. We’ll be announcing a lot of tour dates in the next couple of days. We’re also beginning to write new songs for what will be our sixth LP. We’re very much looking forward to the future and seeing you all again. We want to thank you for staying with us. Stay tuned!"[7][8]
After the band's tour throughout 2022,[9] Fallon's first new music with the band in nine years, Positive Charge was released on April 28, 2023,[10] followed by the announcement of the band's first studio album in nine yearsHistory Books, slated for release on October 27, 2023.[11]
On January 20, 2011, Fallon announced on his blog that he had formed the groupthe Horrible Crowes with his guitar tech, Ian Perkins.[12]
The first single, "Behold the Hurricane", was made available for streaming throughRollingStone.comArchived June 21, 2018, at theWayback Machine on July 13, 2011.[13] On September 1,Rolling Stone streamed the album in its entirety. On September 20, the video for "Behold The Hurricane" was uploaded to the Horrible Crowes' website.[14]
Their debut album,Elsie, was released on September 6, 2011, in the US.
Molly and the Zombies is an Americana/folk group that was formed in 2013 by Fallon with guitarist andPlow United frontman Brian McGee, formerRyan Adams and the Cardinals bassistCatherine Popper, andScissor Sisters drummer Randy Schrager.[15] The band performed their first show in December 2013 inAsbury Park,New Jersey, opening for theBouncing Souls atthe Stone Pony. According to Fallon, there is no record deal and there will be no album. He also said all of the band's music, which he wrote and didn't feel like using for the Gaslight Anthem, was inspired byBob Dylan'sHighway 61 Revisited album. The band's name comes partially from theRoky Erickson song "I Walked With a Zombie" and a 1943 horror movie.[16]
Molly and the Zombies performed atThe Bell House inBrooklyn, New York, on June 5, 2014, with Jared Hart of the Scandals andDave Hause as opening acts. They released 5 songs for free online: "Long Drives", "Lucky", "Red Lights", "Sketchy", and "Smoke".[17]
Fallon released his first solo album,Painkillers, on March 11, 2016. He toured in support of the album with his backing band the Horrible Crowes. On April 16, 2016, Fallon released a three-song EP entitledGeorgia. The EP was aRecord Store Day 2016 exclusive limited to 2,000 pressings on 10"vinyl. Fallon's second album,Sleepwalkers, was released on February 9, 2018. He toured in support of this album during 2018.
Local Honey, Fallon's third album, was released on March 27, 2020. Fallon's fourth album,Night Divine, was released on November 5, 2021. The album consists of Fallon's recordings of classicHymns andChristmas carols.[18]
The song "You Have Stolen My Heart" offLocal Honey was featured in the 2023 feature filmScream VI, along withBillie Eilish,Demi Lovato andNick Cave & The Bad Seeds.[19]
Brian Fallon is a Christian, but he avoids using references to his faith in The Gaslight Anthem's music, although religious themes are heavily present in his solo work. As he stated in an interview with spinner.com referring to the Gaslight Anthem's 2010 albumAmerican Slang, "There are no religious songs and there never would be because the four of us, we all have different views, completely different religions...I'm very cautious not to push that on the band."[20]
Much of the lyrics on the Gaslight Anthem's 2014 album,Get Hurt were inspired by his divorce. Fallon said “Sometimes, I don’t even know how it happened. I don’t even know how it got like this. All I know is that it did. And I now have to figure out: What do I do now?"[21][22] Fallon has since remarried and welcomed his second child.[23]
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