Jimmy Eat World biography
Jimmy Eat World is an American alternative rock band from Mesa, Arizona, that formed in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind.
Jimmy Eat World has released seven studio albums, the last six featuring the current lineup. The band originally formed with a punk rock sound, first releasing a demo tape in 1993, followed by their first EP in 1994, titled One, Two, Three, Four. Their debut self-titled album (1994) was released with current guitarist Linton singing most of the lead vocals on the album. Jimmy Eat World released both their second and third albums through Capitol Records, with Static Prevails (1996) featuring their first single "Rockstar". The critically acclaimed Clarity (1999) contained the single "Lucky Denver Mint", which was featured in the film Never Been Kissed and went on to garner a cult following.
The four piece's commercial breakthrough came with the successful release of several singles from the album Bleed American (2001). Four singles from the album charted within the top 20 of the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, with "The Middle" reaching number one. Jimmy Eat World followed up with Futures (2004), featuring another Modern Rock Tracks number one, "Pain". The RIAA certified Bleed American platinum and Futures gold, rewarding the two albums for selling over one and a half million records between them. The band's sixth album, Chase This Light (2007), became the band's highest charting album, peaking at number five on the Billboard 200. Invented, the follow up to Chase This Light, was released on September 28, 2010 on Interscope Records.
History
Formation and name
Jimmy Eat World formed in Mesa, Arizona in 1993. Singer/guitarist Jim Adkins and drummer Zach Lind, who had been friends since preschool, joined with guitarist Tom Linton and bass player Mitch Porter to try their hand at music. In its early years, Jimmy Eat World was a punk rock band, with Linton serving as their primary singer. Within the span of a couple of years, the band recorded and released three singles and a full-length on local label Wooden Blue Records.
Contrary to popular belief, the band name acronym (JEW) is not a reference to the band's religious beliefs, nor to member Jim Adkins. The band's name came from a crayon drawing made after an incident between Linton's younger brothers, Jim and Ed, who fought frequently. Jim usually won, but Ed sought revenge by drawing a picture of Jim shoving the Earth into his mouth; the picture bore the caption "Jimmy eat world".
Eventually, spurred by bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate, the band began to experiment with emocore. As they began writing songs and touring in the indie scene, the band encountered like-minded bands such as Christie Front Drive, Sense Field, and Seven Storey Mountain working on similar sounds.
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