The opportunity to make it in the music industry doesn’t happen that often for most musicians, especially twice, which was the case for Philadelphia native Anthony Green who had made it almost to the big time when moving to California in 2003 to start a project with a group of guys who flew across the country to offer him the job. The band was called Saosin and named by Anthony Green for his obsession with the Chinese proverb that means “to keep a small heart”. Things were going well and after only one EP and countless touring the band had most major labels knocking down their door for contracts but still Anthony Green felt sick to his stomach about everything. He wasn’t sure of being in a band that only played Screamo music, he wasn’t sure of living the rest of his life away from his loved ones on the East Coast, he wasn’t sure he was old enough to make these mature decisions so he did what his only instinct told him to do, he ran. He conveinently booked some dental work back home outside of Philly and called the next day to tell his bandmates he wouldn’t be coming back and with probably much right to do so told him to “fuck off”. Confused and not sure of what to do next he met up with high school buddy Colin Frangicetto who had recently been in a band called This Day Forward which disbanded. They talked about starting their own band and small talk of what they would do on the short early morning drive home from the airport where Green had gotten picked up. To spark their new idea and in essence with what they agreed upon they appropriately wrote a song called “Handshakes At Sunrise” and Circa Survive was born. Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes of the dead and living stronger then ever, that’s the kind of story that happened to Anthony Green and allowed him the second chance but this time to do what he wanted.
Saosin had quickly replaced Green with a worthy predecessor in Cove Reber and Green had recently gotten together a group of people through mutual friends to start him and Colin’s new project called Circa Survive. This time Green wanted what Colin wanted a band with a sound that was still in the Alternative/Punk genre but not following the Screamo scene and using more technical guitar work and psychedelic effects to incorporate their sound. Since This Day Forward had been on Equal Vision both Frangicetto and recruited guitarist from This Day Forward Brendan Eckstrom had obvious contacts with the label. The label immediately signed the band for 1 EP and 2 Full lengths after hearing the quickly recorded “Handshakes At Sunrise” and the band entered the studio to release their first EP entitled The Inuit Sessions. The album featured two originals and two demos that would later be released on their full length Juturna which is the Greek goddess of “New Beginnings.” The album received much acclaim in the alternative music world but not much respect from the big guns in Rolling Stone and Spin magazine but did get rid of the Emo label that Green was hoping for and their music was called Progressive Punk and Experimental Rock by much of the critics. The only thing Green had said about Circa Survive after their first release was he hoped people didn’t think they sucked and after gaining ground in the scene Green became the Lil Wayne of the alt rock world by appearing on over 10 albums as a special guest vocalist and by being the head vocalist for the progressive rock band The Sound of Animals Fighting which consists of Green and members of Rx Bandits and Finch. The band is considered much like The Mars Volta and for the first two albums didn’t reveal their identities and were labeled after animals for the credits in the album, Green had chosen the name The Skunk.
With a much anticipated second release Circa Survive released On Letting Go an album very similar to Juturna but a little more complex musically and Green at this point had really come into his own vocally with most critics admiring his orginality and “unimitatable voice.” The band quickly growing in popularity and now starting to sell out small venues as opposed to small bars like the Stone Pony, it was almost inevitable that Green would finally put out some of his own solo work to be heard for the first time. His self produced debut album Avalon was released in 2008 and was named after the small New Jersey beach town his summer house was in. The album contained many of his folk type songs such as “She Loves Me So”, “Slowing Down” and “Miracle Sun” which most are either love songs or hippie barefoot feet in the sand type beach folk. With Green getting a nod from Spin Magazine after his release and headlining a SXSW solo show it was safe to say him and his band had made the big time.
Shortly after Green had finished supporting his solo material, Circa Survive quickly entered the studio for an extremely long time compared to most other albums and took about 6 months to finish recording apparantly their completely grown up and maturist album to date. In between those recording months the band had signed with Atlantic Records under the agreement they could have complete control in the studio and keep their traditional trademarks. The band did just that by asking Esao Andrews to do their album cover art for the third time and by uping the juice on their trippy psychedelic sound. The evidence being in their hard hitting single “Get Out” for their upcoming album Blue Sky Noise which hasn’t even hit stores yet and Spin Magazine has already had them as an artist to watch out for this year. Whether you like the band or not or can think of Green’s vocal style as beautiful instead of nails on a charkboard then you should really wait for this album to come out because it’s probably going to be their finest and best record to date. I have been lucky to meet Green and the rest of the band a few times over the years and couldn’t be happier for a great group of guys who do nothing but good for their fans. Green has probably one of the most impressive stage presences I have ever seen and Circa’s live show is nothing to mess with as they have been known to throw a party while they play. By party I mean kicking out dozens of glow in the dark beach balls during a jam out and shooting confetti in the air at the opening of a song. A lot has gone well for Green since his departure from Saosin and it’s a good thing it did because they have easily become one of my favorite bands over the years. Check out his solo stuff below.
