The Maine

The Maine is an American rock band from Tempe, Arizona, currently signed to Warner Bros. Records. Formed in 2007, the band consists of 5 members: John O'Callaghan, lead vocals; Kennedy Brock, rhythm guitar and backup vocals; Jared Monaco, lead guitar; Garrett Nickelsen, bass; and Pat Kirch, drummer. They have released 2 full length albums, Can't Stop, Won't Stop in 2008 and Black & White in 2010.The Maine was started by bassist Garrett Nickelsen and drummer Pat Kirch in 2007. The band's name originates from the song "Coast of Maine" by Ivory. The band's current manager (and Pat's older brother) Tim Kirch heard that his friend John O'Callaghan could sing and told him to audition for the band. He joined soon after, along with former members Ryan Osterman and Alex Ross. Together they released the EP Stay Up, Get Down. Shortly thereafter Ryan and Alex left for unknown reasons, but were replaced with Kennedy Brock and Jared Monaco. The Maine signed to Fearless Records and on December 11, 2007 made their debut with a five song EP called The Way We Talk, produced by Matt Grabe.[1] Their first full-length album, Can't Stop, Won't Stop, was produced by Matt Squire[2] and was released in the summer of 2008, just before the band toured with Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls. Their next release was a holiday EP in December 2008 titled ...And A Happy New Year, produced by Matt Grabe.[3] The EP included three new original tracks and a cover of the Wham! song "Last Christmas". In 2009, the band signed to Warner Bros. Records. In July 2009, a deluxe version of their debut album, Can't Stop, Won't Stop, along with a digital documentary called In Person was released and the band performed on the Vans Warped Tour. In December 2009, The Maine released This Is Real Life, their first published book. It consists of written memoirs from the band as well as exclusive photography by Dirk Mai. On July 13, 2010, The Maine released their second full-length album, Black & White, produced by Howard Benson.[4] In November 2010, while on the Harmony tour with Never Shout Never, The Maine and NSN had fans gather canned foods to help those in need. As a 'thank you' gift, both acts released a split EP titled Split - EP. On December 27, 2010, The Maine released the LP "In Darkness and in Light Box Set" on iTunes.

Aside from recording music, The Maine has other projects they work on for their fans. They have released two books—This Is Real Life and Black & White Keepsake Book. This Is Real Life is compiled of photos taken by friend Dirk Mai and journal entries written by the band members during the 2009 Vans Warped Tour. The Black & White Keepsake Book also consists of photos and journals from the band members. John recently collaborated with Dirk Mai to create Exaltation, a book containing 15 poems written by O'Callaghan and 15 accompanying photographs from Mai.

The Maine is very fan-focused, and they often stay after shows to meet their fans. They take part in many video chat sessions such as "24 Hours with The Maine", which was a livestream event that took place on the release day of their second album, Black and White. They also keep fans updated with videos posted to their YouTube channel.

They have played in many tours including Warped Tour and The Bamboozle Roadshow. They went on their first headlining tour in 2010, An Evening with The Maine. In October 2010 they joined the Harmony tour with Never Shout Never. In February 2011 they started an international tour that began in the Philippines. From there they went to Australia and performed at Soundwave. They re-joined Never Shout Never for a European tour ending in the U.K.. As of April 2011, the band is set to co-headline a U.S. tour with Augustana running from May to June.