The Ready Set

Jordan Mark Witzigreuter (born November 14, 1989), better known by his stage name The Ready Set is an American musician.The Ready Set was formed on November 17, 2007. Jordan Witzigreuter is the vocalist and usually thought of as the only member in The Ready Set; he has stated that he adopted the name because he figured his last name would be too difficult for most people to pronounce. Jordan was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 14, 1989. He has one brother, Jason Witzigreuter a high school band director, and one sister, Mandy Witzigreuter-Venturini. He resides in Fort Wayne when he is not on tour or recording in LA.

Jordan started playing the drums at age 11. When he first started writing his lyrics, Jordan was part of an acoustic duo, Brideandgroom. However the other member, Victor Alvarado, decided to pursue the culinary arts in Chicago, before eventually moving west to San Francisco where he now works at Hapa Ramen, and that eventually led to the formation of The Ready Set.[1]

Before forming The Ready Set, Witzigreuter played drums in several bands. One being a hardcore-ska band, Take Sides, and the other being the hardcore band Saints Never Surrender, who he spent a summer on tour with.[2] He was also a vocalist in the band Brideandgroom. Jordan writes and records his own music and he uses a backup band while on tour. Before he was signed to Pete Wentz's record label, he would record in his parents' basement in Fort Wayne. The project began to gain popularity online and on the tours in which Jordan participated, and he soon had an extensive fanbase.[3]

Pete Wentz, known for his work with rock band Fall Out Boy, signed The Ready Set to his label Decaydance Records on November 24, 2009.[4][5] Wentz then helped Jordan release his first studio album, called I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming.

Witzigreuter's work has been gaining in popularity due to his exposure from Wentz and various appearances on MTV. Jordan has been featured as the MTV "Push" artist of the week and "Posted" artist of the month, he was one of the acts on the "MTV VMA Tour," he has appeared on MTV's "Ten on Top" three times, and he recently Tweeted that he was filming an episode of the MTV show "Silent Library". It is set to be released that it will premiere March 31, 2011. He also played his new single "Young Forever" on radionow1009 in Indiana, then again on the first night of the Glamour Kills Tour.a


Members

Jordan Witzigreuter

Brand New

Brand New is an American rock band from Long Island, New York.[1] Formed in 2000, the band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Jesse Lacey, guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Vincent Accardi, bassist Garrett Tierney, drummer Brian Lane, and guitarist/keyboardist Derrick Sherman.[2]

In the late 1990s, Jesse Lacey, Garrett Tierney, and Brian Lane were all members of the band The Rookie Lot. They eventually split off from the other members of the group, and in 2000 formed Brand New in Merrick, New York.[2] The band signed to Triple Crown Records and in 2001 released their debut studio album, Your Favorite Weapon. Their second album, Deja Entendu, was released in 2003 and marked a stylistic change for the band.[3] The album's first two singles, "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" and "Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades", both received airplay on MTV2 and Fuse TV, entering the top 40 on the United Kingdom Singles Chart. Deja Entendu was eventually certified gold in the United States.


Brand New moved to Interscope Records and released The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me in 2006. "Jesus Christ" became their highest charting single in the US, peaking at number 30 on the Alternative Songs chart. In March 2008, the band started their own record label, named Procrastinate! Music Traitors. Their fourth album, Daisy, was released in 2009 and became their highest charting album in the US, reaching number six on the Billboard 200.

 Prior to Brand New's official formation, in the late 1990s Jesse Lacey, Garrett Tierney, Brian Lane were all members of the post-hardcore band The Rookie Lot, along with Brandon Reilly and Alex Dunne of Crime in Stereo.[4] After the band's split and not playing together for a while, Lacey, Lane and Tierney started to rehearse again. They then recruited guitarist Vincent Accardi, who had been playing in a band called One Last Goodbye, since Reilly had joined The Movielife.[2][4]

All four members had backgrounds linking into their local Long Island independent and hardcore music scenes, but with influences from an array of artists ranging from Buddy Rich to the Archers of Loaf. They eventually formed Brand New in 2000, in a basement in Merrick, New York. Their initial intention was always to "move outside of whatever notions they felt inclined to when they were making music as younger people."[2] The band gained exposure in the local scene through playing shows with alternative rock contemporaries Midtown and post-hardcore bands like Glassjaw, whilst also self-releasing a four-song demo.[5][4] They signed to Triple Crown Records just after their second-ever show.


Members

Jesse Lacey
Garrett Tierney
Brian Lane
Vincent Accardi
Derrick Sherman

Godsmack

Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its formation, Godsmack has released five studio albums, one EP, four DVDs, and one greatest hits collection.

The band has had three consecutive number one albums (Faceless, IV, and The Oracle) on the Billboard 200. The band also has parked a ratified 19 top ten rock radio hits, including 15 songs in the Top Five, a record amount of top ten singles by a rock artist.[1]

Since its inception, Godsmack has toured on Ozzfest on more than one occasion, and has toured with many other large tours and festivals, including supporting its albums with its own arena tours. Godsmack have sold over 17 million records in just over a decade, yet despite the decline of album sales in recent years, they have proven to be one of the highest-grossing artists in the United States.
In February 1995, Sully Erna decided to start a new band as the lead singer after playing the drums for more than 23 years, including more than two years in the now-defunct band Strip Mind.[3] His new band, The Scam, formed with Erna on vocals, Robbie Merrill on bass, local guitarist and friend Lee Richards on guitar, and Tommy Stewart on drums. The Scam quickly changed its name to Godsmack, after recording one demo.[4] The newly formed band started playing small bars in their hometown of Boston, Mass. Locally popular songs such as "Keep Away" and "Whatever" soon brought them to the top of the hit charts in the Boston/New England area.[3]

The band's name, according to Merrill in the Smack This! DVD, was taken from the Alice in Chains' song "God Smack". However, Erna stated in a 1999 interview, "I was making fun of somebody who had a cold sore on his lip and the next day I had one myself and somebody said, It looks like God just smacked you in the face for making fun. The name stuck and they went by Godsmack from then on. We were aware of the Alice in Chains song but didn't really think much about it. It's a cool song and the name had meaning for us."[5]

In 1996, Tony Rombola and Joe D'Arco joined Godsmack as the guitarist and drummer, after Richards had left upon learning he had a six-year-old child and Stewart had left due to personal differences.[6] In the same year, the band entered the studio for the first time, recording its first CD titled All Wound Up. The CD was recorded in just three days for $2,600.[3]

For the next two years, the band played throughout the Boston area. Eventually Godsmack's CD landed in the hands of Rocko, the night-time DJ for Boston radio station WAAF (FM). The radio station put "Keep Away" into heavy rotation and the song rose to the number one spot at the station very quickly.[3] Newbury Comics, a New England record store chain, agreed to sell the CD on consignment. Shortly after the success of "Keep Away", Godsmack went back into the studio and recorded a single titled "Whatever", which became the new local favorite on WAAF (FM).[3]

In an interview Sully Erna stated, "We had been selling maybe 50 copies a month at the time WAAF picked up the album. All of a sudden we started moving over a thousand records a week. It was insane. Even crazier, I was doing all this from my bedroom. After years of grinding away, things finally started taking off".

Members

Sully Erna
Tony Rombola
Robbie Merrill
Shannon Larkin
 
Past members

Tommy Stewart
Lee Richards
Joe D'Arco