The Maine (band)
The Maine is an American rock band from Tempe, Arizona. Formed in 2007, the group consists of lead vocalist, guitarist and pianist John O'Callaghan, lead guitarist Jared Monaco, bass guitarist Garrett Nickelsen, drummer Patrick Kirch, and rhythm guitarist Kennedy Brock. The band is joined by touring member Adam Simons, as of 2018, who plays keys, rhythm and lead guitar as well as percussion.
Their first release, the Stay Up, Get Down extended play, was released in 2007, followed by the five-song EP, The Way We Talk, on December 11, 2007. The band's first full-length studio album, Can't Stop Won't Stop, was released July 8, 2008, while their second full-length album, Black & White, was released on July 13, 2010. Since then, the band has independently released seven albums including Pioneer, Forever Halloween, American Candy, Lovely Little Lonely, You Are OK, XOXO: From Love and Anxiety in Real Time, and The Maine.
History
Early years (2006–2007)
Bassist Garrett Nickelsen and drummer Patrick Kirch had been playing in a hardcore band called the Kerosene Kids. When the lead singer of the group left, they opted to start over with a new name and sound. In January 2007, when they were still in high school, Nickelsen and Kirch regrouped as the Maine. The name came from the song "Coast of Maine" by Ivory. Singer John O'Callaghan joined soon after auditions - with no prior vocal experience - along with guitarists Alex Ross and Ryan Osterman. Together, they released their debut EP Stay Up, Get Down on May 8, 2007. Months later, Osterman and Ross left the band and were replaced by Kennedy Brock and Jared Monaco. In November 2007, The Maine signed to Fearless Records. They released their debut single "The Way We Talk" on December 10, 2007. On the following day, they released their second EP, The Way We Talk which was produced by Matt Grabe. The EP peaked at number ten on the US Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and sold 50,000 copies. The EP also peaked at number 45 on the US Independent Albums chart.''Can't Stop Won't Stop'' (2008–2009)
Pre-production for their debut album was held at The Swing House in Hollywood, California. The group recorded the album at The Lair in Los Angeles, California where it was produced by Matt Squire. According to O'Callaghan, the group went for a "poppier direction than the EP," when describing their sound on their debut studio album. The group premiered a new track, "Everything I Ask For" on their MySpace page on June 3, 2008. The song was later released digitally on June 10. The song peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. Their debut full-length studio album, Can't Stop Won't Stop was released on July 8, 2008. The album debuted at number 40 on the Billboard 200 and sold 12,000 copies first week. The band toured with Good Charlotte, Boys Like Girls and Metro Station on the Soundtrack of Your Summer tour during the summer of 2008. In the fall of 2008, The Maine joined All Time Low on the Compromising of Integrity, Morality & Principles in Exchange for Money tour along with Mayday Parade and Every Avenue. The music video for "Everything I Ask For" premiered on MTV on November 19, 2008, and was directed by Matthew Stawski. Alternative Press named the group one of the "100 Bands You Need to Know in 2008."The band released a holiday EP in December 2008, titled ...And a Happy New Year. The EP included three new original tracks and a cover of the Wham! song "Last Christmas". In February 2009, The Maine and We the Kings headlined the 'Secret Valentine' tour, along with The Cab, VersaEmerge and There For Tomorrow. In March 2009, the band co-headlined the Alternative Press Tour with 3OH!3 and support from Family Force 5, Hit the Lights and A Rocket to the Moon. On March 10, 2009, the group premiered a music video for their song "Girls Do What They Want". In June 2009, the band signed to Warner Bros. Records. "Into Your Arms" was released on June 15, 2009, for radio airplay as the album's lead single. The band re-issued a deluxe edition for Can't Stop, Won't Stop on July 14, 2009, via Warner Records. In July 2009, the band performed on the Vans Warped Tour. The music video for "Into Your Arms" premiered on July 24, 2009, via their MySpace page and was directed by Aaron Platt. In October and November, the group supported Boys Like Girls on their tour in the US.
''Black and White'' (2010–2011)
The group worked with producer Howard Benson on their second studio album and was recorded in California. O'Callaghan described the album as a raw feel, free and loose record that was inspired by classic American rock-n-roll. "Inside of You" was released on May 3, 2010, as the lead single from the album. The song peaked at number 14 on the US Rock Digital Song Sales chart. "Growing Up" was released on May 17, as the second single from the album. "Right Girl" was made available for streaming on the group's MySpace page on July 8. The song peaked at number 25 on the US Rock Digital Song Sales chart. On July 12, their second studio album, Black & White was released. The album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 and sold 22,634 copies first week. Black & White won the 2010 AP Magazine Readers' Awards for Album of the Year. "Inside of You" also won the award for Best Song of the Year.In support of the album, the band embarked on their first headlining tour in 2010, An Evening with The Maine. The music video for "Right Girl" premiered on November 24, and was directed by Loren Brinton. In November 2010, the group joined Never Shout Never on the Harmony tour, where they 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 29, 2010, The Maine released the short film In Darkness and in Light on iTunes. In February 2011, The Maine set off on an international tour that began in the Philippines. The group traveled to Australia and performed at the 2011 Soundwave festival. The group toured across Europe starting in the UK in March 2011. The band co-headlined a U.S. tour with Augustana, lasting from early May to June 18, 2011. A music video for "Listen to Your Heart" premiered via PureVolume on July 1, 2011. The band toured with Taking Back Sunday and Bad Rabbits in October 2011.
''Pioneer'' (2011–2012)
In June 2011, the band confirmed that they were working on their third studio album. The group performed a new track from the album, "Don't Give Up on "Us"" while on tour with Augustana and Austin Gibbs. The band recorded the album at Sonic Ranch in El Paso, Texas with producer Colby Wedgeworth. The album's lead single "Don't Give Up on "Us"" was made available for streaming on November 1, 2011. On that same day, the album's track listing and artwork were revealed. The album's second single "Some Day" was released on November 15, 2011. On December 2, Pioneer was made available for streaming along with the song "Misery". The album was officially released on December 6, 2011. The album was released independently via Action Theory despite being with Warner at the time. O'Callaghan revealed that the group fought to release the album before Warner agreed under the condition that the band would self-release the record. Pioneer peaked at number 90 on the Billboard 200 and in its first week, sold 12,000 copies.In support of the album, the group embarked on the Pioneer Tour in the US. In January and February 2012, the band supported All Time Low on their UK tour. The group also toured across Europe in February 2012. The band released a music video for "Misery" on February 16, 2012. They later headlined the Pioneer World Tour, with support from Lydia and Arkells in the spring of 2012. On July 27, a music video was released for "Like We Did ".
On September 11, 2012, The Maine re-released Pioneer as Pioneer and The Good Love. The album, released via Rude Records, contains six new tracks. They also released an EP version of the unreleased tracks under the name of Good Love. In October and November, the group went on a co-headlining US tour with Mayday Parade and were supported by The Postelles.
''Forever Halloween'' (2013–2014)
In February 2013, the group began recording their fourth studio album, working with producer Brendan Benson. The album was recorded on an analog tape, steering away from the use of computer editing techniques. The group finished recording the album the following month and was mixed and mastered in April. On April 12, 2013, the band announced that their fourth studio album Forever Halloween would be released on June 4, 2013. "Happy" was the first single released from the album on April 15, 2013. A promotional single titled, "Love and Drugs" was made available for streaming on May 7, 2013. A music video for the song "These Four Words" that premiered on YouTube and Vevo was released on the same day as the album. The single-shot video was directed by Daniel Gomes and the song is what frontman John O'Callaghan called the "most revealing song has ever written." The album was released independently in the US in partnership with their management team 8123, via Universal Music in Canada, and Rude Records in Europe, UK, Australia and Japan. It sold over 10,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 39 on the Billboard 200.The group embarked on the US 8123 tour in the summer of 2013, with support from A Rocket to the Moon, This Century and Brighten. In October and November, the group co-headlined a US tour with Anberlin. The band released a five-song acoustic EP titled Imaginary Numbers on December 10, 2013. The first song from the EP, "Raining in Paris" was released November 5 via YouTube with a lyric video. The EP peaked at number 31 on the US Independent Albums chart. They toured in the UK in April 2014, before heading over to South America. The group performed at the 2014 Vans Warped Tour.
The Maine released a new single called "Ugly on the Inside" on May 21, 2014. The track was taken from the deluxe edition of Forever Halloween which was on June 17, 2014. The deluxe edition contains five additional bonus tracks, including "Ugly on the Inside".