Trapt

Trapt is an American rock band that formed in Los Gatos, California in 1995, best known for their 2002 single "Headstrong".^[1] The group consists of lead vocalist Chris Taylor Brown, bassist Peter "Pete" Charell, drummer Brendan Hengle, and guitarist Ty Fury. They have released seven studio albums to date: Amalgamation, Trapt, Someone in Control, Only Through the Pain, No Apologies, Reborn and DNA.

History

Formation and early years (1995–1999)

The members of Trapt met in middle school in the mid-'90s, and were in an early NOFX cover band with Manny Terres (guitar) and Aaron Azlant (lead vocals) called the Swinging Udders. Shortly thereafter, the band reformed and developed an act with Chris Taylor Brown (lead vocals), Simon Ormandy (guitar), Peter "Pete" Charell (bass), and David Stege (drums). The band's first few rehearsals were in Ormandy's guesthouse, which had a party-like atmosphere with its loft overlooking the living room.^[4] They began playing at local venues in 1997 before any members had graduated high school. The band received a great response and a positive buzz soon started to grow. In 1998, still before graduation, they were already opening for up-and-coming fellow acts like Papa Roach.^[1][5] They recorded and released their first CD, Amalgamation in 1999, which they sold at their live shows. Their second release, the Glimpse EP, came in 2000, and another EP, 2001's self-titled Trapt, served as the band's demo. Between the strength of these releases and the successes in touring, they were able to garner major record label attention.^[6]

Amalgamation (1999-2000)

The debut independent release by Trapt, released in June 1999 and sold only in the Los Gatos, California area. The album was a local success, selling over 900 copies by the end of 1999. This album sports a drastically different sound compared to later releases, with vocalist Chris Taylor Brown rapping in every song, with later releases not containing rapping at all. The Glimpse was an EP that was also released independently in 2000.

Trapt (2001–2003)

The band proceeded to sign with Warner Bros. Records^[1] and started recording their debut album, with Robin Diaz replacing Stege on the drums. On November 5, 2002 the band released their self-titled album, Trapt,^[1] which produced a total of three singles. In 2002 "Headstrong" was the first, and it reached No. 1 on both the Modern Rock Tracks and Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, as well as No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking their most successful single to date. The second single from the album, "Still Frame", also managed to achieve No. 1 spot on the US Mainstream Rock chart, and No. 3 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The third single, "Echo" peaked at No. 10 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The Trapt album was certified platinum by the RIAA. Although not a single, the last song on the album, "New Beginning", was featured in the film "Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler".

Someone in Control (2004–2006)

Before releasing their next full-length album, the band released a self-titled three-track EP, released March 30, 2004, that included live versions of the "Made of Glass" and "Echo" tracks from their debut album, as well as a previously unreleased non-LP track, "Promise".

Their second full-length album, titled Someone in Control, was released September 13, 2005.^[1] It produced three singles for the band: "Stand Up", "Waiting", and "Disconnected (Out of Touch)". While these singles didn't do as well as those released from the first album, "Stand Up" still reached No. 3 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. In support of this album, Trapt toured with Thousand Foot Krutch, Silvertide, Chevelle, Three Days Grace, Nickelback, and others.

Only Through the Pain (2007–2009)

Their live album titled Trapt Live!, was released September 18, 2007.^[1] The album featured two new studio songs ("Stay Alive" and "Everything to Lose") as well as live versions of nine songs from their earlier records. On March 7, 2008, it was announced that lead guitarist Simon Ormandy had parted ways with the band. He was replaced by Robb Torres.^[7] Despite rumors indicating otherwise, Ormandy's departure was amicable, and Chris Taylor Brown continues to speak highly of Ormandy to the media, while promoting Torres as the new guitarist.^[8] On March 8, 2008, Trapt released "Who's Going Home With You Tonight?" on the band's website, a song from their then-upcoming studio album entitled Only Through the Pain.^[1] The band also posted four other songs from the upcoming album: "Black Rose," "Contagious," "Wasteland," and "Ready When You Are". On April 15, 2008, Trapt announced they would be touring as part of Mötley Crüe's Crüe Fest along with Buckcherry, Papa Roach and Sixx:A.M.. The tour began July 1, 2008 in West Palm Beach, Florida.^[9]

On June 10, 2008, Trapt released "Who's Going Home with You Tonight?" as a single. They also recorded a music video for the song.^[10] On July 1, 2008 "Who's Going Home with You Tonight?" was released as part of the weekly downloadable content for the Rock Band game series. Only Through the Pain was released on August 5, 2008. Trapt toured in support of the album by opening for Hinder on the Jägermeister Music Tour with Rev Theory. In March 2009, Trapt started the Contagious Tour, also featuring Red, Halestorm, Inept and Since October at several shows. "Contagious" was the album's second and last single, and was also available as a free playable track in the iPhone and iPod Touch game Tap Tap Revenge 2.

No Apologies (2010–2011)

In March 2010 Trapt said^[6] they were wrapping up the recording process of their new record with producer Johnny K. No Apologies was released on October 12, 2010. The first single, "Sound Off", was available on iTunes July 20, 2010. Another song, "Stranger In the Mirror", was released for free from the band's Facebook page August 11, 2010.^[6]

In September 2010, the songs "Drama Queen," "No Apologies," and "Storyteller" were made available on the band's website, along with the cover art for "No Apologies". A digital-only download bonus track, "Head Up High," was released exclusively to those who pre-ordered the record from the official website.

On October 25, 2011, Cleopatra Records and Trapt released a compilation album called Headstrong. It featured re-recorded versions of songs, demo tracks, remixes, and acoustic versions of "Headstrong" and "Echo."

Reborn (2012-2013)

On January 24, 2012 Aaron "Monty" Montgomery left the band. Dylan Thomas Howard played drums for the remainder of Trapt's January shows and will be joining Trapt on their April and May 2012 tour, and will also be providing all of his drum skills in the upcoming new record. Trapt released a new single "Bring It", which now has a new re-mastered version featuring Dylan Howard on drums, which is being released to radio as the official 1st single. A video for "Bring It" is available on YouTube. The new record, Reborn, was released January 22, 2013. The band also announced this would be their first independent release, opting out from major record labels as they decided to do everything on their own.

By January 17, 2013, Robb Torres posted a statement on his Facebook page confirming he left the band. On the same day, the band began its Reborn tour with replacement guitarist Travis Miguel, previously of Atreyu, running through the end of March 2013.

As of July 16, 2013, it was revealed that TRAPT has already begun work on their 6th studio album, and stated there will be another "Riffness Month" coming soon with guitar riffs to be uploaded to YouTube.

Re-releases and DNA (2014–present)

On February 7, 2014, Trapt has re-released their out of print albums Amalgamation and Glimpse EP in the form of a Groupees campaign for a limited time.^[11]

On May 5, 2014, Trapt announced that they will take time off of making their new record and have a tour named "The Self Titled Tour". The tour will involve Trapt playing their first album live with other songs from their other albums and from their upcoming album. On May 29, Trapt mentioned about acoustic songs being released from them. On June 15, Trapt announced they were working on a new album, called DNA. Also announced alongside DNA was The Acoustic Collection which will be acoustic versions of their songs. Trapt has started an Indiegogo campaign to raise money to create their new album. Like Reborn, Trapt is creating this independently without a record label.^[12] After "The Self Titled Tour" Travis Miguel left to rejoin Atreyu, he was replaced by Ty Fury, known for his work with Motograter, 40 Below Summer, Shawn Crahan's Dirty Little Rabbits and Scott Weiland's The Wildabouts. A new single called "Passenger" was released as part of their upcoming album. On August 28, 2015, Trapt released Passenger / Human - Single on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon. On November 12, 2015, Trapt released Human (Like The Rest Of Us) and It's Over through iTunes.

The new album "DNA" was released on August 19, 2016.^[13] There was also a limited edition, released by Best Buy, that included the bonus tracks "Panic Room" and "Chasing Highs", as well as distributing 5,000 copies of the album that had been autographed by the band.^[14]

On May 17, 2016 the band announced that they will be taking part in the Make America Rock Again super tour throughout the summer and fall 2016. The tour will feature other artist who had success throughout the 2000s including Saliva, Saving Abel, Alien Ant Farm, Crazy Town, 12 Stones, Tantric and Drowning Pool, Fuel, Puddle Of Mudd and P.O.D.. ^[15]

Band members

Discography

Studio albums

• Trapt (2002)
• Someone in Control (2005)
• Only Through the Pain (2008)
• No Apologies (2010)
• Reborn (2013)
• DNA (2016)

References

External links

• Official website
• Trapt on Facebook