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Biography
Prior to Hit the Lights, vocalist Colin Ross and guitarist Omar Zehery had been members of the local band The Goodbye Session. Guitarist Nick Thompson previously performed with the band the Summer Departure, and along with former Hawthorne Heights bassist David Bermosk and drummer Nate Van Dame, formed Hit the Lights in 2003. The band made their recording debut on the EP “Leaving Town Tonight” released in 2004. Hit the Lights’ subsequent EP “Until We Get Caught”, was issued on Silent Movie Records a year later in 2005, and reissued by Triple Crown Records shortly after.
The band’s debut album “This Is a Stick Up… Don’t Make It a Murder”, was issued by Triple Crown in 2007 and reached No. 41 on the U.S. Heatseekers chart. Hit the Lights had earned a significant fan base which led the group to headline the Let It Ride Tour 2007, supported by Just Surrender, All Time Low, and Valencia. September 2007 marked the last performance for vocalist Colin Ross, with guitarist Nick Thompson taking over the reigns. Thompson’s first album as lead vocalist, “Skip School Start Fights” arrived in 2008 and spawned the videos “Stay Out” and “Drop the Girl”. The album reached No. 97 on the Billboard 200 and was supported by the band joining the roster at 2009’s Warped Tour and a U.S. headlining tour.
After embarking on a tour of Australia alongside New Found Glory and Fireworks, Hit the Lights signed with major label Universal Republic Records. Amidst the pressure to write a Top 40 hit and label restructuring the band later asked to be freed of their Universal Republic contract, and subsequently released the teaser EP “Invicta” in late 2011. The album, also entitled “Invicta” arrived in January 2012, and was supported by a East Coast tour which included former singer Colin Ross.
Live reviews
Punk has resonated in America through the ages since its explosion in the 80s. California accepted it with open arms, it also spread to other States and other decades and was manipulated with genres including pop, rock and electro. One band keeping the formula completely pure is Ohio outfit Hit the Lights. Since breaking onto the scene in 2003 with one huge sound, the band have been climbing up lineups and packing out larger and larger venues ever since. Beginning as something of a cult flavour, they now have a universal pull to fans of classic punk.
Their authentic sounds and raucous live shows leave the crowds consistently wanting more and more as they tear apart riffs and basement anthems up onstage night after night with a relentless amount of energy. It all looks completely chaotic when the five musicians come together and even though the guitars sound fractured and the drums as though they could break apart at any moment, this pivoting on the point of disaster is part of what makes a Hit the Lights show so brilliant. As the whole room is united in a singalong to 'Bodybag' the appeal is more than clear.
sean-ward
“You’re gonna need a body bag” … the audience cheers, and then sing in return “I’ll break bones you didn’t know you had” at the top of their lungs, lapping up this nostalgic pop punk sensation that is Hit the Lights. Their sophomore vocalist, Nick Thompson leads these pop punk lovers on a journey back to 2007 singing all of the biggest songs from their full length album “This is Stick Up… Don overdriven guitars from Kevin Mahoney and Omar Zehery riffing into the mid-set peak.
The quintet also performs songs from their latest release, “Invicta”, an album produced by Mike Sapone who has worked with Taking Back Sunday and Brand New, which debuted at number 129 on the billboard 200, selling over 4000 copies in its first week. “Earthquake” is the song that has everyone with their hands in the air swinging them backwards and forwards singing the chorus word for word, leaving a lasting impression on Hit the Lights’ faces as their encore of “Invincible” and a song called “Faster Now” which was in fact written with Ryan Key of Florida natives, Yellowcard.
Lannistaar
