Dance Gavin Dance

Dance Gavin Dance formed in 2005 out of a band called Farewell Unknown that had run its course. Lead guitarist Will Swan, drummer Matt Mingus and bassist Eric Lodges recruited screamer Jonathan Mess, and singer Jonny Craig to join the band.

Unsure to this day as to where they got their name from, they booked a show under the name Dance Gavin Dance with the hope of getting around to changing it but it unfortunately didn’t happen in the end and the name stuck. They released their first EP with this line up entitled, “Whatever I Say Is Royal Ocean” which was re released when the band signed to Rise Records. It was after the reception of this record that they began to write their debut full length album “Downtown Battle Mountain”

They released their debut full-length album on May 15th 2007, through Rise Records and then began their first national tour with Alesana and A Day to Remember. Unfortunately, counter tenor singer, Jonny Craig quit the band in November of that year, and was not allowed to rejoin when he asked if he could due to large tensions with other members. It was Kurt Travis who would later become their lead singer, who was formerly fronting a band called Five Minute Ride.

They went back into the studio to record their sophomore album, “Dance Gavin Dance” which was released on August 19th 2008, but before it was released, Jonathan Mess and Eric Lodge left the band. Will Swan took the reigns of the band and journeyed on.

All of the drama aside with the numerous line up changes, they have maintained a solid reputation as a Scream/Funk/Soul band with tendencies to be experimental, leaping from genre to genre. Will Swan has developed an instantly recognizable and distinctive style of playing over the years and they also still have original members, Matt Mingus on drums and Jon Mess on what they describe as “unclean vocals”.

The band is a trio consisting of Thomas Erak (guitars, vocals,keyboards), Andrew Forsman (drums, percussion), Tim Ward (bass, screamed vocals)

and Munro, originally forming as The 30 Years War in 2002. During the life of The 30 Years War, two EPs were independently released, entitled “Martyrs Among the Casualties” and “Live at the Paradox.” After Munro left, the band changed its name to "The Fall of Troy" and in 2003 they released their first, self-titled, album with Lujo Records. In addition to the album, they also self-released an EP entitled “Ghostship.”

The band was invited to submit a new demo for Equal Vision, and in 2005 the band re-entered the studio to record their sophomore album. They released “Doppelganger” on 16 April 2005. After its release, the band went on tour for most of early 2006. They released their third album entitled “Manipulator” in late 2006, and the album includes the previously written, "Seattlantis," and mostly all new material, including songs such as, "Problem!?," "Cut Down All the Trees and Name the Streets After Them," and a song with the palindromic title, "A Man. A Plan. A Canal. Panama." The following year the band went out on tour to promote the album with the Deftones. In 2008 The Fall of Troy released another EP entitled “Phantom on the Horizon,” which was played in its entirety on their West Coast and East Coast tours.

On 26 February 2010, The Fall of Troy disbanded after completing a spring US tour; however original lineup of The Fall of Troy reunited for three nights in December 2013 in Austin, Texas with each night being a performance of one of their first three albums.