Black Veil Brides
Black Veil Brides or BVB is an American Post-hardcore heavy metal band that formed in 2006 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The band is formed by Andy Six, Ashley Purdy, Jake Pitts, and Christian "CC" Coma. Black Veil Brides are currently signed to StandBy Records, which is based in Cleveland, Ohio. The band released their debut album
"We Stitch These Wounds" in July 2010, and sold
11,000 copies in the first week, it was #36 on the Billboard Top 100 chart and #1 on the Billboard Independent Chart.
When BVB was asked in an interview what their songs focus on, Ashley Purdy said,
"Overall the theme is about never
giving in… not letting anyone tell you what to do or take anything away
from you. Always being yourself, whatever that may be. The content
obviously takes a darker and romantic approach to relationships about
love and loss, as well as overcoming adversity in everyday life.
Generally, just being tough and standing up for what you believe."
"This record is for the outcasts.
The following are stories of love,
life, and never giving in.
We are the Black Veil Brides."
((The Outcasts (Call To Arms) All Songs Black Veil Brides 2010)
Andy Six - Lead Vocals
"Andy
Six or 6" or Andrew Dennis Biersack was born on December 26, 1990 in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin but moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. He was in the band
called "Biersack", which of course was changed to "Black Veil Brides",
Andy is the only original member of BVB. 8th grade as when Andy's first
band started, of course called "Biersack", Andy would take CDs to school
and hand them out to everyone he knew. Andy went to "School for
Creative and Performing Arts" for his high school education and majored
in Drama and Vocal music. Andy moved to Burbank California and began an
acting career in T.V. comercials [AT and T, Montana Meth, etc] as well
as print modeling. One year later Andy moved back to Cincinnati to start
"Black Veil Brides". Before shows Andy likes to hang out with the fans,
sign and take pictures with them and after every show for about 20
mins, he's also very hard-headed, and humerous, but he knows what he
wants to do in his life, and most people don't question it.
Inspired by bands such as Kiss, and Motley Crue.
"Be who you want to be and not care about what others think."
- Andy Six
Inspirational Words Spoken by Andy Biersack
"Life isn't about how popular you are... What girl or boy you are dating or who you know.
Life is about always being true to who you are or what you believe in. Never let anyone
convince you that their way is better than your way. In the end all we have is our hearts...
and our minds. This is the reason why we sing... this is the reason why we cry... this is
why we live."
"As we grow up we learn that even the person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down
probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it gets
harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken.
You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry
because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love, so take many
pictures, laugh too much and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds
you spend upset is one minute of happiness you'll never get back."
"Each and every one of us has a fire that burns inside us and they
can try like hell to put out that flame but as long as in our minds
we know who we are meant to be, they don't stand a chance."
"I had a goal, I had a dream... and at the end of the day
no matter what people say to you as long as YOU know
who you are as a person NOTHING else in the world matters."
"Creating art or something beautiful makes you a more fulfilled person
than they can ever be because they're caught up in what they hate rather than
what they love."
"... It's important to remember though that when looking at these situations you
have to be able to see the difficulty anyone faces in a breakup and how hard
that experiences is. No one wants' to be alone.... but sometimes in life....
in order to be healthy... it is paramount to your happiness. I truly do apperciate
all the love and suuport you have all given me over the years in every fact of my life."
"Black Veil Brides will stand strong for you we will take on the worlds
hatred so that you dont have to live your life listen you your music
way to loud be as crazy and as " different" as you want to be
and always remember your not alone."
"Rock and roll is about having a good time, so no matter
where you are right now blast some music and forget
about lifes problems."
"I learned very much from my heroes in KISS
that no one should be allowed to hold you back
from achieving your dream, so if someone's not
pulling their weight or they're not helping the
end product, they're gone. It's like if you work
at an office and one of your employees doesn't
care about their job. They're getting in the way
of productivity."
"There are a lot of people whose biggest drive in life is to
put you down. They don't necessarily have anything to offer
to the world themselves, but they don't want you to do anything.
I grew up loving punk rock and the community with it, it was all
about doing what you love no matter what anyone said, and that's
what I want this band to our fans to give them that same
community that meant so much to me."
Inspirational Words Spoken by Ashley Purdy
"the times they got too clear...so you removed all the mirrors"
"Let me bleed you this song of my heart deformed And lead you along this path in the dark"
"your world is an ashtray we burn and coil like cigarettes the more you cry your ashes turn to mud"
"We don`t measure the blood we`ve drawn anymore We just stack the bodies outside the door"
"So, I`ll wait here and pray. I prayed that I was all wrong about prayer"
"cant wait to here you scream"
"Love is a power greater than death, just like the songs and stories told"
"Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life) Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life"
"and I keep moving through the dark, with you in my heart...my blood brother"
"`cause tonight, we can be as one"
"We are the anti culture"
"Believe none of what you hear...and even less of what you see...this is what we`ll be"
"Never ran away for the sake of scars..."
"it`s so simple just like that, Cause it`s a shame that where you`re at Isn`t always where you really
wanna be"
"country vampire hahaha"
"gonna smash it up `till theres nothing left"
"hunny come home, home"
"I`ve got a book of matches, I`ve got a can of keroscene...I`ve got some mad ideas involving you and me"
"and death climbs up the steps one by one"
"I`m all grown up..so full of hate"
live before you die
The pages of Revelation lie open in your empty eyes of blue
He was THIS tall
It`s gonna be a long walk home"...walking from my car haha
Why did i kick rocks?
I just inadvertently rhymed...you know
what they say about people who inadvertently rhyme...they;re often fans
of the Green Bay Packers....so yeah...there`s that...
Ashley Purdy - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
Ashley
Purdy is an amazing bass players and is the only member of the band
that I couldn't find any information on, if you have anything about him,
let me know!
Inspirational Words Spoken by Ashley Purdy
"What is up with this Ashley Purdy day tomorrow,
I see? Do I need to dress up as myself?!"
“Being unique is what's cool. Normal? What's normal? Normal is a
setting on a washing machine, and no one wants to be that...”
“Rhinos are just fat unicorns. If we'd give them the time and
attention they deserve, as well as a diet: They'd reveal their majestic
ways.”
“Suicide isn't cowardly. I'll tell you what's cowardly: treating people so badly that they want to end their lives.”
“I switched my phone to airplane mode, but when I threw it in the air it didn't fly. Worst Transformer ever...”
“alcohol doesn't make you fat, it makes you lean - on tables chairs and random people!”
“Being normal, what's that? That's a setting on a washing machine. No one wants to be that.”
Christian "CC" Coma - Drums, Precussion
Christian
"CC" Coma is the most recent member of Black Veil Brides. His brithday
is April 21. He's been playing drums on and off since he was 17 and
started learning when he was little. He's been in many bands before BVB.
Although he is the newest member he is welcomed to the band by fans, and fits right in.
When asked how he got the chance to be in BVB he said,
"I
knew a couple of the bvb guys for a while now, I actually have played
with them before. It kinda just worked out, ya know? Sucks about Sandra
leaving, but everything happens for a reason and I wish her the best."
"I
am very excited to be a part of this group/family. Everyone has treated
me great so far, and the response from the fans has been unreal! I have
2,044 messages in my email box in a day and a half and they keep going
up. I am anxious to meet everyone in person, and I hope everybody is
ready for the BVB world take over!"
"I really can't help but laugh at myself sometimes...I mean the words that jump out of my mouth. You really can't take life too seriously :-D
"Nobody messes with the army."
"You can never control a wild heart no matter how hard you try
"Being yourself is fun because you're one of a kind and no one else can be you.
"There will be haters. We take that as a challenge to prove ourselves one way or another and I hope we will make some new fans."
"I am very excited to be a part of this group/family. Everyone has treated me great so far, and the response from the fans has been unreal! I have 2,044 messages in my email box in a day and a half and they keep going up. I am anxious to meet everyone in person, and I hope everybody is ready for the BVB world take over!"
Interviwer- "WHat are some of the pranks you have done on pass tours?"
Jake & CC talk at same time "Blah Blah" Look at each other then
CC- "Fill a water bottle with vinger?"
Jake- "What? We haven't done that?"
CC- "Well I have"
Jake- "WHen?"
CC- Laughs "DOn't worry about it."
Jake- "Ow man, I'm not drinking any more of the water bottles, I'm only drinking the ones that are...closed"
#ccqotd @jakepittsbvb "This is how pornos start!" lmao
"Real people do what they want...not what they can." Make it happen and live as you should
Chris Hollywood's Departure
In a recent blog update on Myspace, Black Veil Brides
revealed they have mutually parted ways with drummer Sandra Alva. The
decision arose after Alva expressed a desired move in a different
musical direction than the rest of the group. You can read the entire
blog below [or here].
Black Veil Brides will be headling the Entertainment Or Death tour this
fall with Christian Coma on drums and support from William Control. You
can view a full list of tour dates here.
"So by now, you may all have heard the news regarding Sandra.
Often in life there will come a time when those that we love will find a need to distance themselves, whether it be to better themselves personally or to explore other facets of life. This is a difficult moment for both parties, especially when they mean so much to you.
At that moment all of us have a choice to make…do we let the loss of one person end an entire Army…or do we solider on?
With that being said, Sandra has expressed to us a need to move on with her musical career and follow new paths. Over time her interests have changed musically from that of the direction BVB is moving in and has decided to explore all that she can to those means. We’ve had many discussions about this leading up to her departing and tried to find ways to make it work, but we just both decided to move on amicably and support each other in our musical adventures. This of course found all of us in Black Veil Brides forced to then make a choice.
Organically this band has grown to become something more than 5 individuals, it represents the hopes and dreams of a unified Army. This band is not Andy Six, This band is not Ashley Purdy, Jake Pitts or Jinxx…This band is Black Veil Brides, an entity that is far more than a band. This band includes all of the fans who have become an Army and for all we know in our hearts, we owe it to EACH and EVERY one of you to never let anyone or anything stop us from doing what we set out to do; be the bastion for those who are misunderstood and demonized.
Sandra means the world to us, we love her with all of our hearts and she will continue to be one of the most talented and kind people that the 4 of us have come in contact with.
Black Veil Brides will continue to support her in all that she does in every endeavor. We know the deep love and adoration that so many of you have for Sandra and that can never be replaced. All that we want to do is, continue this band for you, the fans.
Therefore, in moving forward we will be joined on our upcoming tours by an incredible musician named Christian “CC” Coma. He is one of the most phenomenal drummers we have ever met and has a deep respect and understanding for all that Sandra has done in Black Veil Brides.
Below you will find a video of Christian playing a quick drum solo, as you can see he is more than apt to fill in for us as needed. Please give CC a warm reception into the BVB family.
So again, we apologize to all of those who will miss Sandra, we will as well…but we will never falter or let anything stop the BVB Army.
We are Black Veil Brides
See you on tour <3
BVB"
"Black
Veil Brides is a five-piece American metalcore band from Los Angeles,
USA consisting of Andy Six, Chris Hollywood, Sandra A, Pan and Ashley
Purdy. Led by front man and lead vocalist Andy 6, the Los Angeles based
band is bringing back the live show spectacle made famous by, among
others, The New York Dolls, Alice Cooper and The Misfits. Nothing about
this band is subtle, including Mr. 6’s over the top rock star persona,
the garish Zombie like makeup the band prefers and their ghoulish stage
props. With 6’s haunting vocals setting the tone, BVB’s sound in their
earliest recordings such as “Sex & Hollywood”, “Hello My Hate“ and
“A Devil For Me” shows an influence by such legendary bands as
Generation X, The Damned and Lords of the New Church while more recent
recordings such as “We Stitch These Wounds,” “The Gunsling”, “Knives and
Pens” and even the ballad “Mortician’s Daughter” clearly demonstrates
the band’s growth, both musically and lyrically, and how they measure up
to their contemporaries. What makes Black Veil Brides even more unique
is how they also pay homage in their hooks and melodies to the anthemic
rock popularized by bands such as Poison and KISS. Black Veil Brides
energy is infectious and with an army of devoted fans and their debut
album set to be released this year, BVB are ready to take their place
among the most popular young rock bands in the world today.
Andy's real name is Andrew Biersack and he is the only original member left in Black Veil Brides. He has become one of the most notable faces on the popular site Myspace, and is the latest in a long line of internet heroes. Before becoming a musician he did some acting in minor roles, and is well known for his love affair with Scout Taylor Compton, star of Rob Zombie's "Halloween". He is originally from Cincinatti Ohio where the band was started.
Chris Hollywood, real name Chris Bluser, is also from Cincinatti. He left a band called Singed.
Sandra A is a talented female drummer mostly known for her signature sunglasses. She is from California.
Pan's real name is D.A. Burton. He plays guitar in BVB as well as a lot of other instruments. He came from two other bands, House of Glass and Widdle Monsters, both from Chicago. Pan is also a writer and artist. He has a book called "The Autumn, D.emons N. A.ngels".
Ashley Purdy is the bassist, and is also from California. He has been well known around the Hollywood circuit.
Formation
Black Veil Brides inception started in 2006 in Ohio, when Vocalist Andy Six began seeking players to create a vision of a modern day Misfits meets Motley Crue and Kiss with lyrical content that pertained to the outcasts. Songs that could be a rallying cry for the disenfranchised and bring back the community and passion that was once so prevalent in Rock n’ Roll.
Early on the band went through various member changes to accomplish this, but it wasn’t until 2009 when Andy moved to Los Angeles that the vision started to come into fruition. The music video for the song Knives and Pens was created June 2009; it's a song that spoke of the difficulty of growing up as an outcast in America and the struggles that face youth on a day to day basis. The video amast thousands of plays within the first week alone and by the time the video was on YouTube for a month it had already reached views in the millions!
Several weeks after the video was released Andy began the hunt to find members to fill out the band. Through a Craigslist Ad Andy contacted Bassist Ashley Purdy. Andy had known of Ash from his previous bands in Hollywood. With Ash coming from a more dirty Rock n’ Roll and Glam Metal background, he and Andy instantly got on the same page about image and direction that the band needed to go in. Together they were able to shape the concept and visual imagery of the band into that of a band they always wanted to be in and the band you now see today.
Still on the look out for players that both musically and visually complimented them and who also shared the same vision; They eventually recruited Jinxx. Andy and Ash had known of him previously in the Hollywood circuit and began the writing process. Jinxx being a more classically trained musician was able to add a new dimension to the line up. However, the band felt they were still missing a shredder; someone who could bring the heavy metal and melodic sound the band was looking for. Jinxx then recommended his buddy Jake Pitts that he previously had played with and already had a great writing relationship with. After meeting with Jake and seeing his musicianship, it was certain he was the man for the job. In September 2010, Christian Coma steps in to replace Sandra Alvarenga as the bands drummer. "CC" had also played a stint with Jake and Jinxx in a previous band so they were certain his showmanship and style lent itself to be perfect for the project. The band then knew they had all the key players to round out an All-Star line up. In the midst of this time the band gained legal representation from Dina Lapolt at Lapolt Law and Management from Blasko at Mercenary Management.
We Stitch These Wounds and recent events (2009-present)
BVB signed in September 2009 with Standby Records. The writing process for a tour and a record began immediately. In December 2009, the band embarked on their first US tour entitled "On Leather Wings". The tour was a success for them, in each city the band played to the legion of fans who were awaiting their live debut appearance with sold out shows across the United States. During this time plays on the bands MySpace were consistently topping 10k a day (peaking in the 9th spot on MySpace’s Top Music Charts in the ‘Metal’ category) and the views for the video Knives and Pens on You Tube was at almost 5 millions views! The band found themselves repeatedly in the "top artists" charts on myspace.com and watched the legion of Black Veil Brides supporters grow. Coming home from a successful tour the band immediately hit the Recording Studio to begin their Debut Album, “We Stitch These Wounds”. At this same time without a Record out yet, Black Veil Brides had their first shirt in Hot Topic stores regionally and could not keep them on shelves.
In February, 2010, the band began to record at Clear Lake Audio in Van Nuys, California, with Manager / Producer Blasko. As the band finished recording, they began their next tour as a supporting act on the Royal Family Tour. They again found the dedicated loyal fan base and demographic growing as the fans begin calling themselves the "BVB Army"; adorning 'War paint' and dressing like their favorite members to each show. Again, the band were exceeding expectations in ticket sales and merchandise sales. This in turn allowed the band to have another T-shirt put in Hot Topic stores Nationally and also selling out On-Line; this all still being 2 months before a debut release of their first Album. The Debut We Stitch These Wounds was released July 20, 2010 on Independent Label, Standby Records. With little promotion on an Indy budget, the BVB debut record, "We Stitch These Wounds", sold nearly 11,000 copies in its first week, good enough for #36 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and #1 on the Billboard Independent chart. The first Single from the album "Perfect Weapon," was released as a video on June 14 on YouTube. It fell right on track with views in the Millions as the "Knives and Pens" video did. As of this date, the success of the single "Knives and Pens" has earned over 16,000,000 views on YouTube as of Sept 2010."
As
for the departure of Chris Hollywood, I'm unclear of whether he was
kicked out, or he left, but he is now in a band called "Emergency 911". I
read that he left the same time as Pan, but I'm not sure. If anyone has
any information on this, please help me out!
Pan's Departure
What I found out about the departure of Pan was he got fired for laziness and claimed that "he wrote all the songs."
I
got this from Jinxx's Myspace page, which also hopefully gives a better
explanation and make things more clear on the departure of Pan. Above
is the link to Jinxx's Myspace blog.
The truth about Pan and Black Veil Brides......
"First
of all, I honestly felt bad for everything that went down regarding
Pan's departure from Black Veil Brides. It was him after all that sought
me out from my previous band The Dreaming, whom his previous band,
Widdle Monsters, had opened for in Chicago on one of our tours, to work
with the band when it was decided by Pan that Chris Hollywood should no
longer be a part of the project for lack of contribution and laziness,
per his words. I also felt bad that I was blamed solely for his
departure, and this will affect me for a while.
Now,
I've worked with and been blessed to know many great people over the
years, people whom I still hold much respect for and owe endless amounts
of gratitude towards; Christopher Hall of The Dreaming who had sold
millions of records through his previous band Stabbing Westward, whom I
still consider a brother to me and would take a bullet for; Dizzy
Draztik, former Rejects/Murderdolls frontman whom I will ALWAYS consider
my brother; Casey Chaos, founder of Amen, who has seen many faces come
and go with his project who ended up going on to do other great things
and yet still holds his merit as a hero to the punk world; Corey Taylor
of Slipknot whom I grew up with when he and my brother Travis formed
their first high school band out of the trailer we were living out of
with our mom in Des Moines, Iowa, JUST to name a few.
I
have toured the world opening for huge bands like Iron Maiden, Misfits,
etc. on bus, in a van, an SUV, playing large festivals in front of
80,000 people, small clubs in front of 5 people, you name it, over the
last 8 years of my life. I feel like I've gained a wealth of experience
and judge of character that is invaluable to succeeding in this
profession.
When I started working with Black Veil and Pan, I noted certain attributes of Pan's character, ability, and vibe that I thought could be detrimental in the long run to the project. On the guy's defense, I have nothing but respect for his work ethic and motivation to succeed in his endeavors. However, his motives blatenly appeared to me to be self-centric and greedy. He was constantly going on about how he wanted 40% of the publishing because he claims he wrote all of the songs. In my previous project, The Dreaming, we agreed that everyone in the band get 20%, everything split equally. I felt we were a family and it was a positive creative working environment for me. I am proud of the album we came out with and it is still selling in Best Buy, Hot Topic, etc.
When I started working with Black Veil and Pan, I noted certain attributes of Pan's character, ability, and vibe that I thought could be detrimental in the long run to the project. On the guy's defense, I have nothing but respect for his work ethic and motivation to succeed in his endeavors. However, his motives blatenly appeared to me to be self-centric and greedy. He was constantly going on about how he wanted 40% of the publishing because he claims he wrote all of the songs. In my previous project, The Dreaming, we agreed that everyone in the band get 20%, everything split equally. I felt we were a family and it was a positive creative working environment for me. I am proud of the album we came out with and it is still selling in Best Buy, Hot Topic, etc.
I
had many ideas for songs for Black Veil, but was constantly bombasted
with negative criticism and egotism that made me not want to be creative
at all. In fact, anytime anyone else had an idea it was met with the
same negative response. He expressed several times to the the band that
his relationship to us was business before friendship. I have NEVER
worked this way in ANY previous project. It was friendship first, us
against the world, one for all; we HAD to be a family to make it work at
all. I saw these personality traits, in fact we ALL did, and we noted
to each other about it, and I constantly stated to the others that I
simply could not work with that attitude and egotistical negative
environment. I guess that makes it my fault that it was decided Pan
should leave. But everyone felt the same way. Man, I HATE being blamed
for other people's actions.
He
constantly referred to us as "Hollywood Assholes" and this really
confuses me. I'm not from Hollywood, I moved here from Iowa to make
music with like-minded creative people when I was 19, much like Andy
moved here from Ohio, Ashley from Missouri, and Pan from Chicago for the
same reasons. Wouldn't that make you a "Hollywood Asshole" too, buddy?
I
just hate how unprofessional and imature all of this went down. There's
mature ways of dealing with things like a grownup, keeping it
professional and respecting other people's right to be professional have
a career, and there's ways like this that involves lying and telling
slanderous rumors about people who trusted YOU and took YOU in when YOU
were in need. I may have known Andrew Biersack, aka Andy 6, for a short
while as of yet, but I can tell you we have spent most of the hours of
every day since we met together and I have never heard him ONCE say
anything negative or derogatory about his fans or people who love and
respect him. He has only appeared to me to be straight up with his
intentions, and is one of the very few REAL people I have ever met out
here. He may be only 19, but I highly respect how mature and
professional he carries himself at his age, and it is a pleasure to work
with him.
Breakups
among band members are never easy, for BOTH parties, but especially for
those members being 'dumped.' Like I say, I feel terrible about what
went down. I just wish Pan would have handled the situation a little
more professionally, for his OWN sake. From my experience, I give him
this bit of advice that in handling it this way it just makes him look
bad and it will be very hard for him to get gigs in the future. And that
is unfortunate.
Jinxx/BVB"
Sandra Alvarenga
"Sandra
has expressed to us a need to move on with her musical career and
follow new paths. Over time her interests have changed musically from
that of the direction BVB is moving in and has decided to explore all
that she can to those means. We’ve had many discussions about this
leading up to her departing and tried to find ways to make it work, but
we just both decided to move on amicably and support each other in our
musical adventures. This of course found all of us in Black Veil Brides
forced to then make a choice."
I
got this interview from Alternative Press News, because I felt that
this would explain why Sandra left better then what I could find.
Often in life there will come a time when those that we love will find a need to distance themselves, whether it be to better themselves personally or to explore other facets of life. This is a difficult moment for both parties, especially when they mean so much to you.
At that moment all of us have a choice to make…do we let the loss of one person end an entire Army…or do we solider on?
With that being said, Sandra has expressed to us a need to move on with her musical career and follow new paths. Over time her interests have changed musically from that of the direction BVB is moving in and has decided to explore all that she can to those means. We’ve had many discussions about this leading up to her departing and tried to find ways to make it work, but we just both decided to move on amicably and support each other in our musical adventures. This of course found all of us in Black Veil Brides forced to then make a choice.
Organically this band has grown to become something more than 5 individuals, it represents the hopes and dreams of a unified Army. This band is not Andy Six, This band is not Ashley Purdy, Jake Pitts or Jinxx…This band is Black Veil Brides, an entity that is far more than a band. This band includes all of the fans who have become an Army and for all we know in our hearts, we owe it to EACH and EVERY one of you to never let anyone or anything stop us from doing what we set out to do; be the bastion for those who are misunderstood and demonized.
Sandra means the world to us, we love her with all of our hearts and she will continue to be one of the most talented and kind people that the 4 of us have come in contact with.
Black Veil Brides will continue to support her in all that she does in every endeavor. We know the deep love and adoration that so many of you have for Sandra and that can never be replaced. All that we want to do is, continue this band for you, the fans.
Therefore, in moving forward we will be joined on our upcoming tours by an incredible musician named Christian “CC” Coma. He is one of the most phenomenal drummers we have ever met and has a deep respect and understanding for all that Sandra has done in Black Veil Brides.
Below you will find a video of Christian playing a quick drum solo, as you can see he is more than apt to fill in for us as needed. Please give CC a warm reception into the BVB family.
So again, we apologize to all of those who will miss Sandra, we will as well…but we will never falter or let anything stop the BVB Army.
We are Black Veil Brides
See you on tour <3
BVB"
The Formation of Black Veil Brides
Black
Veil Brides, formally known as "Biersack", came together in 2006, when
Andy Six began seeking players to create a vision of a modern day
Misfits meets Motley Crue and Kiss with lyrical content that pertained
to the outcasts. Andy Six then found guitarist
Johnny Herold, and bassist Phil Cenedella began playing together in
Delhi, Ohio. After about or a year or so of playing music, and uploading
songs onto MySpace at Andy's house, guitarist Nate Shipp and drummer
Chris "Craven" Riesenberg joined the group, to form "Black Veil Brides."
In 2007, BVB placed 2nd in the Cincinnati "Battle of the Bands" at Bogarts.
This
is an article from the site Musictory that will give a better
description of how BVB started, and to how they have gotten where they
are today.
Andy's real name is Andrew Biersack and he is the only original member left in Black Veil Brides. He has become one of the most notable faces on the popular site Myspace, and is the latest in a long line of internet heroes. Before becoming a musician he did some acting in minor roles, and is well known for his love affair with Scout Taylor Compton, star of Rob Zombie's "Halloween". He is originally from Cincinatti Ohio where the band was started.
Chris Hollywood, real name Chris Bluser, is also from Cincinatti. He left a band called Singed.
Sandra A is a talented female drummer mostly known for her signature sunglasses. She is from California.
Pan's real name is D.A. Burton. He plays guitar in BVB as well as a lot of other instruments. He came from two other bands, House of Glass and Widdle Monsters, both from Chicago. Pan is also a writer and artist. He has a book called "The Autumn, D.emons N. A.ngels".
Ashley Purdy is the bassist, and is also from California. He has been well known around the Hollywood circuit.
Formation
Black Veil Brides inception started in 2006 in Ohio, when Vocalist Andy Six began seeking players to create a vision of a modern day Misfits meets Motley Crue and Kiss with lyrical content that pertained to the outcasts. Songs that could be a rallying cry for the disenfranchised and bring back the community and passion that was once so prevalent in Rock n’ Roll.
Early on the band went through various member changes to accomplish this, but it wasn’t until 2009 when Andy moved to Los Angeles that the vision started to come into fruition. The music video for the song Knives and Pens was created June 2009; it's a song that spoke of the difficulty of growing up as an outcast in America and the struggles that face youth on a day to day basis. The video amast thousands of plays within the first week alone and by the time the video was on YouTube for a month it had already reached views in the millions!
Several weeks after the video was released Andy began the hunt to find members to fill out the band. Through a Craigslist Ad Andy contacted Bassist Ashley Purdy. Andy had known of Ash from his previous bands in Hollywood. With Ash coming from a more dirty Rock n’ Roll and Glam Metal background, he and Andy instantly got on the same page about image and direction that the band needed to go in. Together they were able to shape the concept and visual imagery of the band into that of a band they always wanted to be in and the band you now see today.
Still on the look out for players that both musically and visually complimented them and who also shared the same vision; They eventually recruited Jinxx. Andy and Ash had known of him previously in the Hollywood circuit and began the writing process. Jinxx being a more classically trained musician was able to add a new dimension to the line up. However, the band felt they were still missing a shredder; someone who could bring the heavy metal and melodic sound the band was looking for. Jinxx then recommended his buddy Jake Pitts that he previously had played with and already had a great writing relationship with. After meeting with Jake and seeing his musicianship, it was certain he was the man for the job. In September 2010, Christian Coma steps in to replace Sandra Alvarenga as the bands drummer. "CC" had also played a stint with Jake and Jinxx in a previous band so they were certain his showmanship and style lent itself to be perfect for the project. The band then knew they had all the key players to round out an All-Star line up. In the midst of this time the band gained legal representation from Dina Lapolt at Lapolt Law and Management from Blasko at Mercenary Management.
We Stitch These Wounds and recent events (2009-present)
BVB signed in September 2009 with Standby Records. The writing process for a tour and a record began immediately. In December 2009, the band embarked on their first US tour entitled "On Leather Wings". The tour was a success for them, in each city the band played to the legion of fans who were awaiting their live debut appearance with sold out shows across the United States. During this time plays on the bands MySpace were consistently topping 10k a day (peaking in the 9th spot on MySpace’s Top Music Charts in the ‘Metal’ category) and the views for the video Knives and Pens on You Tube was at almost 5 millions views! The band found themselves repeatedly in the "top artists" charts on myspace.com and watched the legion of Black Veil Brides supporters grow. Coming home from a successful tour the band immediately hit the Recording Studio to begin their Debut Album, “We Stitch These Wounds”. At this same time without a Record out yet, Black Veil Brides had their first shirt in Hot Topic stores regionally and could not keep them on shelves.
In February, 2010, the band began to record at Clear Lake Audio in Van Nuys, California, with Manager / Producer Blasko. As the band finished recording, they began their next tour as a supporting act on the Royal Family Tour. They again found the dedicated loyal fan base and demographic growing as the fans begin calling themselves the "BVB Army"; adorning 'War paint' and dressing like their favorite members to each show. Again, the band were exceeding expectations in ticket sales and merchandise sales. This in turn allowed the band to have another T-shirt put in Hot Topic stores Nationally and also selling out On-Line; this all still being 2 months before a debut release of their first Album. The Debut We Stitch These Wounds was released July 20, 2010 on Independent Label, Standby Records. With little promotion on an Indy budget, the BVB debut record, "We Stitch These Wounds", sold nearly 11,000 copies in its first week, good enough for #36 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and #1 on the Billboard Independent chart. The first Single from the album "Perfect Weapon," was released as a video on June 14 on YouTube. It fell right on track with views in the Millions as the "Knives and Pens" video did. As of this date, the success of the single "Knives and Pens" has earned over 16,000,000 views on YouTube as of Sept 2010."
Jake Pitts - Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jake
Pitt's interest in guitar was sparked by Metallica, his musical
influence being his mom, he's been playing for 11 years, and was in his
first band at age 15. He can also play the drums and bass. Some bands
that he likes are: All That Remains,
Bullet for my Valentine, Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium, Van Halen, The
Scorpions, Paul Gilbert, and Buckethead. When asked how he ended up in
BVB he said, "It was meant to happen."
Inspirational Words Spoken by Jake Pitts
"I think everyone in the band has seen CC naked at least once."
"I hate Wheaties...now Reese's Peanut Butter Cups...those are awesome!"
"If you can build it, you can unbuild it"
"F*** yeah!!! BVB Army is taking over the world!!! Never give in."
"I like metal because it's complicated, technical, brutal and I like the challenge.
"I really don't care if other bands talk shit about us... We have an army, so fuck it!"
"Follow your heart and chase your dreams until you catch them. Negative people who say you cant do something are only speaking for themselves "
Jake "I need a mattress pad"
Ash "check out this skull!!, And it lights up!!"
Jake "SOLD!!!!
"So, I was completely in control...and then I started talking to this chair
"I.. was right, in the middle of a reptil
"I hate Wheaties...now Reese's Peanut Butter Cups...those are awesome!"
"If you can build it, you can unbuild it"
"F*** yeah!!! BVB Army is taking over the world!!! Never give in."
"I like metal because it's complicated, technical, brutal and I like the challenge.
"I really don't care if other bands talk shit about us... We have an army, so fuck it!"
"Follow your heart and chase your dreams until you catch them. Negative people who say you cant do something are only speaking for themselves "
Jake "I need a mattress pad"
Ash "check out this skull!!, And it lights up!!"
Jake "SOLD!!!!
"So, I was completely in control...and then I started talking to this chair
"I.. was right, in the middle of a reptil
Jinxx - Rhythm Guitar, Violin, Backing Vocals
Jinxx
or Jeremy Miles Ferguson born on January 9, 1986 in Webster City, Iowa.
He was previously lead guitarist for Los Angeles-based band "The
Dreaming". Jinxx has been with numerous other bands, also playing with
guitar. Jinxx is a classically-trained concert violinist.
Inspirational Words Spoken by Jinxx
"I've never believed in so much as I do the BVB
Army. Rock and Roll is my religion. And Rock
and Roll is back. I love all of you outcast."
"I'm more than happy to say that I am a part of
the return of Rock n' Roll. And that what we have to
say means so much to these amazing people."
"No matter how much you've worked so hard to be
as successful as you are, there will always be those
ignorant haters who don't understand."
"If you look hard enough for something, you'll probably find it even if it's not really"
"Some people spend their days talking about how cool they are…others spend them doing things that make them cool
"
"Been doing genealogy and found out some of my relatives were in the same unit in the Revolutionary War as Purdy's #bandofbrothers"
" I've never believed in so much as I do the BVB Army. Rock and Roll is my religion. And Rock and Roll is back. I love all of you outcast."
"No matter how much you've worked so hard to be as successful as you are, there will always be those ignorant haters who don't understand."
"If you truly love someone, don't waste your time finding reasons to hate them, spend it remembering why you love them in the first place..."
"I'm more than happy to say that I am a part of the return of Rock n' Roll.And that what we have to say means so much to these amazing people."
"Im in this for all the true rock and rollers who come to our shows and went through the same shit we all did growing up"
"The only certainty is that we never know what tomorrow holds. We live for today, life is short, so let's enjoy it together while we can.
"What doesn't kill us will only make us stronger."
"What's in the past is in the past... let it be, let it be. We all grow up.."
"Walking up to the Whisky some guys said to me 'the Scene is dead. Stop wearing makeup faggot!' All I could do was smile and think about the BVB Army and the legions of dedicated fans BVB has. I will wear my warpaint proudly, thank you very much! Seriously love you all."
"Some people spend their days talking about how cool they are…others spend them doing things that make them cool
""Been doing genealogy and found out some of my relatives were in the same unit in the Revolutionary War as Purdy's #bandofbrothers"
" I've never believed in so much as I do the BVB Army. Rock and Roll is my religion. And Rock and Roll is back. I love all of you outcast."
"No matter how much you've worked so hard to be as successful as you are, there will always be those ignorant haters who don't understand."
"If you truly love someone, don't waste your time finding reasons to hate them, spend it remembering why you love them in the first place..."
"I'm more than happy to say that I am a part of the return of Rock n' Roll.And that what we have to say means so much to these amazing people."
"Im in this for all the true rock and rollers who come to our shows and went through the same shit we all did growing up"
"The only certainty is that we never know what tomorrow holds. We live for today, life is short, so let's enjoy it together while we can.
"What doesn't kill us will only make us stronger."
"What's in the past is in the past... let it be, let it be. We all grow up.."
"Walking up to the Whisky some guys said to me 'the Scene is dead. Stop wearing makeup faggot!' All I could do was smile and think about the BVB Army and the legions of dedicated fans BVB has. I will wear my warpaint proudly, thank you very much! Seriously love you all."
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