American Hi-Fi

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American Hi-Fi is an American Alternative rock band based in Los Angeles, California, originally hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. The band consists of vocalist Stacy Jones, guitarist Jamie Arentzen, bassist Drew Parsons and drummer Brian Nolan.

American Hi-Fi formed in 1998 under the name BMX Girl and is best known for their 2001 hit single, "Flavor of the Weak". They have released three studio albums, as well as two live albums. In an interview in December 2008 with Drew Parsons, it was confirmed that the band had signed with Original Sound records, with a new record set to be released in 2009.

History

The band formed in 1998 under the name BMX Girl. Stacy Jones later decided to change the band's name to American Hi-Fi.

American Hi-Fi's commercial breakthrough came with their debut single, "Flavor of the Weak", which charted in the Hot Modern Rock Tracks and Billboard Hot 100 charts in 2001.

Label troubles (2004-2006)

In early 2004 and without a backing label, the band headed to Los Angeles, California, to begin work on a new album with producer Butch Walker. The album, Hearts on Parade, was released in Japan on July 14, 2004.

In 2005, American Hi-Fi were signed by Maverick Records, a division of Island. Maverick helped promote the lead single from Hearts on Parade, The Geeks Get the Girls, releasing it as a single for radio airplay and following with a music video in February 2005. American release of the full album was repeatedly delayed, finally occurring on April 12, 2005, almost a year after the initial release in Japan. Neither single released with the album broke into the Billboard Modern Rock charts. Fans complained that the new album was too "pop". Maverick dropped the band in autumn 2005 citing poor record sales.

In the winter of 2005, Playtone Records began seeking submissions for the Superman Returns soundtrack. The band submitted a demo, The Rescue, which had been recorded for Hearts on Parade but was cut from the album. The Rescue was selected for the soundtrack and ran in promotions for the film. The Rescue also received frequent radio airplay into the spring of 2006, but did not result in a new record contract for the band.

Hiatus (2007-2008)

The members of American Hi-Fi were by 2007 involved in a number of side projects. Stacy Jones married long-time girlfriend Jade Loop in California in the fall of 2006. Jason Sutter left American Hi-Fi and joined Smash Mouth. In late 2006 Jones and Arentzen helped produce an album for recording artist Candice. In early 2007, Jamie joined up as part of Butch Walker's touring band the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites for their spring tour.

Upcoming album (2006-present)

In December 2006, Parsons and Jones met for plans for a follow-up album, the plans were put on hold due to Jones busy schedule and Arentzen plans to join Butch Walker's touring band in Spring 2007.

In April 2007, American Hi-Fi announced that the band will record their fourth follow up record in May 2007. Soon after, former Drummer Brian Nolan re-joined the band for their follow up and will stay in the band until further notice.

On 8 January 2008, American Hi-Fi released two new tracks on their MySpace page, both unfinished mixes off their upcoming fourth album. "Keep It Like a Secret" was the first track released followed by "A Taste for Crime". Front man Stacy Jones described the new album "It sounds a little like Elliott Smith partying with the Foo Fighters at a kegger with My Bloody Valentine and Superdrag".^{[citation needed]} The band also released eight demos, a few of which were recorded live in the studio sans overdubs on their Myspace page including "Fight the Frequency", "Frat Chump", "Acetate", "Bullet", "This is a Low", "Recover the Stars", "Lost" and "Where Love is a Lie".

On 4 December 2008, Drew Parsons was interviewed about the band and its upcoming fourth record. Parsons talked about the struggles with the past two labels; Island Records and Maverick Records. He also pointed out that they have signed with Original Sound records and would be releasing a new record in April/May 2009. "The Record is complete" says Parsons, "But now it comes down to selecting the songs that will make it on the record".^{[citation needed]} However, at the end of May, it is not known when the album will be released in 2009. The complete transcript is to be found on *Official American Hi-Fi fan site

On October 13th, the band issued a sneak preview of their new single "Lost", which also serves as the title track of the new album, to alternative addiction for fans to check out.

Band members

• Stacy Jones - lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1998–present)
• Jamie Arentzen - lead guitar, backing vocals (1998–present)
• Drew Parsons - bass guitar, backing vocals (1998–present)
• Brian Nolan - drums, percussion (1998–2003, 2007–present)

Former members

• Jason Sutter - drums, percussion (2003–2006)

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

Non-album tracks

• "Black Satellite" - bonus track on the Japanese and UK version of American Hi-Fi.
• "Still Sideways" - bonus track on the Japanese version of American Hi-Fi.
• "Vertigo" - featured on the American Pie 2 soundtrack
• "When the Breeders Were Big" - bonus track on the Japanese version of The Art of Losing
• "Message in a Bottle" - featured on the Rugrats Go Wild soundtrack.
• "Deceiver" - on the Australian single for The Art of Losing
• "My Soul To Lose" and "Victory Song" - featured on a "Hearts On Parade" EP, given during the Butch Walker vs. AHF tour (July 2004)
• "Dead on the Inside" and "We're Gonna Find a Way" - demos from a free EP given out with preorders of Hearts on Parade.
• "The Rescue" - featured on the Sound of Superman album
• "Transformers Theme" - Not in film; single available on Yahoo Music Unlimited (3 July 2007)
• "Art of Losing (Clean Radio Version)" - featured on the "Freaky Friday" soundtrack. The line "fuck you" is replaced with "1, 2" and the line "Can't you see, it's killing me, I'm my own worst enemy" was altered with the "it's killing me" section silenced.

External links

• Americanhi-fi.com/ Official band website
• American Hi-Fi discography at MusicBrainz
• American Hi-Fi at MySpace
• Official American Hi-Fi fan site
• American Hi-Fi at Rolling Stone

References