Kids in Glass Houses

Kids in Glass Houses
Kids in Glass Houses performing at the Astoria 2 in June, 2008
Background information
Origin	Cardiff, Wales, UK
Genres	Alternative rock, power pop, indie rock
Years active	2003–Present
Labels	Warner/Roadrunner
Website	Kids in Glass Houses
Members
Aled Phillips Joel Fisher Iain Mahanty Andrew Shay Philip Jenkins
Former members
Aled Rees Earl Phillips Matt Hitt Luke Bentley Dopez

Kids in Glass Houses are a five-piece powerpop band from the surrounding valleys of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Boasting influences ranging from the classic pop of The Police, Michael Jackson, Prince, and The Beach Boys to the British rock of Stereophonics, Blur and Pulp to the hardcore/punk stylings of Glassjaw, Refused and The Movielife. The band's name is inspired by a lyric in Glassjaw song 'Tip Your Bartender'. The line is "not throwing stones at you anymore".

History

Beginnings (2003-2007)

The quintet had a series of support slots during late 2006 and early 2007, playing alongside Lostprophets, 30 Seconds to Mars, Hundred Reasons, Manic Street Preachers and The Goo Goo Dolls. In the band's early stages, they also shared the stage with the likes of Funeral for a Friend and The Used on the Taste of Chaos 2005 UK tour in Cardiff. They also supported Funeral for a Friend in their 2007 December tour. They have also supported Paramore and New Found Glory on the 2008 RIOT Tour - during which, guitarist Iain Mahanty, has been known to join New Found Glory onstage to perform their song, Hit or Miss.

During their time as an unsigned band, the band garnered a rare and unprecedented amount of press and support from rock media, including Kerrang! and NME as well as BBC Radio 1 and XFM. In a television interview Lostprophets vocalist Ian Watkins claimed that "relatively unknown bands such as Kids in Glass Houses are a lot better than a lot of known bands out there."

In August 2007, the band were nominated for 'Best British Newcomer' at the Kerrang Awards, where the group were beaten to the award by Gallows. Despite Kids in Glass Houses' disappointment at not winning, fellow countrymen Lostprophets brought the band up on stage with them to claim their own award. During the run up to the awards, Kids in Glass Houses played a special show, titled 'The Day Of Rock', inside Zavvi on Oxford Street, London, alongside Enter Shikari, Fightstar, The Answer and Turisas.

During October 2007, the band completed a 16 date headline tour of the UK supported by London's Tonight Is Goodbye (now the Futures) and friends of the bands rotating on the tour - Saidmike(Now Straight lines) and The New 1920. Following that they supported fellow Welshmen, Funeral for a Friend on their December 2007 UK tour.

Smart Casual (2008)

Between the October and December tours, the band recorded their debut album at Long Wave Studios with Romesh Dodangoda, who also produced the band's previous EP.^[1] During a studio session, the band recorded a live version of Glassjaw's Ry Ry's Song.

They signed to Roadrunner records on the 8th of December 2007, shortly before going on stage to support Funeral For A Friend.^[2]

The band released "Easy Tiger" as their next single. The video received considerable rotation on music channels, as well as entered the Kerrang! Top 10 Overdrive upon the first week of its release.^[3]

The band released their debut album, entitled Smart Casual, on May 26, 2008. The album features re-recordings of three songs from E-Pocalypse!. Prior to this, the single "Give Me What I Want" (a re-recording of the track "Me Me Me") was released on May 19, 2008.

On the 21st May, 2008 the band embarked on a headline tour to promote Smart Casual which finished with aperformance at Astoria 2 on the 5th June 2008. The support for the tour was provided by American punk rock band Valencia.

The band were one of the support slots for Fall Out Boy on their UK arena tour in March 2009, along with Hey Monday.

In February 2009, website ^[4] released the video for "Dance All Night". The song was announced as a single, due for release in March 2009, but no further details have been announced as of April 2009.

Second album

Aled posted as an update to fans on facebook that the band were working on their second album to be released at the end of the year. They will go into the studio to record it on August 1 2009. No further details have been disclosed. The new album will be released on March 29th 2010. The first single is being released on October 5 titled "Young Blood (Let it Out)", being released as a digital download single. Their second single ‘Matters At All’ sees a release on the 31st January as a digital single and will be available on all the usual platforms. The band also revealed to Kerrang! magazine, on October 21, that work on the second album was complete, but no title had been decided upon.

Members

Current

• Aled Phillips - lead vocals
• Joel Fisher - guitar
• Iain Mahanty - guitar
• Andrew Shay - bass guitar
• Philip Jenkins - drums & percussion

Former

• Aled Rees - guitar
• Matt Hitt - guitar
• Earl Phillips - bass guitar
• Luke Bentley - drums
• Dopez - guitar

Discography

Albums

• Smart Casual - May 2008 UK #29
• TBC - March 29th 2010

EPs

• The Things Bricks Say (When Your Back Is Turned) - 2004
• Trust Issues With Magicians - 2005
• E-Pocalypse! - 2006

Singles

• "Me Me Me" (now known as "Give Me What I Want") - June 2007
• "Easy Tiger" - March 2008
• "Give Me What I Want" (formerly "Me Me Me") - May 2008
• "Saturday" - August 2008
• "Fisticuffs" - November 2008
• "Youngblood (Let It Out)" - October 5 2009
• "Matters at all" - January 21 2010

Chart positions

Singles

References

1. ^ rocklouderKids In Glass Houses recording and demoing debut album - retrieved January 7th 2008
2. ^ Kerrang! KIGH sign to Roadrunner
3. ^ myspace- blog post- Wednesday, January 02, 2008 "mission statement"
4. ^ [1]Punktastic.com
5. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending 29 March 2008". ChartsPlus (Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd) (344): 1–4. 
6. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending 31 May 2008". ChartsPlus (Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd) (353): 1–4. 
7. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending 23 August 2008". ChartsPlus (Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd) (365): 1–4. 
8. ^ KIDS IN GLASS HOUSES RECORD LIVE @ KERRANG! - includes confirmation of "Fisticuffs" as a single

External links

• Kids In Glass Houses Official
• Kids In Glass Houses @ Myspace
• KidsInGlassHouses España
• KidsInGlassHouses.co.nr
• Kids In Glass Houses UK Fansite
• Kids In Glass Houses biography from BBC Wales

v • d • e Culture and Recreation in Cardiff Performing Arts Cardiff Singer of the World • BBC National Orchestra of Wales • Welsh National Opera • Wales Millennium Centre • Cardiff International Arena • St David's Hall • Cardiff City Hall • New Theatre • Sherman Cymru • Chapter Arts Centre • Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama • National Youth Orchestra of Wales Music Venues and Acts Cardiff music scene • Clwb Ifor Bach • Coal Exchange • Spillers Records • Barfly • Cardiff University Students' Union • Bute Park • Roald Dahl Plass • Charlotte Church • Shirley Bassey • Catatonia • The Oppressed • Kids in Glass Houses • Los Campesinos! • The Hot Puppies • Pagan Wanderer Lu • Budgie • Shakin' Stevens Festivals National Eisteddfod • Urdd Eisteddfod • Party in the Park • Cardiff Big Weekend • Cardiff Design Festival • Sŵn • Tsunami Relief Cardiff Museums and Galleries National Museum Cardiff • St Fagans National History Museum • Welch Regiment Museum • Norwegian Church Arts Centre • The Gate • Doctor Who Exhibition Centre Entertainment Cardiff Central Library • Red Dragon Centre • Mermaid Quay • Hard Rock Cafe • Millennium Plaza • The Glee Club Parks Bute Park • Roath Park • Victoria Park Shopping Arcades • St. David's Centre • St. David's 2 • Queens Arcade • Capitol Centre • Central Market • Howells