User:Jtrefney/Make Me Break Me

= Make ME BREAK Me = Make Me Break Me is a burgeoning post-hardcore band from St. Louis, Missouri. They're known for driving rhythms laced with catchy hooks, an occasional breakdown and one hell of an energetic live show.

Musically, Make Me Break Me draws influences from bands such as A Day To Remember, Alexisonfire and Dance Gavin Dance. They attempt to write songs that are both brutal enough to appeal to metalheads and soft enough not to alienate fans of mainstream music.

History of Make Me Break Me
Formed in a basement in mid-2008 by frontman Anthony James and guitarist JD Trefney, Make Me Break Me went through several incarnations before solidifying their sound and lineup in 2009. Drummer Mike Hamilton (a temporary fill-in at first) left another project to join the band at the same time Aaron Voege was given the bassist spot. Guitarist Zach Galloway was added a few months later, just in time for a coveted spot on PointFest 25 (a radio festival for rock station KPNT in St. Louis). Since that time the band has shared the stage with other groups such as Janus, Psychostick, Nashville Pussy and Echovalve.

Make Me Break Me's first self-released EP entitled "Diamonds And Guns" was released on October 23rd, 2009 and continues to sell exceptionally well online, at their performances and at area record stores. The band is currently writing material for their first full-length album and has a midwest tour planned for the summer of 2010 with friends Break These Walls.

Early Days (2008-2009)
Make Me Break Me started off with Anthony James, Ryn e Woodsmall, JD Trefney, and Dave Sanford. The band was originally named Failside, but Sanford left almost immediately taking the name with him. So James, Woodsmall, and Trefney started a new project completely independent and different than the way Failside was going. They decided to go the Punk-Rock route and Trefney quickly found the band a new bassist, Brandon Reinert. James moved from bass to guitar/vocals and Reinert took over as the bass player. The band began writing music quickly, James and Trefney already had a couple of songs ready for the band. "Tell Me This", "Train To Anywhere", and "Make Believe" were the first three songs the band wrote. The band however needed a name. So James and Woodsmall began brainstorming and finally landed on the name "Make Me Break Me". All the members liked it, and it just stuck.

Webster Demo
 * Paranoia
 * Wolf
 * Make Believe
 * Train to Anywhere
 * Tell Me This
 * LMS
 * Fire and Ice

LBM Music Compilation Vol. 3 (Fall Edition)
The band quickly jumped into the studio to record the few songs that they had written. They went to Webster University to start recording their first album, which would never be released. They continued to do some recording and finally recorded their single "L.M.S (Last Man Standing)" for a compilation to be circulated by national retail store [www.HotTopic.com |HotTopic]. They put "L.M.S." out on the LBM Music Zine Fall Sample Compilation

The young band began playing out at different venues around St. Louis. Their first show was May 1, 2008 at |Pop's Nightclub in Sauget IL. They also played at the New Creepy Crawl, The Midwest Music Pit, 2 Cents Plain, and the Firebird.

LBM Music Compilation Vol. 3 (Fall Edition)
 * LMS (Last Man Standing (Original Lyrics))

Pop's Compilation Vol. 1
After about 6 months of playing out Reinert left the band, and Make Me Break Me started to look for new Bass players. They tried a few different players, none of whom were permanent fixtures but did help the band write some new material. shorty after Reinert left the band, MMBM went into Sawhorse Studio to record a song. They recorded "Tell Me This" which made it onto the Pop's Local Music Compilation Shortly after recording the single for the compilation, Woodsmall left the group to pursue being a father and husband.

Pop's Compilation Vol. 1
 * Tell Me This (Sawhorse recording)

Diamonds and Guns (2009-2010)
After Woodsmall left, James and Trefney held tryouts for new members. They had an upcomong show at Pop's nightclub for the Local Music Compilation. Sasser called his long time friend and drummer Mike Hamilton. He came in to learn the music and just fill in for the group until they could find a permanent drummer. The group also tried out Aaron Voege, a friend of Trefney, as their bass player. Voege quickly picked up the music and started adding his own influence to the songs written and began helping to write new songs with the group.

After a successful show at Pop's Nightclub the group decided to stay together as they were and started looking for places to record. The band settled on Firebrand Studios to record their first real EP. They spent only three days recording "Diamonds and Guns" in June of 2009 and officially released the album in October of 2009.

The group continued to play shows throughout the summer and were able to grab a spot at the big STL festival, Pointfest 25. They realized that they needed to do something to make the band more solid, so they decided to add guitarist Zach Galloway. His first show was Pointfest 25 and has been playing with the band ever since

Reached 295 on the rock charts for St. Louis MO

Diamonds and Guns EP
 * Letters Inc.
 * LMS (New Lyrics)
 * Make Believe
 * Ruby Cross
 * Tell Me This
 * STL Super Villain
 * Last Supper

Pop's Compilation Volume 2 (2009-2010)
The band went back into Firebrand Recording to record their next single, "Money Talks", a song about strippers and making money, for the upcoming release of Pop's local music compilation Volume 2. After recording the song the band had it mastered and sent off for distribution. The compilation was released April 10th 2010.

To promote the album and compiation release Make Me Break Me spent several months promoting their music on many radio stations in St. Louis. They did on-air interviews for local stations KSHE on Monday Night Metal with Real Rock Tom Terbrock and have received promotion and air play for local KPNT on the Sunday Night local Show with Cornbread. They also frequent the online radio station Riverfront Radio and college station 89.5 The Wave.

The band has played a few shows supporting the compilation in St. Louis and then packed it up and did a small midwest tour with Illinois local band Break These Walls. They spent most of June 2010 touring Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois,and Ohio in support for the compilation and their albums.

Pop's Compilation Vol. 2
 * Money Talks

New Album (2010-Present)
Currently Make Me Break Me is recording a follow EP to "Diamonds and Guns". The EP doesn't have a name yet and is currently being recorded by the band itself. There is no release date, or advanced leaks of the work yet. It is rumored that the band will include "Too Bad Canada Isn't A State", " Sink or Swim", and "Songs About Strangers".

Current lineup

 * Anthony James-Vocals-(2008-Present)
 * Mike Hamilton-Drums-(2009-Presemt)
 * Zach Galloway-Rhythm Guitar/Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals-(2009-Present)
 * Aaron Voege-Bass guitar/Backing Vocals/-(2009-Present)
 * JD Trefney-Rhythm Guitar/Lead Guitar/Backing vocals/-(2008-Present)

Former Members

 * Brandon Reinert-Bass guitar/Vocals(2008)
 * Ryne Woodsmall-Drums (2008-2009)
 * Nick -Bass guitar(2009)
 * Drew -Bass guitar(2009-2010)