Eight years into what has been a whirlwind career for the Orange County natives, Project 86 are returning to their roots, releasing their fourth studio album entitled, “Songs to Burn Your Bridges By,� June 1, 2004 on Tooth & Nail Records. The band, begun in early 1996 as young musicians bonding in their common musical interests and personal beliefs, was almost immediately a hit, garnering label interest not only in California, but also as far north as Seattle, Washington, where Tooth & Nail owner Brandon Ebel recognized and signed the group in 1998.
From that point, Tooth & Nail hosted Project 86’s successful premiere self-titled album (1996), and followed it with their hit sophomore release, “Drawing Black Lines.� (2000) which also brought attention from major labels such as Atlantic Records, who eventually licensed “Drawing Black Lines� as a joint effort with Tooth & Nail. Their third album, “Truthless Heroes,� a darker, follow-up to their previous effort, came next. Though with the timing of it’s release, in 2002, as record companies were struggling, and paying little attention to actual new artist development, Project 86 seemed far from a priority for Atlantic. In 2003 the band parted ways not only with both record labels, but with their management company as well.
From there the band worked independently, gaining new management (Zambooie Artists Management), beginning their own production company, “Team Black Recordings,� and started recording a new record themselves, eventually persuading Matt Hyde (Slayer, No Doubt) to join them in their efforts. Seeming more like an evolution from “Drawing Black Lines� than the ominous direction “Truthless Heroes� took, Ebel recognized the transformation as a welcome change. And from there the band and label began talks, first in healing their relationship and joining forces for the upcoming project.
“’Drawing Black Lines has been my favorite Project 86 release, and I love the new direction this album is taking, as a continuation to that ‘Drawing Black Lines,’ “ Ebel explains, adding, “We are very excited to put out ‘Songs to Burn Your Bridges By,’ and we feel honored that Project 86 chose us again and is trusting us with their future career.�
Lead vocalist, Andrew Schwab shares Ebel’s sentiment saying, "In a time when the music industry is dying rapidly, Tooth and Nail is one of the only labels that is having any success. We were very blessed to mend our relationship with them and move forward to get our music out to the world. I feel like this move, as well as many others that have been happening internally in our band, is a return to our roots both spiritually and mentally. We talked to many labels about distributing our record, but Tooth & Nail was the one that offered us the most advantageous situation. We feel that our fans will appreciate the fact that both sides made huge efforts to move forward from the past into a successful future."
Thanks to crashman_ for submitting the biography.
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