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A Post Office box full of mail

PO boxes of various sizes in a German post office, with their number range and postcodes written above them.

A post-office box or Post Office box (commonly referred to as a PO Box or a Postal Box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office station.

In many countries, particularly in Africa, and the Middle East there is no 'door to door' delivery of mail. For example, should one post mail to a street address in Namibia, it will be returned to sender as undeliverable.^[1] Consequently renting a PO box has traditionally been the only way to receive mail in such countries, although some, like Jordan, are now introducing home delivery.^[2]

Generally, post office boxes are rented from the post office either by individuals or by businesses on a basis ranging from monthly to annual, and the cost of rent varies depending on the box size. Central business district or CBD PO boxes are usually more expensive than a rural PO box.

In the US, the rental rate used to be uniform across the country. Now, however, a postal facility can be in any of seven fee groups by location; in addition, certain customers qualify for free box rental.

In the United Kingdom, Royal Mail PO boxes are often little more than pigeon-holes in the secure section of a Sorting Office, and are only accessible by staff. In such cases, the renter of the PO box will be issued with a card showing the PO box number and delivery office name, and must produce this to the desk staff when collecting mail. For an additional fee, the Royal Mail will deliver received items to the renter's geographical address.

Some private companies, e.g. UPS [1], also offer similar services of renting a mailbox in a public location. The difference with an official PO box is that mail sent there is addressed to a street address (along with the box number), instead of just addressed to "PO Box xxx".[2]

Number of boxes[link]

The quantity of post office boxes in a station varies widely. Stations of small areas are often equipped with fewer than 100 boxes, while stations in a CBD area may offer a combined quantity of over 100,000 post office boxes.

Mounting of boxes[link]

PO boxes in the lobby of a U.S. post office

Post office boxes are usually mounted in a wall of the post office, either an external wall or a wall in a lobby, so that staff on the inside may deposit mail in a box, while a key holder (some older post office boxes use a combination dial to open their box instead of a key) on the outside of the building may open his or her box to empty the mail. In many post offices in the U.S., the PO box lobby is separate from the window-service lobby, so that the former may be kept open around the clock while the latter is locked after business hours. However, in the U.S. since the 1980s, in cities and large urban areas, post offices have tended to close box lobbies overnight because of the tendency of homeless people to use them for sleeping quarters. As a result, some box lobbies are accessible after-hours by customers who are provided a code to a door keypad.

Packages[link]

If a parcel does not fit in a PO box, the postmaster will leave a note advising that customer to pick up that parcel from the counter. In some post offices, a key will be left in the PO box that corresponds to a larger, locked box where the patron may pick up his or her package if a signature is not required. Notes will also be left in the PO box in respect of COD and registered mail that has to be signed for.

In 2011, the United States Postal Service began a pilot program called "gopost" which installed larger boxes to handle package pickup from an unstaffed station. A given box can be used by multiple customers thanks to the integration of a computer which accepts a delivery code. ^[3] The idea is apparently patented.^[4] Deutsche Post started a similar concept called a Packstation in 2001.

Locked bags and caller service[link]

Users receiving very large quantities of mail can use "locked bags", which are numbered like PO boxes. In the United States, this service is called caller service, and the assigned number is called a caller number, although mail is typically addressed to "PO Box (caller number)."^[5]

Security[link]

Each country has its own rules and regulations as to how one can retrieve mail at a PO Box. Some countries, such as the United States or the United Kingdom, may require one or more forms of identification. Not all countries offer locked PO Boxes.

In the United States, two forms of identification are required when signing up a for a PO Box; one of which must be a photo ID.

Countries[link]

Many countries offer some type of PO Boxes for different uses. There are an increasing number of private companies that provide similar PO Box services to the official postal service privately under the guise of mail forwarding.

Australia[link]

In Australia, wall-mounted PO boxes come in three sizes, which are designed so that different sizes can be mixed almost completely arbitrarily on the wall.

Austria[link]

In Austria, PO Boxes come in 1 size, and 4 different versions (1.: Only Post addressed to the PO Box will be delivered to it, 2.: All mail addressed to the address of the customer and the PO Box will be delivered to the PO Box, 3.: Same as 1., but for businesses, 4.: Same as 2., but for businesses) – they are generally available at all post offices throughout the country.^[6] Only mail from Austrian Post can be delivered to a Austrian Post PO Box,^[7] but there are also private companies offering the same service but for example completely Anonymous or for parcels.

Canada[link]

In Canada, Postal Boxes are available in five different sizes (A, B, C, D & E). They are generally available in all post offices throughout the country.

Hong Kong[link]

Post office boxes in General Post Office, Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, PO boxes are available in two different sizes. They are available in many post offices throughout the territory.

Japan[link]

In Japan, PO boxes are available at most post office locations. There is no cost to rent a post office box, but the renter must be able to retrieve mail regularly (daily, in principle) from the box. The renter must also rent the box for 6 months or more.^[8]

Namibia[link]

PO boxes inside the NamPost main building in Windhoek.

In Namibia, PO boxes are the only form of mail delivery to private individuals. Even small settlements feature a block of PO boxes for rent. In Windhoek, capital and the only large town, blocks of PO boxes are scattered all over the city and not necessarily located at post offices but at shopping malls, in pedestrian zones or on public places.

New Zealand[link]

In New Zealand, users receiving very large quantities of mail can use "private bags" similar to "locked bags" in other countries.

United Kingdom[link]

In the United Kingdom, anyone applying for a Royal Mail PO Box must produce documentation to verify their home or business address. The Royal Mail will provide, on request, the geographical address relating to a PO Box, unless local Police have requested that the information be withheld.

United States[link]

In the United States, PO Boxes are generally available through USPS. They are available in five different sizes. They are usually arranged from the smallest boxes at the top to the largest boxes at the bottom. The two largest sizes may be configured as drawers. To rent a PO Box, two different forms of identification are required. At least one of them must be a valid photo ID.

See also[link]

• Private Mail Bag – delivered to recipient by contractor.
• Post box – used for outgoing mail.

References[link]

1. ^ "http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/postal.html#africa". Columbia.edu. http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/postal.html#africa. Retrieved 2009-10-01. 
2. ^ Universal Postal Union. "http://www.upu.int/faqs/en/projects/arab_countries/jordan_2.shtml". Upu.int. http://www.upu.int/faqs/en/projects/arab_countries/jordan_2.shtml. Retrieved 2009-10-01. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ http://potomaclocal.com/2011/12/29/new-postal-kiosk-will-handle-packages/
4. ^ http://www.google.com/patents/US6690997
5. ^ "http://pe.usps.gov/Archive/HTML/DMMArchive1209/D920.htm". Pe.usps.gov. 1994-07-03. http://pe.usps.gov/Archive/HTML/DMMArchive1209/D920.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-01. 
6. ^ http://www.post.at/privat_empfangen_brief_postfach.php
7. ^ Nur Sendungen die von der Österreichischen Post zugestellt werden, gelangen ins Postfach. – English: Only mail from Austrian Post gets in your PO Box
8. ^ http://www.jp-network.japanpost.jp/services/post/general/index02.html

P.O.D.
Traa Daniels, Wuv Bernardo, Marcos Curiel, Sonny Sandoval
Background information
Origin	Southtown, San Diego, California, United States
Genres	Alternative metal,[1] nu metal,[1][2] rap metal,[3] Christian metal, reggae[3]
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Rescue, Atlantic, Columbia/INO, Razor & Tie, Tooth & Nail
Associated acts	The Accident Experiment, Living Sacrifice, StillWell, Daylight Division, Southtown Generals
Website	www.payableondeath.com
Members
Sonny Sandoval Wuv Bernardo Traa Daniels Marcos Curiel
Past members
Jason Truby Gabe Portillo

Payable on Death (stylized as P.O.D.)^[4] is an American Christian metal^[5][6] band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. ^[4][7][8]

They have released seven studio albums and have sold over 10 million records worldwide. Over the course of their career, the band have also received three Grammy Award nominations, contributed to numerous motion picture soundtracks and toured internationally. With their third studio album, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, they achieved their initial mainstream success; the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2000.^[8][9] Their following studio album, Satellite, continued the band's success with the singles, "Alive" and "Youth of the Nation", pushing it to go triple platinum.^[9][10]

History[link]

Early years (1991–1993)[link]

In 1991, friends Marcos Curiel and Wuv Bernardo engaged in jam sessions, with Marcos covering guitar and Wuv playing the drums with no vocalist.^[11] Calling themselves Eschatos, they started playing at keg parties doing Metallica and Slayer cover songs.

After his mother's fatal illness, Sonny Sandoval converted to Christianity and was asked by his cousin, Wuv Bernardo, to join the band as a way to keep his mind straight as mentioned on their DVD, Still Payin' Dues. They got a bass player, Gabe Portillo, and eventually changed their name to P.O.D.

Debut releases (1994–1998)[link]

After recording a demo tape, Traa Daniels joined the band in 1994 when they needed a bassist for some shows to replace Gabe. P.O.D. signed with Rescue Records, a label created by Wuv's father, Noah Bernardo Sr., who was also the band's first manager.^[12] Between 1994 and 1997, they released three albums under the label, Snuff the Punk, Brown and Payable on Death Live.^[8] Longtime manager Tim Cook was first introduced to the band when he booked them to play his club The Where-House in Bartlesville, Oklahoma following strong local word of mouth support.^[12] He later described their performance by saying: "I stood at the back of the venue with tears in my eyes – it was the greatest thing I had ever seen."^[12] By that point, Bernardo Sr. was looking for someone else to take P.O.D.'s career further and so Cook took over as manager.^[12]

Shortly after the release of Payable on Death Live, Essential Records offered P.O.D. a $100,000 recording contract, but Sonny Sandoval spoke for them all when he politely but firmly told band manager Tim Cook to decline the offer because, “God has a bigger plan for P.O.D.”^[13] When, in 1998, Atlantic Records A&R John Rubeli first came across P.O.D.'s demo "he didn't quite get it", as he later told HitQuarters.^[12] It was only when he saw them play live at The Roxy on the Sunset Strip and witnessed not just an enthusiastic audience singing every word but the centre of a vibrant youth movement that he become convinced by the band.^[12] The band was quickly signed to a major-label deal.^[13] P.O.D. soon released The Warriors EP, a tribute EP to their loyal fans as a transitional album from Rescue Records to Atlantic Records.

Mainstream success (1999–2002)[link]

P.O.D.'s third studio album, 1999's The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, spawned the hits "Southtown" and "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)", which was their first video to reach #1 on MTV's Total Request Live.^[14] The song "School of Hard Knocks" was featured on the soundtrack for Little Nicky while both "Southtown" and "Rock the Party" appeared in the movie. All three music videos endured heavy play on MTV2 and the songs were rock radio hits. The album went on to become RIAA certified platinum.^[8]

On September 11, 2001 P.O.D. released their fourth studio album, Satellite. The album's first single, "Alive", went on to become one of MTV's and MTV2's top played videos of the year. The video's popularity, as well as the song's positive message, helped the song become a huge modern rock radio hit and it was Grammy nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2002.

The album's second single, "Youth of the Nation", was influenced in part by the school shootings at Santana High School, Columbine High School, and Granite Hills High School. It was Grammy nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2003. The 2002 singles, "Boom" and "Satellite", also became quite popular. In addition, the concluding track of the album, "Portrait," was Grammy nominated for Best Metal Performance in 2003. Satellite went on to become RIAA-certified triple platinum.^[10] The author of Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music has described P.O.D. as "One of the biggest success stories in recent Christian music."^[15]

New guitarist (2003–2006)[link]

On February 19, 2003, guitarist Marcos Curiel left the band due to his side project, The Accident Experiment, and to "spiritual differences." However, Marcos argued that he was actually kicked out of the band.^[16][17] Curiel was replaced by Jason Truby, former member of Christian metal band Living Sacrifice, and assisted with the recording of "Sleeping Awake", from The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack. In an interview with Yahoo! Music, Sonny stated that Jason is the reason why the group is still together.^[18] On November 4, 2003, P.O.D. released their fifth studio album, Payable on Death, which saw the group shift from their well known rapcore sound to a darker, more melodic metal sound.^[7] The album was hit with controversy due to its "occult" cover, which led as many as 85% of Christian bookstores across the United States to ban the album.^[19] With the help of the album's hit single "Will You" and "Change the World", it went on to sell over 520,000 copies and was certified Gold.^[20] Sometime after the tsunami in Asia, many singers, musicians, and actors/actresses, including Sonny and Wuv, participated in the recording of, "Forever in Our Hearts", with all proceeds going to benefit the tsunami relief.^[21]

P.O.D.'s sixth studio album Testify was slated for a December 2005 release, but was pushed back to January 24, 2006. On November 15, 2005, P.O.D. released The Warriors EP, Volume 2, which featured demos from the upcoming album, to help build up the fans' anticipation for the pending January release. The album's first single, "Goodbye for Now" (with a vocal tag by a then-unknown Katy Perry) went on to become a #1 video on MTV's TRL, along with having a solid radio presence, it also became the band's unprecedented 4th number one video on Total Request Live.^[22] The second single off the album, "Lights Out" was a minor hit, but was featured as the "official theme song" to WWE's Survivor Series on November 27, 2005. In another contribution to WWE, they performed fellow San Diego native Rey Mysterio's theme song "Booyaka 619" at WrestleMania 22.^[22] To promote their latest album, P.O.D. went on a nationwide tour called the "Warriors Tour 2: Guilty by Association", which began in April, and included the bands Pillar, The Chariot and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster.^[23]

On August 11, 2006, P.O.D. announced in their online newsletter that they had left Atlantic Records.^[9][20] On September 16, 2006, P.O.D. announced that they have teamed up with Rhino Records to release a greatest hits record simply titled, Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years, which was released on November 21, 2006. They shot a music video for their single "Going In Blind", one of the two new songs they included in the tenth album, and they had meetings with various record labels to begin working on new material for an album they hoped to release in mid 2007.^[9]

Reunion (2007–2009)[link]

In a statement made by the band's manager on their MySpace page, it was officially announced, on December 30, 2006, that Jason Truby had left the band. They had said "God worked it out because Jason decided to leave the band the same day Marcos asked to rejoin." Marcos performed with the band for the first time since his departure on the 2006 New Year's Eve episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.^[9] Marcos was scheduled to appear at this show before returning, which is why he was able to do it literally the day after he was announced as being back in the band.

On February 2, 2007 the band made a new record deal with INO Records.^[24]

On June 1, 2007, at the Rockbox in San Diego, the band performed and revealed a new song entitled "Condescending", along with another new song performed on June 16, 2007, at the Journeys Backyard BBQ tour entitled "Addicted". They also revealed the title of their new album to be When Angels & Serpents Dance. On August 4, 2007, the band played at Angel Stadium of Anaheim's annual Harvest Crusade where they revealed a new song entitled "I'll Be Ready", originally thought to be entitled "When Babylon Come For I," for a crowd of 42,000.^[25]

The album cover was officially revealed on December 10, 2007.^[26] The title track was released for free download on their site in January 2008. The first single "Addicted" was released on February 19 and peaked at No. 30 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The album was released on April 8, 2008 entitled When Angels & Serpents Dance. On July 28, 2008, the group played a free public performance at the Orange County Choppers headquarters in Newburgh, NY, with OCC The Band opening. The band also played on August 16, 2008 at the Angel Stadium of Anaheim's annual Harvest Crusade. During September 2008 P.O.D played alongside Redline, Behind Crimson Eyes, Alter Bridge and Disturbed as part of the Music As A Weapon tour 2008 in Australia. In November 2008, P.O.D. started their first tour in South America with five shows in Brazil, one in Chile and one in Colombia. P.O.D. then went on hiatus after touring in South America. This was confirmed when they canceled the 2009 European tour with Filter in summer 2009.

Recent years (2010–present)[link]

In March and April 2010, P.O.D. played an 11-date South America tour, visiting countries such as Argentina and Colombia.

In May 2011, P.O.D. headlined the first annual Spring Jam Fest. They appeared on the Rock of Allegiance tour during summer 2011.^[27] On July 25, 2011, P.O.D. released new song "On Fire" as a free download on their official website.^[28]

On October 6, 2011, P.O.D. announced a new multi-album artist deal with Razor & Tie.^[29] On April 5, 2012, P.O.D. posted an article on their website that allows fans to download and listen to the track "Eyez". ^[30] P.O.D. also announced on their website that "Lost in Forever" will be the first single off of the new album, entitled Murdered Love,^[31] is set to be released on July 10, 2012.^{[citation needed]} The album, produced by longterm collaborator Howard Benson and recorded between December 2010 and January 2012 was described by Curiel that set the band "back to our roots. A little bit of hip hop, a little bit of punk rock, or reggae".^[32]

Style and influences[link]

The band's name, Payable on Death (P.O.D.), derives itself from the banking term "Payable on Death". The band chose this name to be a direct tie in to Christianity, which explains, that since Jesus died on the Cross, Christians inherit all of his assets (Heaven). P.O.D.'s style has evolved over the years, from the rap metal sound on their early albums to the nu metal and reggae-infused alternative metal styles for which they're most well known. Their latest album, When Angels & Serpents Dance, is a combination of alternative rock, reggae rock and Latin-influenced metal with almost none of the rap metal or nu metal sound of their older releases. P.O.D.'s influences include Santana, Bad Brains, Bob Marley, Metallica, U2, Rage Against the Machine, Beastie Boys, Black Flag, Faith No More, Jane's Addiction, Living Colour, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sepultura and Suicidal Tendencies.^[8]

Band members[link]

Current members

• Sonny Sandoval − lead vocals (1992–present)
• Wuv Bernardo − drums, percussion, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1992–present)
• Traa Daniels − bass guitar, backing vocals (1994–present)
• Marcos Curiel − lead guitar, glockenspiel, programming, backing vocals (1992–2003, 2006–present)

Former members

• Gabe Portillo − bass (1992–1994)
• Jason Truby − guitar, backing vocals (2003–2006)

Discography[link]

• Snuff the Punk (1994)
• Brown (1996)
• The Fundamental Elements of Southtown (1999)
• Satellite (2001)
• Payable on Death (2003)
• Testify (2006)
• When Angels & Serpents Dance (2008)
• Murdered Love (2012)^[33]

Awards[link]

American Music Awards

• 2003 - Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist (nomination)

Echo Awards

• 2003 - International Alternative Group of the Year ^[34]

San Diego Music Awards

• 1999 - Best Hard Rock Artist
• 2000 - Best Hard Rock Artist

Note: Album and single-specific awards and nominations are listed under their respective articles.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: P.O.D.

• Official P.O.D. website
• P.O.D. Promotions Crew: Official Street Team
• P.O.D. at PureVolume