"Even If" is the name given to the following songs:

• "Even If", by Andy Abraham from the album Even If
• "Even If", by Ken Hirai from the album Gaining Through Losing
• "Even If", by ZOEgirl from Life

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

Eli Young Band
Mike Eli
Background information
Origin	Denton, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Country
Years active	2000-present[1]
Labels	Carnival Universal South Republic Nashville
Website	http://www.eliyoung.net
Members
Mike Eli James Young Jon Jones Chris Thompson
Past members
Bryan Tyler Mark Sims

Eli Young Band is an American country music band based in Denton, Texas. The band is composed of Mike Eli (vocals, guitar), James Young (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar), and Chris Thompson (drums). They released their self-titled debut album in 2002, followed by the Carnival records release Level in 2005. Their third album, Jet Black & Jealous, was released in 2008 by Universal South Records. A second major-label album, Life at Best, was released in 2011 by Republic Nashville; it includes their first #1 hit, "Crazy Girl".

Biography[link]

Mike Eli and James Young met each at the University of North Texas when they became dorm roommates their freshman year. They played guitar and eventually began writing and singing songs together; they formed the acoustic duo, Eli & Young, while attending the University of North Texas.^[1] Chris Thompson and Jon Jones joined them later on and they became the Eli Young Band.^[2]

They released their first album in 2002, self-titled "Eli Young Band". In 2005 they released "Level" on Carnival Records and opened shows for Miranda Lambert.^[2] National exposure on CMT and GAC helped them begin to build a following well outside of their touring base. They sold as many as 2,000 tickets a night in multiple markets. In late 2006 they released Eli Young Band Live At the Jolly Fox located in Huntsville, Texas. Early in 2007, they signed a management deal with George Couri and C3 Management. Their plans included a rigorous tour schedule and key opening spots with Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen, and Jack Ingram, as well as a spot on the 2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival.

While touring, they were also making songwriting a top priority and made time for writing trips and retreats at the Young family ranch. Energized with new songs, they were ready to begin working on a new album in late 2007. Working with producers Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke (who have also produced for Lambert), they took time off from touring to record at Omni Studios in Nashville. Their third album, Jet Black & Jealous, was released in 2008. Its lead-off single, "When It Rains", spent thirty-seven weeks on the country charts and peaked at #34.^[3] A second chart single, "Always the Love Songs" (co-written by David Lee Murphy and George Ducas), scored the Eli Young Band their first top 15 hit, making #11. ("Radio Waves" also made top 40, while "Guinevere" peaked at #45.)

They were nominated for an Academy of Country Music award as the Top New Vocal Group or Duo, an award that is based on the number of fan entries on the GAC website. They lost to the Zac Brown Band. They were then nominated for the 2010 Top New Vocal Group for the 45th ACM Awards, but lost to Gloriana.

They appeared as part of the pregame ceremonies for an NFL game between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on December 5, 2010. Mike Eli forgot the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner" and was promptly booed. He attempted to sing the song again, but forgot a considerable amount of the lyrics in his second try.^[4]

In 2011, the Eli Young Band moved to Republic Nashville and released their fifth overall single, "Crazy Girl" as the lead single off "Life at Best". It became the band's first gold-selling digital single,^[5] as well as their first #1 single.

The band received three nominations for the 2012 Academy of Country Music Awards: Song of the Year, Top Vocal Group of the Year, and Single Record of the Year. On April 1, 2012 the band won the Academy of Country Music Award for Song of the Year.

Band members[link]

Current[link]

• Mike Eli (lead vocals, guitars)
• James Young (lead guitar, backing vocals)
• Jon Jones (bass guitar, backing vocals)
• Chris Thompson (drums)
• Keith Davis (pedal steel, keys, guitars, backing vocals)

Former[link]

• Mark Sims (guitar)
• Bryan Tyler (guitar)

Guests[link]

• Blu Sanders (guitars, backing vocals)
• Allen Huff (organ)

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Live albums[link]

Singles[link]

• ^ACurrent single.

Other charted songs[link]

Songs charted from unsolicited airplay.

Videography[link]

Music videos[link]

Cultural References[link]

Australian Golfer Rhein Gibson claimed, after possibly scoring the lowest score ever recorded in a round of golf, "I had this song playing in my head... that new one from the Eli Young Band. It was in there all day."^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Papa Roach
Papa Roach live at the Zwarte Cross festival in Lichtenvoorde on July 18, 2010.
Background information
Origin	Vacaville, California, United States
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal, rap rock, post-grunge, alternative metal
Years active	1993 (1993)–present
Labels	Eleven Seven Music, DGC, Interscope, Geffen, DreamWorks
Associated acts	Fight the Sky, Pulley
Website	www.paparoach.com
Members
Jacoby Shaddix Jerry Horton Tobin Esperance Tony Palermo
Past members
Will James Dave Buckner

Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California.^[1] Their first major-label release was the triple-platinum album Infest (2000). The group's success continued with their gold album Lovehatetragedy (2002), their platinum album Getting Away with Murder (2004), The Paramour Sessions (2006), and Metamorphosis (2009). The band's seventh album, Time for Annihilation, was released on August 31, 2010. Papa Roach has sold about 10 million album copies worldwide, and are known for their hits "Last Resort", "Between Angels And Insects", "She Loves Me Not", "...To Be Loved", "Scars", "Forever", and "Hollywood Whore".

Band history[link]

Formation and early years: 1993–1999[link]

The formation of Papa Roach began in January 1993, when lead singer Jacoby Shaddix and drummer Dave Buckner met on the Vacaville High School football field during an intense match, where the two ended up talking about music. They were later joined by trombonist Ben Luther and bass guitarist Will James. They decided to enter the school's talent show, where they performed a cover version of Jimi Hendrix's song "Fire", but they ultimately did not win the contest. In March 1993, trombonist Ben Luther was replaced by lead guitarist Jerry Horton from nearby Vanden High School. Horton was introduced to the band through his girlfriend, who was a fan. However, Jerry was at first apprehensive about joining the band because Jacoby, Buckner, and Will all went to different high schools. At this point, Papa Roach were practicing every day and touring on every gig they could get. Their first tour van was called Moby Dick, where Jacoby was inspired to come up with his first stage name "Coby Dick". The band's name comes from Shaddix's step-grandfather, Howard William Roatch, who was nicknamed Papa Roach. Roatch committed suicide in 2006 because he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The band pay homage to him with The Paramour Sessions and during live performances of the song "Roses On My Grave".^[2]

In 1994, Papa Roach released their first ever EP titled Potatoes for Christmas. Drummer Dave Buckner was temporarily replaced by Ryan Brown, as Buckner was spending the year in Seattle studying art. In 1995, they released a demo at Sound Farm Studios titled Caca Bonita. By this time Buckner was back. In 1996, they replaced original bass guitarist Will James, who had become heavily involved in a church summer camp, by Tobin Esperance, because James' absence would limit the band's summer practicing and touring. As Esperance had been with the band as a roadie for a while, the transition was an easy one.

On February 4, 1997, the band produced their first full-length album, entitled Old Friends from Young Years. Still touring heavily, they supported bands such as Incubus, Powerman 5000, Hed PE, Snot, Far and Static-X.

In 1998, they released an EP titled 5 Tracks Deep. It sold more than 1,000 copies in its first month of release. In 1999, they produced another EP, which would end up being their last independent release, titled Let 'Em Know. Its success caught the attention of Warner Music Group, who as part of a development deal provided a small amount of money for the production of a five-track promo-demo CD.^[3] The band decided they wanted influential rock producer Jay Baumgardner on board to produce the record.^[3] In an interview with HitQuarters, Baumgardner said, “At first I wasn’t really convinced it would work out, but then I saw a video of them performing at a club - I saw all these kids going wild, knowing the songs by heart - and that’s when I realized that they definitely had potential.”^[3]

Warner Brothers was not convinced by the demo, however, and elected not to sign them.^[3] The unreleased disc included the songs "Infest", "Last Resort", "Broken Home", "Dead Cell", and "She Loves Me Not" - the first four would later feature on their Infest album, and the last on Lovehatetragedy.

Soon after, DreamWorks Records offered the band a recording contract.

Breakthrough and mainstream success: 1999–2005[link]

After signing with DreamWorks Records in October 1999, they immediately hit the studio to record their debut major-label album titled Infest. The album included old songs from their independent releases, these being "Infest", "Last Resort", "Broken Home", "Dead Cell" from the Warner Brothers demo CD; "Revenge In Japanese" as "Revenge" and "Thrown Away" from their 5 Tracks Deep EP; "Legacy", "Binge", "Snakes", and a softer version of the originally heavier "Tightrope" from the Let 'Em Know EP; which were re-recorded, and three additional newly written songs: "Between Angels and Insects", "Blood Brothers", and "Never Enough". Infest was released on April 25, 2000, and sold 30,000 copies in its first week of release. With their debut album released, and the music video for "Last Resort" recorded, they hit the Vans Warped Tour and numerous other large tours, including the Anger Management Tour with Limp Bizkit and such rap acts like Eminem, E-40, Xzibit, and Ludacris.

In late 2000, they toured the United Kingdom, highlighting how quickly their popularity had spread worldwide. In 2001, the band toured Ozzfest, where they performed on the prestigious main stage, on both the United States and United Kingdom tours.

The song "Blood Brothers" was also featured on the popular video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.

After enormous amounts of touring worldwide, most notably in the United States, United Kingdom and Japan, the band hit the studio again to record their second major-label album which was to be titled Born to Rock, but was re-named to Lovehatetragedy. The album was released in the United States on June 18, 2002, and though it did not outsell Infest, it managed to chart higher in both the United States and United Kingdom album charts. The album has sold over 500,000 copies and has been certified Gold. The album marked a change in sound, morphing from nu metal to rock, except on the album's first single, "She Loves Me Not". The music video for "Time and Time Again" was also featured on the Pepsi Blue commercial.

In late 2003, Papa Roach wrote and recorded their third major-label album with the working title Dancing In the Ashes, but released as Getting Away with Murder. The band worked with well-recognized producer Howard Benson. After completion, the band filmed the video for the title track, "Getting Away with Murder", and went on a small summer club tour to warm-up for the new album and tours to follow. Some long time fans of the band criticized Getting Away with Murder for its softer alternative rock sound, compared to their previous albums. Regardless of the perceived backlash, Getting Away with Murder outsold Lovehatetragedy, mainly due to the enormous popularity of the album's second single, "Scars". Currently, the album has sold more than 1 million copies and has been certified Platinum. On November 9, 2004, the band released their fifth EP, Rolling Stone Original. The EP is only available digitally. On November 22, 2005 they released their first video album, Papa Roach: Live & Murderous in Chicago.

In 2005, the band spent a large proportion of the year on tour. This included a full United States and European tour alongside bands such as Slipknot, Dead Poetic, Trust Company, Chronic Future, Skindred, 311 and Unwritten Law.

[edit] The Paramour Sessions and departure of Dave Buckner: 2006–2008

On September 12, 2006 Papa Roach released their fourth major-label album The Paramour Sessions. The band chose the title in respect to the recording location, the Paramour Mansion. The band was given the idea of doing an album in a mansion while they were recording Getting Away with Murder, recording in a manor was getting popular for the unique sound and feeling (which is reflected on the lyrics) of recording in a manor, Jacoby Shaddix stated it on a fan board. He also stated that the album was likely to be titled Days of war, Nights of Love, which is a lyrical quote from the song "No More Secrets" on the album, as well as an anarchic book published by CrimethInc. in 2000. Other tentative titles for the album were "Redemption" and "Forever", the title of the album's second single. The band hadn't picked their first single but had narrowed it down to "Crash", "What Do You Do?", and "Forever". However, "...To Be Loved" ended up being the first single for the album, and was the official theme song for WWE Raw from 2006 to 2009 until being replaced by "Burn It to the Ground" by Nickelback. The album marked a more alternative rock-based sound compared to earlier efforts but still contained the softer ballads akin to Getting Away with Murder. The album debuted at #16 on the Billboard 200 Charts.

The band started touring their new album in August 2006, with an American tour followed by one in Europe. On October 2006, Papa Roach toured with bands such as Guns N' Roses, during their Chinese Democracy tour, and Deftones throughout the United States, having major success. They were also the special guest band during the Zippo Hot Tour with Hed PE and Eyes Set To Kill.

On October 10, 2006 a String Quartet tribute album entitled Perfect Murder: Strung Out on Papa Roach was released by Vitamin Records.^[4]

The band originally planned to release a compilation of acoustic recordings for their songs, such as "Forever", "Scars", and "Not Coming Home", which was recorded for KROQ-FM's charity Christmas album, Kevin and Bean's Super Christmas. The acoustic compilation has since been cancelled. In an interview with billboard.com, Jacoby Shaddix, had stated that he didn't think fans are quite ready for the acoustic direction.^[5]

On April 25, it was announced that drummer Dave Buckner would be sitting out the band's current tour. A statement issued by the group's record label said, "Buckner has taken time off from touring with the band due to personal matters". He was expected to rejoin the group later. Jacoby Shaddix later confirmed in an interview with Launch Radio Networks that Dave had checked himself into rehab, stating "Dave, he went to rehab and went to go clean his act up 'cause he was out of his mind". Unwritten Law drummer, Tony Palermo filled in on drums for touring duties.^[6]

"Forever" is the second single from The Paramour Sessions and was in heavy rotation across America. On May 23, 2007, more than four months after the album's second single, "Forever", had impacted radio stations, the band shot the official video for the song in Los Angeles, directed by Meiert Avis. Dave Buckner was in the video and had returned from rehab at that time. On June 15, the single was released and the video made its official debut on AOL.^[7]

On July 17, the band released their sixth EP, Live Session (iTunes Exclusive). On July 24, they released their seventh EP, Hit 3 Pack: Forever. Both EPs are available exclusively through iTunes.

On January 28, 2008 Jacoby announced on Papa Roach's MySpace that Buckner would officially be parting ways with Papa Roach for good. He stated that Dave was still trying to get his life back together. Jacoby also mentioned that the band would be going back to the Paramour Mansion for the next month to begin work on their fifth studio album. Tony Palermo would continue drumming with the band for their upcoming album and for their tour in support of the album.

[edit] Metamorphosis and Tours: 2008–2010

In an interview in February 2008 with 99.7 The Blitz, a rock radio station in Columbus, Ohio, Jacoby Shaddix stated that the band was currently working on their new album, which, like The Paramour Sessions, was to be titled Days of War, Nights of Love, which is a lyrical quote from the song "No More Secrets" and the titles of two songs from the album: "Days of War" and "Nights of Love". However, the album was renamed to Metamorphosis to mark the band's ten years since their signing with DreamWorks Records in 1999 and to mark all of the changes the band has gone through in the past ten years.

On April 15, Papa Roach announced they would be touring as part of Mötley Crüe's Crüe Fest, along with Buckcherry, Sixx:A.M., and Trapt. The tour began on July 1 in West Palm Beach, Florida.^[8] The release date for the album was confirmed as August 26 during Crüe Fest. During the tour, Tony Palermo served as a touring drummer for Sixx:A.M., as the band didn't have a drummer because the band never planned on touring and James Michael programmed all the drums on The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack.

The band also went on tour with Seether, Staind, and Red later in the year. They changed the release date of Metamorphosis to March 24, 2009 during that tour.

On October 26, Papa Roach released the music video for the song, "Hollywood Whore", and was released as an EP in Canada and as a digital single on October 28. According to the band, the video was just something for the fans while they waited for Metamorphosis, and was not intended to be a single. The album's first official single, "Lifeline", was released on the band's MySpace profile on January 9, 2009. The band also went on tour with Buckcherry, Avenged Sevenfold, and Burn Halo in early 2009. The Crüe Fest DVD was released on March 24, the same day Metamorphosis was released. The second single, "I Almost Told You That I Loved You", was released on June 1. On June 23, they released their ninth EP, Naked and Fearless: Acoustic EP. The EP is available through the Zune Marketplace, iTunes, and Rhapsody.

Papa Roach toured with Nickelback on their Dark Horse Tour through Live Nation outdoor amphitheater's along with Hinder and Saving Abel in the summer. During that tour, Jacoby Shaddix confirmed that "Had Enough" would be the album's third single, before playing the song itself. Online, Papa Roach asked fans what they "Had Enough" of and showed a fan-made video of the song online. Despite this, the music video was not released and was cancelled as a single due to label issues, according to the band.

"Lifeline" was nominated for Fuse TV's Best Video of 2009 contest, beating Metallica's "All Nightmare Long", Daughtry's "No Surprise", Shinedown's "Sound of Madness", and Paramore's "Ignorance", before finishing 2nd to Britney Spears for her song "Circus" in the final round.

[edit] Time for Annihilation and move to Eleven Seven Music: 2010–2012

On January 8, 2010, Jacoby Shaddix announced on Papa Roach's official Twitter account that the band was about to start working on new songs. On February 8, Jerry Horton said that he was at the studio starting to write. The band also said on their website that they would be releasing 'Big News' in the next couple of weeks. The band continued to add to rumors of a new album or other release on twitter.

On February 23, Jerry Horton officially announced that the 'Big News' fans were waiting for was the news of the band new album, a combination of live tracks and new songs. He said that they recorded it on the last run of their 2009 co-headlining tour with Shinedown at the Binghamton, New York show and were recording five new songs in the studio for it.^[9]

In March, Jacoby said he was recording vocals for two new songs called "Nemesis" and "No Matter What".^[10] Later that month, the band released the official teaser for the live album and confirmed that the release date would be in the summer of 2010. In June, on Nikki Sixx's radio show, Sixx Sense, Jacoby confirmed that the final new song for the album would be "The Enemy", and that "Nemesis" had been renamed to "One Track Mind".

In April, the band played two new songs, "Burn" at the Chili Cook Off in Richmond, Virginia on April 17, and "Kick In the Teeth" on April 30. In May, Jerry Horton said in an interview that the name of the album would be Time for Annihilation, and would feature nine live tracks and five new songs, making it a live album and a studio album. He also said that the new single would be "Kick In the Teeth" and that the band switched labels to Eleven Seven Music.^[11] Later, Jacoby added on that the album would be released on August 31.^[12] "Kick In the Teeth" was released as a single on June 22.^[13]

On June 29, the band's former label, Geffen Records, released a greatest hits compilation of the band's biggest hits, titled ...To Be Loved: The Best of Papa Roach. The band, however, told fans not to buy it, saying that the band was making no money off of the album's sales and that the label released the album against the band's will. Masters and/or copyrights by Papa Roach are represented by Downtown Music Publishing. The band no longer owns the rights to their songs, but can still play the songs live.

On August 1, the song "Kick in the Teeth" was leaked onto the internet. Four days later, the rest of the Time for Annihilation album was leaked. Time for Annihilation was released on August 31. The band announced that the next singles from the album would be "Burn" and "No Matter What". They also said they were interested in releasing another live DVD, but want to wait until they have a headlining show in Europe. In October, Papa Roach began the "Monsters of Annihilation" tour with Skillet.

From November 15 to December 13, The band toured with Disturbed, Buckcherry and Halestorm on the Taste of Chaos tour, and from March 1 to March 18, Papa Roach co-headlined the Canada leg of the Jägermeister Music Tour with Buckcherry, and special guests My Darkest Days and Bleeker Ridge.

In an interview, guitarist Jerry Horton said that the band is going to release a new album in 2012 after a tour "We are going to start touring in March 2011 then we'll enter the studio in late September / early October to work on the new album". He also mention that Papa Roach is going to explore "electronic sounds" for this upcoming record.^[14]

In an interview with Upvenue, Tobin Esperance said that Time for Annihilation was really just the end of a decade of Papa Roach. "We put out five major label, full-length records, and we were transitioning from a major label, going independent, and we wanted to do something different [...] we'd always talked about doing a live record, and it turned into 'let's add a couple of bonus songs' [...] and now it's half live, half new songs and it's kind of the past and present of Papa Roach, and I think it's a good representation and a good reminder of what this band's about, [...] and it gives you a look at where our sound can go."^[15]

Starting April 25, Papa Roach will headline the Raid The Nation tour, the first leg consisting of Finger Eleven, and the second leg with Escape the Fate, both legs of the tour will also have special guests Pop Evil. On June 23 and 25, the band will co-headline the Sonisphere Festival with Linkin Park.

Papa Roach played two intimate shows in London and Sheffield in July with the band Yashin.^[16] They also co-headlined the Rock Allegiance Tour from August 24 to September 25 with Buckcherry. Also on the tour was Puddle of Mudd, P.O.D., Red, Crossfade, and Drive A.

Eighth studio album: 2012-present[link]

Papa Roach entered the studio on November 1, 2011 - to work on a new album,^{[citation needed]} aiming for a mid-2012 release.^{[citation needed]} In the meantime, the band contributed a track, "Even If I Could", to the The Avengers soundtrack.

Papa Roach will participate on the Rockstar Uproar Festival, on the main stage.

Musical style[link]

In their early independent releases and on their first two major label albums, Infest and Lovehatetragedy, the band tended to use nu metal and rap metal.^{[citation needed]} Their music has often been described as hard rock, heavy metal, rap rock and post-grunge as well as alternative metal.^{[1][17][18][19]} Additionally, with their 2009 album, Metamorphosis, as the name expresses, the band feels that their music is going through a transformation to "stuff that's...harder and faster",^[20] compared to the softer sound of their last few albums.

Frontman Jacoby Shaddix said the following in an interview with the Dallas Music Guide regarding the band no longer using rapping in their music: "...the rapping's gone! I don't feel like rapping. I'm just over that...I just want to be a rocker. It's what I wanted to be when I was a kid". Shaddix has added this remark in another interview: "We’re a band that tries to walk that line between metal, hardcore, punk rock and pop music, and we do our best at trying to make it all cool".^[21]

Guitarist Jerry Horton said later in an interview by VerdamMnis Magazine that "It's kind of a natural thing for us, we've always been changing throughout the years. Of course, there are some things that stay the same in our sound but we do like to try new things to sort of stretch out a little bit our basis and therefore make it more interesting". He also said that the band is going to explore "electronic sounds for the next record".^[14]

Band members[link]

Current members

• Jacoby Shaddix - lead vocals (1993–present)
• Jerry Horton - lead guitar, backing vocals (1993–present)
• Tobin Esperance - bass guitar, rhythm guitar, programming, backing vocals (1997–present)
• Tony Palermo - drums, percussion (2008–present)

Former members

• Will James - bass guitar, backing vocals (1993–1997)
• Dave Buckner - drums, percussion (1993–2008)

Former session members

• Ben Luther - trombone (1993)
• Ryan Brown - drums, percussion (1994)
• Mike Doherty - rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2002)

Discography[link]

• Old Friends from Young Years (1997)
• Infest (2000)
• Lovehatetragedy (2002)
• Getting Away with Murder (2004)
• The Paramour Sessions (2006)
• Metamorphosis (2009)
• Time for Annihilation (2010)

Awards and Nominations[link]

Grammy Awards

Mtv Video Music Awards

Tours[link]

• Warped Tour (2000)
• Issues Tour (2000) with Korn and Powerman 5000
• Total Request Live Tour (2000) with (həd) p.e. and Taproot
• Raid the Nation Tour (2001) with Orgy, (həd) p.e. and Alien Ant Farm
• Ozzfest (2001)
• Headlining tour (2003) with Nonpoint, Reach 454 and Die Trying
• The Bad Boys of Rock Tour (2007) with Buckcherry, The Exies, 12 Stones, Hinder and Rev Theory
• Crüe Fest (2008) with Mötley Crüe, Buckcherry, Trapt and Sixx:A.M.
• The Illusion of Progress Tour (2008) with Staind, Seether, Red and State of Shock
• Dark Horse Tour (2009) with Nickelback, Hinder and Saving Abel
• Headling Fall Tour (2009) with Jet, Kill Hannah and Aranda
• Headling December Tour (2009) with Shinedown and Halestorm
• Headling Spring Tour (2010) with Puddle of Mudd, 12 Stones, Hellyeah, Adelitas Way and Seasons After
• Monsters of Annihilation Tour (2010) with Trapt, Skillet and My Darkest Days
• Taste of Chaos Tour (2010) with Disturbed, Buckcherry and Halestorm
• Jägermeister Music Tour (2011) with Buckcherry, My Darkest Days and Bleeker Ridge
• Q101 Jamboree (2011) with Sum 41, Seether and 30 Seconds To Mars
• Raid the Nation the Finger Eleven and Pop Evil
• Rock Allegiance Tour (2011) with Drive A, Crossfade, RED, P.O.D., Puddle of Mudd, Buckcherry
• Uproar Festival (2012) with Staind, Shinedown, Godsmack, P.O.D., Fozzy and Adelitss Way.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Method Man
December 21, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Clifford Smith
Also known as	Meth, Tical, Johnny Blaze, Methtical, Shakwon, Iron Lung, Hot Nikkels, MZA, John J
Born	(1971-04-01) April 1, 1971 (age 41)[1][2] Staten Island, New York City, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, actor
Years active	1990–present (rapping) 1995–present (acting)
Labels	Def Jam
Associated acts	Wu-Tang Clan, Redman, Erick Sermon, LL Cool J, The Notorious B.I.G., DMX, Xzibit, Shyheim
Website	method-man.com

Clifford Smith (born April 1, 1971),^[3] better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man & Redman. He won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" with Mary J. Blige. In 2007, the writers of About.com placed him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007).^[4]

Method Man appeared in the motion pictures Belly, How High, Garden State as well as a minor role in The Wackness. More recently, he appeared as a crewman in George Lucas' film Red Tails. On television, he and hip-hop collaborator Redman co-starred on the short-lived Fox sitcom Method & Red, and he had a recurring role on HBO's Oz as Tug Daniels and as Calvin "Cheese" Wagstaff on the acclaimed HBO drama series The Wire.

Early life[link]

Born in Staten Island, New York, on April 1 , 1971, Clifford Smith divided his childhood between his father's Long Island residence and his mother's home in the Park Hill section of Staten Island aka Killa Hill.^[5] He has two sisters, Terri and Missy.^[5]

Rapping career[link]

[edit] 1992–96: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and Tical

As Wu-Tang Clan ascended to hip hop stardom, Method Man was always one of the most visible members of the collective. He was one of only two members to get a solo song on the group's debut album Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers and he was the first to release a solo album under the Clan's unusual contract which allowed its members to release albums under any record label (Method chose to sign with rap label Def Jam). Method Man's solo debut, Tical (1994) was critically acclaimed and well received, entering the American charts at #4 and eventually selling in excess of one million copies. That album featured the hit single "All I Need" which was later remixed featuring Mary J Blige, which won a Grammy "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need,"). during this time Method Man also became close friends with The Notorious B.I.G., and was the only guest rapper featured on his debut album Ready to Die. He was also featured on Spice 1's album "AmeriKKKa's Nightmare" on the track "Hard 2 Kill". In 1995, he was also featured on "Got the Flava" off Showbiz and A.G.'s album Goodfellas. In 1996, Method Man appeared on Tupac Shakur's album All Eyez on Me, on the song "Got My Mind Made Up" alongside his rhyme partner Redman, The Dogg Pound (Daz and Kurupt) and Inspectah Deck (Rebel INS), whose verse did not make the released album version (although his nickname "Rebel INS" can be heard as the song fades).

[edit] 1997–98: Wu-Tang Forever and Tical 2000: Judgement Day

On June 3, 1997 the Wu-Tang Clan released their Grammy-nominated multiplatinum double CD Wu-Tang Forever, the long-awaited follow up to 36 Chambers. The album has sold over 8.3 million copies to date worldwide.

His second solo album was Tical 2000: Judgement Day, released in 1998, which was heavily influenced by the apocalypse theories surrounding the forthcoming end of the millennium, and which featured myriad guest appearances from his fellow Wu-Tang MCs, proving for the world that Method Man is in fact America's most blunted(with the help of Red Man). The album was certified double platinum. Other guest appearances include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, D'Angelo, Chris Rock, Mobb Deep, Redman, and brief cameos from Russell Simmons, Bishop Don "Magic" Juan, Janet Jackson, and Donald Trump. The album sold better than his first fueled by the party track "Judgment Day" and the D'Angelo collaboration "Break Ups 2 Make Ups", earning Platinum and Gold certifications in the U.S. and Canada respectively. Reviews for the album were mixed and its long runtime and abundance of intermittent comedy skits were widely criticized. Producers on this album included True Master, 4th Disciple and the RZA.

[edit] 1999–2000: Blackout! (with Redman)

Method Man was part of the very successful Hard Knock Life Tour with Jay-Z, Redman, Ja Rule, and DMX. During this tour, Method Man & Redman recorded Blackout!, a light-hearted, bass-heavy, profanity-laced, party record with an EPMD-evoking emphasis on funky beats and the mischievous wit and cool flows and good rhythm of the two MCs. The album reached platinum status quickly, both in the U.S. and Canada, fueled by "Da Rockwilder", "Cereal Killa", "1, 2, 1, 2", "Tear It Off" and "Y.O.U.". This album also featured three previously released tracks on which the two collaborated.

Their success would lead the duo on to star in movies and TV shows, become product spokespersons and household names, but also associated them with marijuana use in the media. The most immediate results of their success was their co-starring roles in the major motion picture film How High, their endorsement deal for Right Guard, Redman's starring role in Seed of Chucky and a short-lived sitcom on Fox Television entitled Method & Red.

[edit] 2000–04: The W, Iron Flag, and Tihkal 0: The Prequel

The Wu-Tang Clan released The W on November 21, 2000 and Iron Flag on December 18, 2001. The W received both critical and commercial success for the group, while Iron Flag did receive some but not to the effect of The W. The efforts earned two more platinum plaques for the Wu-Tang Clan.

In 2004, Meth released his third solo album Tical 0: The Prequel, which featured the hit party single "What's Happenin'" with Busta Rhymes. Hip hop critics voiced their displeasure with the album, many agreeing that Tical 0 felt like generic party rap and featured too many mainstream guests, detracting from his own performances. Regardless, this album sold reasonably well and was certified gold record by the RIAA relatively quickly, but would not see the platinum success of his previous solo releases. There was trouble even before the album's release when Method apparently complained to the press about excessive interference from Def Jam over the album's beats (Meth supposedly desired more input from Wu-Tang leader RZA). On its release, many fans and critics were taken aback by its strong "mainstream" or "commercial" sound, highlighted by the guest appearances of pop-rap stars like Missy Elliott and P. Diddy, two artists that are involved with much different facets of rap music.

P. Diddy was one of the executive producers for the album, although Meth later voiced his displeasure with the final product. "On the third LP, it was suggested (by Def Jam) to bring in Harve Pierre and P. Diddy. Who am I to argue? Puff knows how to sell some records. But that wasn't the direction to go in, and I know that."^[6]

[edit] 2006–07: 4:21... The Day After

Method Man at the 2007 Eurockéennes.

Method Man's fourth album, entitled 4:21: The Day After was released in August 2006 with a star lineup of producers featuring Havoc, Erick Sermon, Scott Storch, Allah Mathematics, Mr. Porter, and, most importantly to Meth, RZA. This time around, a more focused Method Man went back to his hip hop roots and both hip hop fans and the media took notice. He did an interview on the ItsHipHop.Tv.^[7] Despite this being one of Meth's strongest solo efforts to date, the album failed to do well commercially due to it having no single or video, which Method Man has held discontent towards his own label for. However, he has been touring strongly all over the world to promote the album, and has appeared onstage with fellow Wu-Tang member Inspectah Deck, as well as New York up and comers Saigon, and Gat Murdah. Meth contributed various reasons for the problems between him and his label, Def Jam. While he puts most of the blame on personal agendas in the Def Jam offices, Meth did take some blame, himself, for giving into his record label.

In early May 2007, Method Man's camp leaked the street single "New York New York" which became a popular track on the internet.^[8]

[edit] 2007–10: Blackout! 2

On March 27, 2007, Redman confirmed on BET's Rap City: Tha Bassment that the sequel to How High, How High 2, is currently being written.

In an April 10, 2007 Onion AV Club interview,^[9] Redman hinted that there would be a second collaborative album with Method Man, with work beginning in midsummer or early September.

In early 2008, a remake of the Smoothe da Hustler and Trigger tha Gambler classic Broken Language was released to the internet by the duo entitled Broken Language 2008, fueling rumors of a Blackout! sequel coming soon. This rumor was further fueled by the duo while performing in Gainesville, Florida at the University of Florida. A Blackout! 2 LP was scheduled for a December 9, 2008 release but was recently pushed back to the first quarter of 2009, with a new release date on May 19. Bun B has confirmed that he will guest star on Blackout! 2 – in April 2009, a single has been released named City Lights, produced by Nasty Kutt ^[10] Also producers such as Erick Sermon, Rockwilder and Pete Rock have announced their presence on the album.

The duo has finished their Still High tour with Termanalogy, the Alchemist, and Evidence of Dilated Peoples.

[edit] 2011–present: Crystal Meth

Crystal Meth is Method Man's upcoming fifth studio album.^[11][12][13] The album has no confirmed release date. The Crystal Meth was first announced before Method Man began working on his and Redman's sophomore collaboration album, Blackout! 2. In the liner notes of that album, it was given a scheduled release date for 2009. The album, however, was further postponed until it was later mentioned in an MTV interview it would be released in early 2010.^[11] no update on the album's progress or release date has been made. At a concert on the 23 of December 2010 Method Man told the crowd to look for his album in March 2011. However the album was pushed back to an unknown release date.

In a recent interview with The Come Up Show following a recent performance in Canada in April 2011, Method Man replied with this regarding his current 'weed-loving' image:"When you get older and you've got kids and your kids are going to school and you know [their] teachers...and they see how active you are and concerned [you are] with your kids' education or well being, it's hard to sit there and be taken seriously if people are always talking about he's always high...which is totally not the case," he said. "When I first came out, I was young, we were doing our thing, we smoked a lot...and we didn't care if the world knew. Now, I have to use more discretion because of my kids. This is not for me; everything I do is for them now, so I use a bit more discretion and I don't put weed as a forefront any more."

On October 5, 2011, a new single from Method Man, titled "World Gone Sour (The Lost Kids)", was released on iTunes.^[14] Recently, he confirmed that the album will come out next year and will have the usual line-up of producers including RZA, Rockwilder, Erick Sermon, 3rd Digala of Digem Tracks and some other new underground producers he's begun to work with.^[15] He also expressed a desire to work with Odd Future frontman Tyler, The Creator.^[16] It was recently announced via Facebook that Crystal Meth will be his last album & to be fully produced by RZA.

Acting career[link]

In the early 2000s Method Man began a career in acting. He has had recurring roles in critically acclaimed television shows such as HBO's Oz as Tug Daniels, HBO's The Wire in which he plays Prop Joe's nephew Cheese, The Twilight Zone and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He and Redman hosted a pilot on MTV called Stung. He has made numerous appearances as himself on TV shows such as Mind of Mencia and Chappelle's Show.

Method Man portrays Drops on CSI, a wealthy Las Vegas party promoter who clashes with the CSI team, specifically investigator Nick Stokes, in their investigations involving his clubs or entourage. His first appearance on CSI as Drops was in the 2006 episode "Poppin' Tags". He resumed the role in the 2007 episode "Big Shots" and again in the 2008 episode "Drops Out".

His first prominent role came in 1998 with the film Belly along with fellow rappers Nas and DMX. He has since added many credits to his name, including roles in the films Garden State, One Eight Seven, and many others, with starring roles in the feature films such as How High and Soul Plane. On March 27, 2007 Redman confirmed on BET's show Rap City that the sequel to How High was being written. The script for How High 2 is being written by Dustin Lee Abraham of CSI, who also wrote the first movie. In 2005 Method Man also had a cameo in the horror movie Venom, where he played a deputy who shortly into the movie is killed. He appears in the 2008 movies The Wackness and also, Meet the Spartans.

Method Man stars in the episode "Snitch" of Law & Order SVU as the main antagonist. The episode was first broadcast December 4, 2007.

Method Man has made an appearance in the Def Jam series of video games. In Fight for NY he voiced Blaze, one of the main characters. In Icon, he voiced Gooch, a major character in the storyline. In Underground, He voiced Meth, one of the major characters. He made a guest appearance in the music video for the 2003 "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, where he played the role of her boyfriend. He also appeared in Beanie Sigel's music video "Feel It in the Air", where Method Man played an undercover cop leading an operation against Sigel.

Method Man has fallen back from pursuing more acting roles after the situation with his sitcom on Fox left a bad taste in his mouth,^[17] and now mostly just acts if the project is being handled by a friend of his, as was the case with CSI and The Wire. He also played an arsonist and a wealthy executive as well as main antagonist in an episode of the fox TV show The Good Guys.

Method Man appears as a hip hop business mogul in an episode of Burn Notice.

Method man had a cameo appearance in the 1997 film Cop Land as a physically violent fleeing criminal that throws Peter Berg's character off of a New York rooftop. Method Man has also appeared in the TV drama Wonderland, as a patient in a mental hospital.

Method man plays a small role in the 2011 film "The Sitter" starring Jonah Hill. In 2012 he played crewman "Sticks" in George Lucas' movie Red Tails about the Tuskegee airmen.

Other ventures[link]

Method Man appeared in the 1995 documentary entitled The Show. There is a memorable scene in which Method Man, on a train in Japan, gets into an argument with U-God and Ghostface Killah, over camera time, radio interviews, and clothing mishaps.

In 2006, Method Man appeared on the MTV reality game show Yo Momma in the first episode of Season 1.

Method Man is the first of the Wu-Tang Clan to produce a series of eponymous graphic novels for Hachette Book Group USA's imprint Grand Central Publishing^[18] (to be followed by GZA and Ghostface Killah).^[19]

Personal life[link]

He became engaged to his wife in 1999 and they married in 2001.^[5] He has three children: two sons (born in 1996 and 2001), and one daughter (born in 1997). Method Man also has collabed with Rochester rapper "Dale Mahoney" on his project "Jordans&Drugs" in 2012.^[20]

Legal issues[link]

On Thursday May 17, 2007 Method Man was arrested in New York City on marijuana charges. His Mercedes-Benz convertible was pulled over at the Battery Tunnel en route to Manhattan, and when he rolled his window down the officer noticed a strong smell of marijuana. "It was like something out of Cheech & Chong. He rolls down the window and the smoke would choke a horse," a source later said.^[21] The arresting officer said he noticed two blunts and a plastic bag with more marijuana in plain view. Upon further inspection more marijuana was found under the driver's seat. The arrest was made at about 10 P.M. Thursday night near the Battery Tunnel toll booths on Hamilton Ave. in Carroll Gardens. He was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of marijuana, operating a motor vehicle under the influence and driving an uninspected motor vehicle. He later made many public service appearances to try to make up for it, most notably at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn.^[22]

On October 5, 2009, Method Man was arrested at his home in Staten Island for income tax violations.^[23] He was accused of failing to file income tax returns for the state of New York between 2004 and 2007 and owes nearly $33,000 in taxes. On June 28, 2010,^[24] Method Man plead guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to a conditional discharge^[25] and paid a $106,000.00 fine.^[24]

Controversies[link]

Wu-Tang management[link]

In 2003, Method Man criticized Oli "Power" Grant and Mitchell "Divine" Diggs, the managers of the Wu-Tang business.^[26] "Number 1 on my shit list right now is Divine from Wu-Tang management. He took something major from me that he had no intention of giving back."^[27] Divine is multiplatinum record producer RZA's brother who along with Oli "Power" Grant took over the business end of Wu-Tang around 1997.

Aside from the financial issues, Method Man was unhappy with the decision to bring Wu-Tang into the fashion world for a brief period of time with Wu-Wear, despite the brand being a major money-maker for the group. "When Wu-Wear started making shoes and sneakers and pants, it was shoddy material. I never rocked that shit."^[27]

Wendy Williams[link]

In 2006 Method Man had a highly personal and highly publicized conflict with TV talk show host Wendy Williams on The Breakdown, an internet show on ONLOQ.com. Williams talked on air about Method Man's wife having cancer, which was something he had wanted to keep very private and even her own family members had not yet known about. He said that people who lived next door to him didn't even know, but Williams had dug it up and made it public over the radio. Because of this leaked information, Method Man and his wife had many problems.^[28]

Williams also reported rumors that Method Man had even been having an affair with his wife's doctor. Method Man first heard of this while in recording sessions in Los Angeles.

Sean Combs[link]

During a concert in 2006, Method Man criticized Diddy's decisions on the posthumous The Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter album, saying that Biggie never would have worked with some of the subpar rappers. "They got niggas on that album Big would have never rocked with," Meth said of the album. "Musically, I ain't fuckin' with Puff Daddy".^[30] He also brought up the fact that he was the only other rapper that Biggie chose to have on his debut album Ready To Die. He was featured on the track "The What".

Previously, Diddy had been one of the executive producers for Method Man's 2004 album Tical 0: The Prequel, to which Meth later voiced his displeasure on the final product. From then on, he focused on production from within the clan and its closely tied collaborators.

Fox Television[link]

He starred in a Fox sitcom called Method & Red in late 2004, however after only a short time on the air the show was put on hiatus and never returned. Method Man later complained in the press about Fox's influence on the show's style, claiming that "there's been too much compromise on our side and not enough on their side" and bemoaning the network's decision to add a laugh track. Before the show even aired for the first time, he was telling fans not to bother watching it. He told the newspaper:

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

Method Man filmography

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Method Man

• Method Man at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website