FILTER (BAND)

'Filter' is a rock group formed in 1993 by Richard Patrick and guitarist/programmer Brian Liesegang.

Contents

History

''Short Bus''

"The Soundtrack EP"

''Title of Record''

''The Amalgamut''

Side projects and future works

Discography

Albums

Singles

Soundtrack contributions

Videos

See also

External links

History

''Short Bus''

Their first album, ''Short Bus'', was released in 1995. The album was commercially successful, and included the smash hit single "Hey Man, Nice Shot". The song was somewhat controversial, as it was seen as capitalizing on the public suicide of Budd Dwyer. Kurt Cobain's suicide was widely rumored to have inspired the song, but the band refuted this. In need of a live band to tour the album, Patrick and Liesegang recruited Geno Lenardo on guitar, Frank Cavanaugh on bass, and Matt Walker on drums. They would all later be featured in the video for the album's second single, "Dose".

"The Soundtrack EP"

Between Filter's first and second albums, the band became known for their soundtrack contributions, which many fans on the Filter messageboards have dubbed "The Soundtrack EP". The first of these tracks, "Thanks Bro", landed on the '' album. Patrick is a fan of the show, and furthermore, his brother, Robert Patrick (of ''Terminator 2'' fame, who can be seen wearing a leather jacket with a Nine Inch Nails pin in several interviews for that movie), even went on to star in the show as John Doggett in its later seasons.
In 1996, Filter recorded and filmed the video for the song "Jurassitol", for '' soundtrack. They also released the home video ''Phenomenology'' in 1996, which showcased some of the band's live performances and music videos, as well as an interview with Patrick and Liesegang filmed in New Mexico.
Liesegang left in 1997 shortly after recording the Filter/The Crystal Method collaboration "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do" for the ''Spawn'' movie soundtrack, due to creative differences with Patrick. In 1998, for ''The X-Files'' film soundtrack, Patrick decided to keep the Filter name and recorded a cover of Harry Nilsson's "One".

''Title of Record''

Patrick continued with 1999's ''Title of Record'' with returning members Lenardo and Cavanaugh, as well as Steve Gillis on drums, filling in the gap left by Walker after he left to work with The Smashing Pumpkins. ''Title of Record'' moved away from industrial rock somewhat, and resulted in the band's biggest hit, the mellow ballad "Take a Picture", along with other lesser-heard singles "Welcome to the Fold" and "The Best Things". The diverse assortment of tracks on the album also had some definite backstory as well. The song "Take a Picture" is about a dispute on an aircraft, when Richard Patrick drunkenly stripped down to his boxers, alarming the other passengers. Lyrics include: "I don't believe in privacy"; "I feel like a new-born"; and "Awake on my airplane." "Do you want to take my picture 'cause I won't remember?" is a popular Southern phrase and in this case possibly refers to an alcoholic blackout. The lyrics "Hey, Dad, what do you think about your son now?" refers to the theory that Patrick's father didn't believe he could make it in the recording business and tried to persuade him to pursue another direction. The song "Captain Bligh" (after Vice-Admiral William Bligh of the HMS Bounty) was written by Patrick after leaving Nine Inch Nails and was about Trent Reznor's notoriously anti-social habits.

''The Amalgamut''

2002 saw the release of ''The Amalgamut'', featuring the single "Where Do We Go From Here" and scoring another radio hit with "American Cliché". "The Only Way (Is the Wrong Way)" was also featured in the first wave of Hummer2 commercials that year and in the 2003 movie ''. Alan Bailey was recruited for live guitar when they set off to tour the album; however, the tour ended abruptly a few weeks in when Patrick decided he needed to go to rehab. He's since tattooed his date of sobriety, September 28, 2002, on his forearm.

Side projects and future works

Richard Patrick was part of the supergroup The Damning Well, which has only released one track on the ''Underworld'' movie soundtrack in 2003, despite an entire album's worth of recording. Patrick has reported on his official website that he has already put a great deal of work into an unnamed fourth Filter release, but has put that aside in favor of his new project, Army of Anyone, with former Stone Temple Pilots members, Robert and Dean DeLeo and drummer Ray Luzier. Army of Anyone's debut album was released on November 14, 2006.
Former Filter members Brian Liesegang and Matt Walker played keyboards and drums (respectively) in Billy Corgan's touring band in 2005 to promote his solo album. It was heavily rumored that Geno Lenardo and Frank Cavanaugh were going to be involved with former lead singer of Adema, Mark Chavez in a band called State of Mind. These rumors proved to be false as Mark Chavez's band is called Midnight Panic and doesn't feature either of the two. It is unknown whether any of the past members of Filter will be returning for any future albums.
On May 14th, 2007 Richard Patrick did an interview with LunaticRadio.com and announced that he was working on new Filter material and on May 26th, 2007 Army of Anyone played their last concert to date in El Paso, Texas. Since then, they have been "on hiatus", however discussion on the band's Message Board indicates that it will probably be more permanent, allegedly due to low album sales (less than 100,000) and admittedly disappointing ticket sales for their AoA tour dates.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	US Peak	RIAA Certification
1995	''Short Bus''	#59	Platinum
1999	''Title of Record''	#30	Platinum
2002	''The Amalgamut''	#32	Not certified

Singles

'Year'	'Title'	'Chart positions'					'Album'
		US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	US Hot Dance	UK
1995	"Hey Man, Nice Shot"	#76	#10	#19	-	-	''Short Bus''
1995	"Dose"	-	-	-	-	-	''Short Bus''
1996	"Jurassitol"	-	-	-	-	-	''
1997	"(Can't You) Trip Like I Do" with The Crystal Method	-	#29	-	-	#39	''Spawn: The Album''
1998	"One"	-	-	-	-	-	''
1999	"Welcome to the Fold"	-	#17	#8	-	-	''Title of Record''
1999	"Take a Picture"	#12	#3	#4	'#1'	#25	''Title of Record''
2000	"The Best Things"	-	#18	#31	-	#63	''Title of Record''
2002	"Where Do We Go from Here?"	#94	#11	#12	#21	-	''The Amalgamut''
2002	"American Cliché"	-	#40	-	-	-	''The Amalgamut''
2003	"The Only Way (Is the Wrong Way)"	-	-	-	-	-	''The Amalgamut''

Soundtrack contributions

★ ''Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)'' - "Hey Man, Nice Shot (Bill Kennedy Mix)"

★ ''The Cable Guy (1996)'' - "Hey Man, Nice Shot (Bill Kennedy Mix)"

★ ''Songs in the Key of X: Music From And Inspired By The X-Files (1996)'' - "Thanks Bro"

★ '' (1996)'' - "Jurassitol"

★ ''Spawn: The Album (1997)'' - "(Can't You) Trip Like I Do", with The Crystal Method

★ '' (1998)'' - "One"

★ '' (2000)'' - "The Best Things (Exclusive Radio Remix)"

★ ''Little Nicky (2000)'' - "Take a Picture"

★ ''Family Values Tour 1999'' Official Soundtrack - "Hey Man, Nice Shot", "Welcome to the Fold"

★ ''Driven (2001)'' - "The Best Things"

★ ''Valentine (2001)'' - "Take a Picture (Hybrid Mix)"

★ '' (2003)'' - "The Only Way (Is the Wrong Way)"

★ ''Anger Management (2003)'' - "The Only Way (Is the Wrong Way)"

★ ''The Girl Next Door (2004)'' - "Take a Picture"

★ ''Supernatural (2005)'' - "Hey Man, Nice Shot"

Videos

★ ''Phenomenology'' VHS (1996)

★ ''Title of DVD'' DVD (1999)

See also

★ 1990s music groups

★ List of alternative music artists

★ List of number-one dance hits (United States)

★ List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

External links

★ Filter's official web site

★

★

★ Filter Online Community

★ All Music Guide entry for Filter

★ Unofficial Filter Discography

★ Hit, With a Bullet: Filter’s “Hey Man, Nice Shot”

★ Filter The Band by P. Short.