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Fuel
Fuel performing in May 2010
Background information
Also known as	Small the Joy (1993 – 1994), Re-Fueled (2009 – 2010)
Origin	Jackson, Tennessee, USA
Genres	Hard rock, post-grunge
Years active	1993–present
Labels	SonyBMG/Epic
Members	Brett Scallions Andy Andersson Brad Stewart Ken Schalk
Past members	Yogi Lonich Jasin Todd Toryn Green Carl Bell Jeff Abercrombie Tommy Stewart Kevin Miller Jonathan Mover Jody Abbott Erik Avakian
Website	www.fuelrocks.com

Fuel is an American rock band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994. They are well known for their hit songs "Shimmer" from Sunburn, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)", "Bad Day" from Something Like Human, and "Falls on Me" from Natural Selection.

The origins of Fuel were formed in 1989 in Brownsville, Tennessee by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell and drummer Jody Abbott. Singer/guitarist Brett Scallions joined the group after Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie saw him in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee in 1993.^[1] That same year, keyboardist/vocalist Erik Avakian joined the lineup and the band moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1994 where they played at local Pennsylvania bars and nightclubs. Their first EP Porcelain was released in 1996 and sold well locally, spawning a small radio hit with "Shimmer". The popularity of the EP brought them to the attention of Sony's 550 imprint, which released their second EP Hazleton the following year.

Upon signing to Epic, the band entered Longview Farm recording studios in Massachusetts, along with producer Steven Haigler and session drummer Jonathan Mover due to problems with Abbott. The band's full length debut, Sunburn, came out in 1998. "Shimmer" was again included and almost became a Top 40 hit; while, the other singles ("Bittersweet", "Jesus or a Gun", and "Sunburn,") received some airplay. The songs "Shimmer" and "Sunburn" are also featured on the charitable album Live in the X Lounge. "Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the 1998 American Godzilla film. The band hit the road in support of the release, but problems with Abbott continued. Once again Mover was enlisted, this time to play drums on tour while the band sought out a full time drummer to join. It should be noted that the liner notes for the cassette and CD issues of "Sunburn" list the band members as Carl Bell (guitar), Brett Scallions (vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), although Jonathan Mover is credited with playing all the drums and percussion on the record. The band picture includes Miller, though he did not play on the record.

In 2000, Fuel came back with their second album, Something Like Human, and scored a Top 40 hit in the U.S. with "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" which peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[2] Something Like Human peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200^[3] and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA on September 25, 2001.^[4]

The group's third album, Natural Selection, named after Darwinian theory, was released in September 2003 and debuted at No. 15 on the U.S. Billboard charts.^[3] The extended lag time between Something Like Human and Natural Selection was due to legal problems^[5] and lead singer Scallions having to recover from surgery to repair a deviated septum he suffered from an on-stage collision with Bell.^[6] The album spawned the hit "Falls on Me", which peaked at No. 52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.^[2] Despite the exposure of the song, the album did not sell as well as Something Like Human did, and to date has not been awarded even Gold status by the RIAA.^[4] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004 for best engineered album,^[7] and the band contributed the song "Won't Back Down" to the Daredevil soundtrack earlier in the year. They released their greatest hits album The Best of Fuel on December 13, 2005.

After disagreements (both public and private), drummer Kevin Miller was dismissed from the band in 2004. On February 7, 2006, Fuel announced through their website that singer Brett Scallions had left the band. Although the band (now with a new lead singer) said that Scallions left on friendly terms, Bell has stated that there were problems with Scallions' voice, "Brett had some voice issues…struggling with his voice at times... he had kinda lost a little bit of it."^[8] Bell also wrote a letter on their website stating "We will all miss him and we wish him the best." Scallions refuted Bell's comments in an interview where he stated "...It wasn’t an enjoyable environment for me, and I don’t think for any of us really, except for Carl maybe – because Carl’s mind was set into his songs, his music, and that’s the way it was. For me, growing up and being a fan of music, being a fan of creativity, you wanna be a part of things, you wanna actually feel like you are in a band, and it just wasn’t feeling like that anymore."^[9]

Fuel had already laid down the instrumental tracks for their fourth album and soon started auditioning singers so the band could move forward. Abercrombie and Bell took notice of American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry, after he performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show. The single shot up to the Top 10 download list on iTunes and stayed there for a number of days. This also sparked interest in other Fuel songs, which began to appear in the Top 100 download chart on iTunes. On March 3, 2006, judge Randy Jackson stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer.^[10] Fuel confirmed their interest on their official website.^[11] On May 11, 2006, Abercrombie and Bell appeared on the TV show Extra to officially offer Daughtry the job.^[12] However, though flattered, Daughtry turned down this offer.^[13] The public offer to Chris Daughtry to be Fuel's next singer was a publicity stunt made at a point where the new singer was already chosen, had made three demos, and got green light from Sony.^[14] According to Carl Bell, they were seriously talking for several weeks, but as his popularity grew, Daughtry's label would not let Daughtry out of his contract.^[8]

By this time also, Tommy Stewart, formerly of Godsmack, was named as Fuel's drummer on Fuel's Myspace page.^[15]

On June 8, 2006, Bell announced that the band had found a new lead singer but were waiting confirmation from the record label to announce it.^[16] They entered the studio in mid-August with producer Scott Humphrey to start recording their fourth album. Due to other commitments Stewart was not available to play drums on the album, so Tommy Lee and Josh Freese performed drums in his place. The band posted photos from within the studio fairly often on the band's website and MySpace.

On March 9, 2007, Carl Bell announced that Fuel's next album, complete with new band members, was fully mixed and going to mastering, and on April 19, 2007, he posted on Fuel's official website that their new lead singer has been confirmed as Toryn Green.

On May 15, 2007, Bell announced the title of the new album - Angels & Devils - set to be released on August 7, 2007. On June 19, 2007, Fuel's first single from their new album, "Wasted Time", was released into rock radio and internet download and peaked at No. 24 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. A second single, "Gone," was released on October 23.

Fuel performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday August 10, 2007.

Angels & Devils debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 42, selling about 15,000 copies in its first week.^[17]

On October 20, 2008, Sony's catalog division Legacy Recordings released the album Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel on their Playlist series.^[18]

The band went on hiatus after the end of Angels & Devils tour. Carl Bell's messages at the Fuelies website suggested that there were problems, "between record legal issues", that were yet to be solved.^[19] In an interview for Rockin' Music Reviews from November 2007 Bell expresses his frustration over the limited support the latest album Angels & Devils received from the label.^[20] In another interview from November 2007, Bell told Tunelab how right before Angels & Devils was released he lost his "A&R guy" of 9 years at Epic Records, Ben Goldman, who had signed Fuel to Sony 550 Music back in 1997.^[21] In Spring 2008, the band was in talks with Sony about releasing "Leave The Memories Alone" as the third single from the album, due to notable rise in sales after its appearance in "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's farewell video tribute in the March 31, 2008 episode of "Raw" in WWE programming,^[22][23] but that never came about. Instead, the negotiations to part ways with Epic after ten years were started.^[24] Until Scallions' announcement, there had been no updates on band status since March 2009.

Since concluding the tour for Angels & Devils, Fuel had shown little activity. News related to Fuel came up when in 2009, former frontman Brett Scallions got together with Jeff Abercrombie to start playing Fuel material under the group name Re-Fueled.^[25] According to Scallions, "Jeff and I have remained friends, he called me up a while back and we decided - let’s go out and have fun because he and I haven't played together in a while. It just seemed like the timing was right."^[25] Scallions also recruited former Buckcherry guitarist Yogi, and former Candiria drummer Ken Schalk to round out the lineup..^[25]

In February 2010, Philadelphia's WMMR announced that Fuel, "re-grouped with original singer Brett Scallions", will be performing at their annual MMR*B*Q concert.^[26] There were also rumors of other festival dates being in the works. The limited information given led to believe that the original Fuel had reformed. However, Carl Bell's stand in the reunion raised questions, even more so since there was no official confirmation from the band at that time. Toryn Green stated on his MySpace that it seemed to be Re-Fueled promoting their own shows under the name of Fuel.^[27]

On March 2, 2010, Brett Scallions announced via the Fuelies Message Board that the "Fuel" advertised will consist of the current Re-Fueled line-up: Brett Scallions, Yogi, Ken Schalk, and new Re-Fueled bassist Brad Stewart (formerly of Shinedown), leaving him the only member of the old Fuel left in the band. The band embarked on world tour in April 2010.^[28]

The situation was clarified further by Scallions: "It won’t be the same as the original Fuel. Unfortunately things aren’t really resolved between Carl and myself and Jeff has decided that he no longer wants to tour. All I’m asking from you guys is that you at least give me a chance to give you a great show. You gave Carl that chance when he was the only one on the stage. Some of you have already commented on how you won’t be making this one. Well, you just might miss something great." ^[28]

On April 8, 2010, the reformation of Fuel was finally confirmed in an official press release.^[29] Also the Fuel MySpace and Facebook were updated with the new line-up and tour dates. The new band website is www.fuelrocks.com.

"There is only one original of anything" exclaims Scallions, "and that includes Fuel. The original lineup with Carl, Jeff, Jody and myself will always be something special to all of us, and our first Fuelies (a term for Fuel fans) but it has been thirteen years since the original lineup was intact, and since then many great musicians have come and gone. The lineup I put together for Fuel is not meant to replace or diminish what any of the original members created. Just the opposite, it is to give our fans a live destination, and to keep the Fuel name alive for a new generation to discover. Maybe someday we'll all get on the same page and play together again, but life happens and the next thing you know you just can't jump on a bus and take off for a month, let alone a year."

Original bassist Jeff Abercrombie is currently the owner/operator of Thud Studios. Original lead guitarist and principal songwriter Carl Bell is producing new music for a diversified group of artists. Bell has also been busy writing for film and television.

When reached for comment Bell stated, " Look, Brett sang all of this stuff on the bands biggest records, so it's pretty clear that the fans want to hear him singing Fuel songs, and that is what they are going to get. Our fans are important and they deserve a Fuel, even if it isn't an original lineup. Who knows maybe someday there will be an all original reunion. I have learned to never say never." ^[29]

In an interview given to Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR backstage of MMRBQ on May 23, 2010, Scallions talked about using the name "Fuel". "This is Fuel. We are Fuel. I worked out a deal where everybody's happy. I just told everybody, look I wanna do this my way, let me give this a shot, so everybody gave me their blessing and I'm going out and having some fun." Scallions also states that there is no animosity between him and Carl Bell. "We worked out a deal. We made an agreement with each other and we both been very civil to each other in our conversations." ^[30]

It was later announced on June 25, 2010 that former Shinedown guitarist Jasin Todd had joined the band to replace Yogi Lonich on lead guitar.^[31]

In the May 2010 interview for 93.3 WMMR, Scallions told how the next Fuel record with the new lineup is coming together as a collaborative effort. "We have been writing on the bus during this tour, and we've got so many really, really cool riffs and songs are molding together in a really awesome way, I'm so excited. (...) This is four guys that love to write which we're doing together as a band."^[30]

Recently the band played a new song live, "a taste of things to come", as Scallions described the song, and entitled the song "Headache". It was said to be reminiscent of Sunburn and Something Like Human. On Fuelies message board, Brett Scallions stated, "As some of you may know, we have been playing a new song I wrote called Headache. We just went into Matt Sorum's studio and recorded it! It came out so badass! I can't wait for you all to hear it. It has yet to be determined if it will be an actual Fuel song or if there will be another Fuel record. All of that will be determined and negotiated in the near future."^[32]

However shortly after, Scallions then posted that "Headache" will be a part of the upcoming World Fire Brigade album. However, on the new tour the band has played the song calling it "a taste of the future." This could mean that Headache will be a part of the upcoming album which Scallions stated is due out next summer. New songs were featured in the setlist entitled, "I Can See the Sun" and "What We Can Never Have". The band also started adding more songs from the Something Like Human album, including Scallions own penned, "Knives". Scallions is sure that a new Fuel album will indeed be released in the summer of 2012.

On the Fuelies message board, Scallions hinted that the band had been writing and also hinted at the possibility of a new Fuel record after a fan on the board requested the band return to Australia. It is currently unknown if the material will be written for Fuel or revert back to World Fire Brigade.

After nearly two years, Carl Bell finally publicly addressed the new Fuel as well as the fans. In order to show that there was no bad blood between them Carl posted a message on their Myspace which read, Hello all! Hope all is well with all of you. Just wanted to say I hope you all had a great Christmas season and here's hoping that 2011 is your best year yet!! Happy New Year!!! May it be peaceful, prosperous, and all in all a perfect year for all of you. As always, thanks again for your interest in Fuel. Your concern is always appreciated by me. All the best this New Year, Carl. It is still unclear when Fuel plan to record new material, or whether or not Carl Bell will be included in the line up in the near future.

As of January 2011, Yogi Lonich has since returned to the band as lead guitarist. Jasin Todd has left the band on good terms. As of March 2011, Brett Scallions has started a new band called World Fire Brigade ^[33] The lineup for World Fire Brigade includes all current members of Fuel in addition to Smile Empty Soul vocalist/guitarist Sean Danielsen.

The band played Bethlehem Musikfest alongside Buckcherry, however Yogi Lonich was not on stage. A friend of Scallions, Martin Estrada sat in and played lead for the show. Brett Scallions announced on his official Facebook page that Yogi Lonich was dismissed from the band. Scallions stated that Lonich was not committed or loyal to the band, and the two were in a "heated discussion" so therefore he is no longer playing with the band. Scallions also hinted that there is in fact a new Fuel record in the works and also introduced the band's new lead guitarist, Andy Andersson. The band continued and played new material during the sets. Scallions also noted that Lonich was never in World Fire Brigade, but rather recorded lead solos on some songs that will be released on the upcoming album.^[34]

In September 2011 Fuel performed an acoustic version of their new song "I Can See The Sun" at Legendary Dobb's. Fuel have also played this song at other shows.

Fuel have also been performing "What We Can Never Have" a new song, at various shows.

In November 2011, Brett reported that Ken Schalk was in the process of laying down the drums tracks for 2 new Fuel songs. It has also been reported that the new Fuel record is set for a tentative mid-2012 release.

The band went on a one month tour beginning in January. On this tour, the band played more new songs, one in particular called, "Time For me to Stop", written by Scallions about Casey Anthony who is accused of murdering her own daughter. After the release of World Fire Brigade's new songs on riptidemusic.com, it was reported that Kenneth Schalk was laying down drum tracks for new Fuel songs, but no word on when an entire album will be released.

Fuel entered the studio on March 8, 2012 to record their fifth full length studio album. Eddie Wohl, producer of the World Fire Brigade album, will produce the new Fuel album. The first pictures from the studio were released on Friday March 8, 2012. Brett confirmed that they were in the pre-production phase of recording and that Ken Schalk will begin laying down the drum tracks soon. The band is pushing for a mid-2012 release.

• Brett Scallions - lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1993–2006, 2010–present)
• Andy Andersson - lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2011–present)
• Brad Stewart - bass guitar (2010–present)
• Ken Schalk - drums, percussion (2010–present)

• Yogi Lonich - Lead guitar, backing vocals (2010, 2011)
• Jasin Todd - lead guitar (2010)
• Toryn Green - lead vocals (2006–2010)
• Carl Bell - lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1993–2010)
• Jeff Abercrombie - bass guitar (1993–2010)
• Tommy Stewart - drums, percussion (2006–2010)
• Kevin Miller - drums, percussion (1998–2004)
• Jonathan Mover - drums, percussion (1997–1998)
• Jody Abbott - drums, percussion (1993–1997) (as Small the Joy and Fuel)
• Erik Avakian - keyboards (1993–1996) (as Small the Joy)

• Rev Jones - bass guitar (2004)^[35]
• Tommy Stewart - drums (2005)
• Ronny Paige - bass (2007–2008)
• Jonathan Mover - drums (2011)

Discography

[edit]

Main article: Fuel discography

• Sunburn (1998)
• Something Like Human (2000)
• Natural Selection (2003)
• Angels & Devils (2007)

References

[edit]

1. ^ Anderson, Philip. "Interview with Carl Bell/Fuel". KAOS2000 Magazine. March 3, 1999.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Billboard Chart History". Retrieved June 28, 2010.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Billboard Album Chart History". Retrieved June 28, 2010.
4. ^ ^{a b} "Gold and Platinum Database Search". Retrieved 2008-01-01.
5. ^ Davis, Darren. "Fuel Rehearsing for New Recording". Yahoo! News. October 23, 2002.
6. ^ "Fuel Vocalist Sings Again After Surgery". Yahoo! News. October 16, 2003.
7. ^ "Complete List Of 2004 Grammy Nominations".
8. ^ ^{a b} Chad. "Carl Bell of Fuel Speaks Out". Alternative Addiction. July 21, 2007.
9. ^ Chad. "Brett Scallions Tells His Story". Alternative Addiction. August 5, 2007.
10. ^ [1] ^{[dead link]}
11. ^ "Carl Bell Of Fuel Talks About Am Idol Singer...." Melodic.net. May 16, 2006.
12. ^ "Chris Daughtry Gets 'Idol' Boot and Offer of a Lifetime". ExtraTV.com. Warner Bros. May 11, 2006. Archived from the original on Jan 8, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
13. ^ "Daughtry turns down Fuel gig". News 14 Carolina. Time Warner Cable. Associated Press. June 3, 2006. Archived from the original on Feb 12, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
14. ^ Toryn Green interview on theFIVE10 December 12 2010 theFive10.com. December 12, 2010.
15. ^ "FUEL - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania". MySpace.com. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
16. ^ "Breaking News! a message from Carl Bell". Fuelies.net. Jun 9, 2006. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
17. ^ Katie Hasty, "After Five-Year Absence, UGK Scores First No. 1 Album", Billboard.com, August 15, 2007.
18. ^ "Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel" LegacyRecordings.com. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
19. ^ "Until there is some clarity in our situation, what are you gonna do?". Fuelies.net. September 13, 2008. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
20. ^ "Bell's view in Baltimore". Fuelweb.com. November 8, 2007. Archived from the original on April 19, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
21. ^ "Interview with Carl Bell of Fuel" TuneLab.com. Nov 11, 2007.
22. ^ Vermillion, James: "Fans add Fuel to Flair's farewell" WWE.com April 9, 2008.
23. ^ High, Kamau (21 June 2008). "A Cagey Match - For The WWE, Music Backs The Brand". Billboard. 120 (35). Nielsen Business Media, Inc.: 5. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
24. ^ "What up." Fuelies.net. May 13, 2008. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
25. ^ ^{a b c} Chad. "Brett Scallions Forms New Band 'Refueled'". Alternative Addiction. August 15, 2009.
26. ^ http://www.wmmr.com/music/concerts/rbq2010.aspx
27. ^ "Fuel to New Fuel, to Re-fueled.. uhhh to Fuel" Toryn Green's MySpace. Blog entry from February 9, 2010.
28. ^ ^{a b} "Fuel Return With Brett Scallions And World Tour". Rawkpit. March 12, 2010.
29. ^ ^{a b} "Fuel re-ignite with Bon Jovi, fronted by original lead vocalist Brett Scallions" PRWeb.com April 8, 2010.
30. ^ ^{a b} Robert, Pierre: "93.3 WMMR Interview with Brett Scallions of 'Fuel' back stage at the WMMR MMRBQ 2010" WMMR.com. May 23, 2010.
31. ^ "Former Shinedown guitarist Jasin Todd Joins Fuel" Tunelab.com. June 26, 2010.
32. ^ "I'm still alive - Brett Scallions' message at Fuelies website" Fuelies.net. Aug 26, 2010.
33. ^ "World Fire Brigade".
34. ^ "An introduction is in order..." FuelRocks.com. August 16, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
35. ^ "Hair Metal Mansion Interview with Rev Jones of Steelheart/Michael Schenker Group/Mountain". Hair Metal Mansion. September 25, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2011.

External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crisis/sandbox.

• Official website
• Fuelies.net
• Fuel On Demand

Category:American post-grunge musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1989 Category:Musical groups from Pennsylvania