H2O (American band)


H2O is an American hardcore punk band formed in New York City in 1994.

History

Formation and the Epitaph years (1994–2000)

While touring as a roadie for Sick of It All, Toby Morse would sometimes sing with the band during encores. In late 1994 Morse decided to start his own band and formed H2O in the Lower East Side of Manhattan with Rusty Pistachio & Eric Rice. The band included his brother, Todd Morse, and Todd Friend, both formerly members of Outcrowd, who had released the albums New Music Solution, Weathered and Healer. The band toured relentlessly through most of 1995 and 1996, opening up for almost every hardcore band that hit the east coast, including an opening slot on a Rancid bill, at the Roseland Ballroom, opening for Quicksand on Long Island & a Summer 1995 European Tour opening for Sick of It All & CIV. Another huge early show was when the band opened for No Doubt at Tramps on Easter in 1996. In January 1996 they would record their self-titled CD at Brielle Studios-NYC and would release it in May. The CD was basically all the songs they had and would play out at the time. They would tour that whole summer with Shelter and Murphy's Law. H2O performed at CBGB's in October of that year and recorded a video for "Family Tree". They also toured with Social Distortion in October '96.
In June 1997 H2O quickly recorded and released Thicker Than Water in October. They toured all over the world until the end of the year and through 1998. In the year 1997 they would open for Misfits, Pennywise, Sick of It All, CIV and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Warped Tour 98 and 99. They would tour Japan for the first time in 1997 & return in 1998. They received MTV play with "Everready".
In 1999, they recorded and released F.T.T.W. in May and made a video for "One Life One Chance" and again toured year around and into 2000. They also toured on the 1999 Warped Tour. In 1999 and 2000 they would tour with NOFX, The Bouncing Souls, 7 Seconds and Saves the Day. That summer of 2000, H2O would record a cover of the Ice Cube song "It Was a Good Day" and shoot a video around New York City in the middle of the night.

''Go'' (2001–03)

In November and December 2000 they recorded their first major label CD on MCA Records titled Go. They recorded Go at Rumbo Recorders Studios owned at the time by 1970s pop stars Captain & Tennille, in Canoga Park, California.
Go was released in May 2001 and produced by Matt Wallace and toured extensively H2O made a video for "Role Model" and performed "Memory Lane" on the Conan O'Brien show in May of that year. They toured Warped Tour with Blink-182, Good Charlotte, New Found Glory and Face to Face and a full Canada tour in 2001. In 2002 H2O recorded & released the EP All We Want, 3 new songs with 2 live tracks and the "Role Model" video. They also toured in Japan, Europe and U.S. extensively. They would later tour U.S. & Canada with Sum 41 and Box Car Racer.

2004–07

In 2005, H2O toured Europe with Madball and toured the U.S. with The Used, Pennywise and Dropkick Murphys.
In 2006, H2O toured South America for the first time. They toured U.S. with Rancid. H2O also toured Japan in May/June 2007. During this time, H2O would demo songs for what would eventually become Nothing to Prove.

''Nothing to Prove'' (2008–11)

H2O returned to the studio in January 2008 to begin working on their fifth studio album and had posted new songs on their MySpace page. On January 14, 2008, the band announced they signed to Bridge 9 Records, and the new album was released on May 27, 2008. Titled Nothing to Prove, it was their first album of new material in seven years. The band proceeded to support the album's release by opening for Rancid on a series of U.S. tour dates at various House of Blues venues. The band would go on to tour Europe extensively that summer.
In March 2008, it was announced H2O would play at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in The United Kingdom.
H2O recently released a DVD titled One Life One Chance. The band also opened for the Dropkick Murphys during their St. Paddy's Day Tour in winter of 2009.
H2O shot videos for "What Happened" and "Nothing to Prove" from the Nothing to Prove CD.
They celebrated their 15th Anniversary with tour dates in U.S., Europe, South America, Japan and all over the world in 2010.
In August 2010, H2O played on a boat around Manhattan.
During 2010 South American Tour. Brian "Mitts" Daniels filled in for Todd Morse because he was on tour with The Offspring.
In February through May 2011, they returned to the studio to begin recording a covers CD of some of their favorite punk bands. They also toured Australia on the Soundwave 2011 tour in late February/March and Europe in April and May 2011. In August 2011 they will be touring the UK, and will be playing in Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland for the first time.

''Don't Forget Your Roots'' (2011–2015)

On November 15, 2011 H2O released Don't Forget Your Roots, a 15-song tribute CD to some of their favorite bands.
On January 1, 2013 H2O posted on their Facebook page that a new album would be released sometime in 2013, but recently Toby Morse has stated that the band will be completing this fall tour with New Found Glory and Alkaline Trio, spending the holidays at home and be in the recording studio come February 2014.
In January 2015, H2O played in São Paulo, Brazil.
In March 2015, H2O started recording the new cd "Use Your Voice", due for release through Bridge Nine Records on October 9, 2015.
In April 2015, H2O toured Mexico for the first time. On August 5 the same year, Todd Morse confirmed via his Twitter account that he was no longer a part of the band.

''Use Your Voice'' (2015–present)

H2O released Use Your Voice on Bridge 9 Records on October 9, 2015. The album was recorded from March to May 2015 at Buzzbomb Sound Lab Studios & produced by Chad Gilbert. H2O shot a video for "Skate" in June 2015. On February 15, 2016, the band released a 2nd video for "True Romance", containing pictures of the bands families, friends and fans. The album hit #1 on Billboard Top Heatseekers chart & reached #86 on Billboard chart, #23 on Billboard U.S. Alternative Albums, #19 on Billboard U.S. Independent Albums chart & #13 on the Billboard Top U.S. Hard Rock Albums in October 2015.
On October 6, their new album Use Your Voice was made available for streaming on the Bridge 9 Records bandcamp page.
In October 2015, on the first European leg of their Use Your Voice tour, H2O toured with guest musicians: drummer Branden Steineckert of Rancid, and guitarist Colin McGinniss of None More Black.
In January 2016, H2O would embark on a year of touring. They would start the year on the Persistence Tour in Europe with Ignite, Terror, Iron Reagan, Twitching Tongues, Wisdom in Chains & Risk It!.... In April, H2O would do a Mexico tour run of shows with Pennywise. They soon after played the Punk Rock Bowling festivals in Las Vegas and New Jersey. H2O would then tour Europe in 2 parts of the summer. September 2016, H2O left for on a South American tour of Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. In November and December 2016, H2O would close out the year performing shows of the 1996 self-titled H2O cd, with Todd Morse returning for the run of shows, on the East Coast, West Coast and Midwest.
The band has confirmed that Use Your Voice is their final studio album but has so far not announced whether they would break up.
As of late 2017, Todd Morse was back playing shows with the band
In early 2018, the band announced a full World Tour in celebration of 10 Years of Nothing to Prove as well as playing in Indonesia for the very first time!
In Spring of 2019, H2O would announce 25th Year Anniversary Tour dates, in the United States and Europe.

Band members

Current members


Discography

Albums