October Fall was an American pop punk band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in the summer of 2003, with Pat D'Andrea and Clark Harrison as the original members. These two originally played together under the name "Silver Lining". Soon after, the rest of the band was added: Nick Coleman, Owen Toomey, and Jack Marin. Nick Coleman was replaced by Nick Scalise, and Jack Marin was replaced by Greg Shanahan. In 2005, the band opened on a tour with Ashlee Simpson, and later that year, they toured with The Click Five. In the spring of 2006, they toured with Fall Out Boy and The All-American Rejects on the Black Clouds and Underdogs tour. They were signed to Decaydance, a Fueled By Ramen imprint headed by Pete Wentz. Their debut CD, A Season in Hell, was released in February 2006. On October 1, 2007, the band announced that they had gone their separate ways. In the fall of 2007, Clark Harrison and Nick Foxerformed a band called Phonocast, based in southern California. Pat D'Andrea formed Archie Star, with his sister. The band released their album, Carry Me Home in November 2008. Nick Scalise and Greg Shanahan are now part of the band Bestfriends.
History
Early years
Their roots may be in the Chicago scene, but pop is their passion for the members in October Fall: vocalist/guitarist Pat D'Andrea, guitarist Clark Harrison, pianist Owen Toomey, bassist Greg Shanahan, and drummer Nick Scalise. As a child, there was always music playing in the D'Andrea house. Johnny Cash, Tom Petty and Stevie Ray Vaughan all became trusted friends, especially when D'Andrea was transferred from a public high school to a private Catholic high school made him the dreaded "New Kid". D'Andrea would sit in his bedroom playing guitar outlet and accidentally writing songs while attending one of his sister's musicals. D'Andrea met a fellow maverick Clark Harrison, and the two began jamming together as Silver Lining. With high ambitions and a budding arsenal of songs, the duo changed its name and solidified a line-up of some of Chicago's best and brightest players. After selling out shows to just open the band, the whole town took notice. It was one of the scene's most beloved alumni, Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, who wrote the band to his Fueled By Ramen imprint Decaydance. From there, the band prepared to record their debut album and soon hit the road with Ashlee Simpson. The inspiration for the title of October Fall's debut, A Season in Hell comes from a cult classic movie, Eddie and the Cruisers, which actually premiered in theaters before any of the band members were even born.
In the summer of 2005, they migrated westward to record at The Green Room in Los Angeles, California, with producer Mike Green. But the songs they were traveling with were not the songs that ended up on A Season in Hell, a collection of 11 tracks all infused with equal parts pop and circumstance. The song "Walking" set October Fall's sound movement is a piano-driven rocker, thinking about a girl, who cannot look himself in the mirror, not satisfied with simply writing about Heartaches and Heart-Breaker "Hey Hey" deals with the harsh tale of a turbulent friendship. A Season in Hell also features guest appearances by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump and Paramore's Hayley Williams.
Post-breakup (2007)
On October 1, 2007, the band announced that they had gone their separate ways. In the fall of 2007, Clark Harrison and Nick Foxer formed a band called Phonocast, based in southern California where both musicians now live. Pat D'Andrea formed Archie Star, in which he shares lead vocals with his sister, Maria. The band released their album, Carry Me Home in November 2008.
