Dashboard Confessional

Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" from the debut album The Swiss Army Romance.

History

Early history (2000–2002)

Initially a solo side project of Chris Carrabba while in Further Seems Forever, Dashboard Confessional's first recording was the 2000 LP The Swiss Army Romance.

The following year, Further Seems Forever, with Carrabba, recorded and released its debut album, The Moon Is Down. Carrabba soon thereafter left the band to record and release his second solo album, The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most, and a follow-up EP, So Impossible; both were released under the name Dashboard Confessional.

By 2002, three other musicians had joined the band, including former Further Seems Forever band mate Jerry Castellanos, and started the process of recording the band's next album. After the success of his second album, Carrabba was asked to perform on MTV Unplugged, and the subsequent live release marked the first time many of the songs were recorded with a full band.

Also in 2002, the music video for Screaming Infidelities won the MTV2 award at the MTV Video Music Awards, beating out Norah Jones, The Strokes, The Hives, Nappy Roots, and Musiq. This video starred Chris in both the performance and the storyline. The video was directed by Maureen Egan and Matthew Barry and was produced by James Paul Wisner.

 A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar (2003–2005)

In 2003, the band released its third album, A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar. Peaking at #2 on the United States Billboard charts, the album proved to be the band's most commercially-viable album yet.

In the summer of 2004, Dashboard Confessional recorded the song "Vindicated" for the film Spider-Man 2. It was featured on the soundtrack and played over the film's end credits. Due to such usage, the band gained a sizable audience for their next release the following summer.

Dusk and Summer (2005–2006)

In May 2005, Dashboard Confessional entered the studio to record their fourth album with acclaimed producer Daniel Lanois. The album was released on June 27, 2006; its first single was "Don't Wait". Following the release of Dusk and Summer, Dashboard Confessional went on a summer tour of the U.S. with special guests Say Anything and Ben Lee, followed by co-headlining an arena tour with alternative rock band Brand New.

The Shade of Poison Trees (2007–2009)

In 2007, the band released its follow-up to Dusk and Summer, The Shade of Poison Trees. Unlike its predecessor, this album reflects back on the earlier influence of Carrabba's acoustic harmonies from The Swiss Army Romance and The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most.

Alter the Ending (2009–present)

The band began recording their sixth studio album, Alter the Ending, in 2008. Carrabba stated that the album could have turned into a concept album.

"...only with the last three has it become, like, 'All right, these have a continuity and there's something going on,' so I'm excited to see where that leads".

On February 14, 2009, as a special Valentine's Day gift to fans, Carrabba released a free download on his MySpace page entitled "Even Now (Acoustic Version)" from their forthcoming studio album.

In June, 2009, the band began "sequencing the album", suggesting that the upcoming album was close to completion.

In August 2009, Dashboard Confessional contributed a song to the motion picture soundtrack for dark comedy film Jennifer's Body, titled "Finishing School". It was not featured on Alter the Ending.

On September 10, 2009, Chris Carrabba confirmed on his Twitter page that the 12-song album would be released on November 10, 2009. It was found out that the album would be released on 2 discs, the first of which consisting of the full-band version of the album and the second consisting of the acoustic version. In addition, Carrabba stated that Dashboard Confessional would be touring with New Found Glory and Never Shout Never in the near future. On October 30, 2009, however, Chris announced via Twitter and Facebook that, due to a last-minute family emergency, the band would be cancelling their Alter the Ending tour with New Found Glory and Never Shout Never with the exception of November 7 with the Louisville Orchestra; although the longer tour with New Found Glory and Never Shout Never was cancelled, Chris announced on his website on November 10, 2009 that he and John will begin a 13-date acoustic tour with New Found Glory (who will be playing an acoustic set as well) on November 30, 2009.

The band has been performing as the opening act for the Bon Jovi Circle Tour in 2010.

On July 31, 2010, Carrabba performed at the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado for the second annual Love Hope Strength Foundation and Health ONE Pikes Peak Rocks benefit, honoring cancer survivors and raising money and awareness for research and treatment.

The Swiss Army Romance re-release (2010)

On October 4, 2010, it was announced that Dashboard Confessional's first album, The Swiss Army Romance, would be re-released as a deluxe vinyl album on November 16. The limited edition box set (only 1,000 available) included remastered versions of the album's track listing, extended artwork, handwritten lyrics, unreleased photos, guitar picks, a commemorative tour laminate, all encased in an intricate Swiss army knife case.

The day after the release, Chris embarked on a solo tour playing Swiss Army Romance in its entirety for the tenth anniversary of the release of the album. On December 1, it was announced that Chris Conley of Saves the Day was added to the tour as main support for the West Coast dates. 3 piece band Lady Danville joined them as well.

Members

• Chris Carrabba - vocals, rhythm guitar, piano (1999–present)
• John Lefler - lead guitar, piano, vocals (2002–present)
• Scott Schoenbeck- bass (2002–Present)
• Mike Marsh - drums, percussion (2002–present)

Former members

• Dan Bonebrake - bass guitar, backing vocals (2002)

Past touring members

• John Ralston - guitar (2002)
• Mike Stroud - strings (2007)
• Andrew Marshall - guitar (2007)
• Susan Sherouse - violin (2007)

Discography

The Swiss Army Romance

 

The Swiss Army Romance is the first full-length album by Dashboard Confessional. It had an original short release (1000 copies or so) on Fiddler Records, but soon a decision was made to sell the album to Drive-Thru Records. Drive-Thru released the album on November 14, 2000. In 2003, the rights to the record were sold to Chris Carrabba and Vagrant Records and the album was re-issued on April 22, 2003. The re-release included bonus tracks "Hold On" and "This Is a Forgery". The re-release was spurred by the rising popularity of the band and the announcement of the then upcoming album A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar. 

Track listing

1. "Screaming Infidelities" – 3:33
2. "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" – 3:02
3. "Living in Your Letters" – 3:40
4. "The Swiss Army Romance" – 3:06
5. "Turpentine Chaser" – 3:20
6. "A Plain Morning" – 3:40
7. "Age Six Racer" – 2:21
8. "Again I Go Unnoticed" – 2:24
9. "Ender Will Save Us All" – 5:13
10. "Shirts and Gloves" – 2:53
11. "Hold On" [re-issue bonus track] – 2:08
12. "This Is a Forgery" (re-issue bonus track) – 5:37
13. "Not So Easy" (hidden track, re-issue bonus track) – 4:02

The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most

 

The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most is the second studio album recorded by the American emo band Dashboard Confessional. The album, released on March 20, 2001, features ten songs, which are all written by the singer of Dashboard Confessional, Chris Carrabba. The album has been certified Gold by RIAA, meaning it sold over 500,000 copies in the United States.
"Screaming Infidelities" and "Again I Go Unnoticed" both originally appeared on the band's first album The Swiss Army Romance. "Standard Lines" was used on a very special episode of Clone High.

Track listing

1. "The Brilliant Dance" – 3:03
2. "Screaming Infidelities" – 3:46
3. "The Best Deceptions" – 4:15
4. "This Ruined Puzzle" – 2:52
5. "Saints and Sailors" – 2:33
6. "The Good Fight" – 2:27
7. "Standard Lines" – 2:27
8. "Again I Go Unnoticed" – 2:17
9. "The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most" – 2:56
10. "This Bitter Pill" – 3:14

A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar

A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar is the third studio album recorded by the band Dashboard Confessional. The album was released on August 19, 2003 and has been certified gold by RIAA, meaning it has shipped over 500,000 copies in the United States.
"As Lovers Go" was featured on the Shrek 2: Motion Picture Soundtrack.

Track listing

1. "Hands Down" – 3:06
2. "Rapid Hope Loss" – 3:40
3. "As Lovers Go" – 3:31
4. "Carry This Picture" – 2:54
5. "Bend and Not Break" – 5:06
6. "Ghost of a Good Thing" – 3:44
7. "Am I Missing" – 4:05
8. "Morning Calls" – 4:19
9. "Carve Your Heart Out Yourself" – 3:44
10. "So Beautiful" – 3:28
11. "Hey Girl" – 3:33
12. "If You Can't Leave It Be, Might as Well Make It Bleed" – 3:37
13. "Several Ways to Die Trying" – 6:08
14. "This Old Wound" [*] – 4:02
15. "The End of an Anchor" [*] – 5:26
16. "Nightswimming" (R.E.M. Cover) [*]

Dusk and Summer

Dusk and Summer is the fourth studio album recorded by the band Dashboard Confessional. It was released on March 27, 2006 on Vagrant Records. It was originally produced by Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan), but was polished and finished up with Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Pearl Jam, Dashboard's "Vindicated") as producer.

"Don't Wait" was released as the first single off the album in May 2006.

"So Long, So Long" in particular is a more piano-based song than those that have featured on previous Dashboard Confessional albums or EPs. A previous version of the song was available for download in the summer of 2005 on the band's website. A few of the songs have been compared to Carrabba's previous band, Further Seems Forever.

All songs on the album were written by the lead singer Chris Carrabba.

On June 29, 2006 the album peaked at the number one position in the U.S. iTunes Music Store. It returned to the iTunes Top 10 albums May 8, 2007.

It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 with a best sales week for them of 134,000 copies sold.^[1] In its second week, it dropped to #9, with fewer than 50,000 units sold.^[2] The album has sold over 540,407 copies.

There are two hidden tracks before the first song on the album. They can be found by rewinding the first track. Some CD players will play them automatically if they have auto play. The tracks include a new song, "Write It Out" and the song "Vindicated", released on the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack.

A deluxe edition was released in the U.S. on May 22, 2007 with a new version of "Stolen" (shorter at 3:19), inserted "Vindicated" as track 4, and adding previously unreleased tracks "Ghost of a Good Thing [Live from The Henry Rollins Show]" and "The Best Deceptions [Live from The Henry Rollins Show]" as 12 and 13. The track listing on the back of the album however, mistakenly lists 04 twice, omitting 11; the insert however, lists the tracks with the correct numbering. The only difference in album art is the cover being given a more sunset-like color palette. Circuit City retail shipments included a poster, while Best Buy's included an exclusive ringtone download code.

The song "Reason to Believe" is featured on the video game Madden NFL 07.

Track listing

0. "Write It Out" – 4:51 (pregap hidden track)
0. "Vindicated" – 3:20 (pregap hidden track)
1. "Don't Wait" – 4:05
2. "Reason to Believe" – 3:43
3. "The Secret's in the Telling" – 3:24
4. "Stolen" (Non-Juli Version) – 3:53
5. "Rooftops and Invitations" – 3:54
6. "So Long, So Long" (feat. Adam Duritz of Counting Crows) – 4:15
7. "Currents" – 4:27
8. "Slow Decay" – 4:08
9. "Dusk and Summer" – 4:38
10. "Heaven Here" – 4:08
11. "Vindicated" – 3:21 (iTunes)

• "Write It Out" and "Vindicated" are tracks hidden before "Don't Wait" on most presses of the album.

Deluxe Edition

1. "Don't Wait" – 4:05
2. "Reason to Believe" – 3:43
3. "The Secret's in the Telling" – 3:24
4. "Vindicated" – 3:20
5. "Stolen" (Radio Edit) (Non-Juli Version) – 3:19
6. "Rooftops and Invitations" – 3:54
7. "So Long, So Long" (feat. Adam Duritz of Counting Crows) – 4:15
8. "Currents" – 4:27
9. "Slow Decay" – 4:08
10. "Dusk and Summer" – 4:38
11. "Heaven Here" – 4:08
12. "Ghost of a Good Thing" (Live from the Henry Rollins Show) - 4:11
13. "The Best Deceptions" (Live from the Henry Rollins Show) - 5:31

The Shade of Poison Trees

The Shade of Poison Trees is the fifth studio album recorded by the band Dashboard Confessional. The album in its entirety was posted on the band's MySpace page on September 28, 2007, and it was released on October 2, 2007 on Vagrant Records. This album was very much kept a secret, with no news of its development leaking out. The official Vagrant announcement, released on August 16, 2007, stated that The Shade of Poison Trees has been recorded over 10 days in Florida with producer Don Gilmore, who also takes credit for the production of Dashboard Confessional's previous album, Dusk and Summer.

The Shade of Poison Trees is heralded as a return to form, so to speak, breaking away from the electric, full band sound of their previous two albums and returning to the acoustic sound that Carrabba was previously known for. However, the album is unmistakably more mature, as the songs sound similar to their more recent work, yet without the heavily produced style. The album comes a little over a year after the release of Dusk and Summer.

"Thick as Thieves" was released as the first single off the album in August 2007. On August 22, 2007, the band posted "Little Bombs" on their MySpace page. On September 25, the band added "Keep Watch for the Mines" to their MySpace page; later that evening, the album leaked on the boards of the band's official website. As of September 26, 2007, the album leaked onto the Internet.

"These Bones" was Dashboard Confessional's second single off the album and was released December 3, 2007. Following its release, The Shade of Poison Trees debuted at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 48,000 copies in its first week.

Track listing

1. "Where There's Gold" – 2:29
2. "Thick as Thieves" – 2:19
3. "Keep Watch for the Mines" – 2:46
4. "These Bones" – 2:59
5. "Fever Dreams" – 2:30
6. "The Shade of Poison Trees" – 2:58
7. "The Rush" – 3:51
8. "Little Bombs" – 2:33
9. "I Light My Own Fires Now" – 2:54
10. "Matters of Blood and Connection" – 2:24
11. "Clean Breaks" – 2:59
12. "The Widows Peak" – 2:58

Bonus Tracks

1. "The Only Gift That I Need" – 2:09*
2. "Tonight I'll Take What I Can Get" [re-recorded] (iTunes pre-order bonus track) – 2:57
3. "Tonight I'll Take What I Can Get" (original acoustic version) – 4:24*

"*"UK bonus tracks

Alter the Ending

Alter the Ending is the sixth studio album recorded by American emo band Dashboard Confessional, released through Interscope Records on November 10, 2009. The album was released in both a one disc standard version and a two disc deluxe edition which contains a second disc of acoustic versions of the 12 songs on the album. The album's first single is "Belle of the Boulevard".

Alter the Ending received generally favorable reviews from critics, with some saying the album showed great maturity and others alluding to overproduction and its limitations.

The album debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200, number six on the Billboard Rock Albums chart and number five on the Alternative Albums chart.

Track listing

1. "Get Me Right"
2. "Until Morning" 
3. "Everybody Learns from Disaster" 
4. "Belle of the Boulevard"
5. "I Know About You" 
6. "Alter the Ending" 
7. "Blame It on the Changes" 
8. "Even Now" 
9. "The Motions"
10. "No News Is Bad News"  
11. "Water and Bridges"  
12. "Hell on the Throat"

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