Originally formed by Bill Arundel, Harold McCasslin, and Jason McGuirl; Attica is a groove oriented metal act from St Petersburg, Fl. A Smooth but edgy sound influenced by bands such as Deftones, Helmet, and Clutch. Attica has become one of the Tampa Bay area’s biggest names since their inception. With the addition of Bryan Rodgers and Phil Moss on guitars the band was set to begin their journey. The band’s first release titled “The Light Is Green” was well received all over the country. Shortly after the release the band began touring, hitting the road with artists such as: Crossbreed, Nonpoint, Darwin’s Waiting Room, Neurotica, Clutch, Loudmouth, and Twice The Sun building a fan-base that would later gain them more national attention. The success of “The Light Is Green” also granted them two consecutive appearances on local radio station, 98 Rock’s, annual event, Livestock giving them the opportunity to play in front of more than 60 thousand fans.
Attica continued playing shows for two years before taking a break to begin working on new material. After months of writing the band decided to demo three new songs: Libel, Killjoy, and High Diver. They entered Audio Lab studios to begin recording. Three weeks later the bands new demo was finished and ready to be released. The demo went over very well among fans and the media alike earning them “Band Of The Month” spots on several webzines such as Inverse-Music.com and reviews from notable sites: East Coast Romper, Focus Magazine, and a host of others. A short break followed and Phil Moss decided to leave the band and Jeremiah Vary entered the line up.
Shortly after; the band headed into Zen Recording studios to start work on their 2nd full length album “Undone”. The disc included new mixes of Killjoy, Libel, and High Diver as well as a cover of REM’s End Of The World. Attica spent a little over two months recording what would be their most mature album to date. Just after the release the band parted ways with guitarist Bryan Rodgers and recruited long time friend Josh Bowden to fill in the vacant slot. The band began playing shows with the new line up and created all new merchandise to help promote the album. The new CD received nation wide attention in a matter of weeks as the single “Pushing Me” hit hundreds of college radio stations. Requests to review and feature the disc were coming in from all sides and management deals were put into place.
In August of 2002 Attica hit the road with the first annual Inverse Tour, organized by Inverse-Music.com and toured until December of that year.
After the Inverse Tour concluded the band were honored with opening slots with Mudvayne and Anthrax respectively before going on hiatus in order to focus on side projects more seriously. Harold, Jason, and Jeremiah formed Zero Duval, an acoustic rock band, and began playing shows. They’ve been booked steadily since their inception and recorded a five song EP. Bill Arundel fronted Aswell with former Attica guitarist Bryan Rodgers and handled Bass Guitar duties for metal act Synapse earning him a Miller Lite sponsorship.
At the request of numerous promoters Attica returned to the stage, headlining in front of more than 600 fans at Jannus Landing Courtyard in June of 2006. The warm welcome prompted the band to begin writing new material while playing a select few shows. With offers coming in to play the Warped Tour as well as other large Tampa area shows Attica seems to be back in full force and looking forward at what’s to come. |