Army of Freshmen

Following his graduation from Lower Cape May Regional High School in Cape May, New Jersey, Chris Jay moved by himself to Ventura, California with the goal of starting a band. Having written hundreds of songs, Jay started out playing solo acoustic at local open mics and coffeehouses.

Jay officially formed Army of Freshmen at the end of 1997 with Owen Bucey, Aaron Goldberg, Dan Clark, One' Nielsen, Mike Rini and Jon Blackburn all of whom he met at a Ventura coffeehouse he performed at regularly. Jay's new bandmates were all recent graduates of Buena High School and Ventura High School. The band initially performed as Chris Jay and the Army of Freshmen but after a few months of local shows, they began going by just Army of Freshmen. Initially Goldberg and Clark played trumpet and trombone while Jay played guitar but the band moved Clark to keyboard and Goldberg to guitar which created the dual keyboard-driven pop punk that the band is known for. In 2000 the band went on their first tour, 2 weeks on the east coast, in the same minivan Jay left home in. The tour was booked completely independent of any manager, label or agent.[1]

On the strength of a 3-song demo and a large Ventura area fan base, in 2000, the band was discovered by music manager, Rod Ensminger, who signed them to his label, Blue Hand Records. In 2001 the band released their self-titled debut which was produced by Jay Ferguson, a member of the 60's rock band Spirit.[2]

To support their debut full-length release, Army of Freshmen toured in the summer of 2001 on the Moto Music Madness Tour, a freestyle motocross meets music tour that played over 50 dates across the USA including a handful of dates on the Warped Tour.

At the end of 2002, Nielsen left the band and was replaced by Kai Dodson, a Ventura musician who was close friends with the band. Around the same time, the band was signed to a label in Japan who released their self-titled album in that country in 2003. To support the release Army of Freshmen was invited to play Summersonic, a major music festival in Japan alongside major artists like Radiohead and The Doors. This led to Army of Freshmen's first international attention when, despite being the least known act at the festival, their set received rave reviews in the Japanese music press.[3]

While on a few random dates of the 2003 Warped Tour, Army of Freshmen met Bowling For Soup who would become close friends and collaborators. Bowling For Soup invited Army of Freshmen on their 2003 fall tour. Initially just booked to be on a few shows, Bowling For Soup, insisted that Army of Freshmen stay on for the entire tour, an act that Jay described as, "An above and a beyond act of kindness that totally changed our band's career."

The band signed with 33rd Street Records, an indie label which was owned by Tower Records and entered the studio to record their second album, Beg, Borrow, Steal in late 2003. The album included the single "Get Um Up," which spent 5 weeks in the top 20 on the U.S. Alternative radio specialty charts.[4]

Following the release of Beg, Borrow, Steal in 2004, the band returned to Japan supporting The Living End.[5]

While on the Warped Tour in 2004, drummer Mike Rini left the band abruptly at one of the tour's Canadian dates. Mike Milligan, a drummer from Chicago whose previous band had played several shows with Army of Freshmen, joined shortly thereafter.

After the Warped Tour, the band toured the United Kingdom for the first time. A compilation by Brand New Hero Records featuring Army of Freshmen songs, entitled Casino Chips and Sunset Strips, was released in the UK to coincide with the tour. The tour ended with Army of Freshmen being asked to open for Bowling For Soup for 3 of that band's tour dates in the United Kingdom.[6]

In 2005 the band did a headlining summer tour still in support of Beg, Borrow, Steal and returned to the United Kingdom that fall for a sold-out tour opening for Bowling For Soup. In support of the tour, they released an EP, At the End Of the Day, which was recorded in Texas and produced by Jaret Reddick of Bowling For Soup.[7]

In 2006, the band released their third album, Under the Radar, which featured the single, "Juliet". The dodgeball themed video received moderate play on United Kingdom music channels like Kerrang and Scuzz TV. The record would be their first with their longtime producer, Jay Ruston.

In the summer of 2006, Army of Freshmen and Bowling For Soup created and appeared on the Get Happy Tour,[8] a popular package tour that traveled the United States in 2006 and 2007, the United Kingdom twice in 2007 and also did a short European run in 2017. The tour featured fan interaction events and a family-friendly show. Other bands that appeared alongside AOF and BFS on the various Get Happy Tours included The Bloodhound Gang, Zebrahead, Wheatus, Son of Dork, Punchline, Lucky Boys Confusion, Quiet Drive and Melee.

2007 proved to be Army of Freshmen busiest year with multiple tours in the United Kingdom, their first UK festival appearance at the Download Festival, their first trip to mainland Europe supporting Reel Big Fish and the previously mentioned Get Happy Tours which played to sold-out venues in the United Kingdom.

The band's fourth album, Above the Atmosphere, was released in 2008 and the single "No One's Famous" again received airplay on UK Television. The band did their first ever headline tours of the United Kingdom in the spring and fall and again appeared at the Download Festival. They did a headline tour that summer in the United States.

After years of touring independently and surviving primarily on merchandise sales, just as Army of Freshmen was set to sign to a major label, the global economic crisis hit. The label they were negotiating a deal with froze all signings for the remainder of the year and the A&R man who was negotiating the deal was laid off shortly thereafter. In addition, a new indie label the band had just begun working with folded suddenly leaving the band responsible for debt the label incurred in the band's name.

In May 2009, the band toured China for the first time where they played to the biggest crowds of their career appearing at the Midi Festival and Zebra Festival where they were the only artist from the US to perform.

The band released the Close Encounter EP in 2010. The EP was available for download for a pay-what-you-like model. The video for the EP's single, "Body Parts" received minor airplay on United Kingdom video channels. The band returned to the United Kingdom for a short headline tour and an appearance at the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth, England.

In the spring of 2011, Army of Freshmen opened the main stage at the Groezrock Festival in Belgium. In addition to Groezrock, they performed at the Artefacts Festival in France, the Paaspop Festival in the Netherlands and headlined a week of shows in the United Kingdom.[9]

At the end of 2011, the band returned to the United Kingdom for their 10th visit, this time touring with Zebrahead.[10]

The band's fifth record, Happy To Be Alive, was self-released in 2013 and was crowd-funded. Fans who contributed to the making of the record received an acoustic EP, Campfire Classics. Despite Happy To Be Alive receiving the best reviews of their career which cited the record's lyrical maturity and less pop-punk direction, the record failed to sell well or receive much attention outside of the band's most hardcore fans. Army of Freshmen only toured once in support of the record, with a 2014 tour in the United Kingdom with Lit. After the Lit tour, the band went on hiatus for the first time since their inception, though it was not officially announced. During this time, band members engaged in a variety of side projects, including Jay and Goldberg writing, co-producing, and releasing the independent comedy film, The Bet.

In a surprise announcement on September 22, 2017, Army of Freshmen released the news that they would be celebrating their 20th Anniversary in February 2018 with the return of the Get Happy Tour in the United Kingdom. Army of Freshmen once again joined Bowling For Soup and special guests, The Aquabats for the first Get Happy Tour in 11 years. The band also played an anniversary show in their hometown (Ventura, CA) in October 2018.[11]

In late 2019 and early 2020, the band released three new singles, "Well May Her World Go Round," "Everything is Beautiful," and "Promise." Recorded by John Sveiven at Arkive Studios in Ventura, these recordings marked the first release of new Army of Freshmen music since 2012's Happy to Be Alive.[12]