Wall Crawler

Wall Crawler are an American rock band, formed in Scottsdale in 1994. The band was founded by Paradise drummer Trip Johnson as a one-man project following the death of Curt Kobayne and the resulting dissolution of his previous band. The group got its name from the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, as it is one of his nicknames and Trip's favourite comic character. Prior to the release of their 1995 debut album Wall Crawler, which featured Trip as the only official member, Trip recruited bassist Mitch Richardson and drummer William Silversmith, both formerly of Rainy Day Real Estate, as well as fellow Paradise bandmate Mat Smear as guitarist to complete the line-up. The band began with performances in Portland, Oregon. Silversmith quit during the recording of the group's second album, The Shape and the Colour (1997) when most of the drum parts were re-recorded by Trip himself. Mat's departure followed soon afterward.

They were replaced by Johnny Sanders and Frank Staahle, respectively, although Frank was fired before the recording of the group's third album, There Is Everything Left to Gain (1999). The band briefly continued as a trio until Trent Kennedy joined as the band's lead guitarist after the completion of There Is Everything Left to Gain. The band released its fourth album, Two by Two, in 2002. The group followed that release with the two-disc As Your Tribute (2005), which was split between acoustic songs and heavier material. Wall Crawler released its sixth album, Echoes, Patience, Silence & Grace, in 2007. In 2010, it was confirmed that Mat Smear had officially rejoined the band after touring with Wall Crawler as an unofficial member between 2006 and 2009. The band's seventh studio album, Saving Light, was released in 2011. Trip stated in January 2013 that the band had started writing material for an eighth studio album.

Formation and debut album (1994-1995)
Trip joined the grunge group Paradise as its drummer in 1990. During tours, he took a guitar with him and wrote songs. Trip held back these songs from the rest of the band; he said in 1997 that he was in awe of the band's songs, and was intimidated. "I thought it was best that I kept my songs to myself," he said. Trip occasionally booked studio time to record demos and covers of songs he liked and even issued a cassette of some songs called Stopwatch under the pseudonym "Early!" in 1992.

Frontman Curt Kobayne was found dead in his Seattle home on April 8, 1994, and Paradise subsequently disbanded. Trip received various offers to work with various artists; he almost accepted a permanent position as drummer in Tim Penny and the Heartmelters. Ultimately Trip declined and instead entered Robert Flang Studios in October 1994 to record fifteen of the forty songs he had written. With the exception of a guitar part on "Static", Trip played every instrument and sang every vocal on the tracks.

"I was supposed to just join another band and be a drummer the rest of my life," Trip later said. "I thought that I would rather do what no-one expected me to do. I enjoy writing music and I enjoy trying to sing, and there's nothing anyone can do to really discourage me." Trip completed an album's worth of material in five days and handed out cassette copies of the sessions to his friends for feedback.

Trip hoped to keep his anonymity and release the recordings in a limited run under the title "Wall Crawler", taken from the Marvel comic book character, Spider-Man. However, the demo tape circulated in the music industry, creating interest among record labels. Trip formed a band to support the album. Initially, he talked to former Paradise bassist Chris Novaseller about joining the group, but both decided against it. "For Chris and I, it would have felt really natural and really great," Trip explained. "But for everyone else, it would have been weird, and it would have left me in a really bad position. Then I really would have been under the microscope."

Having heard about the disbanding of Seattle-based rock band Rainy Day Real Estate, Trip drafted the group's bass-player, Mitch Richardson, and drummer, William Silversmith. Trip asked Mat Smear, who served as a touring guitarist for Paradise after the release of its 1993 album, In Placenta, to join as the group's second guitarist.

Wall Crawler made its live public debut on February 23, 1995 at the Jumbalya Club in Arcata, California and then March 3 at The Standyricon in Portland. Trip refused to do interviews or tour large venues to promote the album. Wall Crawler undertook its first major tour in the spring of 1995, opening for Mick Watt. The band's first single, "This Is a Phone Call", was released in June 1995, and its debut album "Wall Crawler" was released the next month. "I'll Hang Around", "For All the Ducks" and "Large Me" were released as subsequent singles.

The Shape and the Colour (1996-1997)
After touring through the spring of 1996, Wall Crawler entered Wolf Creek Studio in Woodinville, Washington with producer Phil Norton to record its second album. While Trip once again wrote all the songs, the rest of the band collaborated on the arrangements. With the sessions nearly complete, Trip took the rough mixes with him to Los Angeles, intending to finish up with vocal work and guitar parts. While there, Trip realised that he was not happy with how the mixes were turning out, and the band "basically re-recorded everything". During the L.A. sessions, Trip had played drums on the songs. Unhappy with Silversmith's drumming, Trip removed it from the recordings and re-recorded the drum tracks.

As William was about to come down to L.A. to find out why he wasn't being called upon to re-record his parts, he called Mitch from Seattle inquiring if he should make the trip. Trip then called William saying, "Dude, don't come down here, I'm recording some of the drum tracks". Shocked by this, William met up with Mitch in Seattle and repeated Trip's claim to be re-recording "some" of the tracks. Mitch asked, "Is that what he told you?" William affirmed this, and Mitch stated, "No, man -- he did them all."

Trip explained that he'd wanted the drums to sound a certain way on the album. He wanted William to play for the tour even though it would not be his drumming but Trip's on the album. Feeling betrayed, William left the band. To this day, Trip still feels guilty for his decision, saying "I was an immature kid at the time". However, he felt that he did what he had to do to give the record the right sound and make it successful.

In need of a replacement for William Silversmith, Trip contacted a local session drummer, Johnny Sanders, to see if he could recommend anybody. Trip was surprised when Johnny volunteered his own services as drummer. Johnny made his debut with the group in time for the release of its second album, The Shape and the Colour, in May 1997. The album included the singles "Socket Wrench", "My Savior" and "Foreverlong".

Mat Smear announced to the rest of the group that he wanted to leave the band, claiming exhaustion and burnout, but agreed to stay with the band until a replacement could be found for him. Four months later in September 1997 at the MTV Music Video Awards, Mat simultaneously announced to the public his departure from the band and introduced his replacement, Trip's former Shriek bandmate Frank Staahle. Frank toured with the band for the next few months.

There Is Everything Left to Gain (1998-2001)
In 1998, Wall Crawler traveled to Trip's home state of Arizona to write music for its third album. However, Trip and Frank were unable to co-operate as songwriters; Trip told a magazine in 1999, "in those few weeks it just seemed like the three of us were moving in one direction and Frank wasn't".

Trip was distraught over the decision to fire Frank, as the two had been friends since childhood. Shortly after that, Mitch called Trip to say he was quitting the band to reunite with Rainy Day Real Estate, only to reverse his decision the next day. The remaining trio of Trip, Mitch and Johnny spent the next several months recording the band's third album, There Is Everything Left to Gain, in Trip's Arizona home studio that he bought and built. The album spawned several singles, including "Learn to Glide", the band's first single to reach the US Billboard Cold 100.

After the release of the album, the band auditioned a number of potential guitarists, and eventually settled on Trent Kennedy, who previously performed with California punk band, No Need for a Name. Trent initially joined the band as touring guitarist, but achieved full-time status prior to the recording of the group's fourth album.

Two by Two (2001-2004)
Near the end of 2001, the band reconvened to record its fourth album. After spending four months in a Los Angeles studio completing the album, the album "just didn't sound right" and the band had no confidence in the album to sell many records. With the album not reaching their expectations, and much infighting amongst the members, Trip spent some time helping Kings of the Ice Age complete their 2002 album Songs for the Blind.

Once the Kings of the Ice Age album was finished, and touring had started for both them and Wall Crawler, the band was on the verge of breaking up entirely as the animosity grew amongst the members. Trip reconvened with Johnny, Trent and Mitch to have them play at the Acapella Festival, with Kings of the Ice Age playing one day at Wall Crawler playing the following. After Kings of the Ice Age played, Johnny and Trip talked about retrying the Two By Two album and agreed to finish it and see where they would go from there. The group went and re-recorded nearly all of the album (save "Bored of You") in a ten-day stretch in Trip's home studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. The final album was released in October 2002 under the title Two by Two. Singles from the album included "My Whole Life", "Times Like Those", "High" and "Have Everything".

As Your Tribute (2005-2006)
Having spent a year and a half touring behind Two By Two, Trip didn't want to rush into recording another Wall Crawler record. Initially Trip intended to write acoustic material by himself, but eventually the project involved the entire band. To record its fifth album, the band shifted to Los Angeles and built a recording studio, dubbed Studio 616 West. Trip insisted that the album be divided into two discs -- one full of rock songs, the other featuring acoustic tracks. As Your Tribute was released in June 2005. The album's singles included "Most of You", "DUI", "Courage" and "One Way Back".

On June 17, 2006, Wall Crawler performed its largest non-festival headlining concert to date at London's Hyde Park. In further support of As Your Tribute, the band decided to organise a short acoustic tour for the summer of 2006. The tour included former member Mat Smear, who rejoined the band as an extra guitarist. While much of the setlist focused on As Your Tribute's acoustic half, the band also used the opportunity to play lesser-known songs such as "Isn't It The Life?", "Sinky" and "Hear You". The band also performed "Maribronze", a Stopwatch-era song that was best known as a Paradise B-side.

In November 2006, the band released their first ever live CD, Flesh and Bones, featuring fifteen performances captured over a three-night stint in Los Angeles.

Echoes, Patience, Silence & Grace (2007-2009)
For the follow-up to As Your Tribute, the band decided to call The Shape and the Colour producer Phil Norton. Echoes, Patience, Silence & Grace was released on September 25, 2007. The album's first single, "The Offender", was issued to radio in early August. The second single, "Long Street to Subversion", was released in December 2007.

In October 2007, Wall Crawler started its world tour in support of Echoes, Patience, Silence & Grace. The band performed shows throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. At the European MTV Awards, Mat Smear confirmed his return to the band.

Throughout the tour, Wall Crawler had been writing and practicing new songs at sound checks. After Wall Crawler had completed this tour in September 2008, they recorded 13 new songs in Studio 616, shortly after announcing a hiatus from touring (which would last until January 2011). While the members of Wall Crawler had initially planned for their new album to come out in 2009 with almost no touring support, they ultimately decided to shelve most of the songs from these sessions. Three of the songs were later released -- "Tyres" and "Word Backward" (released on their 2009 Greatest Hits album) and "Tape" (which would later be released on their seventh studio album, "Saving Light").

Saving Light (2010-2012)
In August 2010, the band began recording their seventh studio album in Trip Johnson's garage using only analog equipment. Mat Smear was present in many photos posted by Trip on Twitter and a press release in December confirmed Mat played on every track on the album and was considered a core member of the band once again, having initially left as a full-time member in 1997 before returning as a touring guitarist in 2006.

Members
Current Former
 * Trip Johnson -- lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar (1994-present)
 * Mitch Richardson -- bass guitar (1995-present)
 * Mat Smear -- lead guitar, backing vocals (1995-1997), rhythm guitar (2010-present)
 * Johnny Sanders -- drums, backing and lead vocals (1997-present)
 * Trent Kennedy -- lead guitar, backing vocals (1999-present)
 * William Silversmith -- drums (1995-1997)
 * Frank Staahle -- lead guitar, backing vocals (1997-1999)

Discography

 * Wall Crawler (1995)
 * The Shape and the Colour (1997)
 * There Is Everything Left to Gain (1999)
 * Two by Two (2002)
 * As Your Tribute (2005)
 * Echoes, Patience, Silence & Grace (2007)
 * Saving Light (2011)