AUTUMN

Pennsylvania’s Post Hardcore Emo quintet, Autumn was conceived in early 1994 when members of then straight edge band, Forethought, changed their name to coincide with the recent change in musical direction and personnel. Founded in 1992, Forethought had undergone a significant line-up change when bassist George Chamberlin took over vocal duties just weeks prior to the recording of what would later become their debut and only seven-inch, “Sands of Salvation” in 1993.

With members of Autumn now being introduced to new bands outside of the traditional hardcore sound, most notably Burn, Endpoint, Quicksand, Shelter, No Escape, (later era) Turning Point, and Worlds Collide, the band saw this as an opportunity to welcome their personal musical influences into their sound. The overall positive reception from friends and reviews in fanzines gave the band just the spark they needed to further refine and focus on writing songs on a different level. In the months that followed, the band went on a frenzy, writing songs that would later define them through their demo and eventual debut release under their new name in 1994.

While the Autumn demo was immediately reviewed and identified as “Emo”, founding members Rich Sutcliffe and Mark Richter had actually welcomed a more metal influence to their guitar playing, which worked well with Jay Richardson’s already thunderous and precise attack on the drums, all of which are evident on tracks such as “One Step Away” and “Buried”, to name a few. With the addition of new bass player Isaac Betesh, they continued playing out, booking shows up and down the east coast off the success of their demo while sharing stages with such bands as Shelter, Earth Crisis, Strife, Snapcase, and Starkweather. The band received immediate attention from more than a handful of labels, most notably Victory Records. It was Victory's owner Tony Brummel who helped Autumn land them on their first festival appearance; A New Hope Hardcore Festival in Madison, WI. The fest was a success, not only getting exposure to a new audience, but also helping to elevate the band beyond “demo band” status. While it was explained to members of the band that Victory had decided to re-sign Integrity in lieu of working with Autumn (we can’t blame them), the band still left Madison, WI with an agreement with another label to release their follow up to the demo.

The band returned home, immediately getting to work on their first full length record. Months later, upon completion of the recording, the unfortunate happened; the label they had agreed to work with had folded and the full length would be temporarily shelved. This is when the band was approached by Nevermore Records; a new label founded by dear friend Joe Kuzemka, and 717 Records to collaborate and release a seven-inch version of the full length. The band wasted no time remixing four songs from the record and their now classic “Wire Hangers” seven-inch was released in 1995. Shortly after its release, Autumn would have another lineup change adding Confined NJHC bassist Eric Early on bass and continue to play out, tour, offer songs to various comps and continue to receive glowing reviews of “Wire Hangers”. The band would additionally play several festivals most notably New Bedford Festival, Wilkes Barre Fest, and back to back Cleveland Festivals. It was around this time in 1996 that Autumn had another lineup change, introducing former Grip bassist Aaron D.C. Edge on guitar and Bound guitarist Nick Remondelli on bass. This line up went on to record the follow up to “Wire Hangers”, a full length which at the time was tentatively being called “Script” for Nevermore Records.

With the recording completed, the band booked another tour, this time to hit the Midwest and with just days prior to leaving, the band received a phone call from Revelation Records about their interest in Autumn. Impressed with the new recordings, Revelation offered to purchase the “Script” recording with the understanding it would be released on newly revived imprint, Crisis Records with later follow ups to be released on Revelation. Immediately following the tour and agreeing to terms with Revelation, Autumn would undergo yet another, and what would be their final, lineup change. With the introduction of former SEVIN and For the Love Of bassist Steve Triolo on bass, Nick Remondelli moved over to guitar. Over the next year, the band waited for the new recording to be released on Crisis, but it was delayed for reasons unbeknownst to the band. The record was reduced to a four song self-titled EP at the request of the band, allowing George to self-release a two song seven inch of left-over tracks on what is now known as “The Box in The Cellar” seven-inch during this time.

The Autumn self-titled EP on Crisis Records would finally get released in 1997, but not before the band found themselves exhausted and in much need of a break. With other potential musical projects now taking time away from the band, Autumn had decided to book a final string of shows and go on “indefinite hiatus" in late 1997.

Autumn returned to do one reunion show on December 7, 2009 at Kung Fu Necktie in Philadelphia, PA. It was the last time the band were to play together, ending their set appropriately with the opening track off their Wire Hangers release, “My Eternity” with Chamberlin changing the last line of the lyrics to, “I will sing, no more”.