The Here Comes Trouble Tour comes after a break out year for Honor Society www.twitter.com/honorsociety, www.myspace.com/honorsociety that included a world tour opening up for the Jonas Brothers. In just the last few months, Honor Society has raised their profile with national appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live, NBC's The Today Show, CBS's The Early Show and in January 2010, Honor Society was invited to the 2010 Pro Bowl to sing the National Anthem.
"It was an incredible honor to perform at this year's Pro Bowl. We are die hard football fans so this was really a dream come true for us," said lead singer Michael Bruno.
In addition, Honor Society was asked to record a single for the Winter Olympic Soundtrack sponsored by AT&T, with a new song entitled "Can't Box Me In." The soundtrack features other artists including Mariah Carey, Sugarland, Train and Rascal Flatts. Coming up is a special appearance this month in Washington, DC on the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day www.earthday.org. Honor Society will be performing along with Sting, John Legend, Jimmy Cliff, Joss Stone, Robert Randolph and Willie Colon at The Climate Rally on The National Mall in Washington, DC on Sunday, April 25. The Roots, Bob Weir, Patrick Stump, Mavis Staples, Passion Pit, Q-Tip and Booker T will also perform at the high profile event.
Named a breakout band to watch by Rolling Stone and identified as a Buzz-worthy band by MTV, Honor Society started with high school friends, Michael Bruno (lead singer/guitarist) and Jason Rosen (keyboards/guitar).Both had spent time during their years in Rockland County, New York playing in various bands but had always spoke of forming a group of their own – one that would reflect their musical influences that ranged from Stevie Wonder to Prince to Kanye West. After graduating from college, Michael (NYU School of Music) and Jason (Berklee College of Music) connected with two self-taught and talented musicians, Andrew Lee (bass) and eventually Alexander Noyes (drums). It was with that final addition to the band that all the pieces fell into place and the group became Honor Society.
From the beginning, the four members of Honor Society were deeply involved with all aspects of their development - whether it was designing their MySpace page, booking shows, acting as their own street team or even developing the concept for their album art. Their commitment and attention to detail as well as a clear vision for the band, led Honor Society to become a hit on the local music scene.
In early 2008, Honor Society released what would become their break out song, "See U in the Dark", which became an instant hit with their fans. "That was the first song we recorded with Alex after he joined the group," says Andrew Lee. "Once we started the recording process, we knew right away that we were on to something with that song. All at once, the song summed up everything that Honor Society was about. It was the song that would define our sound and who we were."
After releasing A Tale of Risky Business, the band set out to promote the EP and launched into a house party tour. That tour would galvanize their fan base and lead the band to sold out shows at popular live music venues in the New York City area including the Knitting Factory. During this time, Alexander Noyes who happened to go to the same high school as Kevin Jonas gave their EP to Kevin. Soon after, the Jonas Brothers attended one of Honor Society's live shows and within weeks the two bands started working together in the studio forming an instant creative connection which led to Honor Society relocating to Los Angeles.
The band immediately began recording songs for their debut album with producer John Fields (Switchfoot, Jimmy Eat World) and the Jonas Brothers. In between recording songs, Honor Society hit the road with the Jonas Brothers – opening up shows in Mexico City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Detroit. For a band that had played house parties months earlier, it was a monumental change of environment. "We had built a respectable fan base on MySpace and a lot of them were from outside the United States. But to walk out to the arena with 50,000 people, start playing music from our EP and have all those people singing the words you wrote…you just can't describe that feeling." says Michael Bruno.
Returning to Los Angeles, the band set out to finish their album. They laid down several more tracks including "Don't Close the Book." "It was one of the last songs we wrote before we left the East Coast," says Alexander Noyes. "It was really a simple song but it was so layered with meaning for our fans, families and friends." The ballad has become one of the most popular songs during their live shows.
Both "See U in the Dark" and "Don't Close the Book" would end up on the final version of their debut album along with the song that would spawn the name of their first headlining tour, "Full Moon Crazy." Written with Jonas Brothers' bass player, Greg Garbowski, the song spoke out against the drama that can come with nearly any relationship. Following those tracks came "Here Comes Trouble" which Jason Rosen describes as a favorite because it's a "funky hit with a true mix of rock and pop."
With 12 songs completed, the band began to put the finishing touches on the album and set out on tour with the Jonas Brothers to introduce their sound to the masses. They launched into an intense promotional push for the Jonas Brothers tour and even kicked off their own headlining Full Moon Crazy Tour, which consisted of after hour shows following the Jonas Brothers concerts at House of Blues type venues. At the same time they would also fill their days with in store appearances, impromptu mall performances, and taking every opportunity to get their music in front of new audiences.
Honor Society has become one of the hardest working bands in the business and they have no intention of stopping anytime soon. "It's hard to believe that a year ago, we were in New Jersey making a name for ourselves," says Bruno. "To have been able to finish our first album and create something that we believe is a true representation of where we have been and what we have become is an incredible feeling. We couldn't have done any of this without our fans believing in us from day one. We promise to keep working hard to give everything back to them."
For further information, visit www.twitter.com/honorsociety or www.myspace.com/honorsociety
HONOR SOCIETY
Friday at 6 pm (Doors open at 5 pm)
House of Blues
329 N. Dearborn, Chicago
1-800-745-3000
www.ticketmaster.com
www.houseofblues.com
