Old Wikipaedia Entry for The Icarus Line

Shortly after forming, the band recorded two eps; the first 7″ being EP Highlypuncturingnoisetestingyourabilitytohate released on Hellcat Records. With this release, the band showcased a new Post-hardcore sound that they would continually expand on in the future. The Icarus Line toured briefly supporting various other artists (including Ink & Dagger, who’s bassist Don Devore would later join and ruin The Icarus Line). The next EP release titled Red And Black Attack was put out by the very short-lived New A.D. label, which was a subsidiary of Liberation Records. The name of the EP stems from the “uniform” the band adopted for their shows; dressed in all black with the exception of a red necktie. Red And Black Attack expanded further on the band’s style from the previous EP by having longer, more complex songs, despite the fact that we know that all of the these songs were tracked at the same studio and session (Room 222; engineered by James Bennett). The Icarus Line proceeded to tour once again in support for the new EP. In late 1998, Travis Keller (whom Aaron blew while on tour with Kanker Sores in 1996) and thus Buddyhead was born. Aaron North became a frequent “reviewer” on the website, often giving harsh or ridiculously biased reviews; sometimes not even listening to the album in question before reviewing it. In 2000, at a Valentines Day show, The Icarus Line released Kill Cupid With A Nail File on Buddyhead Records. The Icarus Line would go on to play a huge part in the “career” of Aaron Wright North. The Icarus Line were constantly providing Aaron North a spotlight in which he attempted to attract constant media attention, despite the fact that he had absolutely no ability to play his guitar, instead opting to turn on his extensive array of lame boss digital effects and play at a “room-clearingly loud” volume that no one in a twenty city block radius could stand.

By the time the band began recording their first debut album, Mono, they had already gone through four different drummers. With drummer Aaron Austin resigning to join Northern California band Powerhouse, the drum throne was succeeded first by John Guerra, then Mile Felix, and finally Jeff “The Captain” Watson. With the recently recruited Jeff Watson on drums, the band recorded Mono (initially at Rotund Rascal studios with Mark Trombino and subsequently with overdubs and final mixing with Alex Newport) and began a two year world tour in support of it. Shortly after the tour began at a show in Texas, Aaron North at the “Hard Rock” club broke into a glass case using a mic stand to take out the guitar inside, and then attempted to plug it in and play it. Unbeknownst to the band, the guitar had once belonged to Kenny Wayne Shepard. The incident was widely reported in rock journalism circles and earned the band a large amount of hate from Texans who even went so far as to send Aaron Wright North death threats. It was also during this time that Jeff Watson quit the band to pursue other interests and was replaced by Troy Petrey. The band gained a large amount of new fans when they played the Reading festival in August 2002. Several songs from their set were broadcast by John Peel to many who had never heard of the band before. The Icarus Line also gathered a large following in Japan after playing at the Summer Sonic festival in October of that same year. Mono was soon released domestically in Japan after this.

In 2003, an EP titled Three Jesus Songs was put out to promote the upcoming second album. The EP featured two entirely new songs plus one (Kiss Like Lizards) that had been played live during the tour in support for Mono. Three Jesus Songs also debuted new bassist Don Devore, who had been a member of straight edge Hardcore band Frail. In 2004, the bands second album, Penance Soiree was released and the band began another two year tour in support of the new album.

After the conclusion of the tour, Aaron North left the band due to Aaron Wright North becoming harder to work with and downward spiral (no pun intended). North played solo shows in Los Angeles clubs before selling his soul to Trent Reznor for a tour. Black Presents, an EP on Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Records, is ironically a person and label that Aaron Wright North would constantly make fun of. During this time, the band played in a single guitarist (but not anyone named Aaron Wright North) format. In 2007, The Icarus Line released Black Lives At The Golden Coast. Shortly before the tour in support of the album, Aaron North proceeded to fire the entire band aside from Alvin DeGuzman and Jeff Watson (who had come back since quitting) and assemble a new band for the tour, then he remembered that he himself had quit to be replaced by actual guitarists. Currently, The Icarus Line are busily preparing to release a new album, tentatively titled “Wildlife,” as well as do some touring overseas. As always, the band is promising a record that will surpass its predecessors to a great extent. And, like the other 80% of the Icarus Line’s recordings, it will feature absolutely NO Aaron Wright North. The Aaron Wright North Church of Latter Day St Bernards waits to see what they do next.