Vendetta Red is an American alternative rock band from Seattle, Washington, that was formed in 1998. in 2003 with the album's single, "Shatterday", peaking at No. 16 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

The group's fourth album, Sisters of the Red Death, was released in 2005 and charted at No. 21 on the Top Heatseeker's Chart. After a series of lineup changes, the group disbanded in 2006, but announced a reunion four years later.

History

Early career (1998–2002)

The group was formed in 1998 by Erik Chapman, Joseph Childres, Justin Cronk, Zach Davidson, Adam Garcia, and Mike Vermillion in Seattle, Washington and nearly a year later they issued their debut release, the 6 Kisses, A Blatant Reminder of Why We Are Alive EP with a tour of the West Coast following after. During their tour, they gained the attention of a number of labels and eventually signed with Epic Records in 2002. was released in June 2003 and charted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers and No. 101 on the Billboard 200.

After opening for AC/DC at the New York Roseland Ballroom,

They continued to tour, playing with the likes of Dashboard Confessional, Brand New and MxPx. The album, titled Sisters of the Red Death, was released in 2005 along with the drummer Ben Libey. They signed to The Control Group and released their first album, Echoes from the Ocean Floor, in September 2006, produced by Martin Feveyear. In 2007, Rouse left the group and was replaced by Andersen's brother, Levi Andersen, on bass guitar with the group going on to release Unspeakable Things in 2009 on The Control Group recorded by John Goodmanson and mixed by Martin Feveyear in Seattle.

Vermillion enjoyed a solo career now playing his own folk and American roots songs as well as covering many classic but perhaps lesser-known American country artists such as Townes Van Zandt, Merle Haggard and Jim Croce. He plays shows frequently in the Seattle area and also DJs under the name "Sad Bastard", usually playing country, Motown, folk and soul. His first official full-length solo album was released on May 21, 2008.

Cronk is now playing drums for With Friends Like These. The band includes fellow Bakersfield native Matthew Shaw, local producer Tyler Coffey and Brian Pake. Cronk owns a recording studio with bandmate Coffey in Seattle called The Toy Box.

Chapman has been enjoying life outside of the music industry as a bar tender at a Seattle area up-scale bar. He was married in 2006 to Andrea and they currently reside in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle.

Their song "Silhouette Serenade" is used in the video game Saints Row.

Childres was playing for Blood Hot Beat. He was reported dead on June 3, 2020.

Thomas formed a band called Megasapien with Lian Light (formerly of Magneto). Their second album was expected to be released at the end of March 2011.

Reunion (2010–present)

In December 2010, it was announced that Vendetta Red would reunite for a one-off show at El Corazon in Seattle on March 5, 2011. This turned out to be an extended reunion. The band members later announced they had also begun working on new material and had enlisted the noted rock/metal producer Terry Date to produce what would be their first album in six years.

Vendetta Red performed some of this new material at Bumbershoot 2011, as well as material from their previous studio albums, a Sirens Sister song, and a solo (Davidson) acoustic version of Seconds Away. A new song called Blank Screens was released on January 15, 2012 as a single on various digital music services including iTunes, and the album title Scripture was announced.

On January 24, 2017, Vendetta Red announced on their Facebook page that they had signed with Cleopatra Records and were in the process of recording the new album. The album, titled Quinceañera, was released on April 13, 2018.

Band members

Current members

  • Zach Davidson – lead vocals, guitars, piano, organ, tambourine, glockenspiel, percussion <small>(since 1998)</small>
  • Leif Andersen – lead guitar, lap steel, mandolin, violin, keyboards, programming, synthesizers, backing vocals <small>(since 2005)</small>
  • Jonah Bergman - bass guitar <small>(since 2010)</small>
  • Burke Thomas – drums, percussion <small>(since 2004)</small>

Past members

  • Eric Chapman – guitar <small>(1998–2004)</small>
  • Justin Cronk – guitar <small>(2000–2006; died 2022)</small>
  • Michael Vermillion – bass guitar <small>(2000–2005)</small>
  • Joseph Childres – drums, percussion, keyboards <small>(1998–2004; died 2020)</small>
  • Jeff Rouse – bass guitar <small>(2005–2006)</small>
  • Adam Garcia - drums <small>(1998-1999)</small>

Timeline

Discography

Studio album

  • Blackout Analysis (2000)
  • White Knuckled Substance (2001)
  • Between the Never and the Now (2003)
  • Sisters of the Red Death (2005)
  • Quinceañera (2018)

EPs

  • 6 Kisses, A Blatant Reminder of Why We Are Alive (1999)
  • Cut Your Noose EP (2002)
  • Shatterday EP (2003)
  • Scripture (2013)
  • Light Year Anniversary (2013)

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Title

! Chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

|-

! <small>Alternative Songs</small>

|-

| 2003

| "Shatterday"

| style="text-align:center;"| 16

| Between the Never and the Now

|-

| 2005

| "Silhouette Serenade"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| Sisters of the Red Death

|-

| 2012

| "Close to Me"

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| Scripture

|}

See also

  • List of Warped Tour lineups by year

References

  • Vendetta Red Facebook
  • Michael Vermillion interview on MyNorthwest.com