Lydia (band)

Biography

Leighton Antelman, William Bradford, Evan Arambul, and Steve McGraw started writing music and booking shows when they were in 7th grade. The band really got their start as Rolo 15 while attending Greenfield Jr. High. They then went on to change the name to Nextabest. After that band broke up, Antelman and McGraw continued to write and play music. They then soon added drummer Loren Briton and bassist Dustin Forsgren. They won a contest and were able to get a song on the Atticus: ...Dragging the Lake, Vol. 3 compilation CD.

Lydia was signed to the Arizona based record label HourZero, through which they released their debut album This December; It's One More and I'm Free. Since then, they have toured extensively throughout the country and participated in the Zumiez Couch Tour, Vans Warped Tour, and The Bamboozle festival. They also played on the first annual Bamboozle Roadshow with Saves The Day, Armor For Sleep, Set Your Goals and Metro Station in 2008.

They released their second album, Illuminate on March 18, 2008. They went on a late summer tour with The Dear Hunter, Eye Alaska and You, Me, and Everyone We Know. It was announced on August 25, 2008 that the band had signed to Low Altitude Records and re-released Illuminate on October 21, 2008. They went on tour with Copeland, Lovedrug, and Lights in November.

They shot a video for the song "I Woke Up Near The Sea" in December and released it online on February 24. The band went on their first headlining tour, called the "Illuminate Yourself Tour" in February with Black Gold and also did a West Coast headlining tour with PlayRadioPlay!, Eye Alaska and Brave Citizens.

On October 12, 2009 they released a tour only EP titled Hotel Sessions which features 4 acoustically re-recorded songs off their first album.

2010-Hiatus

It was announced on March 10, 2010 that Mindy White had decided to leave the band. The band finished recording in the studio with producer Matt Malpass for their next release which was given a tentative release date of July 2010

On May 11, 2010 a version of "We Clean Up So Well" was posted on their Myspace page with a note announcing that the band will break up after a nationwide tour in July. The tour was titled "The Lydia Finale: A Goodbye & Farewell Tour".

"I am anxious to say this, in that I do not like disappointing anyone. But I do need to get this off my chest. The new music that is set to come out this July 2010, under the name Lydia, is going to be the last recordings ever put out by the band. We are very grateful to have been able to put out as much music as we have and to reach so many people. I assure you this is not something I’ve decided over a few months, but more so in the past year. This has been something I’ve been thinking about for quite some time now and it’s just the right place and time for me to move on to other things and projects."

In a later interview, Leighton explained the breakup a little bit more:

"It's quite simple, the two original band members don't want to put out music together anymore. Simple as that."

"Right before we went on the farewell tour, about a week before we went, it kind of just came to heads with me and Steve, the two dudes that started the band. And so that was a little bit not what I wanted the band to end like, but shit happens and I’m sure every band has some bad turmoil that happens. Overall, I don’t have any regrets about it at all."

Their third album, Assailants was released to online retailers on July 20, 2010. The album stayed in the Top 15 albums sold spot for over two days.

It was announced on July 12, 2010 that guitarist Steve McGraw had decided to leave the band and would not be playing on their final tour.

On September 15, 2010 a trailer was released for their first ever DVD, Lydia: A Goodbye and Farewell. It was announced on December 22 that all of the footage for the DVD was lost in a hard drive crash.

On September 30, they made announced plans to take their farewell tour to Australia in late November. The band also released a music video for their song, "I've Never Seen A Witch".

Return from Hiatus-Devil (2011-2013)

The band returned in September 2011 with a new song, "Dragging Your Feet in the Mud". An album, Paint it Golden, was released in October, 2011. The band released a cover of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" on December 20, 2011.

The band supported The Maine on their 2012 Spring/Summer tour. They were featured with Arkells and The Maine on a cover of The Beatles "With A Little Help From My Friends" that was released on May 1, 2012 on Spotify and featured two live tracks on The Maine's The Pioneer North American Tour Live EP.

They spent the end of 2012 recording their new album and going to a west coast winter tour. To accompany the tour, they released the Acoustics EP.

On January 28, 2013, they announced new tour dates and a March 19, 2013 release date for their new album Devil. They released their first single from the album, "Knee Deep" the next day. Following this, the band re-released Devil as a deluxe edition with a bonus disc of b-sides on October 15, 2013.

On December 17, 2013, the band announced plans to play Illuminate from start to finish across North America in the spring of 2014.

Run Wild (2014–present)

On August 7, 2015, Lydia announced the release date, cover art, and first single from their upcoming fifth LP, which was released on September 18, 2015. The first single is titled "Past Life", and is available for streaming through the band's SoundCloud account. Pre-orders for the new album were made available in various formats including vinyl and CD. Leighton Antelman stated in an article featured on Alternative Press that the new album would be "a little darker" than their last release, 2013's Devil. The forthcoming album, titled Run Wild, will coincide with a 30-date tour alongside Turnover and Seahaven. For Run Wild, the band worked with two producers—Colby Wedgeworth and Copeland's Aaron Marsh—and vocalist Leighton Antelman explained via press release, "This was the first time for us using two producers. We simply felt like the more the merrier. When ideas start pouring out and bouncing around the room something special happens there."

On August 21, 2015, the band released their second single from Run Wild, titled "Late Nights" through their website. The track was made available for streaming and free download.

Related bands

Current members

Former members

Studio Albums