About Alesana
Alesana is an American post-hardcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina. The group was founded by Shawn Milke, Dennis Lee, Patrick Thompson, Steven Tomany and Daniel Magnuson during the fall of 2004, and is currently signed to Revival Recordings and Artery Recordings. In total, Alesana has released five full-length studio albums and three EPs.
The band initially received underground attention shortly after the release of the debut On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax, featuring a musical style influenced by pop, punk, metal and classic rock.
Shawn Milke and Patrick Thomson were both living in Baltimore, Maryland in the early 2000s where they both played in different bands. Milke was a member of the punk rock band The Legitimate Excuse, which formed in 2001. After a year into looking for members around the Baltimore area and writing/recording early demos under the de facto/prototype Alesana name, the pair decided it would be best to move to Raleigh, North Carolina and continue their search . Dennis Lee was invited to join as the band's vocalist after Milke had met him in a restaurant was working at. Milke recalled, "he looked like a band guy". They were eventually joined by Steven Tomany and Daniel Magnuson. With these new members in place, Alesana officially formed in October 2004. The band had its first practice in an upscale car wash. The name of the band is inspired from Aliceanna St., which Shawn Milke and Patrick Thompson lived on when playing in Baltimore, MD. Aliceanna St. is located in Fells Point, a neighborhood in Baltimore.
Alesana was the first band to join Tragic Hero Records in 2005, and their three demo songs titled "Apology", "Beautiful in Blue" and "Goodbye, Goodnight for Good" were featured on the compilation All The Tragedy Money Can Buy. In May 2005 they released their debut EP, Try This With Your Eyes Closed. In the same year, founding drummer Daniel Magnuson was replaced by Will Anderson, who was soon replaced by Jeremy Bryan. Alesana then toured across the United States, including an appearance at the Cornerstone Christian music festival, despite them not being a Christian band.
In 2006 they added guitarist/vocalist Adam Ferguson to their lineup. They followed with a full-length album, entitled On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax, produced by Kit Walters, during the summer of 2006. The album was their first foray into concept albums with most songs being based on Greek mythology. In late 2006 Alesana signed to Fearless Records, which re-released their LP in March 2007 to mostly positive reviews and released a music video for "Ambrosia". In the same year, the song "Apology" in an acoustic version was featured on the compilation release, Punk Goes Acoustic 2. The group parted ways with Steven Tomany on the second to last day of tour followed by a break before playing the entire Warped Tour 2007. He was replaced by Shane Crump. The record is also the first to feature Shawn Milke's sister, Melissa Milke, who performs all female vocals.
In early 2008, On Frail Wings of Vanity and Wax charted on the Billboard magazine's Heatseekers chart, peaking at #44.
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