About Icon for Hire
Icon for Hire is an American rock band from Decatur, Illinois. Formed in 2007, the band's current lineup consists of singer Ariel Bloomer and lead guitarist Shawn Jump. They released two EPs independently before signing to Tooth & Nail Records, through which they released their first two albums: Scripted in 2011 and Icon for Hire on October 15, 2013. Their third album, You Can't Kill Us, was independently released on November 25, 2016. Their fourth album, Amorphous, was released on February 19, 2021, also independently. Their fifth independent studio album, The Reckoning, was released on September 30, 2022.
The band was formed in Decatur, Illinois, by vocalist Ariel Bloomer and guitarist Shawn Jump. When the two met in 2007, Ariel, upon discovering that Jump played guitar, initiated a musical collaboration between the two of them. When the need for a drummer arose, Jump recruited Adam Kronshagen, an old friend he had held jam sessions with as a member of the local party scene . The band officially formed in November of that year, after bassist Joshua Davis joined. They chose their name as a satirical comment on the state of the music industry.
The band played their first show in a local club before an audience of family and friends, who gave them a positive reception. Ariel has been quoted as saying of the performance, "Our passion for music was there; whatever we lacked in sound we made up for with enthusiasm." Over the next two years, the band toured throughout the Midwest and released two EPs, the self-titled Icon for Hire EP in 2008 and The Grey EP in 2009. During that same year, Davis left the band.
In late 2009, the band was contacted by Tooth & Nail Records through Myspace. The label then sent representatives to one of the band's shows, and eventually signed them in July 2010. "We are thrilled to be joining such an established and well-respected group at Tooth & Nail," shared the band upon their signing. "It's a label that has a history of consistently putting out good music and really working side by side with their artists. Because we've been doing this thing on our own for over two years, it feels great to partner with Tooth & Nail. We can't wait to record our debut full-length and see where this road takes us." They spent the last quarter of 2010 in the studio with producers Rob Hawkins and Aaron Sprinkle recording their first full-length album, Scripted, which was released by the label on August 23, 2011. The album made it on the US Billboard charts at No. 7 for Hard Rock Albums, No. 5 for Christian Albums, No. 16 for Alternative Albums, No. 22 for Rock Albums, and No. 95 on the Billboard 200. It also sold more than 4,300 units in the first week of release and broke the record for first week sales on a Tooth & Nail debut album. The band also achieved success with the album's lead single "Make a Move", which peaked at No. 13 on R&R/Billboard's Christian Rock chart and had an accompanying music video exclusively released online by Guitar World magazine's website. Also in 2011, the band acquired bassist Josh Kincheloe.
In December 2011, Ariel stated that, while the band had been focusing on extensive touring rather than writing new music, she had "a feeling that we'll start piecing together some demos shortly." In a later interview with TVU Music channel, she revealed that the band was in the early stages of writing songs for a second album. In an interview with KHRT-FM, the band expressed their desire for the album to be "heavier....more aggressive", with more bubblegum pop production and possible hip hop elements. On August 15, 2013, Icon for Hire premiered their new single "Cynics and Critics" via lyric video and announced their second album, the self-titled Icon for Hire. The album was released on October 15, 2013, whereupon it reached No. 66 on the Billboard 200 and received largely positive reviews.
On June 6, 2015, Icon for Hire announced that they broke their contract with Tooth & Nail records to go independent, citing creative, ideological, and technical differences with the label. They simultaneously announced that they would soon be releasing new music and released a new song, "Now You Know". "Bam Bam Pop" was also recorded.
On November 20, 2015, the band announced that Adam Kronshagen was leaving the band in order to focus on his family more, and that the band would continue.
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