Spiritbox

Courtney LaPlante left her previous band, Iwrestledabearonce, in 2015 to form Spiritbox.

Before co-founding Spiritbox, singer Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer were both in Iwrestledabearonce.[1][2] The couple, engaged for four years, nevertheless wanted to form their joint musical project since 2011.[3] In late 2015, they decided to quit the band.[2] LaPlante and Stringer had each replaced a previous member of Iwrestledabearonce, and were never comfortable with that status in the band; the two also desired to pursue a new personal and creative direction.[4] The couple decided to take a break from touring and return to their hometown to find regular employment. Throughout 2015, multi-instrumentalist Stringer presented to LaPlante demos of songs that he created diligently, displaying different musical styles. LaPlante and Stringer got married in 2016, and two weeks after the wedding, they began investing their money into recording the songs.[3] Stringer wrote the drum parts for a planned extended play, which were rearranged by their session drummer at the time, former Iwrestledabearonce bandmate Mikey Montgomery. The EP was recorded by LaPlante and Stringer in their home studio, along with their friend Tim Creviston. It was mixed and mastered by former Volumes member Dan Braunstein in Los Angeles.[5]

On October 9, 2017, the husband and wife duo announced the launch of their band named Spiritbox.[6][7] Spiritbox formed in Victoria, located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.[1][8] LaPlante explained that Iwrestledabearonce had made no statement regarding their situation,[9] and thus, she officially confirmed her departure from the band on October 25, 2017.[10] Spiritbox ultimately received a budget from FACTOR (the Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records), funded by the Government of Canada and private broadcasters, to support investments required for recording and touring.[11] As Spiritbox, the couple released a seven-song self-titled debut EP on October 27, 2017, which followed a single, "The Beauty of Suffering".[12] Soon afterward, the project was paused for some time, finding themselves deadlocked in their efforts to play the songs in live performances without other musicians.[3]

In 2018, Bill Crook of the pop-punk band Living with Lions joined the band as the permanent bassist,[13] expressing esteem for their music and offering support through friendship.[3] Shortly after, they found a permanent drummer in Ryan Loerke, who also played in the Kelowna-based Shreddy Krueger.[14][15] Jason Mageau, the former manager of Iwrestledabearonce, founded the Pale Chord label, which was distributed via The Orchard in order to release Spiritbox's music.[1] Mageau (part of Roc Nation) and the band decided to promote and establish online music rather than spending money on small club tours. As a result, they opted not to tour for two years.[16] While Spiritbox gained a growing fan base, they released a five-song EP titled Singles Collection on April 26, 2019, through Pale Chord.[17][18] Throughout 2018 and 2019, the band composed most of the songs for their intended debut album.[19]

Loerke left the band in 2020.[14] They subsequently recruited Philadelphia-based drummer Zev Rose (full family name Rosenberg[20]), who is considerably younger than the other members.[1] The band's debut full-length album Eternal Blue was originally scheduled for released in 2020, but production was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[19] as was the band's first tour, a supporting slot for After the Burial in Europe.[21][22] Spiritbox found critical and commercial success with the release of the single "Holy Roller" on July 3, 2020.[23] It debuted at No. 25 on Billboard Hot Hard Rock Songs.[24][13] The song's original version spent seven weeks as No. 1 on Sirius XM Liquid Metal's Devil's Dozen,[13] and was deemed the best song of 2020 by the station's listeners.[8][1] In September 2020, Spiritbox announced that they had signed with Rise Records, as part of the label's partnership with Pale Chord.[25][13]

The band subsequently released a remix of "Holy Roller" in October, which featured Ryo Kinoshita of Crystal Lake.[26][27] The "Holy Roller" remix version spent five weeks as No. 2 on Sirius XM Liquid Metal's Devil's Dozen.[13][24] In December 2020, Spiritbox debuted "Constance", a song about dementia that was dedicated to LaPlante's grandmother.[28] In the same month, a Kerrang! magazine reader's poll voted Spiritbox as "Best New Band".[29] The continued release of "super popular" music videos created anticipation for Spiritbox's forthcoming album.[1]

In January 2021, Revolver included Spiritbox's upcoming release in its list of "60 Most Anticipated Albums of 2021."[30] At this point, the band moved to Joshua Tree, California, to continue working on their debut album.[31] The deadline of April 2021 was set to have the album release capacity in the same year.[8] The third single from the album, "Circle with Me", was released in April.[32] In May, LaPlante appeared on her first major magazine cover, the May issue of Kerrang!.[2] later that month, the band released the single "Secret Garden",[33] which landed in the Top 40 of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.[1] In June 2021, as part of their Collection: Live series, the Grammy Museum asked Spiritbox to perform and record a live acoustic version of "Constance" in a church accompanied by a string ensemble.[34] The band attempted to tour again in July 2021, supporting Limp Bizkit in the US; this was also canceled after a few dates due to safety concerns involving the pandemic.[35] This aborted tour with Limp Bizkit led the band to many unexpected expenses; Shinedown singer Brent Smith offered Spiritbox $10,000 to help cover lost tour expenses, while We Came as Romans decided not to charge for the lighting package the band had rented from them. Smith said of his contribution, "I felt horrible what happened and I would hate for this band to not be able to continue due to this [lost investment] and I just want to contribute."[36][37] One final single, "Hurt You", was released in advance of the album in late August.[38]

Courtney LaPlante performing with Spiritbox at Rock am Ring 2022

At the end of August 2021, the band's songs surpassed 80 million streams across all global streaming platforms, and all physical release and merchandising items were sold out.[39] Reflecting on the anticipation for the album's release, it was described as the "most anticipated debut album of 2021" by Alternative Press, Kerrang!, and Metal Hammer.[40][2][41]

Nearing the release of Eternal Blue in mid-September 2021, LaPlante revealed that drummer Rose was an official member of Spiritbox. Since joining in early 2020, Rose had not been photographed with the band, leading to speculation that he was not an official member, though LaPlante explained that this was because of travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented Rose from physically joining the band in Victoria. The band finally met Rose in-person two days before embarking on tour.[42]

Eternal Blue was released on September 17, 2021, to positive reviews from critics.[43][44][45] LaPlante said she considered Eternal Blue as "finally, at age 32, the realization of my true voice".[2] The album peaked at No. 13 on the US Billboard 200, and landed at No. 3 on the Top Album Sales chart in the week ending October 2, 2021. It topped on both Billboard's Top Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts. The album peaked at No. 8 on the ARIA Charts and No. 19 on the UK Albums Chart.[46] According to Pollstar, Spiritbox's official merchandise store grossed $1 million from its opening in May 2020 to October 2021, with between $30,000 to $60,000 coming in per month.[16]

In October 2021, Spiritbox performed on the Coheed and Cambria-headlined S.S. Neverender cruise, produced by Norwegian Cruise Line partner Sixthman.[47] In August 2021, Spiritbox was announced as one of the supporting bands on Underoath's Voyeurist tour, along with Bad Omens and Stray From The Path, in February and March 2022.[48][nb 1] In May 2022, Ghost announced that Spiritbox would be guests alongside Mastodon as opening acts for the second North American leg of their Imperatour through August and September 2022.[50] However, Spiritbox announced the departure of bassist Bill Crook less than a week later, a mutual decision within the band. Spiritbox quickly recruited Josh Gilbert, who had recently left As I Lay Dying, as their temporary touring bassist.[51] He would eventually be welcomed as a full-time member in April 2023.[52]

On June 22, 2022, the band released the three-song Rotoscope EP and a video for the title track "Rotoscope".[53][54] Guitar World noted that the title track was a dance-like number, while the other two tracks "Sew Me Up" and "Hysteria" were "synth-flavored arrangements".[54] In November 2022, Spiritbox announced their first ever headlining tour of the United States; they will be joined by After the Burial and Intervals from April to May 2023.[55] On March 7, 2023, Falling In Reverse announced the Popular Monstour, a tour of the United States on which Spiritbox would perform as a guest at six shows.[56] However, in the following days, Falling In Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke attracted controversy after a fan who alleged him of assault drew an aggressive response from Radke on Twitter. On March 13, Spiritbox announced from their own Twitter account that they had dropped off the dates they were scheduled for the tour.[57][58] On April 19, 2023, the band released the single, "The Void".[59][60]

The Heavy Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony in partnership with Amazon Music and Ticketmaster.[101]

The Saskatchewan Independent Film Awards is a ceremony presented annually by the Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative, honoring the province's independent film achievements.[105]

The Saskatchewan Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 2018, honoring the achievements of the province's music industry.[107]