Senses Fail

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• Genre: Pop Punk
• Hometown: Bergen County
• Senses Fail Website

About

First, why Senses Fail? The aural and emotional overload of rock music, including that of the punk-influenced Bergen County, N.J., band, suggests anything but a sensual breakdown. "In Hinduism, they believe that being alive is hell, and the only way to each Nirvana is to ultimately have no attachments to anything," singer Buddy Nielsen explains. "So, people go out and live in the middle of the woods and they don't eat and don't drink...And if you want to reach the highest level of being and see God, you have to have all your senses fail." An alternate explanation could be derived from song titles like "Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning" and the album-title credo Let It Enfold You, borrowed from hard-living poet Charles Bukowski. The band's melodic brand of post-adolescent expression draws on a number of these seemingly bipolar sources; Nielsen is nothing if not thoughtful and well-read.

Beginning with a 21st century take on traditional musician-finding, Nielsen posted a call for would-be band members on the Web in 2001. Soon, guitarists Garrett Zablocki and Dave Miller, bassist Mike Glita and aptly-named drummer Dan Trapp were doing the Jersey circuit and recording the tracks that became the From the Depths of Dreams EP (originally on RCA, later re-released with bonus tracks on Drive-Thru). After the disc's popularity and a long run of increasingly successful touring, Senses Fail were ready to make their debut album: Enfold (Vagrant) hit in September 2004 and helped lift the band's fortunes even higher. The "Rum Is for Drinking" video, along with high-profile slots on the 2004 and 2005 Warped Tours, kept Senses Fail's name in play. Clearly, high-concept stuff like "Irony of Dying on Your Birthday" and "Angela Baker and My Obsession With Fire" is touching their quickly growing audience.

- Jaan Uhelszki