I the Mighty

I the Mighty
Background information
Origin	San Francisco, California
Genres	Progressive rock, post-hardcore, experimental rock, alternative rock, indie rock
Years active	2007-present
Labels	Equal Vision Records, Talking House Records, Adamant Records
Associated acts	Coheed and Cambria, A Lot Like Birds, Hands Like Houses, Say Anything, Enter Shikari, Hail the Sun
Website	www.ithemighty.com
Members	Brent Walsh Ian Pedigo Chris Hinkley Blake Dahlinger

I the Mighty is an American alternative rock band based out of San Francisco, California, United States, formed in 2007. As of 2015, the band has released one single, three EPs, and three studio albums. Their major label debut, Satori, peaked at #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers Charts.

History

Formation (2007-2011)

Formed in 2007, the band began while vocalist Brent Walsh and Ian Pedigo were still in high school together. The two taught themselves how to play guitar, and then started writing songs together as a two-man acoustic project, Breakpoint,^[1] but changed their name due to copyright issues. They released an acoustic self-titled EP in 2008. Later they recruited Chris Hinkley, who met the two five years prior to the band's formation while he was playing with another band. The three then began to practice acoustic songs that Walsh and Pedigo had penned. Blake Dahlinger saw the trio performing at the Retox Lounge and asked the group if they needed a drummer.

For their debut album, We Speak, Dahlinger and Hinkley simply wrote the parts for their instruments for the existing songs that had already been written. The lyrics were written mostly by Walsh, with the exception of the song 101, which was written by Pedigo.^[2] We Speak was to be released through Bay Area indie label Talking House Records, the first label that signed the band, but the label went under before the album could officially be released.^[1] They released a free EP called Hearts and Spades containing five songs from We Speak, when they were unable to release the album as a whole. The group caught the attention of Brad Wiseman, a booking agent for Equal Vision Records. They sent him early demos of their songs "Cutting Room Floor" and "Escalators". The label sent the head of A&R out to see one of the band's shows in LA.^[3] They were signed to the label in 2011.^[4]

Karma Never Sleeps and Satori (2012-2014)

The band worked with Erik Ron for their third EP, Karma Never Sleeps. It was released on March 27, 2012, and serves as their debut on Equal Vision Records. It was met with positive reviews from fans and critics. The band embarked on a series of tours that year. In late 2012, they were a part of the Rock Yourself to Sleep Tour alongside bands Dance Gavin Dance, and A Lot Like Birds. The group supported Hands Like Houses on their US tour in March 2013,^[5] and later Set It Off on their North American tour.

The band started writing and recording for their major label debut album in late 2012. The band aimed to produce an album similar to Karma Never Sleeps, but still have some diversity. In an interview with Property of Zack, Walsh said, "It's kind of along the same lines as Karma Never Sleeps. I think we all stepped our game up a little bit. Everyone pushed themselves as hard as they possibly could. We wrote a bunch of stuff that's extremely hard for us to sing and play, that we're kind of learning now. Everyone pushed themselves really hard and everyone put everything they possibly had into this record. I think it shows when you listen to it".^[6]

Satori was released on June 11, 2013 to positive reviews. Again, the band worked with Erik Ron for the album. They toured extensively to support the album's release. They were a part of the Say Anything on their Say Anything: Rarities and More Tour from June 23 to July 12. Then in the fall they supported A Skylit Drive on their Rise Up Tour, and later Coheed and Cambria.^[7] They continued to tour in 2014, first supporting letlive. and Architects. The band later announced they would be a part of Vans Warped Tour 2014. While on tour, they released new song, "Love Your Sin", along with acoustic versions of "The Dreamer", and "Speak to Me".

Connector (2015-present)

In early 2015, the band toured with Enter Shikari, Stray from the Path, and Hundredth in the Mindsweep Tour North America. On March 26, 2015, the band released a new single, Playing Catch with .22 from their next album Connector, during the tour.^[8][9] The album's release date was revealed to be June 2, 2015. A month after the premiere of their first single, they announced their first headlining tour with Hail the Sun and Too Close to Touch. The next single from Connector, "Adrift", was released on April 30, along with the accompanying music video. The third single, "Friends", released May 22, 2015, features Say Anything vocalist Max Bemis.^[10] A video for "The Lying Eyes of Miss Erray" was released on June 5.^[11][12] During its first week, the album charted on several Billboard charts, including Top Rock and Independent.^[13][14]

Band Members

• Brent Walsh – lead vocals, guitar (2007–present)
• Ian Pedigo – guitar, backing vocals (2007–present)
• Chris Hinkley – bass guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)
• Blake Dahlinger – drums, percussion (2008–present)

Musical style

I the Mighty play a style of Post-hardcore music mixed with experimental Rock and Alternative Rock. Indie Rock elements can be heard in their songs. Their music structure is similar to the Australian Hands Like Houses. The founding members Walsh and Pedigo draw strongly from Coheed and Cambria as a musical influence, and this is shown in much of their music.^[15]

Discography

Studio albums

• We Speak (2010, Talking House Records)
• Satori (2013, Equal Vision Records)
• Connector (2015, Equal Vision Records)

EPs

• I the Mighty (2008, Adamant Records)
• Hearts and Spades (2010, self-released)
• Karma Never Sleeps (2012, Equal Vision Records)
• Oil in Water (2016, Equal Vision Records)

Singles

• Love Your Sin (2014, Equal Vision Records)

References