The Cab is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Their debut album, Whisper War, was released on April 29, 2008. They have been called "The Band You Need to Know 2008" by Alternative Press magazine. They were also featured in the '100 Bands You Need to Know in 2010' by the magazine and were one of the three bands featured on the cover page, along with Never Shout Never and Hey Monday.
Their second album Symphony Soldier was released on August 23, 2011,[1] with its first single "Bad" released to iTunes July 11, 2011,[2] and announced by the band on July 18. The Cab funded the entire album by themselves and left their Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance label, self-releasing Symphony Soldier. AbsolutePunk gave an extremely positive review with a rating of 95%, calling the album a "masterpiece".[3] The pre-orders in the band's webstore featured eleven packages, ranging from $10 to $9,999.[4][5]Symphony Soldier is digitally available on iTunes,[6] and only available as physical CDs from the band's webstore. The band's latest work, an EP titled Lock Me Up, was released on April 29, 2014. They have not released any new material since 2014, leaving the future of the band uncertain.[7]
History
2004–2007: Formation and early years
Band members Alexander DeLeon and Cash Colligan first began playing music together at Liberty High School (Henderson, Nevada) and recorded demos with a friend, NSL, as a duo which they put up on their MySpace page.[8] At this time, future guitarist Ian Crawford went to school in Auburn, WA and started out playing his guitar in talent shows and posting them on YouTube. DeLeon asked drummer Alex Johnson, who was playing in a local hardcore band, to join The Cab. In late 2005, it became a full band with guitarist Paul Garcia, guitar/pianist Alex Marshall, and drummer Alex Johnson, playing its first show at The Alley in Las Vegas. The band signed to local label Olympus Records in January 2006[9] but released no material. After giving a demo to Spencer Smith and Jon Walker of Panic! at the Disco at a Cobra Starship/Boys Like Girls/Cartel show, Smith helped them sign to Decaydance Records in May 2007.[8][10] Shortly after this, the band's members graduated from high school.[11] During this time they decided to replace Garcia with Ian Crawford, who moved from Washington to join the band.[12]
Their Matt Squire-produced first album, Whisper War, was released on April 29, 2008, featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco and Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy on "One of Those Nights," co-written by Stump and the first single from the CD.[16][17][18] The video for "One of Those Nights" features members of both Panic! at the Disco and Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy. By February 15, 2008, the featured song from the album, "I'll Run", received over 300,000 hits on the band's MySpace page.[19] On October 30, their third single, "Bounce", was revealed in a new music video on the Fueled by Ramen page on YouTube. This song peaked at No. 69 on the defunct US BillboardPop 100 chart.[20]
On May 7, 2008, Whisper War debuted on the US Billboard 200 at No. 108,[21] placing it at No. 1 on the BillboardHeatseekers Albums chart for new and developing artists.[22]
Their songs "Bounce" and "One of Those Nights" are featured as downloadable tracks in Rock Band 2, although "One of Those Nights" is an alternate version than that of the one on "Whisper War".
The Cab has appeared on Punk Goes Pop 2, covering Rihanna's "Disturbia". In February and March 2009 the band toured with We the Kings, There for Tomorrow and Versaemerge on the "Secret Valentine Tour". On May 1, 2009, the band performed an entire set dedicated to Queen.[23]
After a short break, they toured with We the Kings, Forever the Sickest Kids, Nevershoutnever! and Mercy Mercedes on the "Bamboozle Road Show Tour". Shortly after, the band announced their first national headlining tour, called the What Happens in Vegas... tour, with the support of The Secret Handshake, A Rocket to the Moon, Eye Alaska, Anarbor, The Summer Set, and My Favorite Highway. The tour began on June 18 and ended on August 9.
2009–2012: Symphony Soldier and lineup changes
On June 1, 2009, lead singer Alexander DeLeon announced on his blog[24] that guitarist Ian Crawford had decided to leave the band. Although DeLeon did say that Crawford had decided to leave due to creative differences, there seemed to be no animosity between him and the band. For their then-upcoming What Happens in Vegas... tour, The Cab announced that their friend Bryan Dawson would be replacing Ian Crawford, who soon became the touring guitarist of Panic! at the Disco.
On August 19, 2009, bassist Cash Colligan announced that he would also be leaving the band.[25]
They announced they will be featured in the Alternative Press Tour 2010 and Warped Tour 2010. On January 16, 2010, Alex DeLeon announced via Twitter that "Bryan is going to be a father!". Bryan later confirmed, and confirmed his leave from the band. In the Summer of 2010, the band gained new guitarist and cellist Chantry Johnson. They were recently featured on "The Real World".[citation needed]
The Cab was on the "Ap Tour" in March–May 2010.[citation needed] They played songs off Whisper War and also performed the song, "Locked Up", from their recently released album.[citation needed]
On March 5, 2011, DeLeon appeared on stage with former Cab bassist Cash Colligan's new band, Play for Keeps. DeLeon sang guest vocals on the Play for Keeps song "Just Like the Movies" live, where normally Travis Clark from We the Kings sings on the recording.
Symphony Soldier was released on August 23, 2011.[1] with its first single "Bad" released to iTunes early July and announced by the band on July 18. AbsolutePunk gave an extremely positive review, calling the album a "masterpiece".[3] The Cab guitarist alumnus Ian Crawford played guitar for the album. It features several guest artists co-writing, including Pete Wentz, Bruno Mars and Adam Levine.
In August 2011, The Cab gained a second guitarist, Frank Sidoris, and drummer, Dave Briggs. The band toured with Simple Plan, Forever The Sickest Kids, and Marianas Trench in the fall of 2011. The band co-headlined the "Everything's Fine Symphony Soldier" tour during January and February 2012 with best friends The Summer Set, with supporting acts He Is We, Days Difference, and Paradise Fears. The band also co-headlined a tour with Parachute in the summer of 2012.[citation needed]
On June 20, 2012, they announced that they would be supporting Maroon 5 on the Overexposed World Tour, set to take place in September–October. They visited South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia.[citation needed] That same summer, Sidoris announced his intention to leave the band and join Slash's new band Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators.
2012–2016: Third studio album, Lock Me Up, and hiatus
After remaining independent for over a year, on August 31, 2012, The Cab announced that they had signed a record deal with Universal Republic. With the signing to the record label, in late 2012, the band stated, during an interview, that they have begun work on their new album, to be released in mid-2014. An EP, Lock Me Up, was released on April 29, 2014.[26]
On April 25, 2014, Alex Marshall announced he had parted ways with The Cab via their official Facebook page.[27]
On October 31, 2015, Alexander DeLeon announced that he would be releasing a new single, "Guns and Roses", as a solo artist, under the moniker Bohnes, on November 13, 2015.[28]
In an interview with All Access, DeLeon confirmed that the band is currently taking a break as he works as a solo artist. DeLeon hinted that there could be a potential return for The Cab in the future.[29]
2020–present: End of hiatus and new album
In January 2020, a new song was teased on Twitter along with an announcement of a new album in the works.[30] In 2024, the band announced that they had finished making the album with a release date yet to be determined.[citation needed]
^Katherine Fulton (2017). "The Cab". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 April 2017. Las Vegas teens nab attention of Panic At The Disco, quickly become emo-pop princes.
^Davey Boy (29 August 2011). "The Cab – Symphony Soldier". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 3 June 2012. Of the multitude of bands plying their trade in the safe, inoffensive and often derided genre of pop-rock (or power-pop if you are so inclined), only a handful truly make a successful profession out of it.