Группы - Switched

Ben Schigel(vocals)
Joe Schigel(guitar)
Bradley Kochmit(guitar)
Corey Lowery(bass)
Chad Szeliga(drums)

Status:Hiatus
Site:switched.tv

From the depths of depression, stress, anger, and hate, (aka Cleveland) an overwhelming sound emerged, letting the five members of Sw1tched release their negative emotions. To achieve this energetic sound, Sw1tched immediately looked to their heavy roots as an outlet for their personal losses, tragedies and experiences. What these five guys conceived was what they'd been searching for all along - an emotional purging, fueled by songwriting.
The band honed their skills over a decade of playing together in various bands, many of those years together under another name, with a slightly different lineup that featured Brad, Joe, and Ben on drums, as well as bassist Jim La Marca (now of fellow Cleveland thrash monsters Chimaira). They paid their dues, pounding the road, playing up to 25 shows a month. But with time, that incarnation fell apart, as years of musical frustration took their toll, and they parted ways with the singer. After months of fruitless searching for someone to take over the vocal duties, one day Ben decided to grab a mic. The rest is history.
Growing up on a steady diet of metal/hardcore, two words describe the Sw1tched sound; raw and powerful. Fueled by the songwriting duo of Ben and Brad, Sw1tched's songs are based on a solid foundation of experience writing together combining influences from their favorite bands to develop their trademark sound. "Most of the time ill just come to ben with all these little riffs and we'll just sit there, bitch at each other, and put 'em together like little puzzle pieces", says Brad. "Eventually, we get the picture we want. Then the other guys throw their pieces on top of it." The "other pieces" are the stunning musicianship of Joe, Chad and Jason. When thrown into the mix, you get a thick sound, that is a combination of great songs, huge hooks, solid playing, and unadulterated psychotic energy. And although the band cites some modern bands like KoRn, Deftones, and Incubus as influences, don't jump up to throw them into the new metal clone pile yet.
Vocalist Ben Schigel says "We have a lot of influences, some are things that are going on today musically, but a lot aren't. We're as much into King's X, Prong, and King Diamond as we are into anything going on today." And continues, "What we really want to do is just make timeless music, that will be as good in 5 years as it is now. We don't want to be labeled as part of a trend, or a flavor of the week. Yea what we do is hard, but it's as much about Alice in Chains, Rush, and Van Halen as it is about Korn"
Originally forming as Sw1tch, the band worked relentlessly at writing, recording, and performing new music. In 2000, They recorded several demo tracks including "Anymore", "Spread", "Inside", and "Wrong Side", which grabbed the attention of several major record labels, and garnered tons of commercial radio airplay. After much adieu, showcasing and dinners, Sw1tch inked a deal with Immortal Records, also the home of such monsters as KoRn, Incubus, and The Urge. Then as the band was set to hit the studio to record their debut album, they were slapped with a phone call from a 70's group called "switch" threatening legal action if they didn't change the name. The band then did some inner searching, going through a list of hundreds of names, before eventually deciding on the current moniker, Sw1tched. Guitarist Brad says "We spent a month driving ourselves crazy trying to come up with a name. And Sw1tched had been one of the first things we kicked around, and after all that time, it just kinda came back around. It just made sense. And honestly, we know the music will speak for itself, whatever we call the band."
Be ready for what you are about to partake in, as their debut Immortal record hits shelves in February 26th 2002. It's loud, in your face, and downright sick. 15 years of playing together, honing their craft has bubbled over. The outcome? .... a band called SWITCHED