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Pennywise
Pennywise in 2006.
Background information
Origin	Hermosa Beach, California, United States
Genres	Punk rock, melodic hardcore, skate punk
Years active	Since 1988
Labels	Theologian, Epitaph, MySpace
Associated acts	Con 800, One Hit Wonder, Chaos Delivery Machine, Bad Religion
Website	www.pennywisdom.com
Members
Fletcher Dragge Randy Bradbury Byron McMackin
Former members
Jason Thirsk Jim Lindberg

Pennywise is an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, formed in 1988. Their band name is derived from the monster, It from the Stephen King novel, of the same title.

Between their 1991 self-titled debut and 2005's The Fuse, Pennywise had released an album every two years on Epitaph Records, a label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. To date, Pennywise has released nine full-length studio albums, one live album, two EPs and one DVD. Their most recent studio album is 2008's Reason to Believe, which was released for free through a partnership between MySpace and Textango, a mobile music distributor. The album was also sold in stores through MySpace Records in the United States and Epitaph in Europe.

Pennywise's line-up, which remained constant from 1996 to 2009, consisted of Jim Lindberg (vocals), Fletcher Dragge (guitars), Randy Bradbury (bass) and Byron McMackin (drums). They kept their original line-up until original bassist Jason Thirsk committed suicide in 1996, due to issues with his alcoholism, after which Bradbury joined as his replacement. In August 2009, Lindberg decided to leave the band, and there have been no announcements yet who will be the new singer.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early career (1988-1992) 1.2 Increasing popularity and Thirsk's death (1993-1996) 1.3 Aftermath of Thirsk's death (1996-2008) 1.4 Split with Lindberg (2009-present) 2 Discography 3 Members 4 In popular culture 4.1 "Bro Hymn" 4.2 Video game appearances 4.3 In other media 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early career (1988-1992)

Pennywise was formed in 1988 in Hermosa Beach, California, by singer Jim Lindberg, guitarist Fletcher Dragge, drummer Byron McMackin and bassist Jason Thirsk. They released two EPs A Word from the Wise and Wildcard (both 1989). Each of the band members had played in other bands in the Hermosa Beach area and attended Mira Costa High School.

The group signed to Epitaph Records in 1990 and released their first album Pennywise (1991). The album quickly spread throughout the punk community, earning the band some nation-wide recognition. Lyrics in the album endorsed a positive mental attitude, helping promote progressive ideals for Generation X. Lindberg left the band soon after the debut record. Bass player Randy Bradbury joined the lineup as Thirsk took over lead vocal duties. In 1992, The Vandals lead singer Dave Quackenbush took over on vocals for a brief stint. Bradbury left the band and Thirsk returned to bass.

[edit] Increasing popularity and Thirsk's death (1993-1996)

Lindberg got married and returned to the group in 1992 in time for their second album Unknown Road (1993), an underground hit that established the band as a force in punk music. By 1995, punk bands Green Day, The Offspring and Rancid hit the mainstream and Pennywise refused invitations to join several major labels. About Time (1995) was another indie hit.

In 1996, Pennywise began recording their fourth album. Thirsk left the band in an attempt to conquer alcoholism. He was successful but relapsed and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest on July 29, 1996.

[edit] Aftermath of Thirsk's death (1996-2008)

Following Thirsk's death, Bradbury rejoined the band and recorded their next two albums, Full Circle (1997) and Straight Ahead (1999). This was followed by a live album, Live at the Key Club (2000), as well as Land of the Free? (2001) and From the Ashes (2003).

Home Movies, the band's only video, was re-released on DVD for the first time in 2004. The video was originally released in 1995 and had been out of print since 1997. More footage of Pennywise can be seen on the Steve Martin film 45 Revolutions: A Slice of XVI St. Life, XVI St. being the place where Jason and Fletcher hung out in Hermosa Beach. ^[1]

The band's eighth album, The Fuse, was released in Europe on June 27 and in North America on August 9, 2005. The band's Australian tour was cancelled leading to breakup rumors, which Lindberg denied. Also that year, digitally-remastered versions of the first four studio albums were released.

Around 2006, Pennywise recorded a cover of Sick of It All's "My Life" for the band's 2007 tribute album Our Impact Will Be Felt.

The band returned to the studio in 2007 to begin work on their ninth album, Reason to Believe, which was released on March 25, 2008. In addition the album would be for sale in stores through MySpace Records in the United States and Epitaph in Europe.^[2]

In 2007, while on the Vans Warped Tour, the band autographed a Gibson Guitar for the non-profit Music Saves Lives and assisted in their goal of raising the nation's blood supply.

The Spring 2009 line-up of the Jägermeister Music Tour featured Pennywise, with reggae rockers Pepper.^[3]

[edit] Split with Lindberg (2009-present)

In August 2009, Jim Lindberg announced he was leaving the band.^[4] Lindberg released the following statement:

“

After 20 years, nine albums and thousands of shows around the world, my time in Pennywise has come to an end. Being the singer for this band has been an amazing experience, and along the way we made some of the best fans anyone could ask for. I want to express my deepest thanks to all of you for sticking with us over the years, especially through the passing of Jason years ago. It's your support and encouragement that kept me going this long. There are few things that made me more proud than seeing people at our shows singing our songs. I would also sincerely like to thank everyone who helped us along the way, in every capacity, we never could have done it without you, and I wish everyone in the Pennywise family the best of luck and continued success. Yours truly, Jim.

”

The band has not yet found a permanent replacement for their lead singer, but Zoli Teglas, front man for OC hardcore/punk band Ignite will be filling in on vocals during the band’s set on the 2009 Smokeout Festival. Lindberg is currently filming a documentary based on his book, Punk Rock Dad: No Rules, Just Real Life and is planning on recording an album soon.^[5]

By the time Lindberg left the group, Pennywise had begun writing new material for a tenth studio album, but according to bassist Randy Bradbury, they have no plans to return to the studio any time soon.^[6]

In September 2009, BYO Records released a compilation entitled "Let Them Know - The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records". This compilation will include Pennywise's cover of "We're Gonna Fight", by 7 Seconds. ^[7] This was the final song Jim recorded with Pennywise.

[edit] Discography

• Pennywise (1991)
• Unknown Road (1993)
• About Time (1995)
• Full Circle (1997)
• Straight Ahead (1999)
• Land of the Free? (2001)
• From the Ashes (2003)
• The Fuse (2005)
• Reason to Believe (2008)

[edit] Members

Pennywise have had numerous line-up changes, Fletcher Dragge and Byron McMackin are the only two constant members.

Dates & releases	Members & prominent instruments	Notes
(1988-1991) A Word from the Wise, Wildcard, and Pennywise	Jim Lindberg - vocals Fletcher Dragge - guitars Jason Thirsk - bass Byron McMackin - drums	First line-up of Pennywise. The classic Pennywise line-up.
(1991-1992)	Jason Thirsk - vocals Fletcher Dragge - guitars Randy Bradbury - bass Byron McMackin - drums
(1992)	Dave Quackenbush - vocals Fletcher Dragge - guitars Jason Thirsk - bass Byron McMackin - drums	Quackenbush filled in for Lindberg while he was on hiatus from touring.
(1992-1995) Unknown Road and About Time	Jim Lindberg - vocals Fletcher Dragge - guitars Jason Thirsk - bass Byron McMackin - drums	The classic Pennywise line-up. Although not yet credited as a member of the band, Bradbury contributed some tracks on the Unknown Road album.
(1995-2009) Full Circle, Straight Ahead, Live @ the Key Club, Land of the Free?, From the Ashes, The Fuse, and Reason to Believe	Jim Lindberg - vocals Fletcher Dragge - guitars Randy Bradbury - bass Byron McMackin - drums	Randy joined the group in October 1995 when Jason was on hiatus to visit rehab. [2] Prior to Jason's suicide, Randy was supposed to switch to rhythm guitar when Jason returned, but this never happened. Thus, Randy became the band's permanent bass player.
(2009-present)	Fletcher Dragge - guitars Randy Bradbury - bass Byron McMackin - drums	Singer Jim Lindberg announced his departure from the band in August 2009. September 2nd, 2009 the remaining 3 members announced they will be temporarily replacing Jim with Zoli Téglás of the band Ignite while they continue their search for a permanent replacement. No news of who will be his permanent replacement has been announced.

[edit] In popular culture

[edit] "Bro Hymn"

"Bro Hymn" is the theme for many sports teams around the world:

• The National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, and is played after each home goal since the 2005-06 season. [3] When the Ducks won the Stanley Cup, the band played at the celebration as the Ducks took the stage. suit in the use of "Bro Hymn" for the 2007/08 season for each Flyteam-1724838-cheered-night
• The National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers followed suit in the use of "Bro Hymn" for the 2007/08 season for each Flyers goal scored at home
• The National Hockey League's New York Islanders made this their goal song December 12,2009.
• The official goal song of the German soccer club and 2007 champion VfB Stuttgart since the 06/07 season and is played after each home goal
• The official goal song of the Dutch soccer club Vitesse
• The United Hockey League's Bloomington Prairie Thunder since their inaugural season (06/07), and is played after every home goal
• The Belgian soccer club K.R.C. Genk
• The Belgian soccer club Zulte Waregem
• The professional wrestling tag team Bumz R Us
• The American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons have used it as their goal song since the 2007-08 season
• The American mountain biking team, Bike Doctor, from Wisconsin, play this song before each race
• Shane McConkey Tribute Song in MSP In Deep ski movie.
• Played by the Seattle Sounders band before the march to the stadium from Pioneer Square at the MLS Cup 2009

[edit] Video game appearances

Pennywise's music has also been featured in numerous video games.

• "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "It's What You Do With It" among others are featured in the arcade game Top Skater
• "Society" is featured in ESPN X Games ProBoarder
• "Greed" is featured in Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX
• "Rise Up" is featured in Burnout 3
• "Stand Up" is featured in Burnout Revenge
• "Knocked Down" is featured in EA Sports NHL 06
• "Knocked Down" is also featured in NHL 2K9
• "Competition Song" is featured in SSX On Tour
• "Now I Know" is featured in MTX Mototrax
• "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is featured in Matt Hoffman's Pro BMX
• "Disconnect" is featured in MX vs. ATV: Untamed

[edit] In other media

• "No Reason Why", "Fun And Games", and "Living for Today" in Pennywise were featured in skate film Plan B Skateboards
• "Get a Life" is featured in the BMX video Chaingang
• Gabba artist DJ Paul Elstak with Teenage Warning used the chant from "Bro Hymn" in a song called "Brohymn (This One's For You)"

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pennywise

• Official website

v • d • e Pennywise Fletcher Dragge · Randy Bradbury · Byron McMackin Jim Lindberg · Jason Thirsk Albums Pennywise  · Unknown Road  · About Time  · Full Circle  · Straight Ahead  · Land of the Free?  · From the Ashes  · The Fuse  · Reason to Believe EPs A Word from the Wise  · Wildcard  · Fight Till You Die/Final Day Compilations Wildcard/A Word from the 'Wise  · Live @ the Key Club Videos Home Movies Related articles Discography · Epitaph Records · One Hit Wonder · Punk rock in California