Some context: Project 86 is an American rock band from Orange County, California, formed in 1996. The band has released eight albums, which have collectively sold nearly 500,000 units worldwide, two EPs, two DVDs, and one live album. Their music is considered by most to be a rock/post-hardcore/alternative style. Frontman Andrew Schwab's poetic and introspective lyrics have addressed a wide variety of topics such as conformity and emptiness.
The group worked on their sophomore record with producer Garth "GGGarth" Richardson. in Vancouver, BC. Schwab wrote lyrics about a wider variety of issues, rather than just focusing on personal expression with their sophomore release: "The new album deals a lot less with me, and more with the world around us; Issues in people, society, culture". The sound was heavier and more progressive, with more hints of melody as well. As soon as the album was finished it garnered interest from several major labels, and Atlantic records licensed the album for co-release with Tooth and Nail/BEC in March 2000. Drawing Black Lines peaked at No. 37 on Heatseekers, and was well received by critics. By this time, listeners in the band had begun to amass a sizable fanbase. Despite heavy reliance on tour dates and word of mouth to inform people of its release, the album experienced some commercial success when it eventually sold nearly 120,000 copies. The band added Cory Edelmann, previously of No Innocent Victim, after the album was finished. Project 86 traveled nationwide with P.O.D., Hed PE, and Linkin Park on the "Kings of the Game" tour in October 2000. They also played a string of shows with Queensryche. In 2002, Project 86 teamed with Slayer producer Matt Hyde to record their next album. The record was envisioned as a critique of post-9/11 America and the music industry. Formatted as a concept album, it told the story of a character attempting to find fulfillment in modern culture. "Songs were written and assembled with a certain ebb and flow in mind," said Schwab, "I approached the album like writing chapters in a book." The group spent over 14 months recording demos for Atlantic, which invested nearly $1,000,000 in the project when it was all said and done. Because of the pressure to produce radio singles, the sound of the album was quite different from its previous releases, as was Schwab's cryptic lyrics, which represented the frustrations of being stifled creatively and feeling powerless in the process. Truthless Heroes was released in September 2002 and peaked at No. 146 on the Billboard 200. Their first and only single, "Hollow Again", peaked at No. 35 on Mainstream Rock Tracks. Atlantic refused to release the second single because they claimed the lyrics conflicted with the Iraq War effort. While lauded by critics for its pounding criticism of the media and entertainment industry, the album proved to be controversial, particularly the promotional website. The group performed with Taproot on their self-titled tour in fall 2002. In addition, they played shows with Thirty Seconds to Mars, Trapt, Blindside, Trust Company, Sevendust, and Finger Eleven.
Was Truthless Heroes also a success?
A: peaked at No. 146 on the Billboard 200.
Some context: Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He was Republican Party (GOP) House Majority Leader from 2003-05. DeLay began his career as a politician in 1978 when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives.
DeLay has been a strong supporter of the State of Israel, saying, "The Republican leadership, especially that leadership in the House, has made pro-Israel policy a fundamental component of our foreign policy agenda and it drives the Democrat [sic] leadership crazy--because they just can't figure out why we do it!" In a 2002 speech, DeLay promised to "use every tool at my disposal to ensure that the Republican Conference, and the House of Representatives, continues to preserve and strengthen America's alliance with the State of Israel." On a 2003 trip to Israel, DeLay toured the nation and addressed members of the Knesset. His opposition to land concessions is so strong that Aryeh Eldad, the deputy of Israel's conservative National Union party, remarked, "As I shook his hand, I told Tom DeLay that until I heard him speak, I thought I was farthest to the right in the Knesset." Former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said "The Likud is nothing compared to this guy." In 2005, in a snub to the Bush administration, DeLay was the "driving force behind the rejection of direct aid" to the Palestinian Authority. The deal had been brokered by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. In the wake of the legislation, some Jewish leaders expressed concern "about the degree to which the Texas Republican, an evangelical Christian who opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, will go to undercut American and Israeli attempts to achieve a two-state solution." DeLay has long been a strong critic of Cuban leader Fidel Castro's regime, which DeLay has called a "thugocracy", and a supporter of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.
Were there othe major bills he introduced?
A:
Some context: Grandaddy is an American indie rock band from Modesto, California. The group was formed in 1992, and featured Jason Lytle, Aaron Burtch, Jim Fairchild, Kevin Garcia and Tim Dryden. After several self-released records and cassettes, the band signed to Will Records in the US and later the V2 subsidiary Big Cat Records in the UK, going on to sign an exclusive deal with V2. The bulk of the band's recorded output was the work of Lytle, who worked primarily in home studios.
Common lyrical themes include technology and a resistance to change. Adrien Begrand, writing for PopMatters, described the lyrics on The Sophtware Slump as "one's attempt to transcend the glut of technology in today's urban lifestyle, in search of something more real, more natural, more pastoral". Ben Sisario of The New York Times stated that the band "provided the soundtrack to dot-com-era alienation, singing in a cracked yet still innocent voice of life spent staring into a computer screen". Ross Raihala, reviewing Sumday for Spin, identified what he called Lytle's "geeky identification with technology". On The Sophtware Slump, CMJ writer Richard A. Martin commented on Lytle's "sympathy for the lost souls and machines of the high-tech dot-com landscape". Lytle described his empathy with machines in 2003, stating "I find it easier dealing with certain things by living through inanimate objects" and how the song "I'm on Standby" is about Lytle relating to a mobile phone: "I was spending so much time learning the art of turning off, while still being 'on'". Lytle said of the tracks on Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla: "For some reason, they are tied together by the idea of being fed up with your environment." He stated in 2001: "I have a growing appreciation for that which is simple and natural. I get that from the outdoors, and seeing the accumulation of clutter and waste and not being too happy about it." There is also much humor in Lytle's songwriting, including the band's promotional Christmas single released in 2000, "Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland", which was also included on the charity compilation It's a Cool Cool Christmas, described by AllMusic's Tim DiGravina as possibly "the funniest song from 2000".
how many people wrote the lyrics for the band?
A:
Lytle described his empathy with machines in 2003, stating "I find it easier dealing with certain things by living through inanimate objects"