In May 1999, Bevan Davies, William DuVall, Adam Stanger and Nico Constantine formed Comes With the Fall in Atlanta, Georgia and recorded their self-titled debut album in one six week period between August and October of that year.
They moved to Los Angeles, California in February 2000. After playing at local California clubs, they met Jerry Cantrell, who invited them to open for him during his "Degredation Trip" tour beginning in 2001. Constantine left the band during the first leg of the tour and CWTF continued on as a three-piece band. Due to some scheduling conflicts, CWTF members wound up doubling as Cantrell's back-up band during the tour. See tour dates page for more information.
The "Murder Scene EP" was put together by hand while out on the first leg of Cantrell tour to allow fans to purchase CDs whil ethe band was touring since the self-titled CD had sold out. The songs were recorded and mixed in three days right before Christmas 2000.
"The Year Is One" was recorded Los Angeles in late 2001. Four of the songs were recorded during one 3-day session in December at a studio behind a house in Hancock Park. The other six were recorded, and all ten songs mixed, during one 4-day session at Royaltone Studios in North Hollywood. Nearly every song is a first take. In fact, four of the songs -- "So Cruel," "Since I Laid Eyes On You," "Smashdown," and "Never See Me Cry" -- were each recorded completely live, vocal and all, just like a show. CWTF records to 2" tape and mix to 1/2" tape, period. There are no Pro Tools, no DAT, no Auto-tuning, no digital cutting and pasting of any kind, and no "fixing it in the mix." The bulk of the engineering was handled by Russ Fowler, a friend from Atlanta.
What people have said about CWTF:
"They're a good bunch of guys and I think they've got a future ahead of them." - Jerry Cantrell
"Comes with the Fall is a four-piece rock band that combines the primitive emotionalism of PJ Harvey and the Stooges with the sonic power and visceral dynamics of Soundgarden and Jeff Buckley." - Indy Hits
"Stellar, high gloss hard rock that sounds like early the Alice Cooper band and Mother Love Bone had more in common than drug addicted lead singers. If these cats catch fire, then rock radio is saved. Rise and join the Fallen, citizen." - Sleazegrinder.com
"Since their arrival in Los Angeles from Atlanta in Spring 2000, comes with the fall have quickly become one of the most talked-about bands on the scene. They have opened for the likes of Buckcherry and Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains, who has called cwtf "the next big thing in rock." Cantrell was so taken with the band's eponymous self-released debut album that he learned several songs from it and has frequently been known to sit in with cwtf in front of astonished crowds at Hollywood venues like the Dragonfly, Spaceland,and the Viper Room. HITS magazine recently wrote that comes with the fall are "creating their own legend" with their live show. With a sound that is equal parts Soundgarden, Jeff Buckley, Black Sabbath, and the Stooges, comes with the fall unleash a musical force that is undeniable" - ArtistDirect.com
"These guys are the future." - Jerry Cantrell, speaking to Reuters World News Service, July 2002
"CWTF are creating their own legend with their live show." - Hits Magazine
"The first hot tip for 2002 . . .fat melodic riffing, and heroically sung vocals. . .perfectly titled for an era of rebuilding, this is a great rock record for and about starting over." - David Fricke, Rolling Stone, February 2002
"They're just a breath of fresh air - their whole approach, the way they work and the type of people they are. I've had the good fortune of spending a lot of time with them over the last couple of years, and we've become friends. But I just think that they are doing something completely different than what's currently going on. It's more real to me than a lot of the stuff I hear; it's real innovative. They really don't sound like anyone else. It's heavy rockin' music with amazing vocals. They remind me of the way Alice In Chains were in the beginning, in that it's more about the song than any individual performer." - Jerry Cantrell
But what happened before May 1999?
Check out the varied history of the men who would become the band.
Bios: Bevan Davies | William DuVall | Adam Stanger
Madfly:
William, Bevan, Nico and bass player Jeff Blount formed the "well-dressed Funk glamrock band" Madfly in 1996. Madfly put out two albums between '96 and '98, both on William's label, DVL Recordings. The first, "Get The Silver" mixed rock, pop, R&B, even glam. It was sort of like if Zeppelin and Bowie had a baby and it was raised by Prince. It was DuVall's first time in the producer's chair.
The second Madfly album, "White Hot in the Black" was released through a distribution deal between DVL and PolyGram. It had some pretty significant airplay on mainstream Rock and Pop radio stations, including the Active Rock radio hit with "Rat Trap Karma" and sold some records, but something was missing. The band and marketing management disagreed on how to market Madfly and the band went quietly back into obscurity. Blount had to leave the band for medical reasons, so when the band found Stanger in May of '99 they decided it was a good time for a change and renamed themselves "Comes With the Fall"
What people said about Madfly:
"Atlanta funk-rockers Madfly are back to the local grind, after their momentary brush with stardom (the band finished behind the less-talented Another Man Down in the opening slot contest for 99X's Chinese New Year show). Regardless, lead guitarist Nicki Bablieros is one of the city's more dynamic players, and the testosterone is always pumping at Madfly gigs."