Circa Survive

Philadelphia's Circa Survive were formed by former Saosin vocalist Anthony Green with guitarist Colin Frangicetto — both of them veterans of the local emo and hardcore scenes looking to indulge in the rule-breaking freedom of the neo-progressive movement of the mid-2000s. After Green and Frangicetto discovered like-minded bandmates in second guitarist Brendan Ekstrom, bassist Nick Beard, and drummer Steve Clifford, Circa Survive recorded their debut album, Juturna (named after a Roman goddess), for Equal Vision Records in 2005. Lots of touring followed, including Warped Tour dates, and the album steadily sold close to an impressive 100,000 copies. A spot on the 2007 Coachella festival led into the late May release of Circa Survive's follow-up, On Letting Go. The band eventually left Equal Vision and signed to Atlantic, and in 2010 released its third album, Blue Sky Noise, which eschewed many of the hardcore elements of records past in favor of a more melodic, indie rock approach. The band's fourth long-player, the independently released Violent Waves, arrived in 2012 and debuted at the number 15 slot on the Billboard Top 200.