From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a comprehensive discography of Pennywise, an American punk rock band formed in 1988 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band has released nine studio albums, one live album, two extended plays (EPs), one compilation, one DVD and fourteen singles. This list is not intended to include material performed by members or former members of Pennywise that was recorded with CON/800, One Hit Wonder and Chaos Delivery Machine.
Pennywise was formed in 1988 by the now-"classic" original lineup of Jim Lindberg (vocals), Fletcher Dragge (guitars), Byron McMackin (drums) and the late Jason Matthew Thirsk (bass). The band started playing locally, releasing the 7" EPs, A Word from the Wise and Wildcard, in 1989 on Theologian Records. The EPs caught the attention of Brett Gurewitz (of Bad Religion fame), who signed Pennywise to Epitaph Records in 1990. The band released their first album, which is self-titled, a year later, and in 1993 they released Unknown Road. In June 1995, Pennywise released its third studio album, About Time, which was their first album to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching #96. While promoting the album, Thirsk died in 1996 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 28. Randy Bradbury was hired as his replacement and was present on their next album, 1997's Full Circle.
In June 1999, Pennywise released their fifth album, Straight Ahead. The critically-acclaimed album, also the band's most successful, debuted at number 62 on the Billboard 200, produced the single "Alien", which charted on the North American Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, and also became one of Pennywise's most successful singles. The band's next album, 2001's Land of the Free?, was also highly successful and produced three singles, "Divine Intervention", "My God" and "Fuck Authority", which also charted on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. Despite the success of the single, "Fuck Authority" was banned from radio stations after September 11, 2001, although the influential radio station KROQ has continued playing it.
Pennywise released their next two albums, From the Ashes in 2003 and The Fuse in 2005, but they were less successful than the last two. With approximately 60 new songs written for their next album, Pennywise had recorded enough material for a double release, but it was instead demoted to a single release, resulting in 2008's Reason to Believe. Reason to Believe was originally released for free through a partnership between MySpace, and Textango, a mobile music distributor. In addition the album would be for sale in stores through MySpace Records in the United States and Epitaph in Europe. Reason to Believe also spawned the single "The Western World", which became a popular hit on Modern Rock radio in the spring of 2008 and reached number 22 on the chart, marking the highest initial charting single in Pennywise's career.
[edit] Studio albums
[edit] Compilation / Live albums
[edit] Singles
[edit] References
