Greenwheel

Formed at a local record shop in 1999 in the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles, this group of high-school bandmates originally dubbed themselves Hindsight before changing their name to Soma Holiday. A self-released, self-titled album followed that same year and garnered a local buzz in the area. But after that brief period, the group basically went underground, performing only occasionally. At the same time, lead singer Ryan Jordan gave the group one year to make it in the music business. If the group failed, he would return to community college and then head to DePaul University to become a theater major. In 2000, the group renamed themselves Greenwheel and released a four-song demo. The band also performed at various showcases in New York City, which caught the attention of Island Records. The label signed the group, who then went to Nashville to write and record their new album. The album, Soma Holiday, was released in June 2002 on Island Records. The band has been compared to the likes of everyone from Train and Matchbox Twenty to Linkin Park for its performance and pop/rock style.