Southern California punks
Face to Face formed in 1991, originally comprised of singer/guitarist
Trever Keith, drummer
Rob Kurth, and bassist
Matt Riddle. Debuting early the following year on the Dr. Strange label with
Don't Turn Away, the trio was quickly snapped up by Fat Wreck Chords, which reissued the LP soon after. Adding second guitarist
Chad Yaro,
Face to Face toured relentlessly in the months to follow, recording a series of singles and compilation tracks collected in 1994 as
Over It. When the song "Disconnected" became a local hit thanks to steady airplay on Los Angeles station KROQ, the group's profile grew considerably, and 1995's
Big Choice sold in excess of 100,000 copies. In the wake of
Riddle's exit, bassist
Scott Shiflett signed on for
Face to Face's major-label debut, a self-titled release issued on A&M in 1996. The adventurous
Ignorance Is Bliss followed in mid-1999 on the Beyond label, featuring new drummer
Pete Parada.
The following year saw
Face to Face returning to their core sound with
Reactionary, released on the band's own label, Lady Luck Records, through BMG-distributed Beyond. Through a promotion with MP3.com,
Face to Face allowed fans to shape the set list for
Reactionary by downloading snippets of the songs and voting which ones should make it onto the album. Nearly two million votes were received during a six-week period.
Reactionary was released on June 20, 2000. The cover album
Standards & Practices, which featured the band's own rendition of songs by
the Smiths,
the Pogues,
Fugazi,
the Jam, and others, was issued on Vagrant in early 2001. That year also saw
Keith and
Shiflett join
Viva Death, which released its eponymous debut in September 2002. Meanwhile,
Face to Face had joined
the Dropkick Murphys for a split EP, and
How to Ruin Everything, the band's sixth studio album, had appeared in March 2002.
In fall 2003,
Face to Face disbanded after 13 years and six albums. Two years later, the retrospective
Shoot the Moon: The Essential Collection was released on
Keith's Antagonist Records.
–
Jason Ankeny, Rovi