After going back to his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA in 2004 for a dental appointment, Anthony Green went back to the airport to return to California and his Saosin mates. However, he suddenly had an epiphany - that despite the fact that Saosin was close to breaking out, he knew he would be miserable if he returned. To him, Saosin was "a girl that you had great sex with, yet had little in common with," as Green himself affectionately said. He returned to Colin Frangicetto, a friend who he had "jammed" with during his stay, and they decided to begin recording and recruiting. Thus, Circa Survive was born.
Colin Frangicetto and Anthony Green, with full support from Equal Vision Records, then recruited Brendan Ekstrom. Ekstrom had been Frangicetto's bandmate in This Day Forward. Both Ekstrom and Frangicetto had toured with Taken during their This Day Forward days, and procured Nick Beard, previous bassist of Taken, as Circa Survive's next member. The band met Steve Clifford through Vadim Taver of the band Marigold; "[Steve] jammed with us for a week and from there it was on," says Frangicetto.
To date, Circa Survive has released two versions of the song "Handshakes at Sunrise" on two different 2004 sampler discs from Equal Vision Records, as well as a 2005 limited edition tour EP called The Inuit Sessions. A full length album Juturna was released April 19th, 2005.
Circa Survive now has many national tours under their belt, including a co-headlining tour that took place in summer 2005. Circa Survive has also opened for Mae and Dredg on each of their headlining runs. Circa Survive played The Bamboozle Festival in New Jersey in 2005, and then played every year until 2008. They also played a few dates on The Van's Warped Tour in 2005 and completed a European tour with Coheed and Cambria and Thrice in 2006. Circa Survive has also toured with Thursday, Rise Against, Billy Talent, My Chemical Romance, Saves the Day and Moneen.
Circa Survive's first major headlining tour occured during the summer of 2006, with The Receiving End of Sirens, YouInSeries, and Days Away on the first leg of this tour. These bands dropped off on July 23rd. On July 25th, Portugal. The Man, and Keating joined the tour.
On Letting Go is the band's second album. It was released on May 29, 2007 by Equal Vision Records, the album debuted at number 24 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 24,000 copies in its first week. The band headlined the Alternative Press Tour in Spring 2007, with, Cute Is What We Aim For, Envy on the Coast, and As Tall As Lions, headlined the 2007 Warped Tour, and did a headlining tour with Ours, Fear Before the March of Flames, and Dear and the Headlights in the fall.
After supporting Thrice and Pelican for their Spring 2008 tour, Circa Survive returned home to Philadelphia to write for the follow up record to On Letting Go. The band announced in August of 2009, after over a year of writing, that they were beginning the recording process, and that they had signed with Atlantic Records. The band frequently spoke of the new material as a brand new direction and, as Colin said, "our growth is evident in every note and rhythm I hear."
On February 16, 2010 they announced their new album would be titled "Blue Sky Noise", and would be released on April 20, 2010. The album debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200, and #1 on the Alternative Albums Chart.
Circa Survive's second EP, Appendage, was released on November 30, 2010. It contains five tracks: "Sleep Underground" (Demo), "Stare Like You'll Stay", "Everyway", "Backmask" and "Lazarus".
Circa Survive is planning to record their fourth LP between mid-March and May 2012 in California with former Failure frontman Ken Andrews (Mae, Pete Yorn) as producer. It is tentatively scheduled for release in late summer or early fall 2012 on Atlantic Records, with a U.S. tour to coincide with its release.
On April 16, 2012, Circa Survive began recording their fourth record. On March 5, 2012, Absolute Punk stated it would be titled "Violent Waves". On June 25th, 2012, Circa launched the Violent Waves Pre-Order webpage, officially announcing the album's title and release date, August 28th, 2012, along with a new song titled "Suitcase". The band also confirmed that the CD would be self-released.
Glass Arrows
Circa Survive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
you think you should be
Your stolen memories
will find you
in the last place
you would think to look
All the time that it took to locate
Maybe it’ll just pass by you
Underneath the surface
we break apart
Disappeared from public places never seen again
How long has it been?
How long has it been?
Underneath the surface
none of us deserve this
Underneath the surface we break apart
Disappeared from public places never seen again
How long has it been?
How long has it been?
I don’t want excuses
I don’t want apologies
Disappeared from public places never seen again
How long has it been?
How long has it been?
The lyrics to Circa Survive's Glass Arrows speak to the idea of lost memories and the pain of trying to unearth them. The first stanza encourages stillness and embracing the memories as they come, no matter how long it takes to find them. The line "All the time that it took to locate" implies that this process is not easy or quick. The second stanza reinforces the idea that these memories may be painful or difficult to confront, with the possibility of either passing by or "ripping right through your heart."
The chorus then repeats the phrase "disappeared from public places, never seen again" which suggests the idea of something or someone missing or lost. The repetition of the question "how long has it been?" highlights the length of time spent trying to find whatever has been lost. The line "underneath the surface we break apart" can be interpreted as the weight of unresolved emotions or memories causing internal turmoil.
The final stanza seems to speak to a need for closure or resolution, with the singer rejecting excuses or apologies. The repetition of the chorus brings the song full circle, reinforcing the idea of something missing and the struggle to find it.
Line by Line Meaning
Stay as still as you think you should be
Remain composed and unshaken, maintaining the facade you believe is necessary
Your stolen memories will find you
The memories and experiences taken from you will resurface and affect you
In the last place you would think to look
The source of your missing memories will not be found where you expect it to be
All the time that it took to locate
The effort and time spent searching for these lost memories
Maybe it'll just pass by you or rip right through your heart
The memories may simply fade away or cause intense emotional pain
Underneath the surface we break apart
Beneath our exterior personas, we are falling apart and breaking down
Disappeared from public places never seen again
Individuals have vanished without a trace, never to be seen again
How long has it been?
A question posed about how much time has passed since the disappearances
I don't want excuses
I do not want justifications or explanations for the events occurring
I don't want apologies
I do not want remorse or regret; I want action
Contributed by Mackenzie O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
nabilah
on Strange Terrain
just my opinion about the meaning:
It could probably talking about the band life. Where in many bands of this scene, members come and go, original member left, band disbanded and reunion.
"We made designs completely backwards" is talking about experimental or punk or emo-influenced lyrics usually written in obscure & interpretative wordings.
"Nobody knows if were even close to where we need to go" is how vary the song meaning could be, and everyone could have derivative art regarding the interpretation. This is what I interpret the song. and you might have different interpretation.
"To find out how it all works with so many artists/partners" this one is clearly talking about artist, the reason why I think the song is talking about band life.
"Who's the one pounding the gears avoiding the crowds keeping their ear to the ground" talking about the people behind the scene who helped making their song but never credited in the song creator (who's the one?). the people working during recording, editing, mixing, etc
"Oh I've made a mistake I never learned how to get back to the place" maybe talking about member and band reunion
"Where all our confidence kept is behind a shield only light can get through." talking about performing live or during recording