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.
Spirit of the Stairwell
Circa Survive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To wake and read
To know that I was there once
I knew that there was nothing that I could write to assure you
Of my return
But all the paper said when I was done is
'do you still want me?'
Because I'd be terrified if I had to leave this place today
We haven't saved the baby
As I said
My darling
Spring is constantly calling me
And there's no place that I'd rather be
I won't be angry
If you have to leave,
But I won't be waiting
For that day
So don't say you're sorry because
I won't believe you
Didn't see a sticker on the door when we walked in
But I know it's going to cost us
The same amount of love it takes to get you through
But it never moves you
I'd be terrified if I had to leave this place today
It's where I threw my love away
Then we saw a different side of "Annie" nobody saw
She tried to kill the baby
And the earth and its skin will open up
And birth out a perfect mirror
That makes all our reflections clear
I won't be angry
If you have to leave,
But I won't be waiting
For that day
So don't say you're sorry because
I won't believe you
The lyrics of "Spirit Of The Stairwell" by Circa Survive describe a sense of uncertainty and apprehension about leaving a place that holds great significance and memories. The singer of the song is writing a note for someone to find when they wake up, acknowledging that he may not be there when they read it. He is unable to offer any reassurance that he will return, only asking a simple question: "do you still want me?" This demonstrates a lack of confidence in the strength of the bond between him and the other person, as if he is uncertain whether the history they share will be enough to make them want to wait for him.
The song also touches on the fragility of relationships and the emotions that come with them. The singer speaks directly to a loved one, acknowledging that they may leave at any time and that he won't be waiting for them if they do. Despite this, he expresses forgiveness for their departure, showing that he understands that people can't always stay in one place forever. However, he also reveals his doubts about the sincerity of apologies, stating that he won't believe someone's remorse unless they put in the effort to back it up.
Overall, "Spirit Of The Stairwell" is a poignant and introspective song about the complexities of human connection and the emotions that arise when facing the possibility of loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Scratched out a note I wrote for you
I left a message for you in hopes that you would see it when you woke up
To wake and read
So you would know that I had been there with you
To know that I was there once
To remind you that I was present in your life at one point
I knew that there was nothing that I could write to assure you
I understood that my words were not enough to reassure you of my intentions
Of my return
Of my ability to come back to you
But all the paper said when I was done is 'do you still want me?'
The only thing that remained from my message was a pleading question of if you still desired to have me in your life
Because I'd be terrified if I had to leave this place today
I am afraid to leave this moment, this place, and the connection between us
We haven't saved the baby
We haven't been able to preserve or protect the innocence of the relationship between us
As I said
My darling
Spring is constantly calling me
And there's no place that I'd rather be
I have previously spoken about the seasonal changes of life that beckon me, but no matter what occurs, no place is preferable to being with you
I won't be angry
If you have to leave,
But I won't be waiting
For that day
So don't say you're sorry because
I won't believe you
If the time comes when you must go, I won't hold resentment but I won't be anticipating your return, so please don't attempt to apologize because I won't trust it
Didn't see a sticker on the door when we walked in
There was no warning or indication of what was to come
But I know it's going to cost us
I am aware that there will be repercussions for what we have done
The same amount of love it takes to get you through
It will take an equal amount of love and commitment to make it out of this situation
But it never moves you
Despite our efforts, there seems to be no progress in the situation and we are stuck in the same place
It's where I threw my love away
This is the place where I lost the love that I had
Then we saw a different side of 'Annie' nobody saw
She tried to kill the baby
Later on, we witnessed a disturbing side of someone we thought we knew and trusted, and it resulted in a near-tragic situation
And the earth and its skin will open up
And birth out a perfect mirror
That makes all our reflections clear
Nature will reveal a true representation of us, exposing what we have been hiding from ourselves
Contributed by Jackson C. 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