Midnight Cinema

Biography

If the names Clayton Stroope (Vocals), Drew Cribley (Guitar) and Paul Niedermier (Drums) sound familiar, it’s because you’ve heard them before. The Bay Area band Midnight Cinema is a reincarnation of sorts of the Gold selling band Thriving Ivory. After having huge success with Thriving Ivory and following their self-titled Wind-up Records debut album on June 24, 2008 - the album reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart on the strength of certified Gold single "Angels on the Moon,” selling...

If the names Clayton Stroope (Vocals), Drew Cribley (Guitar) and Paul Niedermier (Drums) sound familiar, it’s because you’ve heard them before. The Bay Area band Midnight Cinema is a reincarnation of sorts of the Gold selling band Thriving Ivory.

After having huge success with Thriving Ivory and following their self-titled Wind-up Records debut album on June 24, 2008 - the album reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart on the strength of certified Gold single "Angels on the Moon,” selling over 500,000 copies; they were also chosen by VH1 as a “You Oughta Know” artist, and their second studio album, Through Yourself & Back Again which was released on September 14, 2010, their relentless touring schedule took a toll on the band.

While on the road in support of Through Yourself & Back Again, personal issues arose and keyboardist Scott Jason decided to part ways with the band. The remaining three band members continued with the tour. It was during a stop in New York when Clayton, Drew and Paul met with Gregg Wattenberg and Derek Fuhrmann to do a writing session. ‘“Holding my Breath” was the first song we wrote together,” said Drew Cribley. On subsequent trips throughout 2011 Clayton, Drew, Gregg and Derek wrote four more songs. “When we were deciding whether or not these songs would be the next Thriving Ivory album, we felt like the group was moving in a new direction,” said Cribley. They felt they something special immediately starting to build and with this new burst of adrenaline and creativity, Midnight Cinema was born forming what hastaken shape into the five-song EP – Midnight Cinema..

“The hardest part of the transition process was coming up with a band name,” said Drew Cribley. When they were Thriving Ivory their music was mostly piano driven. Now with Midnight Cinema they wanted something different to match their evolution as both a band and as songwriters. “There has been so much anticipation and excitement from our fans for new music over the last two years, it kind of reminded us when fans line up to see a midnight movie premiere, the excitement and anticipation of seeing a first showing so that’s where the name Midnight Cinema popped into our minds,” said Cribley. “This is our first showing to our loyal fans that have been waiting for new music.”

During their time off from touring and recording, the band wanted to get back to their roots and their "normal" lives spending time with family and friends, working and going back to school all while still getting together to write songs, go to shows, as well as to take the occasional band camping trip. They’re ready to show their loyal fans and the world the music they’ve created. So get in line and get ready to listen to Midnight Cinema. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.