feeder

1 an animal being fattened or suitable for fattening

2 someone who consumes food for nourishment [syn: eater]

3 a branch that flows into the main stream [syn: tributary, affluent] [ant: distributary]

4 a machine that automatically provides a supply of some material; "the feeder discharged feed into a trough for the livestock" [syn: self-feeder]

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -iːdə(r)

Etymology

feed + -er

Noun

1. that which feeds
2. that which is used to feed

   Example: a bird feeder

3. a tributary stream, especially of a canal
4. a branch line of a railway
5. a transmission line for an electricity substation, or for a transmitter
6. an 1800s baseball term meaning the pitcher
7. (computer gaming) (derogatory) a player who is "killed" by the opposing player or team not more than once due to lack of skills and experience. It has the effect of giving experience and gold to strengthen the opposing side. "Stop feeding! You feeder."

Derived terms

• bottom feeder

Manx

Noun

feeder

1. spider

See also

• doo-oallee

Feeder are a Welsh rock band, who formed in Newport, South Wales, during 1992. The band were originally comprised of Grant Nicholas (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Taka Hirose (bass), and Jon Lee (drums). Following Jon's suicide in 2002, former Skunk Anansie and Little Angels drummer Mark Richardson joined in August 2002. Feeder have also been accompanied by touring members Matt Sime (keyboards; 2000–2002), Dean Tidey (guitar, backing vocals; 1998–present) and Dean Deavall (keyboards, backing vocals; 2008-present).

Feeder released their first two albums, Polythene and Yesterday Went Too Soon, in 1997 and 1999 respectively, before the release of their third album, Echo Park propelled them into mainstream popularity in 2001. After their breakthrough year, their drummer Jon Lee committed suicide in his Miami home in January 2002. The band continued, releasing Comfort in Sound at the close of 2002, an album musically and lyrically focused around the band's emotions at the time, which was well-received by critics. This was followed by 2005's Pushing the Senses, while their newest album, Silent Cry, is due to be released in June 2008.

Although Feeder have not reached #1 on any sales-based chart with any of their own releases, they have released five studio albums and two compilations, including a singles album. Those releases have spawned three UK platinum sales awards, two gold awards, and one silver award, with a gold award in Ireland for their singles album. Alongside this, they also have twenty-three top seventy-five singles, and seven top seventy-five albums. Additionally, Feeder hold the distinction as the first act to play in front of 1,500 people or more at any HMV store worldwide, and have also collected Kerrang! awards for "Best British Live Act" (2001) and "Best British Band" (2003).

History

Formation

At the age of 14, singer and guitarist Grant Nicholas joined a band called 'Sweet Leaf', named after a Black Sabbath song. Black Sabbath was the first band Grant had seen play live. At this time bassist Taka Hirose and drummer Jon Lee were playing in different covers bands. While playing in different bands on the Newport gig circuit, Grant and Jon became friends. They decided to train to become sound engineers, but found they were more interested in performing instead of recording bands. They formed an electronic duo called Temper Temper after Jon left the Newport band The Darling Buds. Shortly thereafter, they formed a band called Rain Dancer. Both of these bands failed to become successful. Rain Dancer's sound was described by Grant as that of The Waterboys.

Going back to the drawing board, they formed a three piece band called 'Reel'. They fired their bass player and then changed their name to 'Real'. During this time they recruited Japanese bassist Taka Hirose via an advert in Loot. The band then changed their name to Feeder, named after Grant's pet goldfish. They won their recording contract with Echo after sending a demo tape, and then sealed the deal after an employee from the label witnessed one of the band's gigs. A track from the demo, entitled "Don't Bring Me Down", appeared as a b-side on the "Day in Day Out" single, but uses an electric guitar as opposed to an acoustic as heard on the released version.

Early releases (1995–1996)

Feeder's first official release was a two track EP, Two Colours, in 1995, which was only available at the band's early gigs. It was limited to 1500 CDs and 1000 7" vinyls, and today is valued at £40-60. In 1996, the band released their first commercially available release, the Swim EP, on the Echo label. The EP was given a 4/5 review in Kerrang! magazine (KKKK).

Shortly before the record was released, a tape called Two Tracker was given away free with Kerrang! magazine, and contained the tracks "Sweet 16" and "Waterfall". The latter was described, on the inlay card, as one of the tracks that was on their forthcoming debut album proper, then entitled Here In The Bubble (whose name was soon changed to Polythene). Some of the photography for the EP's inlay was produced by Grant himself, while Chris Sheldon produced the album. The band released "Stereo World" from the record as its only single, after appearing at the Reading festival. These releases led to the band's tour, during which they visited seaside towns like Newquay.

Polythene (1997–1998)

After building a strong fanbase with the release of Swim, the band released their first full-length album in 1997. The result, Polythene, is now widely regarded as a classic by Kerrang! magazine readers, as they voted it the 87 best British rock album of all time in a January 2005 issue. Two tracks from "Swim" were used for the albums, "Descend" and "Stereoworld".

After the recording sessions were completed, the album's first single, "Tangerine", was released, and charted at #60 in the UK charts. This was followed by "Cement", charting at #53 and then the release of the album which charted at #65. Two more singles were released alongside of their main stage debut at the Reading festival of 1997, with "Crash" making #48, A new song entitled, "High", charted at #24.

The album, as of March 2003, has been certified silver by the BPI for shipments of 60,000 units. They also re-issued the album in October 1997 with "High" included, and the "Stereo World" b-side, "Change" replacing "Waterfall" from the original tracklist. Also included as an enhanced element was the video for "High". The album caused many critics to label the band "The UK's answer to the Smashing Pumpkins", and also draw comparisons to The Pixies and Talk Talk. The band's tour of the album took place in April before the release of the "Cement" single, and continued after the release of the album. The band's earlier sound on the album was once described by Grant as "heavy but melodic rock".

In early 1998, following the band's final 1997 tour in support of Polythene, the band travelled to the United States as a support act for Everclear. During their U.S. tour, the band released a re-worked version of "Suffocate" back home in the UK, charting at #37. After their return to the UK, they played their own headline tour, this time Everclear was in the supporting position. Later that year, Feeder started to play various music festivals in the States, before a tour took place with "High" being released to radio stations and charting at #24; it was the follow up to "Cement" which had charted at #31. During the first US tour, Grant said he used to get very tired and sometimes could not wait to return home to work on the next album. Grant toured with a broken ankle and other injuries, and he said he used to find it hard to sleep at nights, which inspired him to write "Insomnia", which later appeared on their second album. They stayed in the U.S. for the majority of the year, with a trip back to the UK for their V98 appearance. Feeder later introduced a live guitarist, Dean Tidey, who plays at the band's gigs. Grant had said, in a 1998 interview in Kerrang!, that he was considering bringing in another guitarist for their live gigs. Polythene sold 25,000 copies in the States during 1998.

Yesterday Went Too Soon (1999)

For 1999's Yesterday Went Too Soon, the band decided to self-produce the album, brought in Matt Sime for engineering duties and had the album mixed in New York by Andy Wallace. "Dry" was re-recorded as a full band version after the original acoustic version appeared on "Suffocate" as a b-side. That single's b-sides featured tracks from their sessions for the album and revealed the sound of this new album. The working title for the album was originally A Life Through Headphones, and was originally set to be a double album. The name change was due to former Take That singer Robbie Williams releasing his solo debut album, Life Thru a Lens; the band did not want to be associated with him.

When the album was released, the band's reputation was on the rise and it entered the UK charts at #8. Before that, the band had released the album's first single, "Day in Day Out", in March 1999, which charted at #31, followed by "Insomnia" at #22, resulting in their first appearance on TOTP. A week before the album's release, the band played the main stage of the Reading-Leeds festival, while the title track from the album was at #20 in the singles chart. The album was then released on August 30, 1999. Only one single was lifted from the album, in which a re-recorded version of "Paperfaces" charted at #41.

Some of the album's lyrical themes were derived from Grant's person's perspective of working in a menial supermarket job on a daily basis("Day In Day Out"), his experiences after gigs on their US tour ("Insomnia", "You're My Evergreen"), past relationships (the title track and "Dry"), the music industry ("Hole in My Head") and "fear of commitment in relationships" ("Anaesthetic"). Musically, the album employed an indie rock feel to it, which also featured extended appearances of an acoustic guitar on some of its tracks.

The album was due for release in June, but this was delayed until August to include material written after its completion which the band felt was too good to leave off. Upon its release, the UK music press immediately warmed to the album, with Rob Fitzpatrick, then of Melody Maker, writing "an absolute stormer it is. Unmissable. Absolutely." The album also received the magazine's Album of the Week accolade. This enthusiasm was shared by Metal Hammer, who awarded the album a 10/10 mark. The year ended with the band providing support for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Wembley Arena and the Manic Street Preachers at the Millennium Stadium. As of March 2003, the album had gone gold, shipping 100,000 units in the UK. The album was voted in 2005 by Kerrang! readers, as the 73 best British Rock album of all-time.

Echo Park (2000–2001)

Feeder spent most of 2000, at Great Lindford Manor studios, writing and recording for their next album. The band also continued playing festivals around the country previewing the new material they were working on, such as V2000 and Glastonbury, but would end the year promoting "Buck Rogers", their first single since November 1999, and then playing a mini-tour at the end of the year to mainly showcase the new material. The same night the band played the Leeds Cockpit in December 2000, they were told earlier on in the day that their new single had made the Radio 1 A-list, meaning it would be given a high degree of airplay rotation. The release of the single on January 8, 2001 was coupled with a signing session at London's Tower Records store, and then TV appearances on Top of The Pops and The Pepsi Chart Show, due to the single's midweek performance. This saw the band being forced to cancel two signing sessions as a result. The single charted at #5, becoming the band's first top 10 entry in that chart. In South Africa, the track was very well received by radio DJ's, reaching #1 on the 5FM top 40 and headining a one-day event celebrating the station's 26 birthday. The track is also still played on UK radio today.

<blockquote class="toccolours" style="text-align:left; width:30%; float:left; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">Not really, I think with the radio thing you have to be really careful; at the end of the day Feeder's not a typical daytime radio band, but what we've done is that we've proved that a guitar band - a British guitar band, and a band that doesn't have the profile of U2 or someone can still get into the top ten. It is possible!, it just seems to be that its always the big Amercian bands who sort of dominate the top ten; a Limp Bizkit or whatever, but saying that I think the whole Travis and Coldplay thing has been really good as sort of a stepping stone, and also I think people are getting fed up of just seeing Westlife or Steps on the TV. I think people are finding rock, and real bands again - I think that the market is currently so bombarded with pop stuff that we're just quite refreshing. Rock never went away, but it never really got the exposure. Hopefully it'll get "Seven Days in the Sun" away... — Grant Nicholas in Feederweb fanzine, responding to a question asking if he felt under pressure to create another radio-friendly song.

Grant once said that the song is about a relationship ending, but also uses humour, with the name for the song originating from a keyboard piece Grant created which sounded "futuristic", and named it "Buck Rogers". Grant had originally written the track for an American band called 'Radio Star', but was convinced by producer Gil Norton not to give the song away as he felt Feeder themselves could have a hit with it. The single appears in many all-time lists generated by XFM and Kerrang!, with a 2004 peak of #25 in the annual XFM list. "Buck Rogers" is featured on the soundtrack of the 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines, starring Owen Wilson.

After a sell-out tour of two legs, ending at the London Astoria, the album Echo Park entered and peaked at #5 in the UK album charts. A third single, "Turn", reached #27 before festival season, in which the band played the main stages of Reading-Leeds, and also T in the Park. "Just a Day", a b-side from "Seven Days in the Sun", later reached #12.

The album saw the band take on much more of a commercially influenced sound, and also the appearance of Moog synthesizers, while being lyrically focused on a comedic approach, like with "Seven Days in the Sun", but also dark emotions, such as those shown on "Turn", "Oxygen", and "Satellite News". It was during the campaign for Echo Park that the band played another slot on the main stage at the Reading-Leeds festival. As of August 2003, the album has shipped 300,000 units in the UK, going platinum.

Grant said in a Melody Maker interview that if the album did not sell well enough the band would probably split up; he said at the time that "It's the same with any band. That's just the way the music business is. There is only a certain amount of money a label will put into a band. I'm just being realistic. We've been around for seven or eight years and I am not planning on giving up, but we're putting everything into this record and I'm just hoping that people like it". The album was voted the 25 best British rock album of all-time by Kerrang! readers, and was the highest placed Feeder album on the list. On August 28, 2001 the band won Best British Live Act at the Kerrang! awards, before ending the year supporting the Stereophonics on their UK tour, and then releasing the "Just a Day" single in December.

Comfort in Sound (2002–2003)

In 2002, the band's drummer Jon Lee committed suicide in his Miami home, resulting in the band keeping out of the public eye for most of the year. It was during this time that Grant Nicholas wrote a series of songs relating to their emotions and reactions to Jon's death, which formed their fourth album Comfort in Sound. The band brought in former Skunk Anansie and Little Angels member Mark Richardson for drumming duties. The album focused mainly on themes such as loss, depression, grievance, and positivity, while dedicating "Quickfade" to Jon. The album was released in October of the same year to widespread critical acclaim in the British music press, with Kerrang! stating that "Comfort in Sound harnesses the anthemic appeal of a latter day U2... and a quality that propels Feeder from the confines of the everyday into the neighbourhood of everyman..." and giving the album their Album of the Week award, alongside the heavy rock magazine Metal Hammer giving the album the similar accolade of Album of the Month while stating that it was "an album they should rightfully be proud of...". The band decided to play at the Reading-Leeds festivals that year, making a low-key appearance by playing the second stage. Comfort in Sound was voted by Kerrang! readers as one of their top 100 British rock albums of all-time at #32, while being the highest-placed 2002 album on the list.

<blockquote class="toccolours" style="text-align:left; width:30%; float:left; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">It’s one of the best songs I’ve done, but we nearly didn’t do it. I wrote it right at the end of making Comfort in Sound, and our producer Gil Norton said he wasn’t sure we really needed another mid-tempo song. But when we played it, we all thought that it definitely did have something. Lyrically it’s quite dark but it’s still an uplifting song. This was the single that really made the album a success. It’s the kind of song I’d like us to be remembered for. — Grant Nicholas on the second Comfort in Sound single, "Just the Way I'm Feeling".

Musically, the album was much more mellow, with the use of a string orchestra on "Forget About Tomorrow". Other tracks on the album also used an accordion, trumpet, and a piano played by their manager Matt Page, with "Godzilla" being one of two tracks on the album to use loud guitars. This caused Feeder Fan Site to suggest it didn't fit in with the main feel of the album, stating that "As a package CIS is almost as well formed as Yesterday Went Too Soon. The playlist is spot on (Godzilla being the only track that sits, not entirely sure if it really belongs)". The album was their first release to be certified platinum, (with Echo Park going platinum later on). It also spawned their second top 10 single, with "Just the Way I'm Feeling" in January 2003. In December of the same year they took on their first and only arena tour to date, after the album's first tour sold all it's 60,000 tickets. In reaction to this, the band were invited to the Glastonbury Festival being billed third on the last day, playing the "Pyramid Stage".

The album's final single, "Comfort in Sound", was only available to buy as a limited edition of 3,000 CD copies on their 2003 arena tour. Four singles were released commercially, with those being "Come Back Around" (#14), "Just the Way I'm Feeling" (#10), "Forget About Tomorrow" (#12), and "Find the Colour" (#24), which was released following their V2004 appearance and Kerrang! award win for Best British Band, which Grant dedicated to Jon, saying it was the award he had always wanted the band to win. The band later went on to win an Internet Music Award for their "Just The Way I'm Feeling" video. Their efforts also helped them receive their only Brit-award nomination to date, in the Best British Rock category at the 2004 event, before making their only appearance in the charts that year as part of Bob Geldof's Band Aid 20 charity ensemble. Although only Grant appeared on the recording, he is still credited under the Feeder name, while the single was the Christmas #1, and became 2004's biggest UK-selling single.

Pushing the Senses (2004–2005)

Feeder returned to the studio to record their fifth album. The album was seen by Grant as more of an extension to Comfort in Sound, as it focused on the same lyrical themes and musical styles, and also said that it had more of an organic sound, with more upbeat tracks added into the mix. It also seen a number of piano driven tracks, with "Frequency" being an example. "Frequency" was produced by Coldplay producer Ken Nelson. For the rest of the album, Gil Norton was on production duties.

As a result, 2005's Pushing the Senses received criticism from long time fans and critics. The album was Feeder's highest charting release, at #2 on the UK album chart, while receiving a gold certification. Press response to the album was mixed, with Paul Brannigan of Q Magazine describing it as "An album that could finally establish Feeder as major league players", while Chris Heath of Dotmusic dismissed the album, saying "Pushing the Senses is by no means soppy, but Feeder's young fanbase might need some convincing".

<blockquote class="toccolours" style="text-align:left; width:30%; float:right; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">It's funny, I don't even particularly like that song, I've always thought I was a pretty dark songwriter, and what do I finally get known for?. A throwaway pop song. But I really shouldn't complain, should I?. If it wasn't for "Buck Rogers", I probably wouldn't be here talking to you now. — Grant Nicholas talking about "Buck Rogers" in a 2005 edition of Q Magazine.

The album helped them win a headline slot at the Download Festival, appearing above Garbage in the billing order, shortly before supporting U2 for a brief period on their Vertigo tour, which was followed by an appearance at the Live 8 concert in Edinburgh (the second charity event the band played that year after Tsunami Relief in Cardiff). The album in total spawned four UK top 40 singles, which included "Shatter", a reworked version of the "Tumble and Fall" b-side that became a double A-side with "Tender" (#11). Other singles apart from "Tumble and Fall" (#5), included "Feeling A Moment" (#13), and "Pushing The Senses" (#30). "Tender" and "Shatter" both featured on the European release of the Russian film Night Watch; a fan-petition had been launched to see its release as a single in its own right.

In September 2005, Grant Nicholas was misquoted in an interview that the band were set to split, which caused the rumour to be reported on music television and radio. The band's website soon denied the claims, making an official statement that read "Contrary to inaccurate reports in the press and on the radio, Feeder are not recording their last album, nor set to split. An over-enthusiastic reporter seems to have put 2 and 2 together and come up with 43. Indeed the group are looking forward to the release of new single "Shatter"/"Tender" in October and a Far East and UK tour in November. They have already started writing new material for a Singles Album to be released in the New Year and a further studio album to follow the current album Pushing the Senses". Soon afterwards, in a Kerrang! interview, Grant said that the interviewer misquoted him, and that he said the next album would be Feeder's last album on their current deal with Echo, before deciding to either re-sign or look for a new label.

Feeder would end the year seeing their then latest album appear at #39 on Q Magazine's end of year list, with "Feeling a Moment" voted the 98 best song of the year by its readers, before winning an award for the album at the Pop Factory Awards in Wales. However, the previous day, they were forced to postpone a winter tour, after Grant picked up bleeds on his vocal cords.

The Singles (2006–2007)

<blockquote class="toccolours" style="text-align:left; width:30%; float:right; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">I’ve had people coming up to me saying that they liked the earlier singles but didn’t realise it was us that did them. It’s introduced a lot of our earlier singles to people. We’d had success early on but we weren’t huge. I thought the record had good tracks and the three new tracks made it completely new for our older fans. It took me a long time to sequence the album to make sure it flowed together properly. It wasn’t just a matter of shoving a load of singles on there. — Grant Nicholas talking in 2006 on the sales performance of The Singles.

In 2006, Feeder returned to the studio, with Stephen Street working as the band's producer to record three new tracks to appear on their then forthcoming singles collection. "Lost and Found" (which Grant described as "an urban love song") became the first single to promote the collection, and would reach #12 in the UK singles chart in May 2006, after completing their delayed winter tour. The Singles, released in the same month as "Lost and Found", was the first Feeder album to have involvement from a major label, with EMI talking part in a one-off collaboration with Echo as the album's distributor. The album reached #2 on the UK albums chart, and was certified platinum in under three months, including a gold certification in Ireland. "Save Us" was the second and final single from the album, charting at #34 in late July. A version of the album included a DVD of all their videos filmed up to that point, along with extensive sleevenotes by Ben Johncock, a freelance author and writer.

Feeder returned to the Reading-Leeds festival after a four year break, having a late slot on the main stage, before ending the year with a small tour of London, playing The Roundhouse, and The Coronet. Two of these three gigs saw guest appearances from The Sugababes and Jamelia, which were in aid of War Child, who the band are patrons of, having earlier in the year visited The Congo as part of their work for the charity. In summer 2007, the band headlined the Redbourn Music Festival along with Dirty Pretty Things, The Automatic, and Ghosts, after also headlining the Loch Lomond festival in Scotland.

Silent Cry (2008)

<blockquote class="toccolours" style="text-align:left; width:30%; float:right; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">We Are the People is a song about change and unity in the world we live in... it's like a call to arms but in a positive and non-violent way. It's time for change and only we the people can do that... I wanted the song to be anthemic and sonically uplifting... — Grant Nicholas.

The band spoke about their new album during the course of 2006, stating in an interview on XFM that it would have a heavier sound than their previous two albums. On 29 June, 2007, Feeder released a teaser edited by Taka of their recording sessions for their new album on MySpace. A later video was released, which was also edited by Taka, on 7 November, 2007. Both can also be found on YouTube. Feeder will be playing the Isle of Wight and T in the Park festivals in 2008, and will play the Reading and Leeds festivals in August.

On 3 March, 2008, a clip of a new song entitled "Miss You" was added to the band's website, and was downloaded 8,000 times on its first day from their official website. The song showcases the band's return to their original rockier sound. Along with the free song download, they also launched a brand new mini-website, which included a new blog area for members of the band.

The first single from the album, "We Are the People", received its first play on Kerrang! Radio on 14 April, 2008, where it was declared the Incoming Single of the Week. The song will be released on 9 June. The following day, it was announced on Xfm London that the album would be called Silent Cry, and there would be a song of the same title on the album which will be released June 16.

An eight date club tour was played in late May, which previewed the new album. This tour sold out within six hours of the tickets going on general sale. The tour started at Northumbria University and ended at the Thekla in Bristol. Feeder will embark on a fuller tour later in the year, as revealed by Mark who, in his latest blog, spoke of 'the shows in the autumn'.

Awards and achievements

Feeder have gained many accolades from various alternative publications, but never received mainstream recognition in their early days. For example, their debut album Polythene was Metal Hammer's #1 album of 1997, and also appeared in 6 place on Kerrang!'s list. The follow up, Yesterday Went Too Soon in 1999, was Melody Maker's 24 top album of that year. Metal Hammer placed the album in 6, while Kerrang! ranked it at 16.

On 13 January 2003, Feeder became the first band in HMV instore event history to attact an attendance of 1,500 people or more in any outlet worldwide. Previously in August 1997, the band had been banned from playing live at every HMV in the United Kingdom due to attendees crowdsurfing during a performance at the Portsmouth branch. The band have also won acclaim from the voters of various music award polls:

• Kerrang! Awards, Best British Live Act, 2001.
• Kerrang! Awards, Best British Band, 2003.
• Internet Music Awards, Best Music Video Online, "Just The Way I'm Feeling", 2003.
• Pop Factory Awards, Best Album, "Pushing The Senses", 2005.

Discography

• Polythene (1997)
• Yesterday Went Too Soon (1999)
• Echo Park (2001)
• Comfort in Sound (2002)
• Pushing the Senses (2005)
• Silent Cry (2008)

References

External links

• Feeder's official website
• Feeder "Miss You", free download

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