The Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion is an international alternative rock band formed in London, United Kingdom around 2001, consisting of Tennessee-native Nathan Nicholson (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Australian Todd Howe (lead guitar), and Englishmen Adam Harrison (bass guitar), and Piers Hewitt (drums). They have so far released an eponymous EP, and two studio albums, Exits (2005) and Union (2009). The Boxer Rebellion's third studio album is being mixed and produced by Ethan Johns[1] at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios.
History

In 2000, singer Nathan Nicholson left his hometown of Maryville, Tennessee after the death of his mother and moved to London. Nicholson connected with guitarist Todd Howe through an online posting for musicians that resulted in the creation of a firm friendship and the beginnings of a band.

They soon attracted the attention of drummer Piers Hewitt, who was just graduating from London Music School.[2] Their first project was known as Slippermen. Rob Loflin, a friend of Nicholson's from Tennessee, played bass on early sessions before leaving the band and being replaced by current bassist Adam Harrison, who graduated from London Music School along with Hewitt. As Slippermen they produced a single and an EP, named "Lens" and The Traveler respectively, but received limited commercial success.

After rebranding to The Boxer Rebellion and with a massive overhaul in their sound they reworked their ensemble and started building a fan-base. As a result of the PlayLouder competition, in June 2003, the band played the Glastonbury New Bands tent ahead of Keane. Shortly after this appearance they were signed by Alan McGee to his ill-fated Poptones record label.

Following the release of their debut EP, the band were to embark on a tour with The Killers, but while on tour with The Raveonettes Nicholson became seriously ill with a burst appendix which required 5 hours of surgery and months of recovery forcing them to cancel the forthcoming tour.[3].

After three singles following their debut EP, their first full length album, Exits, was released on May 2, 2005. "Watermelon", seen as the band's signature track, was featured on The Football Factory soundtrack (along with Razorlight, The Libertines, and The Buzzcocks).

Two weeks after the album was released the Poptones label imploded, rendering the band without a label which they announced at a gig at the ICA on May 16.[4] They have been unsigned ever since.[5]

The band continued financing their own gigs and playing throughout the UK and mainland Europe. While having support slots for such artists as Editors, Lenny Kravitz and Gary Numan, the band continued writing and recording.

Their music can be heard on Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's second motorcycle adventure, Long Way Down.

They released their self-funded second album Union on iTunes in January 2009.
Current activity

January 2009 saw the band release their second full-length album, Union. It was exclusively released via iTunes with the lead single "Evacuate" (previously a limited edition vinyl release in 2008) hosted as "iTunes single of the week". The album peaked at #4 in the iTunes UK top 100 album chart, and reached #2 in the alternative chart (second to Kings of Leon's late 2008 Only by the Night), both within 5 days of its release.

The band plans to physically release the album on CD and vinyl sometime later in 2009.[6] It is presently available on CD at HMV stores in Canada and the UK, through an exclusive agreement.

Due to the lack of a physical copy, Union could not enter the official UK chart based on downloads alone despite high charting positions, a situation which achieved media coverage in the NME,[7] The Daily Telegraph,[8] and The Evening Standard.[9]

In the spring and early summer of 2009, the band filmed scenes in New York City, USA, for an upcoming movie from New Line Cinema starring Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Christina Applegate, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day, called "Going The Distance." The film is slated for release on August 27, 2010.[10] The Boxer Rebellion play themselves in the movie.

In December 2009, The Boxer Rebellion's album, "Union," was named the Best Alternative Album of 2009 by the editors of iTunes (US).[11]

The band performed at SXSW 2010 and were awarded Best Men In Black by SPIN[12] magazine's online review.

Piers Hewitt currently performs a weekly radio show on Brentwood radio station Phoenix FM.[13]

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.