CHARLOTSVILLE VA (CelebrityAccess) — Parachute took root in the college town of Charlottesville, Virginia, where the group honed its mix of pop/rock, funk, and contemporary blue-eyed soul under the original name Sparky's Flaw. Formed by high school students Will Anderson (vocals, guitar), Johnny Stubblefield (drums), Christopher "Kit" French (saxophone, keyboards), Alex Hargrave (bass), and Nate McFarland (guitar), Sparky's Flaw generated a healthy buzz around town and eventually became popular at the nearby University of Virginia, where they opened for Robert Randolph. After gaining more popularity with an independently released EP, 2005's One Small Step, the guys partnered with Red Light Management and later signed with Smash Records, an imprint of the recently revived Mercury Records.
Before entering their final year at the University of Virginia, they released a self-titled EP in August 2007 and several months later, the band changed their name to Parachute and contributed a song to the national TV campaign for Nivea. In 2009, they released Losing Sleep which marked Parachute's major-label debut and peaked at #40 on the Billboard charts. The band returned to the studio to record their sophomore album 2011’s The Way it Was followed by Overnight (2013) which hit the #3 spot on iTunes album charts and marked the band’s highest chart position, reaching #15 fifteen on the Billboard Top 200.
Parachute continues to tour around the country having performed with artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Gavin DeGraw, NeedtoBreathe and Andy Grammer. In 2013, they co-headlined a national tour with The Plain White T’s. They’ve also performed before crowds of over a million at a New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square. Parachute has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel Live and CBS’ The Early Show. Their songs have been featured on MTV’s The City along with CW’s One Tree Hill, Vampire Diaries and 90210.
In May 2014, guitarist Nate McFarland announced that he was leaving the band to pursue his MBA at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. The band is going forward.
Parachute shared on their website, “We’re so excited to share the news with you! Our new album is called “WIDE AWAKE.” It comes out 3/11/16 and available for pre-order on iTunes this Friday.
Our new song is called “Without You.” It’s also available on Friday for download and streaming.
Finally, The Wide Awake Tour with special guest Jon McLaughlin goes on sale Friday January 15, 2016. You also get a digital download of our new album with every ticket purchase.”
Parachute
Availability: Call for Availability
http://www.weareparachute.com
Agency
WME Entertainment LLC
Agency Relationship: Exclusive
9601 Wilshire Boulevard, 3rd Floor
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 United States
Phone: 310-285-9000
Fax: 310-285-3010
http://www.wmeentertainment.com
Responsible Agent: David Levine
Direct Phone: 310-859-4218
Fax: 310-859-4440
E-Mail: dl@wmeentertainment.com
Responsible Agent: Seth Seigle
Direct Phone: 212-903-1361
Fax: 212-632-1229
E-Mail: sseigle@wmeentertainment.com
Management
Red Light Management
8439 Sunset Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90069 United States
Phone: 310-273-2266
Fax: 310-273-8732
http://www.redlightmanagement.com
Responsible Manager: Bruce Flohr
Direct Phone: 310-273-2266
Fax: 310-273-8732
E-Mail: bruce.flohr@redlightmanagement.com
Responsible Manager: Andrew Genger
Direct Phone: 646-292-7400
Fax: 646-292-7450
E-Mail: Andrew.Genger@redlightmanagement.com
Record Label
Vanguard Records
2700 Pennsylvania Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404 United States
E-Mail: info@vanguardrecords.com
http://www.vanguardrecords.com
