Fictionist
Fictionist is a Provo, Utah, based budding alternative rock band with origins in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Sacramento, California. The band consists of Stuart Maxwell (lead vocals, bass guitar), Robbie Connolly (lead vocals, guitar), Aaron Anderson (drums), and Brandon Kitterman (guitar, bass guitar), all of whom are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Former members include Jacob Jones, Spencer Harrison, and Jeremy Bowen. Jones left the band without a keyboardist when he left the band in January 2015.
The band formed in 2007 and was known as Good Morning Maxfield at that time. In 2009, the name of the band was changed to Fictionist and their first album Invisible Hand was released. The band won an Independent Music Award for Best Pop/Rock Song for their single “Invisible Hand” from the album, and their song “Noisy Birds” was featured in Season 6 and 7 of the PBS program Roadtrip Nation. They have toured nationally and have opened for acts including Imagine Dragons, Vampire Weekend, Neon Trees, Young the Giant, and Shiny Toy Guns.
The band’s first official music video was directed and animated by artist Eric Power, and unveiled via Lasting Echo, their second album which was released in 2010. The music video for the single “Blue-eyed Universe” was featured at the 2010 Tucson Film and Music Festival, and Paste Magazine selected Lasting Echo as the April 2010 VIP bonus album. In 2011, Fictionist received another Independent Music Award for Best Pop/Rock Song for the single “Blue-Eyed Universe.” The album cover to Lasting Echo was also nominated for Pop/Rock Album and Best Album Art.
On Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, on 15 February 2011, the announcement was made that Fictionist would be one of 16 bands to participate in the Rolling Stone Magazine “Do You Wanna Be A Rock ‘n Roll Star” contest. They spent a week in New York City where they performed live for Rolling Stone staff members, representatives from Atlantic Records, and corporate sponsors. During round 2 of the competition they recorded two new tracks with producer David Bendeth. They were eliminated in round 4 of the competition as semifinalists.
In the fall of 2011, Fictionist signed with Atlantic records and released a 6-track EP titled Fictionist – EP. In 2012, the band announced that it had recorded an album produced by Grammy nominated producer Ron Aniello and engineered by Nick DiDia for Atlantic Records. The album was recorded at the historic Hollywood Sunset Sound Recorders. The band also announced that they used a guitar once played by Elvis Presley on one of his albums during the recording session. Neither Fictionist nor Atlantic liked the album so it was never released.
The band decided to record an album independent of Atlantic Records and produced by Nate Pyfer. They released their third album Fictionist at the Provo Rooftop Concert Series on 3 October 2014, in gratitude to their local fans. The album was released nationally on 7 October 2014.
Fictionist toured with Imagine Dragons in 2013 and 2014. Robbie Connolly also appears in the Imagine Dragons music video for “On Top of the World.” In 2015, the band toured with Mates of State and on a summer east-coast tour with Neon Trees (13 June – 26 July). They were named 2015 Salt Lake City Weekly Best Band Winner, and were also the subject of an episode of BYUTV’s “The Song That Changed My Life.”
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