/ / / Relient K

MOVING : GATLINBURG 1 / GATLINBURG 2 / PIGEON FORGE / GATLINBURG 3

Relient K has become very well acquitted with a touring lifestyle, being on the road on average 150-200 dates a year. Touring has been a key element to the band's development of their fan base and strong record sales. Being a part of tours featuring bands such as Switchfoot, The O.C. Supertones, Five Iron Frenzy among others, have helped to put the band in front of over a million people to date. In addition, Relient K has ventured out on two very successful headlining tours. The name "Relient K" is from Hoopes' K car. You can see a picture of the car in the photo gallery under the "media" link.

Both Matts and Brian grew up as casual friends. They went to the same church. Sophomore/Freshman year, they all started playing guitars for youth group worship on Wednesday nights. All three of them were really into MxPx, Ghoti Hook, Slickshoes, Plankeye, and other bands like that. With those immediate influences, the guys decided to start the band. That was the fall of 1997. They found a drummer named Todd Frescone, and he played with the band for about a year. In Feb. 1998, Relient K recorded an independent demo with Mark Townsend. It was crappy but fun to have recorded music. The guys just went to school and played a bunch of shows. Some were a lot better than others. In August 1998 Gotee records showed interest in the band. A demo deal was set into place, and the band started working really heard to try and set things in motion to start full-time. The self-titled debut was finished in August of 1999, and was released 4/28/00. From there on, Relient K started touring regularly. After a few drumming changes, Dave Douglas took the permanent role in December of 2000.