Kevin Gruft or Kevin Thrash or Kevin "Thrasher" Gruft (born May 5, 1988) is an American guitarist and music producer from Albany, New York, known for being the former lead guitarist of the rock bands Escape the Fate and LoveHateHero. He released two studio albums with LoveHateHero and three studio albums with Escape The Fate since joining the band in late 2013 until his departure in early 2021.
Kevin Gruft | |
|---|---|
 Gruft performing with Escape the Fate in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Thrasher, KThrash |
| Born | May 5, 1988 Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | The Take Away |
| Formerly of | Escape the Fate, The Dead Rabbitts, LoveHateHero |
| Children | 1 |
As a music producer and engineer, he has worked with artists such as Machine Gun Kelly,[2] Gwen Stefani,[3] Avril Lavigne[4] and Blink-182.[5]
Biography
editKevin Gruft began playing guitar at the age of 8.[6] At the age of 17, he joined the band LoveHateHero after a tour in New York, as the band was in search of a guitarist. After 5 years with the band and two studio albums, LoveHateHero disbanded in 2011. That year, he joined The Dead Rabbitts, the side-project of Escape The Fate singer, Craig Mabbitt. In late 2013, brothers Monte Money and Michael Money announced their departure from Escape The Fate to focus on their new project. Craig Mabbitt contacted Kevin to help them on the Ungrateful tour, becoming an official member soon after.[7]
Escape The Fate
editIn early 2015, the band, along with Gruft, entered the studio with producer Howard Benson to record their fifth album titled "Hate Me". The album would release later that year and chart at No. 58 on the Billboard 200. Gruft played a significant role in writing the album,[8] with the band demoing around 40 songs at his apartment in Los Angeles.[9][10] As Max Green had recently left the band, Gruft and fellow guitarist TJ Bell ended up playing bass on the album. After the release of the album, the band embarked on a headlining tour with A Skylit Drive, Sworn In, Sirens and Sailors and Myka Relocate[11] In 2016, they covered the My Chemical Romance song, "Dead!", for a Rock Sound tribute of The Black Parade.[12]
On November 3, 2017, the band released the first single, "Empire", from their new album, I Am Human, which was set to be released on February 16, 2018,[13][14] but later postponed to March 30, 2018.[15] The band's single "Broken Heart" peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart.[16]
On April 16, 2021, the band released Chemical Warfare, which he co-produced with John Feldmann,[17] which would mark the last album before his departure to focus on production work.
Discography
editWith LoveHateHero
- White Lies (2007)
- America Underwater (2009)
With The Dead Rabbitts
- Edge of Reality (EP) (2012)
With Escape the Fate
- Hate Me (2015)
- I Am Human (2018)
- Chemical Warfare (2021)
With The Take Away
- Sad About Nothing (Single, 2020)
- Catch Me (Single, 2020)
Producer
editGruft started producing albums at a studio in Hollywood called STRZ Enterprises, producing songs with pop artists including Disney and Nickelodeon star Zendaya.[18] He co-produced Escape The Fate's sixth album, I Am Human, as well as their seventh album, Chemical Warfare, with renowned producer John Feldmann.[19] He currently works with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker as an engineer at his home studio in Calabasas, California. In this studio, he engineered Machine Gun Kelly's critically acclaimed album Tickets To My Downfall along with Barker, which would go on to peak at #1 in the Billboard 200 charts.[20] He would engineer Blink-182 comeback song "Edging" in 2023, playing with Mark Hoppus and Barker on the latest's ‘House of Horrors’ pay-per-view live broadcast.[21][22][23] Other credits include working with pop artists Gwen Stefani on her song "True Babe",[24] and Avril Lavigne on her albumLove Sux,[25] with whom he played on a performance of "Bite Me" at The Ellen Degeneres Show.[26]
Production discography
edit| Released | Album | Artist | Credit[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Edge of Tomorrow | Iann Dior | Producer, Composer |
| 2023 | One More Time... | Blink-182 | Engineer |
| 2023 | Out of the Shadows | Escape the Fate | Composer |
| 2023 | To the Wolves & Taste for Blood | Stitched Up Heart | Producer, Composer |
| 2023 | Whitsitt Chapel | Jelly Roll | Bass, Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 2023 | True Babe | Gwen Stefani | Producer, Engineer |
| 2023 | Illenium | Illenium | Composer |
| 2023 | She | Jelly Roll | Bass, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Recording, Vocals (Background) |
| 2023 | Maybe | Bring Me the Horizon / Machine Gun Kelly | Engineer |
| 2022 | emo girl | Machine Gun Kelly | Engineer |
| 2022 | Mainstream Sellout | Machine Gun Kelly | Engineer |
| 2022 | Love Sux | Avril Lavigne | Engineer |
| 2022 | In Loving Memory | Blackbear | Engineer |
| 2022 | Cowboy Tears | Oliver Tree | Engineer |
| 2022 | Love It When You Hate Me | Avril Lavigne | Engineer |
| 2022 | Don’t Make Sense | Caspr | Mixing |
| 2022 | Criminal | Kat Leigh | Drums, Engineer, Producer, Programmer |
| 2022 | Bois Lie | Avril Lavigne | Engineer |
| 2022 | No Sleep Till Tokyo | Miyavi | Composer |
| 2021 | Sad Looks Pretty on Me | RIVALS | Producer, Composer |
| 2021 | papercuts | Machine Gun Kelly | Engineer |
| 2021 | Follow Your Nightmares | Daemon Grey | Guitar, Producer |
| 2021 | Love Race | Machine Gun Kelly / Sleeping with Sirens | Engineer |
| 2021 | Chemical Warfare | Escape the Fate | Bass, Engineer, Producer |
| 2020 | Weird! | Yungblud | Engineer |
| 2020 | Tickets to My Downfall | Machine Gun Kelly | Engineer, Mixing, Vocals (Background) |
| 2020 | Pegasus | Trippie Redd | Engineer, Mixing |
| 2020 | Acting Like That | Yungblud | Engineer |
| 2019 | The Space Between the Shadows | Scott Stapp | Additional Production |
| 2019 | Supernova | RIVALS | Producer, Composer |
| 2019 | Tears on Fire | Miyavi | Composer |
| 2019 | On to Better Things | Iann Dior | Composer, Producer |
| 2018 | Iridescent | Whitney Peyton | Mixing, Producer |
| 2018 | Coming In Hot | Diamante | Composer |
| 2018 | I Am Human | Escape the Fate | Bass, Programming, Engineer, Producer |
| 2017 | Stones | Manafest | Guitar |
| 2017 | This Emptiness | The Dead Rabbitts | Guitar, Composer, Producer, Mixing, Mastering |
| 2015 | Hate Me | Escape the Fate | Bass, Programming, Engineer |
References
edit- ^ Aarons, Ricky (21 April 2021). "Thrasher – 'Escaping The Fate of Musical Limits And Shaping An Album'". Wall Of Sound. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ "We are incredibly happy and proud to congratulate our own Kevin Thrasher for generating the opportunities and achieving the success and the results that he truly deserves! With 126,000 units (63,000 p... ⋆ UAC Management". UAC Management. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ Spanos, Brittany (23 June 2023). "Gwen Stefani Returns With Romantic Bop 'True Babe'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ "Love Sux - Avril Lavigne | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ "blink-182 - Edging". 14 October 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ^ "Kevin 'Thrasher' Gruft - Escape The Fate". www.astonmics.com.
- ^ "Escape The Fate's Monte Money steps away from tour | Under the Gun Review". Under the Gun Review. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ Crane, Matt (21 August 2015). "In the studio with Escape The Fate: Craig Mabbitt talks 'Hate Me'". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ "ESCAPE THE FATE To Release 'Hate Me' Album In October". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ Wendowski, Andrew (13 December 2015). "Thrasher Talks Escape The Fate, New Album HATE ME, And The Meaning of "Just A Memory"". Music Mayhem Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ Zadrozny, Anya (18 August 2015). "Escape the Fate Announce New Album 'Hate Me' + Fall Tour". Loudwire. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ "Introducing… 'Rock Sound Presents: The Black Parade'". Rock Sound. August 8, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
- ^ "Escape the Fate announce new album". Alternative Press. November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
- ^ "Escape The Fate Build an 'Empire' on New Song, Announce Album". Loudwire. 2 November 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "Escape The Fate's New Album "I Am Human" Delayed To March". February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
- ^ "Escape the Fate Chart History". Billboard.
- ^ "ESCAPE THE FATE unleash explosive new album CHEMICAL WARFARE & new music video -". Amnplify. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ^ "Kevin 'Thrasher' Gruft - Escape The Fate". www.astonmics.com. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ "Escape The Fate release new album 'Chemical Warfare' and video for 'Lightning Strike'". Music-News.com. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (4 October 2020). "Machine Gun Kelly Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Tickets to My Downfall'". Billboard. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ "EDGING".
- ^ Krol, Charlotte (1 November 2021). "Watch Mark Hoppus perform Blink-182 songs for first time since cancer battle". NME.
- ^ Brooks, Dave (30 October 2021). "Travis Barker Rocks With Avril Lavigne, Machine Gun Kelly & Mark Hoppus at Star-Studded House of Horrors Concert". Billboard. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ^ Spanos, Brittany (23 June 2023). "Gwen Stefani Returns With Romantic Bop 'True Babe'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ^ "Love Sux - Avril Lavigne | Credits | AllMusic". Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ^ "Avril Lavigne performs her new single "Bite Me" with Travis Barker on 'Ellen'". HOLA. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
Notes
edit- ^ For albums, it indicates the credit for at least one song. "Engineer" also refers to related credits such as "Additional engineering", etc.