Biography

A hard-hitting post-grunge/hard rock unit in the vein of Alice in Chains, Staind, and Godsmack, Jackson, Tennessee's Full Devil Jacket was founded in 1997 under the moniker the Voodoo Hippies. Comprised of frontman Josh Brown, guitarists Michael Reaves and Jon Montoya, bassist Kevin Bebout, and drummer Keith Foster, the band issued a pair of independent releases before inking a deal with Def Jam and changing their name. The newly minted Full Devil Jacket appeared at Woodstock 1999 shortly before issuing their major-label debut EP, A Wax Box. The band's eponymous debut long-player, released in 2000, would go Gold, but while on tour with Creed, Brown nearly died from a drug overdose, and the band went on a very long hiatus. The group reunited for a one-off performance in 2010 at a benefit for guitarist Reaves, who was battling cancer, and after Reaves' untimely death, Brown and co-founder/drummer Keith Foster decided to resurrect the group in his honor. Guitarist Paul Varnick and bass player Moose Douglass joined the band shortly thereafter, and a deal with Entertainment One Music was struck, resulting in the 2015 release of the group's long-awaited sophomore outing Valley of Bones. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi