Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional is an acoustic emo outfit led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Carrabba, who is from Boca Raton, Florida, USA (though he was born in Connecticut). Carrabba taught himself how to play guitar beginning at the age of 15, although skateboarding remained his main interest throughout high school. During the mid- to late 90s, Carrabba played in local hardcore/punk outfits such as the Vacant Andys, the Agency, and Further Seems Forever, before he began doing low-key, acoustic-based shows on his own. For a while the project went nameless, until Carrabba decided to borrow a line from one of his songs (The Sharp Hint Of New Tears), resulting in the name Dashboard Confessional.
Signing with the small indie label Fiddler, Carrabba issued his debut recording in 2000, the three-track EP The Drowning, following it up shortly thereafter with Swiss Army Romance. The album was soon re-issued via Drive Thru Records, which led to a significant buzz among the emo underground and bidding wars between several labels. Carrabba eventually decided to sign with Vagrant Records, who in turn released Dashboard Confessional's second album, 2001's The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most, as well as the four-track EP, So Impossible, the latter of which featured accompaniment by former Sunny Day Real Estate guitarist/vocalist Dan Hoerner. In spring 2002, Dashboard Confessional issued the Summer's Kiss EP, which included four of Carrabba's favourite tracks from Swiss Army Romance, re-recorded with a full band. After, Chris had presented an MTV acoustic session resulting in a CD from MTV Unplugged. Dashboard Confessional made their anticipated breakthrough into the US mainstream the following year, with A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar entering the Billboard 200 at number 2. In 2004, Dashboard Confessional gained another hit with their song "Vindicated" from the Spiderman 2 soundtrack.
Chris's (Dashboard Confessional before the other members were added) first tour was with a screamo band "Boy Sets Fire" which isn't really the same type of music that Chris sings, but most of the people at the show knew his lyrics. During his set there was a lot of crowd interaction and people singing and crying. Since then hes become mainstream with his "band" and doesn't really do shows like that anymore.