The Black Maria was formed in 2003, based out of the Greater Toronto Area in Canada. Band members include vocalist Chris Gray, guitarists Alan Nacinovic and Scott Swain, keyboard and bassist Mike De Eyre, drummer Theo McKibbon and Terry Grayston editor and vocals. They signed with Victory Records in 2004 and recorded their debut, "Lead Us To Reason", at Signal To Noise Studios with producer Mike Green. Lead Us to Reason was released on January 25, 2005. Lead us to Reason did well for an independent release, selling upwards of 50,000 copies and opening the door to tours with several successful bands. The band has been through some turmoil, losing guitarist Kyle Bishop, ex-frontman for Grade, as well as drummer Derek Petrella, Ex Damn 13 member Mike Charette briefly played with The Black Maria for a handful of tour dates following the departure of Bishop. They released their new album, A Shared History of Tragedy, in the US on September 5, 2006. The release date for Canada was pushed back to September 19, 2006. The second album, written and produced by Scott and Theo in the band, sold slightly less than Lead Us To Reason but was received very warmly by critics in contrast to the mixed reviews of its predecessor. CD Artwork was done by Oliver Nacinovic. The Black Maria was a winner of Yahoo! Music's "Who's Next?" at LAUNCHcast. Adam Veselisin played drums on the "Who's Next" video. Veselisin was asked to fill in for Derek Petrella for a Zao/Juliana Theory & Rise Against/Alexisonfire tour after he had suffered a broken arm. Petrella soon returned after just four weeks in April 2005. Each member of the band has a long history of music in their lives before forming the band. The band was named after the notorious vans used by police to transport prisoners in the early 20th century. Their first show was in Toronto in 2003. The band has played with Queens of the Stone Age, MxPx, The Distillers, Goldfinger, Paramore, Alexisonfire, Rise Against, Silverstein, The Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms, Chevelle, Taproot, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and joined Evanescence on their Canadian tour in January 2007 which also included Stone Sour. The band announced in mid-2007 that they would no longer be actively recording or touring. Some of the members remain active with various music projects and music production endeavors.
