The Movielife formed in 1997 in Long Island, New York with vocalist Vinnie Caruana, guitarists Alex Amiruddin and Eddie Reyes, bassist Nick Ghanbarian and drummer Evan Baken. The band recorded a tape titled Red Demo with Mike Sapone. Reyes left the group to form Runner Up and subsequently Taking Back Sunday. He was replaced by Dave O'Connell, who in turn would leave shortly afterwards to form the Quick Fix Kills, subsequently being replaced by Brandon Reilly. Ghanbarian then left the group and was replaced by Phil Navetta. Ghanbarian would later join Bayside. In 1998, the band recorded another demo tape, titled the White Demo. The demo caught the attention of Fadeway Records, with whom the band signed a one-album contract. The band recorded their debut album with Peng Chia at Tin Pan Alley Studios. It's Go Time was released through Fadeaway Records in September 1999 and was supported by heavy touring. With the band's growing popularity, they almost signed with Equal Vision Records, however they instead signed with Revelation Records. The band recorded their second album with producer Brian McTernan at Salad Days Studio in Washington, DC. This Time Next Year was released through Revelation Records in October 2000, with touring alongside New Found Glory and Glassjaw to promote it. In 2001, the Movielife signed to Drive-Thru Records, and released to Has a Gambling Problem EP in November of the same year. During the recording of the follow-up full length, Amiruddin quit to start Keep Breathing. Amiruddin explained that he "grew disenchanted with the new direction of the music, and my friendships with the other guys in the band suffered for various reasons". He was replaced by Dan Navetta, Phil's younger brother. In 2003, Forty Hour Train Back to Penn was released, and the Movielife again set out on tour in support of the effort. The album reached number 164 on the Billboard 200. On September 29, a note on the band's website revealed that the Movielife had decided to break up.
Reunions (2008–present)
Most of the members of the Movielife formed other bands; Caruana formed I Am the Avalanche, Reilly formed Nightmare of You, in which Phil Navetta also played briefly, but has since left and currently resides in Queens, NY. Dan Navetta founded Heavy Rescue and a media company, while Baken worked in business management. In 2008, Caruana performed a set of the Movielife with Set Your Goals backing at The Bamboozle festival. On December 16, 2010 a video was posted on Caruana's YouTube account featuring himself and Reilly, announcing that the Movielife will be playing at The Bamboozle in New Jersey, marking their first performance in almost 8 years. They followed this up with a show in New York in August. Caruana remarked in 2015 the group had planned to continue, however, he " think was ready. I don’t think Brandon was ready. The timing was wrong -- we were trying to force it, but our lives weren’t there yet". Also in 2011, Amiruddin joined Wiretap Crash. Caruana and Reilly re-connected as friends and shortly afterwards began talking about a potential the Movielife reunion. The band subsequently began rehearsing in December 2014, performing their first shows since 2011 in New York City at Irving Plaza in February 2015. Asked whether a new album would be released, Caruana said he would "never rule that out". The Movielife performed several additional shows in the US later in the year, including an appearance at Today's Mixtape Festival, as well as a tour of the UK in June. In March 2016, Caruana revealed that the band were in the process of writing new material. The following month, the band released "Future Feeling " as a single. In 2017, the group performed at Slam Dunk Festival in the UK. All promotional materials posted to the band's Twitter after the 2016 Presidential election feature only Brett Romnes, Brandon and Vinnie, implying they are the only current members of the band. The band's fourth album, Cities in Search of a Heart was released in September 2017 through Rise Records. In May and June 2018, the band supported New Found Glory on their Sick Tour in the US.
