History
Folly was conceived at the early stages of their collective high school era, circa 1997. Despite frequent member changes early on, the persistence and heavy stress on friendship remained throughout all of the years; Agim and Geoff being the only two original members currently in the band. Former members include Josh Witt (drums), Billy Pouch (bass), Kurt Rohel (drums), Larry Braun (vocals), and Tony Perdisatt (vocals).
Jon Tummillo joined at vocals in 1998, and Arben Colaku, Agim's brother, joined at bass a year later. With a somewhat solidified lineup, Folly was able to release their first decent effort, recorded at Nada Studio in Orange County, NY. Prior efforts at recording were merely basic representations for the band to express more of a DIY attitude, with demo tapes copied over on each of their stereos and handed out at shows. They began to get the word out, frequently playing the NJ and tri-state area, until they met up with Jesse and Alex Burton (formerly of President Lemon and currently in Paulson) who headed up their small NJ indie label New World Records.
Before they recorded their first EP for New World Records & Entertainment, When "For My Friends" was released at the beginning of the summer of 2001, they packed their lives into a rented van to tour with their friends Face First (current members of Houston Calls), living on the road for a couple of weeks in a rented van. This was the first attempt to book their own tour, which for the most part entailed them playing for little to no one, at very odd venues, in equally as strange cities up and down the east coast. Regardless, this experience helped them gain insight to a life on the road, which they all subsequently yearned for.
The acquisition of Anthony Wille behind the drums was the final step into securing a stable lineup before Folly began to journey out of their regional area and see the rest of the country. In the early summer time of 2002, Folly met up with producer Sal Vilanueva and the team at Big Blue Meenie, where they had been a year prior to mix their EP. With the help of Sal, engineer Joe Pedulla, and Tim Gilles, Folly was able to record a three-song (unreleased) effort. The demo featured guest and backing vocals from members of Shai Hulud, who were in the studio at the time, labeling Folly as "Death Ska." A couple of tours ensued, and following an intense show presented by the Stevens Underground Music Awareness Committee (SUMAC) at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ with Converge, The Survivors, and A Life Once Lost, the band was approached by Fred Feldman, owner of Triple Crown Records.
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)