VERIDIA is a Christian alternative rock band founded in Nashville, TN in 2013. The current lineup is Deena Jakoub (vocals) Brandon Brown (guitar) and Kyle Levy (drums).
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Beginnings []
VERIDIA formed when Deena Jakoub (vocals) and Brandon Brown (guitar) moved from Dallas to Nashville after the end of their previous band Don't Wake Aislin, in late 2012. They then recruited Trevor Hinesley (guitar) and Kyle Levy (drums) to round out the quartet (unnamed at the time) in December 2012. They do not have a bassist as a permanent band member in the band, nor do they have one performing in a live setting. Sometimes Brandon will play bass on some of the songs in concert.
In early 2013, the group began writing and demoing songs with various co-writers and producers in Nashville while trying to determine what they would name their newly formed group. They eventually settled on VERIDIA, a combination of the words "veritas" (Latin for "truth") and "veridical" (also meaning "truth"). Of the name, Jakoub says, "VERIDIA means 'of truth.' It's our creed, to strive for raw honesty in all that we do, being true to ourselves, the ones we love and in our music." They call the naming process one of the biggest early challenges the band had overcome. In a Q&A at Pulse Radio headquarters in 2016, guitarist Hinesley stated that the name for the band was almost "Aviara". "We had the dumbest band names in the world," he said. "Don't hire us if you need a band name!"
Inseparable EP[]
Before recording Inseparable, the band wrote more than 80 songs trying to develop their sound and find their identity as a young band. Of those songs, they eventually narrowed the list down to 5 songs they would take into the studio with three different producers, a process which was very difficult.
On February 4, 2014, VERIDIA released an album trailer video on YouTube and launched an iTunes pre-order with "We Are the Brave" as an instant free track. And on February 24, the band partnered with HM Magazine to stream the album the day before it was released. The Dave Ramsey Show also played "We Are The Brave" months before it was released when Deena and her husband, Michael Henry, were featured on the show.
VERIDIA was tapped to open Suburbia Music Festival in Plano, TX on May 4, 2014. The festival was the band's second show ever and first show in the Dallas metroplex, hometown of Jakoub and Brown.
A music video for "Disconnected" was filmed in Austin, TX with director Traci Goudie the week of May 5, 2014 and later released on July 21, 2014. The band reportedly painted their own props for the shoot. VERIDIA went on their first tour as the opening act for Red & Demon Hunter in August 2014.
VERIDIA went to New Orleans, LA on Halloween 2014 to open another music festival, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience.
VERIDIA served as the opening act on Winter Jam West 2014 boasting attendance of 112,000 fans over nine shows across arenas in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. They then opened for the East 2015 leg of the tour, playing 47 shows in arenas across the east coast, midwest, and south. They gained a lot of fans from this opportunity.
Pretty Lies EP[]
In mid-2015, the group released a set of five videos of acoustic songs not on the "Inseparable" EP, titled Summer Sessions. In April 2016, they released these songs as a free download called Summer Sessions, Vol. I. The music videos for each of these songs were filmed by Trevor's friend, a videographer, and were filmed in a 24-hour period.
In 2015, they released their second EP, Pretty Lies. The title track featured vocals from Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire. Deena wanted a male voice to sing on this track to say that men go through the pressures of society as well as women. The music video was released on March 10, 2016 and a commentary video, featuring Jakoub, and filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, was also released. In the video, Deena said she originally wanted choreography, with a full line of dancers, for the video.
In late 2015, VERIDIA began their first headlining tour, the "Only The Crazy Survive Tour". For their tour, VERIDIA partnered with Mocha Club, an organization committed to helping people in Africa. "I am honored to be able to partner with an organization like Mocha Club who is helping change the lives of women in Ethiopia," said Jakoub. "The work Mocha Club does is close to my heart and something I've been passionate about for years, spreading awareness to end the sex trade that tragically spans our world. To use our tour and be able to share the stories of these women and support them directly is just a start, and we're so proud to stand with them in their triumph."
In 2016, they went on a summer tour with band Random Hero and ILIA. At the end of that tour, Deena played a prank on Random Hero's frontman Aaron Watkins where she asked him if he wanted coffee, but instead he drank coffee grounds. That September, they also played at Night of Joy for the second year in a row.
Full Length Album []
On September 16, 2016, the band released "Still Breathing", the first single from an upcoming full-length album, stated at being released in 2017. The song was released to radio on September 23. Being previously recorded on the Summer Sessions EP, it was rerecorded as full band electric song for the release.
On October 22, 2016, the band announced that Trevor Hinesley was leaving to focus on health and to spend more time with his family. "This is a decision that was not taken lightly, and we fully support and respect his reasons for making this change. He will always be our brother, and we’ll still be spending plenty of time with him when we’re home," stated the band on their Facebook account. Hinesley would not join the band for their tour with Evanescence, but would play with them on the Christmas Rock Night in Germany in December, the band's first international show. On October 28, the band went on tour with Evanescence, opening in Dallas, Texas. On October 31, 2016, they released a music video for "Still Breathing", filmed in a haunted house in Nashville, Tennessee.
Trivia []
VERIDIA has been nominated for the Dove Awards twice: once in 2014 with We Are The Brave for Rock Song of the Year and again in 2015 with Furious Love for Rock Song of the Year. Both times they lost to Skillet.
VERIDIA has won four We Love Christian Music Awards: once in 2014 for Best New Group and again in 2015 with Best Lead Vocalist (Deena Jakoub), Best EP (Pretty Lies) and the write-in Fan Impact Award for 2015.
VERIDIA performed their sing Tightrope at the 2015 Dove Awards.