Title Fight

Title Fight

Title Fight was an American rock band from Kingston, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. They released 3 studio albums – Shed (2011), Floral Green (2012) and Hyperview (2015) – gradually shifting from a hardcore punk-oriented sound towards an emphasis on mellow atmospheres. Hyperview was released through ANTI-, a record label to which the band signed in July 2014.

Title Fight formed in 2003 as a three-piece band consisting of Jamie Rhoden on guitar and vocals, Ned Russin on bass and Ned’s twin brother Ben on drums, playing local shows in Kingston and Wilkes-Barre, PA. Ned Russin claims his older brother, Alex Russin is a huge influence in their formation of Title Fight. Their name came from the cover of an old HBO showtime guide that Ned had read in the attic when he was younger. In addition to popular punk bands, Rhoden claims the Positive Numbers Fest (an annual hardcore/punk music festival in Wilkes-Barre, PA) was an influence on the band’s formation.The band produced a demo entitled “Down for the Count” in 2003 that is still available on the internet.

In 2005, the band added Shane Moran on second guitar and recorded two demos in 2005 and 2006, during which they played shows in what they call a “small, tight-knit community” around Kingston, PA. These included several shows at the Doylestown, PA YMCA Teen Center.

They recorded a split with the Erection Kids in 2007 on FlightPlan Records. Members of the Erection Kids later went on to form Balance And Composure. The band quickly followed up their first release with the Kingston 7″ (also on FlightPlan Records) in February 2008. Title Fight played with Fireworks on their tour with Set Your Goals Summer of 2007, ultimately leading to Jeff’s (owner of Run For Cover Records) discovery of Title Fight. On October 16, 2008, it was announced that the band had signed to Run for Cover Records. The Last Thing You Forget 7″ was recorded in December 2008 at the Getaway Group in Massachusetts with Jay Maas and released in June 2009 on Run for Cover Records. The 7″ featured three new songs while the CD release featured all of their releases to date. The artwork for the album was done by John Slaby, a friend from Wilkes-Barre. Later in June, the band went on tour with Crime in Stereo and Fireworks. This was followed by a US tour with New Found Glory. The Kingston EP has also been re-released on Six Feet Under Records with Dave Sausage in order to revamp the EP. During these years, Title Fight altered their sounds to a more Melodic hardcore genre, with influences including Knapsack, Jawbreaker, and the Promise Ring.

On January 19, 2011, Title Fight signed to SideOneDummy Records and announced they had finished recording their debut full-length, produced by Walter Schreifels (Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, and Rival Schools) and engineered by Will Yip at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA. The band will also embark on their first headline tour in 2011 with the Menzingers, Touche Amore, Dead End Path and Shook Ones.

The band released their new album, Shed, on May 3, 2011. On February 10, they released a new song off Shed for free download entitled 27 and Shed’s album artwork. On February 23, SideOneDummy posted pre-orders for a new Title Fight 7″ called “Flood of ’72”. The 7″ featured the song from Shed along with an acoustic version of the song, and was released on April 12.

On May 20, 2011 it was announced that Title Fight would play their first Australian tour with Touché Amoré in September 2011.After finishing the AP Fall Tour 2011, Title Fight embarked on a 22 date European tour, starting November 28, 2011, visiting France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, the UK and finishing in Ireland with a final show in Dublin. They were joined by Balance And Composure and Transit for the tour.

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