Splashdown (band)

Splashdown
Origin	United States
Genres	Pop rock
Years active	1996–2001
Labels	Castle von Buhler Records, later signed to Capitol Records
Members	Melissa Kaplan Adam von Buhler Kasson Crooker

Splashdown was an American pop rock band formed in 1996 in Allston, Massachusetts. The group disbanded in 2001; their last show was at the release party for the debut CD of Freezepop on February 2 of that year.

Splashdown consisted of singer/pianist Melissa Kaplan, electronic programmer Kasson Crooker, and guitarist/bassist Adam Buhler. The trio increased in size to a five- or six-piece group for live shows; these line-ups frequently included drummer Jason Sakos and guitarist Trevor Shand. Buhler and Crooker were in another female-fronted band in the mid-1990s, Sirensong. After the demise of this band, Buhler's then-wife Cynthia von Buhler (née Carrozza), with whom Adam co-owned Castle von Buhler Records, introduced him and Crooker to singer Kaplan, who had previously been a back-up singer for Cynthia's band Women of Sodom. With Cynthia as their manager, Splashdown was formed in 1996, playing their first live show on March 29, and their 7-inch vinyl record Pandora / Deserter was released the same year.

Their first full-length album, Stars and Garters, came in 1997, featuring nine tracks, including "Pandora" and "Deserter". That same year, the track "50%" appeared on Nigh, a compilation album released by Castle von Buhler. This was followed by the Halfworld EP in 1998, which contained four new songs and a reworked version of the Stars and Garters track "Beguiled", entitled "Beguiled Mark II". After their initial studio and tour success, Splashdown was signed to Glen Ballard's Java Records, an imprint of Capitol Records, which released a five-track EP in 1999, Redshift, that quickly sold out. Yet for reasons largely unknown, although troubles between Ballard and Capitol are partially to blame, Capitol never released their next full-length album, Blueshift. This album, co-produced by the band and engineer Bryan Carrigan and featuring two songs co-written by Ballard, included the five songs on Redshift, five old songs with new mixes that did not appear on Redshift (including "Games You Play", a reworking of the Stars and Garters song "Paradox"), and six all-new songs. The problems Splashdown endured with Capitol prompted the band to independently compile another full-length album, Possibilities, which included demos and previously released work that was not owned by Capitol. Around this time, members of Splashdown's mailing list received notice that any orders from their online store would include a free "bonus item," which was not specified in any further detail. A few days later, emails began returning from fans that indicated the bonus item was a copy of Blueshift, burned on a CD-R with a white label and plain text track listing. Blueshift and Possibilities are now widely available from numerous download sites. Unfortunately, fearing Capitol would own any future songs and lacking energy after their fight with their label, the band members announced in 2001 that they were on an "indefinite hiatus" and later stated that their time as Splashdown had ended.

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