Biography
Not to be confused with the Los Angeles-based '80s techno-pop/new wave trio Berlin, the Berlin Project formed in 1995 as an alternative pop-rock outfit rooted in the Pittsburgh, PA, music community. Lead guitarist John Garrighan, then only 14, assembled the group, which experienced frequent personnel shifts and stylistic overhauls across its existence. Its earliest incarnation delivered bratty ska-punk in the vein of Reel Big Fish and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, an approach documented on the debut album Running for the Border, issued by Sour Records, and the follow-up Culture Clash, both arriving in the late '90s. The band shifted direction with The Transition Radio EP, tracked between 1999 and 2000 and released on Try Again Records, retaining a punk edge yet embracing emo/punk-pop reminiscent of blink-182, Green Day, the Sloppy Meateaters, and Sunny Day Real Estate. The EP featured Garrighan on lead guitar and background vocals alongside Brian Camp on rhythm guitar, Brad Evanovich on bass and background vocals, Aaron Mediate on keyboards, and Nick Revak on drums, with additional contributions from fellow Pennsylvanians Steve Sobloslai on lead vocals and rhythm guitar plus Jeremiah Momper on rhythm guitar. Three years afterward, a fresh roster and a more mature, polished alternative pop-rock sound emerged on The Things We Say, captured in 2003—the year following the band's North American Warped Tour stint—and issued that September by Orange Peal. Garrighan, Mediate, and Revak now collaborated with new lead singer Jon Belan, who also played rhythm guitar, and new bassist Chuck Rocka; Belan's non-bratty delivery aligned with the thoughtful, sensitive tone Garrighan, then 22, sought. Additional touring supported the album until the Berlin Project disbanded after a decade in fall 2005, closing with a final performance that October at Mr. Smalls Theater in their hometown. Belan subsequently joined Pittsburgh peers Punchline.
Albums
