Biography
Born in Long Island, New York, Vinnie Caruana built a reputation as an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist chiefly through his leadership of the pop-punk outfit the Movielife and the post-hardcore group I Am the Avalanche. He launched his songwriting path in 1997 by stepping in as the Movielife’s frontman. A series of well-received basement performances accelerated the band’s visibility and paved the way for their first album, It’s Go Time, issued in 1999. Caruana stayed with the group four years, contributing to This Time Next Year in 2000 and Forty Hour Train Back to Penn in 2003. Mounting friction after a traffic accident during a 2001 tour ultimately prompted the band’s dissolution by the end of 2003.
Following a short period with fellow Long Island rockers Head Automatica, he founded the post-hardcore ensemble I Am the Avalanche. The new project highlighted the full reach of his songwriting, with lyrics and arrangements that captured angst, passion, and frustration. The band issued its self-titled debut in 2005 and the follow-up Avalanche United in 2011, both earning broad praise. Around that period he also joined the Los Angeles hardcore act Peace’d Out, which released its self-titled debut EP in 2012.
Early in 2013 Caruana delivered his first solo recording, City by the Sea, an EP that retained his signature traits yet placed them in an acoustic-punk setting. The next year he resumed frontman duties, issuing Wolverine with I Am the Avalanche in 2014. In 2015 he rejoined the Movielife for a modest nationwide reunion tour that later extended to several shows in the U.K.
His debut full-length solo album, Survivor’s Guilt, appeared on Equal Vision Records in 2016. The record restored a complete band texture in place of the stripped-down acoustic approach of his prior EP, blending acoustic and electronic elements while featuring contributions from former I Am the Avalanche associates and Steve Choi of RX Bandits.
Following a short period with fellow Long Island rockers Head Automatica, he founded the post-hardcore ensemble I Am the Avalanche. The new project highlighted the full reach of his songwriting, with lyrics and arrangements that captured angst, passion, and frustration. The band issued its self-titled debut in 2005 and the follow-up Avalanche United in 2011, both earning broad praise. Around that period he also joined the Los Angeles hardcore act Peace’d Out, which released its self-titled debut EP in 2012.
Early in 2013 Caruana delivered his first solo recording, City by the Sea, an EP that retained his signature traits yet placed them in an acoustic-punk setting. The next year he resumed frontman duties, issuing Wolverine with I Am the Avalanche in 2014. In 2015 he rejoined the Movielife for a modest nationwide reunion tour that later extended to several shows in the U.K.
His debut full-length solo album, Survivor’s Guilt, appeared on Equal Vision Records in 2016. The record restored a complete band texture in place of the stripped-down acoustic approach of his prior EP, blending acoustic and electronic elements while featuring contributions from former I Am the Avalanche associates and Steve Choi of RX Bandits.
Albums
Live
