lieform | about us

Hailing from Boise, Idaho, Lieform is a four-piece rock band made up of J Arancivia (drums), Tony Alber (Guitar, Vocals), Forest Stewart (Bass) and TC Armstrong (Guitar, Vocals). Lieform is heavily influenced by many different genres, and not just of rock n roll. Their eclectic tastes lead to the perfect amalgamate of classic rock, 90's grunge and 00's bounce, taking their listener on a journey through roller-coaster dynamics, nostalgia-inducing shred-ridden solos, and powerful, thought-provoking lyrics. Heavy grooves, unique arrangements, volatile lyrical content and angry, searing leads mix seamlessly, making no subtle demonstration as to the panorama of influences driving these Pacific Northwest musicians.

Jay

Born November 1971 in Tacoma WA, J Arancivia grew up listening to R&B, dance and the early rap of the era, heavily into breakdancing through school. Generally a loner through highschool, J wasn’t introduced to rock until his sophomore year. A friend, Ryan, introduced him to Rush, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Doors, among others. He was instantly hooked. Though most people learn from a young age, J was a musical late bloomer, not picking up drums until he was eighteen years old. He was introduced to heavy, new-age styles from a friend, Tim, in a punk band called Archaic Smile. Slowly, he pieced a crappy drumset and some basic skills together with the help of Tim over a few months. J never took lessons, instead he played along with records from Zeppelin, Floyd and others over and over again, albeit terribly and to the utmost annoyance of his parents. J later joined the US Air Force, effectively halting drums for about four to five years. However, while stationed in England, he met a prodigious guitar player by the name of Brandon Townsend, with whom he played cover songs for military dorm parties; covering such bands as Alice in Chains, Tool, Rage Against the Machine, & Helmet. There were no real gigs however until he was back in the states and living in Boise, ID. J regularly played with other musicians in band settings which led to a position in the band Uncontrolled Substance (alt rock), attained by responding to a flier off the back wall of the Boise Guitar Center. He later played with The LBJ's (rockabilly), Piranhas BC (punk band) which had gained the most traction, opening for big bands like Prong, Young Dubliners, the Vibrators, etc… J later joined EYEWILL (ALT ROCK) with bassist Jake Albrethesen, through which they both met TC at a battle of the bands.

Tony

In September 1990, shortly after J graduated highschool, Tony Alber was born in Denver Colorado. Tony always loved music, learning to play the piano as early as three years old, making stuff up though heavily influenced by Michael Jackson. While his mother listened to Cindy Lauper and Prince, his father’s constant barrage of Judas Priest, The Scorpions, and Metallica intrinsically instilled in Tony a deep love for heavy metal. Tony picked up the guitar at ten years old, mostly because he insisted on learning Little Wing by Stevie Ray Vaughn, though as time progressed he grew heavier and heavier in his playing style. In highschool, his friend Travis introduced Tony to The Black Dahlia Murder, cristening him a death-metal head from that day forward. Tony joined many failed bands over the years, was a prodigy in his music classes, and so he spent most of the time “sneaking out back to partake in the sweet leaf.” After highschool, Tony spent several years focusing on family and his career, meanwhile getting into mixing and music production. He developed a business knack for synth-wave and video game scoring and started Cynical Studios to streamline his efforts. Though involved in his life and Cynical Studios, Tony kept an eye on the local music scene and happened to notice a Facebook post looking for a lead guitarist in a rock band. Lieform was a very different style than Tony was used to but the entire band soon realized that his classic metal influence brought precisely the grit J and TC were looking for.

Forest

Jake Albrethsen, born November 1977 in Boise Idaho was an original member of Eyewill and Lieform as bassist until summer of 2022 when he resolved, with the absolute best wishes from the band, to move to Ohio and be nearer to his parents and sister’s family. Jake contributed the writing and production of five tracks from the album CRIMES (2022) as well as incalculable resources and input into many other tracks and productions, both in current and future releases. Lieform thanks Jake for everything he brought to the table.

After months of searching for a new bassist that was ready to go the distance, Tony began working with his friend Travis and was immediately directed to a gentleman looking to play bass for a band of any sort. Born November 1991 in Sparks NV, Forest Stewart began piano lessons at eight years old, and picked up the upright bass in middle school orchestra. Forest first picked up the electric bass at twelve for a church youth group band. He later played the same instrument in his highschool jazz band. Influenced by artists like Mudvayne, Disturbed, Angel Vivaldi, and Jay Perez, he ended up playing whatever he could play with other people in a very eclectic range of music. Forest played for a cover remix band for weddings, but ended up taking quite a long break from performing after high school. Later he started playing in two different Tejano bands including Los Siempres for two years. At another point, Forest played guitar with his fiance on Ukulele, performing several shows. After getting sucked into Lieform by Travis and Tony, the band immediately realized his worth in training, adaptability, and diversity and signed him on to finish the duration of the Crimes (2022) album.

Born June 1985 in Pocatello Idaho, TC loved music since birth. Not popular through school, TC spent most of his youth alone writing poetry, songs and listening to music. His parents listened to country/folk and soft contemporary music, respectively, while his siblings listened to 90s gangster rap and one later listened to pop punk. During middle school, TC’s oldest brother showed him the first track, Twist, off of Korn - Life is Peachy and he immediately realized that heavy music was his goal. He began listening to the likes of Korn, Marilyn Manson, Deftones, and Tool. TC picked up the trumpet in 6th grade though didn’t pursue it. He joined the school choir through junior high, at which time he also picked up the electric bass, playing tuba music for the band orchestra. TC picked up the acoustic guitar in ninth grade, by learning every song he could get his hands on, using it to learn new styles, chords, and get used to playing with others. He played music with friends in garages, subsequently annoying many parents, taking brief lessons twice throughout high school. Seeing his advanced technique with no formal training, one instructor worked with him on music theory during study time for the other students. TC began to write songs from the beginning of learning guitar. He failed to start several bands until he was living in Idaho Falls, Idaho and started an acoustic folk metal project called Thus Must I, with whom he moved to Boise in 2010. Thus Must I competed in a battle of the bands in 2011 against J and Jake’s band, Eyewill, for which they claimed the title, though that was the day J told the band he thought that TC should be in Eyewill. After Thus Must I broke up and TC started a family, he all-but halted his music career. In 2016, J and TC ran into each other at a coffee shop. Eyewill tried to restart but timing was off and it didn’t work out. Fast forward to 2018, and J, TC, and two others rebooted Eyewill. After about a year and a half of consistent playing, Eyewill (by that time rejoined by Jake) reformatted and reformed as Lieform.

Lieform has always felt that the music industry has become a global market, now more so than ever with the rise of self-production software and increasing artist autonomy from big brand labels. Lieform wants to introduce itself to the world as a whole. They are ready to show the world a new, old music that they hadn’t yet realized they were waiting to hear, evoking raw, visceral emotion, all while being taken on a journey through a genre-bending, thought-provoking landslide of sound and energy. Transcending genre consistently to bring the audience a large experience that is at times dark and reflective, yet at others bright and fun, Lieform is built for the large crowds, and could likely be the next band to redefine the term arena rock.

"We all agree on one thing: our music is heavy. Everyone has a different definition of heavy, but we think heavy is that thing you feel when you walk into a room where a certain song is playing … that song that involuntarily forces a stank-face, and that glorious, inevitable head bob." - lieform

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