Emerson Drive | |
|---|---|
 Emerson Drive, 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | 12 Gauge |
| Origin | Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres | Country |
| Years active | 1995–2024[1] |
| Labels | The Creative Collective 12 Gauge DreamWorks Nashville Midas/Valory Open Road Amdian Music Co. Nine North QuarterBack The Talent Associates Big Star Recordings Emerson Drive Touring LLC |
| Past members | Brad Mates Danick Dupelle Mike Melancon Dale Wallace Pat Allingham Chris Hartman Jeff Loberg Dan Binns David Switzer Remi Barre Derrick Kuzemchuk Dan Bauman Patrick Bourque David Pichette Devin Switzer Steven Swager |
| Website | www.emersondrive.com |
Emerson Drive was a Canadian country music band consisting of Brad Mates (lead vocals), Danick Dupelle (guitars, backing vocals), Mike Melancon (drums), and Dale Wallace (keyboards, backing vocals). The band was founded in 1995 as 12 Gauge, which consisted of Mates, Pat Allingham (fiddle), Steven Swager (bass guitar), Chris Hartman (keyboards), Dan Binns (guitar), David Switzer (guitar), and Remi Barre (drums); Swager was replaced with Jeff Loberg early on. After recording under this name, the band moved to the United States in 1999 and renamed themselves to Emerson Drive. They released two albums for the former DreamWorks Records Nashville branch: Emerson Drive in 2002 and What If? in 2004. These accounted for their first hit singles in the United States: "I Should Be Sleeping", "Fall into Me", and "Last One Standing". After DreamWorks closed, Emerson Drive signed with Midas Records Nashville for the 2006 album Countrified, which produced their only American number-one single in "Moments". Further releases in the United States were unsuccessful, but the band continued to chart in Canada through releases on Open Road Recordings and Big Star Recordings over the next ten years.