Fuel: Whatever Happened To the Band Behind 'Hemorrhage (In My Hands)' & 'Shimmer'

Fuel: Whatever happened to the band behind Hemorhage (In My Hands) & Shimmer

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I cite my sources and they may differ than other people's accounts, so I don't guarantee the actual accuracy of my videos.

Fuel is a band that was synonymous with rock radio in the late 90’s and early 2000’s with several massive hits including “Shimmer?” aHemmorage in my hands) Today we’re talking about the band Fuel whatever happened to them and their turbulent history.

Fuel would actually has Southern roots, hailing from Kenton Tennessee.Guitarist Carl Bell and bassist Jeff Ambercrombie grew up together in Kenton, and formed the band while they were still in Junior high in 1989. The sleepy town of Kenton, which at the time only had two traffic lights served as the perfect playground for the budding musicians. Bell would tell the LA Times “It’s easy to sit in front of a TV and let it control your mind,” “I would have to find other ways to keep myself entertained. I would pick up a guitar or I would listen to music. . . . My brothers read a lot. . . . I was more into the music.”

Bell would graduate from high school and meet a drummer named Jody Abbott. They would play in a variety of bands until 1992. It was that year that Ambercrombie saw Scallions performing in a bar in Jackson Tennesse and was so enthralled with his performance that he asked the vocalist to join his band. Scallions was heavily influenced by the likes of Elvis, the blues, county and metal and by 1993 Fuel would be born.

By 1994 Fuel self funded an 8 song cassette titled Porcelain which they sold at both shows and in record stores and it sold reasonably well moving about 10,000 copies By 1995 the band moved from Western Tenneesse to Harrisberg Pennsylvania since it was closer to the major metropolitan hubs of New York and Washington DC and Philadelphia .The band took a very DIY approach to marketing the band with Bell telling MTV

"We were a do-it-yourself kind of band for a long time,"We'd reinvest whatever money we'd make performing back into studio equipment and stuff to take on the road with us. We recorded [our first EP, Porcelain] ourselves, produced it ourselves ... after hours, before soundchecks." On top of that the band even divided up the duties amongst it’s members with him going onto say
"I was doing the recording and writing," Brett [Scallions] was calling radio and [doing] promotion. Our drummer [Kevin Miller] was taking [our music] to retailers. Our bass player [Jeff Abercrombie] was doing a lot of the merchandising. They had some success early on with Scallions revealing to the Morning Call Newspaper how one radio station in Harrisberg was already playing Shimmer on the radio before the band signed a record deal.
But it was a grind for the group as Bell was splitting his time between school and the band opted to go back to school full time in an effort to become an English teacher, but then their fortunes changed with Bell recalling to the LA Time
“I had decided to get myself another parachute so I could maybe land on my feet somewhere else,”“I was back in school actually up until a month before we got signed (to 550 Music). I still had music in my mind, but at the same time I was thinking, ‘Let’s look at reality here.’ ”
The band soon generated major buzz from the labels ahead of their signing with one gig at Tramps in New York City being attended by reps of 25 different different record labels. They would eventually sign with Sony owned 550 music. The group also underwent a lineup change ahead of recording their first album for 550 with drummer Kevin Miller joining the group in December of 1997.

Part of the band’s success up until this point and after they signed with a major label was how they treated their fans. Several interviews and articles i came across consistently quoted Scallions approach to the music industry with him saying “Fuel was more interested in making friends than fans.”

By late 1997 and early 1998 the band retretated to a horse farm in Massachusettes which also sered as a recording studio - long view farm studios where greats Aerosmith and Rolling Stone had spent time.

The album produced four singles that charted in the top 40 alternative rock charts with Shimmer being the biggest hit peaking at number 2 on the billboard modern rock charts right behind Goo Goo Dolls

[aaronsalmon]

The way it's always seemed to me is Carl Bell's EGO was the biggest issue with Fuel's demise. Brett Scallions is an absolute star.

[dwade]

This is a band who deserves a "90's Hall of Fame nomination".

[fv]

First time I heard "Shimmer'. I fell in love. It is still one of my all-time favorite songs. It's too bad that Brett and Carl can't look past their differences and do what they do best together.

[breakingpointvideos]

RIP to original drummer Jody Abbott, to whom without, there would've been no Fuel. It's time to reflect & celebrate Jody's life and the legacy he created for his family, friends, fans & bandmates in Fuel & Breaking Point.

[kimberlybush]

See the adorable baby in Kevin’s arms ?? He’s my grandson ❤️ I’ve been a fan for 30 years !!! Now I’m Kevins mother in law 😳

[jonvia]

Fuel is so underrated!!! They have some great tunes!

[ChrisWilliams-twwm]

Why couldn't Carl just let Brett write a few songs on each album? For F sakes. We missed out on so many masterpiece songs from them. :(

[gggawd]

I turned my back to tell a friend what a great time I was having when Scallions stage dove on to my back. I thought someone had shoved me really hard but when I turned around I realized that it was the coolest thing that ever happened to me at a concert. I'll never forget it.

[kyliepollert]

I remember when Chris Daughtry sang "Hemmorhage" on "American Idol". He nailed that song!

[MurrayNJ]

John is my cousin and it’s been an honor for our family. He’s a great guy and perfect fit for the band.

[shaneboswell]

Brett’s dad helped me change my flat tire in Brownsville, Tn at the crack of dawn when I was a sophomore in college traveling from MTSU in Murfreesboro to Memphis. Super nice guy!!! He came over to help and said you might have heard of my son. He’s in a band called Fuel. Lol. I said heard of them! I loooovvveee Still do. Random. But I like that little memory.

[RandomDude_X]

Went to a music Festival here in the New Orleans area long ago. Brett was walking around in the crowd like he was just there to enjoy the music too. He was taking pictures and was super cool. Hour later played one really good show.

[MissteriousOne]

Brett’s voice! So powerful! Underrated band too.

[joshsmith]

As someone who lived in Jackson while all this was starting, it was so cool to see some band you felt like was from your area make it big. It was fun.

[timwhite]

These videos are bittersweet. They lead me to lament the death of bands, not individual bands themselves, just the whole "band" concept.

[sourgir-whxd]

I always wondered what happened to Fuel and where they went. They were one of my favorite bands and I felt like, one day they were just gone. Miss em and hope everyone's doing well 💕🤘

[JCBluenote]

I got back into Fuel about 3-4 months ago. When my brother built me my dream guitar for my birthday, the first song I learned to play was "Wasted Time." Even if Hemorrhage was overplayed at times, the band never really got the recognition they deserved I felt.

[davorz]

Fuel arrived to my live in a very strange way, but still very thankful to that. I live in Spain and here they are not known at all, . But somepoint in 2001, my uncles (that knew that I always wore band shirts), bought me a shirt during a trip in Germany as they didn't know what to buy me. It was a shirt from a band that I didn't know at all. On the back side there were faces from band members, and on the front side there was like an aluminum guy and it said "Something like human". I Napster them to listen what music do they play and they become one of my favourite bands during those high-school and first college years.

[ratmachine]

I still listen to this band til this day. Shimmer, my favorite track from them.

[agmsmith]

Brett lives in LA and is still going strong. I’ve done some recording sessions with him over the past couple years (I’m a sound engineer in LA). I think he is out on tour right now for his solo record.