Breaking Benjamin!!! (13/1/09)

Breaking Benjamin is an alternative rock band from Wilkes-Barre, PennsylvaniaFormed in 1998 by vocalist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel, Breaking Benjamin quickly garnered a strong local following in their home state of Pennsylvania. The band derived their name from an incident when Burnley was covering a Nirvana song during an open mic night at a club when he knocked over the microphone to the ground, breaking it. The person who owned the microphone came on stage and said, "Thanks to Benjamin for breaking my mic."[7] In late 2000, after various line-up changes, the band changed its name back to "Breaking Benjamin" and two friends of Burnley, Aaron Fink and Mark Klepaski, left their previous band, Lifer, and joined the ranks of Breaking Benjamin as guitarist and bassist, respectively. According to the band, the Breaking Benjamin logo, a variation of the Celtic knot, was found in a tattoo book by a fan. The logo is also tattooed on the left wrist of Ben Burnley, Aaron Fink, and Mark James Klepaski, and the right wrist of Chad Szeliga. The band is currently signed to Hollywood records on a five record deal, having released three so far. They achieved their first number 1 single in 2007 with the track "Breath" off their third album Phobia.