In Red (not to be confused with inRed) was a hard rock band from Berwyn, IL in 2003. It is the direct predecessor to Fist to the Sky. During their run, the band won numerous band battles around the Chicago area, including Bloomingdale Septemberfest 2004, Taste of Norridge 2006, Nite Lite Cafe 2007, and was awarded the Best under-21 band by Suburban Nitelife Magazine.

The original lineup consisted of brothers Phil Sylvester (lead guitar, lead vocals) and Mike Sylvester (bass, backing vocals), and Gabe Villegas (drums) after changing their name from Nimiety.

Phil wrote many early In Red-era songs while living with a friend before moving out to Aurora. Compared to Nimiety songs, early In Red songs are more aggressive, more riff-driven, and show musical growth but still share many similarities. Among the songs written at that time was Breaking Benjamin-influenced "Hurting Everytime, "Erase" and "Bad Karma," which would become a fan-favorite still played by Fist to the Sky. The band's first success was their first show as In Red (with new In Red songs) at a band battle in Bloomingdale, IL in the fall of 2003, upsetting local band Mental Image. The also band won Septemberfest 2004 and also the right to play at the Bloomingdale Mall with Prfic Tazk.

In Red would continue to play many of the Nimiety songs until they were gradually phased out in favor of new songs. The last Nimiety song played live was "Everyday," played once in early 2006. Live, they also covered Chevelle's "The Red" and Skid Row's "18 & Life."

In early 2006, cousin Nick Sylvester would join the band on rhythm guitar, making them a four-piece. In April 2006, Gabe considered quitting due to an incident after a show. The band, in a misguided attempt to keep him, asked longtime friend of the band Ray Norwich to fill in on drums for a band battle audition, with the hopes that the band getting in would be an incentive for Gabe to stay. The band won entry, but the plan didn't work and Gabe accused the band of picking Ray to replace him all along, which was not the case (Ray had been considered to play rhythm guitar before the band chose Nick, and thus knew how many of their songs went). In a scramble to find a drummer only two weeks before the show, the band chose Nick's friend, drummer Troy Cassata. While In Red wouldn't win the band battle, they were re-energized and played more shows during Summer 2006, including winning a band battle at the Taste of Norridge, IL and a band battle at the Nite Light Cafe in Berwyn, IL, and gigging regularly.

Troy's time with the band saw them mature their hard alternative sound, with current songs "Burn" and "Finally Awake" being written Spring 2007. For a band battle in Summer 2007, the band asked Ray to once more fill in for a gig, this time on bass with one week to practice, as Mike could not make it. The band tied for second. Phil had been writing new songs in more of a traditional hard rock style after practicing new guitar techniques, and as much as they liked Troy, didn't think he would be a good fit with the new direction. Troy would leave after a Labor Day weekend show in 2007. The band changed their name to Fist to the Sky after his exit, and after a couple tryouts, Gabe rejoined the band but he "had to prove he wanted it."

Some photos can be viewed at their no-longer-updated MySpace, http://www.myspace.com/inredband.

For more information on the current band Fist to the Sky, please visit http://www.myspace.com/1fisttothesky. For more information on In Red's predecessor Nimiety, visit Nimiety. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.