FarCry was formed in 2006 when John Kivel of Kivel Records contacted Pete Fry on a hard rock message board Pete was moderating. John had heard some of Pete’s earlier band demos from the mid-90’s produced by Scott Metaxas (Prophet, Nuclear Assault) and wanted to know if he would be interested in being part of a new project on the Kivel label. Within a few months the rest of the band had been brought on board, and writing, song selection and rehearsal began in earnest. Unfortunately after a few months the original vocalist was let go due to creative differences.

It was at this time that John met Mark Giovi while on vacation in Vegas, where Mark performs with the “Bite” show nightly at the Stratosphere Hotel. Upon mentioning this find to Pete, John was surprised to find that the two had known each other for over twenty years, and had in fact performed on stage together previously in earlier bands. The two reconnected and the synergy was immediately apparent. The band hit the studio to start recording of “High Gear” in July of 2007 and knocked out the basic tracks in a couple weeks.

Sadly this momentum was short lived, as the tracks went to Producer Ty Sims and due to a variety of technical issues, about 80% of what was recorded in these initial sessions had to be scrapped and re-recorded. It wasn’t until 2008 that this was completed at Ty’s “Recovery Room” studio. As every cloud has it’s silver lining, the performances at the Recovery Room were the best yet, from a performance perspective as well as sonically, easily topping what had been previously done. Over a period of several months the tracks were meticulously mixed and produced prior to going to manufacturing.

On April 1 of 2009, all the effort came to fruition with the official release of “High Gear” in the US and Europe. Preorders were filled, new orders were coming in, and within a month the initial pressing had sold out and a reorder was made. By the end of the year the votes were in, and FarCry had received kudos from reviewers and fans alike from all around the world. Not wanting to stop there, FarCry also impressed fans at several high profile shows around the US, sharing the bill with such rock icons as Bret Michaels, Firehouse, Skid Row, April Wine, Dokken, Enuff Z’Nuff, etc.

Shortly after the release of "Optimism" in May, 2011 Mark announced he was leaving the band due to personal reasons. The band quickly joined forces with vocalist Mike Ledesma and had this to say about it:

"It is with deep regret we announce that for reasons of his own, Mark Giovi (lead vocals) has decided to leave FarCry, effective immediately. Mark explained that recent events unrelated to FarCry led up to this difficult decision for him. We truly wish Mark all the best in his future endeavors, and know that he’ll be successful in whatever he takes on.

After searching far and wide for someone to fill some big shoes, Mike Ledesma becomes the new vocalist for FarCry, bringing an incredible range, and a wealth of live experience singing melodic rock to the band. Rehearsals are underway as we speak so that we can fulfill our upcoming live commitments as seamlessly as possible. After hearing Mike sing, not only do we believe that he will be able to handle our existing repertoire live, but will definitely be a big part of the future direction for FarCry.

A little bit about Mike:
Mike Ledesma is a singer/songwriter/guitarist from New York City who began a music career at 18 when his first band, Devoshun, released a single on SMI Records featuring his guitar work, which landed him a job as a session guitarist for CBS Records and April Blackwood Productions. In just 2 short years he went from being a studio guitarist on commercials to being a staff writer/producer for RCA Records and Emerald Forest Music Publishing, an experience that taught him the value of good singers.
He had been singing since he was a child but it was time to learn real technique. He currently studies vocal mastery with voice coach Roger Posy. His vocal influences include Lou Gramm, Aretha Franklin, Dion Dimucci (The Belmonts), and Levi Stubbs (The Four Tops).

Mike has fronted NYC metal bands Panther, Next of Kin, and Hangtown during the heyday of the hair band era, and now sings for tribute acts Head Games The Foreigner Tribute, Adrenalize Def Leppard Tribute, and writes original music with many different local musicians. Mike has recently worked with Ted Poley and Vic Rivera as background singer and guitarist both live and in the studio. Mike is also an accomplished jazz guitarist and is now studying his new passion, flamenco guitar, with NYC teacher Dennis Koster.
We hope you’ll come out and see us as soon as possible and welcome Mike to the band!

Pete Fry, Lead Guitarist"