I found the specific band this is referring to. Let me search for more details to confirm. I now have solid, confirmed details about this specific ActionReaction (a 2000s New Jersey indie/emo band). Time to write the biography.
ActionReaction formed in New Jersey in 2005, born from a chance reunion of musicians with deep roots in the mid-2000s emo and hardcore scenes. Upon leaving emocore act Further Seems Forever in 2004, frontman Jason Gleason relocated from Florida to New Jersey to join up with his longtime friend Bella, formerly of Element 101, and with a rotating cast of friends, the three began jamming at night, drawing from a melting pot of influences like Sunny Day Real Estate, the Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, ELO, and Elbow, and these jams eventually turned into actual songs, and the indie rock of ActionReaction was born. Though all three shared singing duties, Gleason handled main vocals and guitar, while Ciaravino played bass and Bella managed keyboards. The band settled in Verona, New Jersey, building their sound around atmospheric, melodic indie rock that stood in contrast to the more aggressive scenes each member had come from.
The trio's breakthrough came quickly: a handful of local shows were played before the band was able to create its own record deal through the Equal Vision subsidiary of Hope Division Records. Their debut full length, "3 Is the Magic Number," released in 2006, became the definitive statement of the band's sound, an eleven track record built on Gleason's distinctive vocals paired with lush, layered arrangements. The record carried extra weight given Gleason's history, since fans who had followed him through Further Seems Forever were eager to hear his voice again in a new context. The album marked ActionReaction's peak visibility, earning them a rightful place alongside the era's defining post-hardcore and emo-adjacent acts.
That same year, the band's rising profile placed them on some of the scene's most notable bills. They appeared on the Equal Vision Records Presents: Vans Warped Tour 2006 Summer Sampler alongside Armor for Sleep, Circa Survive, Chiodos, The Fall of Troy, and Boysetsfire , cementing their connection to the mid-2000s Warped Tour and Equal Vision Records ecosystem. They also played support slots on package tours of the era, including a March 2006 date in Levittown, New York alongside Armor for Sleep, Chiodos, and Boys Night Out. As Gleason himself explained at the time, the band's chemistry did not rest on any one member but on the group's "combined personality and styles: 'We're all very different people, but when it comes to the band, those differences are what makes ActionReaction special.'" ActionReaction's active period was brief, largely confined to the mid-2000s, and the band did not continue producing new material in the years that followed, with members moving on to other projects. Their legacy endures in a modest but devoted way among fans of that era's New Jersey and Florida-rooted emo and indie rock crossover, particularly those who trace Gleason's arc from Further Seems Forever through this more experimental, atmospheric project. Though never a chart powerhouse, the band remains a touchstone for collectors of Equal Vision-era releases and Warped Tour sampler discs from 2006.
It is fitting that ActionReaction found a home in Wayne Dennon's archive, a tribute to his years spent documenting bands from this exact corner of the 2000s scene. Wayne photographed the band at one show in 2006, capturing them at the height of their brief run, and the 30 images preserved from that night have since been viewed 23,397 times by visitors revisiting this small but memorable chapter of the era's live music history.
