Damned if I Write This, Damned if I Don’t

I’m sorry to say, but it’s been another long amount of time I’ve gone without writing a blog post. It was a busy a fall with not much time at home and not much time to focus on the blog, which is a huge shame on me. As a quick update, up until last week, I only had 6 full days at home over the last 6 weeks. I spent mid-late September and much of October working 3 different music festivals (Firefly, Austin City Limits, and EDC Las Vegas). Then, I spent Halloween weekend with my family out-of-state. At this point though, I’ve finally been back for a week straight and thought it was time to make a post.

During Lolla week back in late July, I finally made it to my first Lolla after show. I saw pop punk band All Time Low at the Bottom Lounge (shoutout to my friend Emily for making it possible). Since then, I got back in touch with All Time Low, a band whose handful of songs I listened to at the end of high school/beginning of college. I can’t say I really went all in to All Time Low in the past few months, but I definitely started listening to a few more of their songs than “Dear Maria Count Me In” and “Coffee Shop Soundtrack.”

All Time Low, from Towson, Maryland (Baltimore suburb), formed in 2003 while still in high school. The group got their name from the lyrics of New Found Glory’s song “Head on Collision” (“And it feels like I’m at an all time low.”). Plenty of bands have gone through lineup changes over the years but All Time Low has remained consistent since their very early days with Alex Gaskarth on guitar and lead vocals, Jack Barakat on guitar, Zack Merrick on bass and backing vocals, and Rian Dawson on drums. In their very early days, Chris Cortilello and TJ Ihle were part of the group, but left before the band made a name for themselves.

The group released their first two EPs in 2004 before their debut album The Party Scene was released in 2005. The band signed with Hopeless Records in 2006 and released the EP Put Up or Shut Up that summer after graduating from high school. After joining the Vans Warped Tour in the summer of 2007, they released their second studio album So Wrong, It’s Right. This album peaked at 62 on the Billboard Top 200 and 6 on the Alternative Albums chart. Ultimately it lead to their rise in the alternative music scene. Their third album Nothing Personal debuted in July 2009. It reached number 4 on the Billboard Top 200 in it’s first week. By 2009 they became a headlining act at Warped Tour and had also been headlining their own national and international tours.

Since 2009, the band has been continually touring and releasing albums every few years. The most notable of those was Future Hearts in 2014 which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Top 200, their highest charting album thus far. The most recent album they released was Wake Up, Sunshine in 2020. Other albums released include Dirty Work (2011), Don’t Panic (2013), and Last Young Renegade (2017).

All Time Low’s music style is classified as pop punk, pop rock, emo pop, and alternative, which is pretty spot on. They’ve stayed true to their genre throughout their time in existence, but I always think of them and their music style as something else, “scene” music. In the late 2000’s the “scene” subculture became a thing for alternative music fans. It developed from emo music/emo subculture. Now over 10 years later, All Time Low is a staple at emo nights around the country, where emo and other alternative music from the scene days is played for hours as millennials re-embrace super tight skinny jeans and heavy eyeliner while belting out anthems from their youth. “Dear Maria Count Me In” is one of those hits, as well as other pop punk, emo, alternative songs from that early scene era.

Despite knowing All Time Low for years, and even seeing the 1975 with them at Coachella (I happened to stand next to them), I had never seen them perform live until July. If it wasn’t for my friend Hailey, I’m not sure I would have even pushed as hard to see them either, but I’m glad we did, even if we only saw the last 4 songs. Hailey reintroduced me All Time Low as well as the Maine around that time and I’ve gotten into a few more of their songs since then including “Monsters”, “Damned if I Do Ya, Damned if I Don’t”, “Clumsy”, and “Weightless”. I’ve also re-sparked my interest in songs by several other bands I used to listen to this year including Fall Out Boy, Green Day, and Motion City Soundtrack. It’s definitely been a year of second-comings for alternative music for me.

Speaking of this year, we’re only weeks away from 2022 and for the first time in 2 years, there’s going to be a Coachella lineup drop, which means band previews and polo field hype will be back soon enough! Until then, I challenge you to get into a new old song by a band you listened to years ago. You just might be surprised how it could hit different especially if you’re over getting old.

When I Say Shotgun, You Say Wedding

I’m always surprised when I hear about bands that I liked in high school still being relevant in the music world. I know most of those bands are still out there making music. Just because I don’t listen to their music or follow them anymore doesn’t mean they cease to exist. What really surprises me though is when those bands reach a level of success greater than the level I knew them at. For instance, take Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. Sure, I guess I can argue that the band is new, but Andrew McMahon is no stranger to music. He was the front man for indie punk band Something Corporate and then for Jack’s Mannequin. He even sang about his SoCo life (“been around the world in a punk rock band”) in the Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness hit “Cecilia and the Satellite”. Despite ventures with two different bands who were well-known in their respective scenes, he never bridged the mainstream gap until Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. Now another band from my high school years has my attention.

I first heard about this band, by the name of Panic! at the Disco when I was a junior in high school. I got their debut album A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, which was released in September 2005, around the time I got my driver’s license. Their debut was the soundtrack to my early driving days where I gained and maintained the independence a driver’s license offers. It played as I drove to pick up friends, grab some Burger King, or take drives on a long strip of road in a nearby town known as The Ave.The first song of theirs that caught my attention was “Time to Dance”. I downloaded a demo version of the song that was different from the album version and received some attention from friends who recognized the distinction. I listened to both versions anyway and loved the rest of the songs too.

Panic! at the Disco was founded in 2004 by childhood friends, Ryan Ross and Spencer Smith, while they were still in high school in a suburb of Las Vegas, Nevada. They recruited friend, Brent Wilson to join and Wilson encouraged his classmate, Brendon Urie to join the band as well. Initially the group started out as a blink-182 cover band, but then they recorded three original songs. They decided to send Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz a link to their Purevolume account just for the hell of it, but the tables turned in their favor. Wentz liked what he heard. He met the band and asked them to sign with his very own Decaydence Records (now known as DCD2), an imprint of Fueled By Ramen, which Fall Out Boy was signed with. They signed with Wentz before even playing a live show, which came a few month before their first album was released.

Their debut album had a slow rise to the top, but in a way Panic! at the Disco needed that. They needed to learn how to be a band. They all recently graduated high school (aside from Ross who dropped out of college to focus on music) and were still young kids. In March of 2006, the band announced a headlining tour and by August of that year the album was certified platinum and their single “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” won Video of the Year at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. Pretty amazing for a bunch of teenagers right? However the Panic! at the Disco who had that crazy rise to fame isn’t the same Panic! at the Disco that exists today.

Over the past 11 years the band has had plenty of turnover. Lead vocalist, Brendon Urie is the only founding member still in the band. There’s various reasons for that though. Creative differences was one of the reasons. I totally understand this because the band’s sound has changed drastically from its debut album.

Their first record has an electronic dance punk sound. Their second record Pretty Odd, released on March 21, 2008, sounds like something you’d hear from the Beatles. It was a drastic change in sound. It was one that I, as a huge fan of their first album, wasn’t happy about. I remember looking forward to their sophomore album, but while listening to it for the first time I was confused as to who I was actually listening to because it didn’t sound like them at all. It resulted in my disinterest in the band from then on.

The band released 3 more albums since Pretty. Odd.: Vices & Virtues (2011), Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! (2013), and most recently Death of a Bachelor, which came out in January of 2016. Now Panic! at the Disco’s sound falls into the pop rock genre. I have to admit as a fan of early Panic! at the Disco, their most recent album sounds more like their debut than the second album did. The only consistent thing throughout their five albums is Urie’s signature vocals.

Now back to the first paragraph of this blog when I was saying how it surprises me when bands I used to listen to in high school reach a level of success greater than the one I knew them at. Yesterday I was looking at upcoming concerts on the Bandsintown app, my go-to app for upcoming concerts and music events. I was looking into Saint Motel’s future shows as an idea for a Christmas present for my mom who happens to be a Saint Motel fan. I saw they were playing a few shows next year nearby, but the shows were in arenas. For a band like Saint Motel, that’s not the norm. I figured they must be opening for someone so I did some research to see who they were opening for. Turns out they’re opening for Panic! at the Disco on their Death of a Bachelor Tour. I couldn’t believe it. Only a few of the shows are sold out (who knows if they’re true sell outs or not) as of right now, but it still floored me that this band is currently able to play arena sized venues especially since I haven’t heard of Panic! at the Disco making much noise since “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”. Actually, the last time Brendon Urie came into my life was over the past year at Coachella 2016 when he joined Halsey on stage as part of her set. Panic! at the Disco must be doing something right though, even if I haven’t noticed it.

If you’re interested in listening to this band, here are some of my favorite songs and a few other good ones by the band who got their name from The Smiths’ song “Panic”:

1. Time to Dance
2. The Only Difference Between Martydom and Suicide is Press Coverage
3. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
4. Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off
5. Victorious
6. But It’s Better If You Do
7. Nine in the Afternoon

Warped

For 7 years from age 16 to age 22, I attended the Vans Warped Tour every summer. I remember finding out about Warped Tour when I was 15 from a friend in high school. It was at the time when I first discovered alternative music. Every year Warped Tour also releases a compilation album containing one song from every artist on that year’s tour. I became super interested in a few songs on the 2003 compilation that my friend had. That’s when she explained to me what the Vans Warped Tour was. I decided to purchase the 2003 compilation for myself and I was stoked to get the 2004 album upon its release (this was in the spring of 2004). More importantly I was extremely interested in going to Warped Tour that summer. Much to my dismay though, the tour wasn’t coming to my hometown. The closest venue that hosted the tour was 1 hour and 40 minutes away. At age 15, without a driver’s license and a car, it just wasn’t happening for me that summer. When the 2005 dates were announced a few months after the 2004 tour finished, I was pumped. The Vans Warped Tour was coming to my local concert venue and there was no way I was missing it.

Warped Tour began in 1995 as a skate punk/ska festival. It was founded by Kevin Lyman. In 1996, the skate shoe manufacturer and clothing brand, Vans, became the tour’s main sponsor. The Vans Warped Tour is the longest running touring festival in North America and the largest touring festival in the United States. In the late 90’s, the tour even went overseas to play dates in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Europe. It returned overseas to play a date in London in 2012 and again in 2015. Through the years, Warped Tour expanded on its music genres to include pop-punk, hardcore, emo, screamo, metalcore, and even some hip-hop and pop bands and artists. Many bands like Fall Out Boy, Blink-182, and Paramore, got their start on the Warped Tour. There’s even one notable pop artist who got her start on Warped Tour, but I’ll tell you more about it as you read on. It’s been said that Warped Tour is an initiation of sorts for bands because its a non-stop, all day touring event with many other bands that goes across the country over the entire summer. It’s intense to say the least, but from what I hear, tons of fun too. From the perspective of an attendee, it’s also fun for the festival-goers.

I attended my first Warped Tour in 2005.  I went with two friends and my mom because of course at age 16 I clearly wasn’t old enough to attend a music event with a chaperone (*sarcasm*). I also didn’t have my driver’s license by then so it worked out to have her as a ride. One thing different about Warped Tour compared to other music festivals is that you never know the lineup until the day of the festival. When you arrive you have to locate the giant board of set times and make a list of when and where your favorite bands are playing. It was always the craziest part of the day because everyone goes to that board upon entry. It gets so crowded on the way to there. At least I knew about the board in advance in 2005 despite being a Warped Tour rookie. That year I saw Fall Out Boy (only some of their set because Relient K overlapped), Relient K, The Offspring, and The Starting Line. I also planned to see Something Corporate, but they cancelled all their dates. It was the year their lead singer, Andrew McMahon (now of Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness and formerly of Jack’s Mannequin too), was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. I still had the best time and knew from then on I would be making Warped Tour an annual event in my life.

I had some amazing times throughout 7 Warped Tours. I saw tons of my favorite bands play, sang my lungs out, skanked in skanking circles (ska music), considered crowd-surfing (although I never actually did), drank overpriced water and gatorade (hydration was always important), was involved in a torrential downpour, and even saw Katy Perry play. Yeah that’s right Katy Perry played Warped Tour in 2008! Told you I’d tell you more about that pop star who got her start on Warped Tour. Well, it was Katy Perry. It was while she had the “I Kissed a Girl” single out. My friends and I were resting and talking in the amphitheater a decent length away from the stage where a performance was happening and all of sudden I heard the “I Kissed a Girl” song. We realized we were relaxing during Katy Perry’s set. We watched the rest of the song, which happened to be her last one. Thinking back on it now, it’s kind of crazy to be able to say I saw Katy Perry play Warped Tour given the level of popularity she’s reached, but I did. It happened.

I could go on about Warped Tour. My memories of the festival are countless. I could tell you about the time I skipped The Bouncing Souls set for Four Year Strong and missed the first words to “Lean On Sheena” getting screamed in my friends’ faces (it was our song), or watching Hellogoodbye and all their friends parade around in costumes during their set, or skanking to my favorite Less Than Jake song in a giant skanking circle. One year a friend who I attended with asked me if I thought we would still attend Warped Tour as we got into our 20’s and 30’s like some of the older people we would see at the festival. My response was something along the lines of, “Hell yeah! Why wouldn’t we?” At the time, I never thought I’d stop liking Warped Tour style music or wanting to attend the festival. I guess I was wrong about that though.

I attended yearly through 2011. I almost went in 2012 as well but decided against it because I didn’t feel like getting rained on again in the festival like I did in 2008 (plus I would have been going alone). That ended my 7 year Warped Tour run and I haven’t been back since. The reason being is that I stopped listening to the type of bands that play Warped Tour. I grew and so did my music interests. The last year I attended I could tell it was already happening. There were less and less bands I was interested in seeing. My focus instead became attending festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, or Bonnaroo, ones that played the kind of music I was listening to. Warped Tour was my first festival though (“you never forget your first”). It was also my second, third, fourth, and so on. It prepped me for future festivals and gave me plenty of amazing music experiences a long the way. It also gave me many memories with friends who I attended with and met up with at the festival throughout my years of attending. It was the summer event to attend while I was in high school and college. For all those reasons, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

If you’re interested in attending Warped Tour this year or checking out some bands playing the festival, head to the Vans Warped Tour website. Since this isn’t one specific band that plays the Warped Tour and therefore I can’t leave you a list of songs to check out, here’s a few links to some of my favorite Warped Tour performances and some pictures I took during my years attending the event.

“Rooftops” by Mest, Warped Tour 2003 (Also one of my all-time favorite songs.)

“The Words ‘Best Friend’ Becomes Redefined” by Chiodos, Warped Tour 2009

“I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry, Warped Tour 2008

“Sugar We’re Going Down” by Fall Out Boy, Warped Tour 2005

“Bada Bing! Wit’ a Pipe!” by Four Year Strong, Warped Tour 2010

“Devotion and Desire” by Bayside, Warped Tour 2009

Hellogoodbye covering Blink-182, Warped Tour 2006

From First to Last, Warped Tour 2008

The Briggs, Warped Tour 2008

A giant skanking circle!

Reel Big Fish, Warped Tour 2010

Streetlight Manifesto, Warped Tour 2010

The giant board of set times!

Big D And The Kids Table, Warped Tour 2009

Alkaline Trio, Warped Tour 2010

Bayside, Warped Tour 2009

The Bouncing Souls, Warped Tour 2010

Motion City Soundtrack, Warped Tour 2010

 

 

 

Why Bayside is Still Cool 15 Years Later

And now I realize, I’d give anything I had to walk a day in my old shoes wondering what my first smoke would be like, my first fuck, my next fuck up, or the next band that would change my life, and it changed my life.

Those were lyrics from the song “Blame It On Bad Luck” by the band Bayside, who hail from Queens, New York. I thought they were pretty appropriate for what I’m about to say. This year, 2015, Bayside is embarking on a 15th anniversary tour from March-April (they were founded in the winter of 2000). In 15 years time they’ve managed to play numerous tours worldwide, release 6 full length albums (along with a few EP’s/Splits), and maintain a steady “cult” fan base all while staying true to their name.

I first heard of Bayside some time in late 2005-early 2006 when I was driving home from somewhere with my friend Bridget. I’m not exactly sure how she told me about them, but I do know that she put either their CD or a mix CD with their music on it in my car and proceeded to tell me their story. If you know anything about Bayside, you’ll know that this was around the time of the Never Sleep Again Tour which ended up being a somber time for the band. On October 31, 2005 while on the tour and en route to Salt Lake City, UT from Boulder, CO, the band’s tour vehicle hit a patch of ice causing the van to skid off the road and flip over. Drummer, John “Beatz” Holohan, was killed and bassist, Nick Ghanbarian, seriously injured his back. Both Anthony Raneri and Jack O’Shea escaped the accident with minor injuries. After missing several dates of the tour, Raneri and O’Shea rejoined as an acoustic duo in mid-November (the tour finished in December). In February of 2006 Bayside released an acoustic album with the songs they played on the end of that tour, a few acoustic covers, and the song “Winter” which was written in memory of “Beatz”. “Winter” was the first song I heard by Bayside in the car that night and Bridget told me the meaning behind it. I remember looking up the band and reading news releases about “Beatz” and the accident when I got home that night. It broke my heart and at the same time I fell in love with “Winter”. I’m pretty sure I downloaded “Winter” and two other songs, “Don’t Call Me Peanut”, and “Devotion and Desire” shortly after.

I really didn’t get so into Bayside until later 2006-early 2007 though. I saw them live for the first time in May 2007 with my high school bandmates. At that point Chris Guglielmo took over as drummer and the band had released The Walking Wounded in February of that year. From then on I saw Bayside perform about 6 or 7 more times, which doesn’t even include the 2 times I was supposed to see them but couldn’t make their shows for weather related reasons. To this day, I’ve never seen another band play live as much as them (although I Am the Avalanche is pretty close). Even though I don’t currently listen to them as much as I used to (sadly not that much at all to be honest), I still purchase every new album they release and try to follow what they’re up to. The reason being is that I have so much respect for Bayside.

They’re still the same dudes I first heard when I was 16. Their music has evolved in a way that has kept them true to their roots. It still has that same distinct Bayside style sound. Plus Anthony Raneri’s vocals are truly original to his name. These guys have never been sell-outs like some bands who make music based on what a record label tells them to do. They’ve always written and released what they’ve wanted to put out there. I think that’s why they’ve maintained their steady fan base through the years without being labeled as “mainstream”. They never disappoint. They’re also quick to call out bands and other musicians who play crap music for the masses or do things that they don’t agree with.

I remember in 2008 when Anthony Raneri wrote a blog post after attending a Metro Station show questioning their success since he never really saw them playing instruments during their set (I’ll include a link to the excerpt he wrote). He concluded the post by saying “Shake it. Peace.” Between calling them out and those perfect last two sentences, I remember having a good laugh after reading the post. He had endless respect from me for that.

Just yesterday I read another article which talked about how Bayside released a brand new song for the deluxe re-issue of their 2014 album Cult called “Dancing Like An Idiot”. The new song references their definition of “bullshit” Warped Tour bands. After reading that article and listening to their new song, I had another good laugh. Of course I’m not sure what bands they’re talking about anymore since I don’t really follow that scene or go to Warped Tour, but it just proved to me how Bayside is still the same kind of awesome they were in 2008 when Ant talked about Metro Station or in 2006 when I first heard them. So when I quoted their song to start this post it wasn’t because “Blame It On Bad Luck” is my favorite Bayside song or because I strongly miss my past (it is my favorite song, but I’m really looking toward the future these days), it’s because I always thought of Bayside when I heard the words “the next band that would change my life”. And they did. That’s why they’ll always be pretty important to me no matter what I’m listening to. And as long as they keep doing what they’ve been doing for the last 15 years, I’ll still respect them just as much as I always have. Keep shaking it. Peace.

Song recommendations:

1. “Blame It On Bad Luck”

2. “Winter”

3. “Devotion and Desire”

4. “Montauk”

5. “Masterpiece”

6. “Duality”

7. “Landing Feet First”

8. “On Love, On Life”

9. “The Ghost of St. Valentine”

10. “Don’t Call Me Peanut”

(Feel free to listen to the acoustic versions of recommendations 1, 3, 4, and 5 too if you’d like. They were all featured on Bayside’s acoustic album.)

*Link to 2008 Metro Station excerpt- http://djrossstar.buzznet.com/user/journal/2719491/bayside-singer-disses-metro-station/

**Link to 2015 “Dancing Like An Idiot” article- http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6473041/bayside-dancing-like-an-idiot-lyric-video-exclusive-anthony-raneri-interview-warped-tour