ROAM Interview

ROAM released their debut music video for the song 'Head Rush' last month which comes from their second E.P due to be released in November 2013, we sent some questions over to them and they told us about their upcoming EP, live shows, favourite Pop Punk albums and more!

Thank you to Inception Press for organising this and ROAM for the interview!

Tunes - http://roamuk.bandcamp.com/

Threads- http://roampoppunk.bigcartel.com/ 

Email - roam-uk@hotmail.co.uk

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/roamuk

Twitter - @RoamSE

We Still Dream Interview

We Still Dream formed in January 2008 in Jacksonville, FL and since then have put out several releases, their most recent being the awesome ‘Something To Smile About’ on Anchor Eighty Four Records. You can read our review of STSA here: http://poppunkuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/we-still-dream-album-review.html

We caught up with We Still Dream to find out about the new record and upcoming tour plans!

Hey We Still Dream! Thanks for doing this interview, let’s start by talking about you’re new album ‘Something to Smile About.’ How long has this record been in the making?

We wrote most of the material on the record in about three months, and we were in the studio for a month after that.

When reviewing your album we picked up on the way songs were crafted to play live, so what is your favourite song on the album to play live?

Hmm some of our favorites right now are Tendencies, Closer Look, and Things You Do.

You have chosen to release STSA on vinyl, which is starting to see resurgence in popularity, what were your reasons for this?

We think it’s cool that people are buying records again, and we have never had them made before. So when the option came to us from Anchor Eighty Four we all wanted to do it… oh and because Snoop Dog did it.

Do you have any funny or strange stories from recording the album?

We camped outside of the studio in a small RV during the recording process. One of the nights we met up with our good friends in Heart to Heart, and we had an a little RV party! Also one of the last days when we were doing gang vocals (especially in "Back to Then") some of us were a little too tipsy haha.

Do you prefer recording or playing live?

Playing live will always be my favorite because of all of the energy that goes into it. Yet we do like recording as well and being able to experiment with different tones and sounds.

Does having 3 Mikes in the band get confusing at times?

We get this question all the time haha! It’s not that bad though. We just use our last names.

 What are your top five favourite pop punk albums?

This is in no particular order.

Daisy-Brand New

Pollyanna-Northstar

Self titled-Blink 182

Blue Album-Weezer

Say It Like You Mean It-The Starting Line

I don’t know if you can say all these albums are pop punk, but this is the kind of stuff we jam.

 What are your aims as a band?

We want to tour a lot, and go back overseas eventually. We all really want to play warped tour hopefully sometime soon!

Who does most of the song writing?

The 4 of us who play instruments write all of the music, and then Dustin will write lyrics and play around with melodies.

You toured the UK back in 2011, which town/city did you enjoy playing most?

We really enjoyed Kingston a lot. They guys over at banquet records put on the show and it was really fun. We also really enjoyed playing in Sheffield with The Wonder Years, and Hostage Calm. Really good turnout and everyone seemed to be into it.

What are your favourite things about playing in the UK?

Meeting and seeing people sing along at our shows is definitely awesome. We live so far away yet they still know the words to our songs. That is an awesome feeling. The after parties after the shows were always fun too!

How do the crowds in the UK differ to the crowds in the US?

They are not that much different. But everyone in the UK seemed to be really interested in watching our set as well as other bands. No one was really on their phones texting or anything like that. Which was nice. But they were relatively similar.

And finally, do you have any plans to tour STSA in the UK soon? We’d all love you back!

Most definitely! We are trying to get something planned right now. Hopefully sometime soon. We can’t wait to come back! It was so much fun for all of us.

Thank you very much for granting us the interview!

Check out our review of We Still Dream's new album at: http://poppunkuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/we-still-dream-album-review.html

Why You Should Listen to Firestarter:

 Earlier this year, Firestarter who hail from Albany NY, released their EP New Beginnings which opens with the fast paced track of the same name. From the start you can tell that the EP will not be a disappointment. It's the kind of EP that has an abundance of energy that you know would be incredible live. The only time it ever slows down is towards the end of the last track Three years, which we're definitely not complaining  about as it brings the EP to a prefect close (and press that play button again).

Listen to New Beginnings here

More recently, Firestarter have released an acoustic EP, Rooftop Acoustic Songs, which includes acoustic versions of 3  tracks from New beginnings plus This is How. Rooftop Acoustic Songs is instantly uplifting, guaranteed to make you feel elated and shows that the band definitely have talent. 

Listen to Rooftop Acoustic Songs

The guys have also released a video for 49 Stow, a track from New Beginnings, which is definitely worth a watch: 

 

Firestarter's Twitter 

Firestarter's bandcamp

Firestarter's Facebook 

Handguns added to Warped Tour UK

Handguns have been added to Warped Tour, as we suspected! The band will be playing on the Saturday (16th of November) alongside Yellowcard, The Wonder Years, Neck Deep, Real Friends and more.

They have also been added to all dates of the The Wonder Years UK Tour this November, excluding the Cardiff Matinee performance. 

Real Friends Post New Music Video

Real Friends have released a new music video for Late Nights In My Car from their recent EP 'Put Yourself Back Together'.

Don't miss Real Friends this November on tour with The Wonder Years, Neck Deep and Handguns and their slot at Warped Tour UK!

A Loss For Words Release New Song

A Loss For Words have released a new single from their upcoming album 'Before it Caves' which will be released on the 8th of October. The song features Lyndsey Gunnulfsen of Pvris.

Check out this update from Matty below:

Neck Deep Interview

Neck Deep describe themselves as "some honest, down to earth pop punk from the UK" and we can't put it better ourselves. Since bursting onto the scene this quintet have released two successful EPs and have recently signed to Hopeless Records, home of The Wonder Years, All Time Low, Yellowcard and more. So on the eve of a big tours with The Wonder Years and releasing their debut album we caught up with bassist Fil Thorpe-Evans to find out what's next for Neck Deep!

Hi Neck Deep! Thanks for doing this interview, we’re gonna start by saying a massive congratulations for signing to Hopeless Records! How awesome was that for you guys and how did it come about?

Thank you very much! It’s on an unfathomable level of awesomeness to be honest! When I first heard there was even contact and there was interest from Hopeless, I pretty much spent the rest of the day giggling like a little girl at the very thought of it. But basically I think it was common knowledge that we were unsigned, and doing a full length and our recent trip to the states to play a couple shows opened some eyes I believe. The shows sold out and the footage online spread pretty fast, I believe they saw some of that and it just started very casually with them wanting to just chat to us about it, learn more about the band and everything progressed naturally from there. Couldn’t be more stoked.

Will signing a record deal change anything about Neck Deep?

Not at all, which is one of the things we found most exciting about Hopeless and what made us feel like it was the perfect fit. They are so keen to help us find what we wanna be, how we wanna do things and how they can help us reach that goal, with them on side as one big team. They aren’t in it to change people. They made it clear in the early stages they want to help find out a band’s mission statement and make it the goal of the whole process, and follow how we see the band, rather than trying to rebrand it or change anything. Plus a lot of the material for the full length was wrote before the signing even came about, so it can’t have changed any of that.

What’s next for Neck Deep? We hear you’re in the process of making a new album?

Yeah we are at the back end of the process to be honest, we are at the stage now of getting mixes back and tweaking them and such. All that’s left after that is mastering and the process is done, so it’s basically a wrap in some respects.

How will your next release differ from ‘Rain in July’?
I feel like it’s a much more mature sound. I hate saying clichés like ‘we really found our sound’ but it really does apply. I feel like it’s still everything people love about us, but refined into a more solid vibe. I don’t want to give much away at this stage so I’ll just say we really feel like it will open eyes to our bands growth and potential. It’s most certainly not the same songs you have heard from us before and it has a lot more variety than our other 2 EP’s.

How do you approach the writing process?
We have a pretty much set in stone process that we feel works for us so it’s the same model each time. Either me or Lloyd (usually Lloyd) writes an instrumental track, we record it sketchy with program drums, then give it to Ben and he just writes lyrics and melodies over it. He then brings it to us and goes ‘here’s what I have’. Sometimes we kinda play with ideas and change things up a bit, but 99% of the time we just love what he has for it and that’s the song done. It’s a pretty standard model for writing a song I believe, there is no mad secret to our method.

You chose to release Rain in July on vinyl, which is starting to see resurgence in popularity, what were your reasons for this?

Well the resurgence in popularity I guess is an accidental by-product of the vinyl release as we took pre-orders for the vinyl literally months ago. It was always supposed to go out on vinyl, but we ended up having problems with who was supposed to release it, plans fell through and circumstances changed so it took a long time to resolve that problem.

Do you prefer recording or playing live?

Playing live for sure, recording is good fun and being in the environment where you can hear a song come to life on record that you have worked over for a period of time is great. But playing that song live, seeing people singing back to you and seeing people connect with that song you have written, is the best feeling in the world.

In November you’re touring with The Wonder Years, how did that come about and are you looking forward to it?

I’m not too sure exactly how that came about to be honest, we just got offered it! But we are so stoked for it, literally buzzing. We all are massive fans of The Wonder Years and of Real Friends also. Plus the ticket sales are doing amazing and most of the venues have been upgraded in size, which has never happened to a tour we have been a part of!

Who is the fussiest person in the band on tour when it comes to washing etc?

Dani for sure. He is a little girl when it comes to this. Everyone likes being able to shower but if it’s not possible you just get on with it, but he will throw a paddy if he can’t have one. He is just generally the most fussy about everything on tour really. To make it fair though I will be honest and say that in the same light I’m the least fussy about showers, probably so much that’s it a bad thing. I’ll go a few days which is pretty gross.

You guys are known for your partying, what are your worst drunken habits and do you have any funny stories?

I was unaware we are known for our partying! That’s pretty funny though. Oh my lord I could write an essay on this subject. Drunken habits… just loads and loads of drunk dancing and singing, we all love to dance when we drink. Even if there isn’t music we will just dance. Stories though… we went to this club night after a show on one tour and all got severely drunk. This place called ‘Kasbar’.  The night went down in Neck Deep history for the events that transpired. I won’t go into too much details but we all got really really drunk- Dani did something gross on Ben’s pillow and I threw up everywhere. I won’t be any more specific than that. 

 All of you come from different parts of the UK, how did you form?

Well Lloyd and West were in a hardcore band called Spires. I met them through another band I was in called Climates and I ended up playing bass for Spires on their last tour. Ben is the brother of Seb Barlow who did all of Spires recording and had all been friends for years. Dani was some great drummer kid from the internet they got sort of recruited really.

What are your top five favourite pop punk albums?
Holy crap, I really can;t even answer that, just Blink, New Found Glory and Sum 41 records. 


Where is the best place you’ve ever toured?
Well we didn’t really ‘tour’ Florida, but we played shows there and it was incredible, other than that we have only toured the UK. But we are going Australia in November!

Who are your favourite upcoming bands from the UK right now and why?

Climates, melodic hardcore band from Lincoln have a couple EPs out which are awesome. Roam are another sick pop punk band we have played with that are ones to watch. Me Vs Hero aren’t really upcoming but they have a new record coming out which I’m looking forward too.

You guys have grown in popularity massively since you formed, what do you put this down to? Devilish good looks, gigging, or just hard work and talent?

Certainly the devilish good looks. Nothing else. Just kidding, I think just really positive word of mouth, we just made music we enjoyed and happened to do something people enjoy a lot. If people are super into something you don’t really need to push people to share something they just do it naturally. I think our band is just a perfect example of the science behind the snowball effect.

Pop Punk is often affiliated with pizza, what are your favourite pizza toppings?
Pepperoni and jalapenos! There is a place near me that I recently discovered makes a Nandos piri piri pizza! So im going to try that this week, so this answer might change next week.

If US Pop Punk is associated with pizza, what food do you think UK Pop Punk should be associated with?

If it’s gotta be proper british then probably fish and chips… or maybe tea and crumpets. Both of which I really like so I’m cool with that. 

UK Pop Punk Band Suggestions

There's a lot of bad things about the UK, it always rains, people's teeth are crooked and there's too many top-hats. But there are plenty of awesome Pop Punk bands which make up for that and here's our list of some of the best upcoming ones in the UK right now!

Home Advantage 

Home Advantage are from London and recently released 'Cadet' on Disconnect Disconnect Records. Their fast paced sound reminds us of Rufio and With the Punches so if you're fans of those bands Home Advantage are definitely for you. 

Home Advantage's Bandcamp

Roam

If you like energetic, fast paced pop punk (The Story So Far, Neck Deep etc.) be sure to check out Roam.   

Last month Roam released their video for their song Head Rush, which you can find here.

ROAM'S Bandcamp 

Landmarks

Landmarks hail from Manchester and their sampler on bandcamp is available for free.

Landmarks' Bandcamp

Tigerstyle

If you like heavier or melodic pop punk check out Tigerstyle, especially if you like bands like Four Year Strong.

Tigerstyle Bandcamp

Seaway: New Album Release

Seaway are releasing their debut album Hoser on October 15th, via Mutant League records. The record was engineered by Anton DeLost at Lost recording in London, Ontario and was mixed and mastered by Jay Maas at Getaway Recording Studios. Who's stoked? We definitely are. 

 Track listing:

01. Expectation

02. What's Really Good

03. Keep Your Stick On The Ice

04. Too Fast For Love

05. Puddles 

06. Slowing Down 

07. Shy Guys

08. No Direction 

09. The Weight (Ft. Shane Told)

10. Hourglass

11. Deferral

Seaway's previous releases: 

http://seawayoakville.bandcamp.com/

We Still Dream: Album Review

Album Review- We Still Dream: 'Something To Smile About' 

We Still Dream formed in January 2008 in Jacksonville, FL and since then have put out several releases, their most recent being the awesome ‘Something To Smile About’ on Anchor Eighty Four Records. ‘STSA’ is a catchy, heavy and above-all, fun record.

The heavy choruses of the songs really make the album stand out and resonate in the mind of the listener for days to come. We have experienced this first hand as the chorus to the last song on the album ‘Dissipate’ has been in our heads for days. Vocalist Dustin Monk shows his ability and raw talent as a singer throughout the album, letting his voice go from being soft and melodic on tracks like ‘Turnaround’ to a heavy shout on tracks like ‘Things You Do.’  But Dustin’s voice really shines when he lets his voice go, like on the chorus to the slow but big song ‘Convince Me’ which gave us goose bumps the first time we heard it. The other members of the band compliment the vocals throughout the album, guitarists Mike W and Mike D riff and solo their way through the album ferociously, standing out on tracks like ‘Back to Then’ and ‘Tendencies.’ This album has clearly been written to play live and the rhythm section, bassist DJ and drummer MIKE M (how confusing must that be at practise?!) keep the beat and are sure to make the audience go crazy. Overall, this is a fantastic album and at $8 (about £5) it is a steal.

Download: ‘Back To Then’, ‘Things You Do’, ‘Sanity’

For Fans of: The Starting Line, New Found Glory, This Time Next Year

http://westilldream1.bandcamp.com/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/therap...

https://www.youtube.com/westilldream

https://twitter.com/westilldream

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/we+still+dream

By James Atherton 

Throwback Thursday: The Ergs, Extra Medium

The Ergs!: Extra Medium

Album: Dorkrockcorkrod

Year: 2004

The Swellers to Release New Album in October

The Swellers are releasing a new album,'The Light Under Closed Doors', in October this year. After releasing two previous albums on Fueled by Ramen, the new album will be released on No Sleep Records. The band produced the record themselves and recorded with Marc Hudson in Michigan and Mark Michalik in Chicago. The band have also released a single from the album 'Should'. 

Listen to Should Here

Credit to MTV Buzzworthy: 

http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2013/08/06/the-swellers-should/

The Wonder Years U.K. Tour Update

The Wonder Years have upgraded their Leeds venue to the Met Uni. Also, Handguns have been added to the Leeds show but no other dates. Could it be possible that Handguns may be appearing at Warped Tour too? We can only hope.

TICKETS:

www.thewonderyearsband.com