Vans Warped Tour UK Reveal Line Up

Vans Warped Tour is returning to the UK after taking a break in 2014. The line up for this year includes Forever Came Calling, Anti-Flag, Reel Big Fish, ROAM, Trophy Eyes, Creeper and more. Check out the full line up below:

Get your tickets here. 

Forever Came Calling Interview

Last month, Forever Came Calling headed across the Atlantic to play a handful of shows with Light You Up, Hit the Lights and Four Year Strong on the Pure Noise Records Tour in the UK. After their astonishing first album Contender, last October the guys released their second album, What Matters Most, an album which was comprised of fast-paced, melodic pop punk anthems. We sat down with vocalist Joe Candelaria to talk about their first time in the UK, What Matters Most, and Joe's favourite albums of all time...   

HOW HAS THE TOUR BEEN GOING SO FAR?

Joe: It’s been awesome, really cool.

PPUK:  HOW HAVE YOU BEEN FINDING YOUR FIRST TIME IN THE UK?

Joe: It’s been awesome. We slept last night for the first time since we’ve been here so that was good but we were kind of like running ourselves, just like go, go, go and then finally last night we got a Travelodge in Manchester and it was super nice to sleep. So everyone woke up and was like ‘I love this country’. At the beginning yesterday everyone was like ‘Oh my god, I just want to sleep’. We’ve been here for four days, we got off the flight, jumped into our van, drove to pick up the gear and drove three or four hours to Leeds, played the show, partied, which was not smart, slept at a friend’s house, got up, went to the next show, did the same thing, partied – not a good idea – then we all kind of slept. There’s nine of us in our van, so we slept in a room that was like two metres by two metres big, you know what I mean? (laughs). It was the tiniest room we were just sleeping with no blankets. It’s been an experience, it’s been fun though.

PPUK: HAVE YOU HAD A NANDOS YET?

Joe: We’ve been in Australia but we haven’t been here.

PPUK: IN YOUR AUSTRALIAN VIDEO DIARIES YOU WERE ASKING PEOPLE ABOUT NANDOS, WE HAD NO IDEA THEY HAD NANDOS IN AUSTRALIA?

Joe: We’ve heard it’s better here. That’s mine and John’s (Swaba, Bass) favourite place to eat in the world. It’s very rare that there’s fast food you eat and you don’t feel like shit. You’re just like ‘I don’t feel terrible’.  

PPUK: HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY WEIRD DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE UK AND THE US? FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE US THE GAPS BETWEEN THE TOILET DOOR AND THE CUBICLE ARE REALLY WIDE...

Joe: Actually yeah, what’s really weird about that is that my fiancé, who’s selling merch for us, that’s the first thing she noticed. She was like ‘they’re doing it right here, I close the door and it shuts. You can’t see in’. Because in the states, there’s literally like a good half inch that you can see in to, you can make eye contact with someone.

I think the big one, for me, is driving on the roads here. It’s essentially set up for three cars and the passing line is for both sides and I’ve never seen that. We were going head on with someone, I was like ‘we’re gonna die’ and then that guy just went to the side and I was like ‘okay, that’s how you guys do it’. That’s been a cool difference, everyone is trying to look out for each other and get somewhere, that’s cool.

PPUK: THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME PEOPLE IN THE UK HAVE HEARD YOU PLAY THE SONGS FROM 'WHAT MATTERS MOST', HOW HAVE PEOPLE BEEN REACTING?

Joe: It’s been really good. Last night we played ‘Rather Be Dead Than Cool’ for the first time ever and that was awesome. It had a great reaction, so it’s been really cool actually. I’m excited.

PPUK: YOU GOT THE ALBUM TITLE FROM A CHARLES BUKOWSKI QUOTE?

Joe: Yes, ‘what matters most is how well you walk through the fire’. It’s just like the basic concept of you can’t change what the world throws at you but you can change how you deal with it. You’re never going to be able to handle the variables or predict them, but you can react in the best way to those variables. You decide what affects you.  

PPUK: IF YOU COULD PLAY A SHOW ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE WOULD IT BE?

Joe: Me and Alissa, my fiancé were talking and honestly, if it wasn't for fear of life, Istanbul. Just because there's so much history there, you know? Like, that's essentially where the world started; that whole area, that region. That's one of the main reasons we're are so stoked to be here because America is still a relatively young country. The oldest building you can find is maybe four hundred years, but here you can almost go back a thousand years. Like Stonehenge, we don't even know when that was put up and that's just something in our country that you can't see. So, Istanbul, somewhere like that. That's probably the wild card stuff.

PPUK: WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE SHOW TO PLAY EVER? 

Joe: Chicago on the Pure Noise Records Tour last fall. It was just really cool, we've always just had a fun time in Chicago. It was just like a week before the record came out and the reaction was insane. It was one of those moments were I think 'We're a real band now, this is cool'.

PPUK: WHY DO ALL AMERICANS HAVE REALLY NICE WHITE TEETH?  

Joe: Have you seen the south? Those people have all kind of fucked-up teeth, like Alabama? For me, I just have good genes (laughs).

PPUK: WHAT TOOTHPASTE ARE YOU USING?

Joe: Ah fuck, I don't know I forget to brush most days. I use crest, but braces...People use braces all the time in the States. Our guitar player, Isaac, if he would have stayed and finished high school, he would have had braces for three years, didn't do it, didn't get to keep the braces. 

PPUK: HOW DO YOU KEEP YOURSELF ENTERTAINED ON THE ROAD?  

Joe: Think of really dumb stuff to ask people in the van. I ask our guitar player, Tom, to tell me the amount of money I'd have to pay him to do something stupid and then I just try and make him go less than he asked for. It's good, it's a good game. 

PPUK: WHAT ARE YOUR TOP FIVE FAVOURITE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME?

Joe: It changes but I'm going to have to say, probably the album that most affected me is Where You Want To Be by Taking Back Sunday. The second one would have to be Born in the USA, Bruce Springsteen. The third one would have to be Macklemore - The Heist. Four would have to be Cindy Lauper - The Body Acoustic which is an acoustic rendition of all of her hit songs, it's amazing. Adam Lazzara from Taking Back Sunday is actually on the album. Number five, I'm going to have to go with Blink self-titled.  

Listen to What Matters Most below:

Forever Came Calling's Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp | Youtube

Best of 2014

It's that time of year again where we get to look back at our favourite albums and EPs of the year, and let's be honest here, there's been a few good ones. From the return of New Found Glory and Four Year Strong, to Real Friends' first full length, pop punk definitely proved it wasn't dead (it even had it's own UK tour). Here's a list of things that we've loved in 2014 (in no particular order) and we'll see you guys in the new year...

   

Albums

Candy Hearts - All The Ways You Let Me Down

Forever Came Calling - What Matters Most

Handguns - Life Lessons

 Major League - There's Nothing Wrong With Me

Me vs Hero - I'm Completely Fine

Moose Blood - I'll Keep You In Mind, From Time To Time

 New Found Glory - Resurrection

Real Friends - Maybe This Place Is The Same And We're Just Changing

Rust Belt Lights - Religion and My Ex

Transit - Joyride

Neck Deep - Wishful Thinking 

Fireworks - Oh, Common Life

Trophy Eyes - Mend, Move On

Yellowcard - Lift a Sail

Gnarwolves 

EPs

The Story So Far - Songs Of

Knuckle Puck - While I Stay Secluded

Four Year Strong - Go Down In History

Seaway - All In My Head 

Homebound - Coming Of Age

 Boston Manor - Driftwood

Six Time Champion - Expecting Honesty

Trash Boat - Look Alive 

Nathan Detroit - Peace Of Mind

State Champs - The Acoustic Things

Thank you to everyone who has supported us in 2014 and we hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Pure Noise Records Announce Line-Up For UK Tour

Remember a few days ago when Pure Noise Records hinted on twitter that they might be putting on a UK tour in 2015? Well, it looks like they weren't joking. Four Year Strong, Hit the Lights and Forever Came Calling will be heading over in March 2015 with Birmingham's own, Light You Up. Tickets go on sale this Friday (12th December). 

Forever Came Calling Stream New Album

Forever Came Calling's new album, What Matters Most, is officially out today. However, if you want to try before you buy, Absolute Punk are streaming it on their site. Take a listen and enjoy here. 

Forever Came Calling Release New Music Video

Forever Came Calling have released a new video for 'Defenseless', a track from their upcoming album 'What Matters Most', which is released October 21st. Watch the new video below:

Forever Came Calling Release New Song

Forever Came Calling have released a new song titled Transient (I Don't Miss). The song is taken from their upcoming album What Matters Most which is out October 20th. Pre-order here.

Forever Came Calling Release New Lyric Video

Forever Came Calling have released a lyric video for thier new track Mapping With a Sense of Direction. The song comes from their upcoming album What Matters Most, which will be released on September 9th.

Pop Punk to Listen to This Summer

Although we've had some pretty hot weather in the UK, it has still managed to rain almost every other day. It's like someone is trying to punish us for our bad teeth and obsession with tea. For this reason we have decided to bring you some truly awesome pop punk to brighten the summer months and make you feel like you're on Californian beach (Skateboard and Khaki shorts optional). We've compiled a list of new albums, EPs and  just general summery songs that we hope will make your summer a little less like a giant accumulation of rain and thunder storms. 

Handguns - Life Lessons
If you haven't listened to Life Lessons yet, stop what you are doing right now and find whatever medium you usually use to listen to music and put that shit on right now.  Although only 28 minutes long, Life Lessons is packed with huge pop punk anthems that are perfect for summer time. Imagine all the best parts of their previous releases Angst and Don't Bite Your Tongue combined to make a spotless album which will leave you begging them to come and tour in the UK ASAP. 





Firestarter - Forget The Past
Hailing from Albany New York this means that Firestarter already share a home with bands such as State Champs and With the Punches (R.I.P). In May of this year the band released their EP Forget the Past, which is an essential accessory to any pop punk summer. It's pretty much a fast paced, gang vocal filled EP of perfection which you can buy for the equivalent of about £3





Candy Hearts - All The Ways You Let Me Down
It's a shame there are not more female fronted pop punk bands in existence but Mariel, Matthew and John are doing a good job of showing what wonderful things can happen when you have a female vocalist. All The Ways You Let Me Down is a mix of sugary pop punk reminiscent of New Found Glory or Blink 182. Speaking of New Found Glory, Chad Gilbert produced the album and his influence is evident throughout. If you love pop punk with super catchy lyrics and upbeat riffs, you should definitely give this a listen.   

Four Year Strong -Go Down In History
It's been three years since Four Year Strong have released anything and let's be honest, we have missed them a lot. Some fans were disappointed by the release of In Some Way Shape or Form. However, it seems that for the release of Go Down In History, Four Year Strong are coming back better than ever. This will be FYS's first release since they signed to Pure Noise Records and from listening to the songs they've put out already, it seems like they're returning to their roots. Go Down in History is released July 22nd. 




Stanley and the Search - Weightless
Stanley and the the Search recently released the follow up to their debut self titled. Weightless is a remastered version of their EP Weight. Although the album cover is cloudy, look at those palm trees, it has summer written all over it people. The band took a different direction to their debut; Weightless provides the listener with heavy, aggressive pop punk that has the potential to become catchy at any moment. If you're a fan of citizen, Polar Bear Club or Make Do and Mend you definitely need this album to complete you summer.




Smalls - Tired 
Smalls are another female fronted  pop punk band that we are massive fans of (complete with female drummer). Their first EP, Expecting the Worst, was practically the best thing you will ever hear so you can imagine our excitement when they released their new song Tired. To make it even better the video for Tired (Click on title) is a parody of The Get Up Kids video for Action and Action complete with dangly ceiling telephone and everything. Make sure you pick up a copy of Small's new EP when it's released.




Forever Came Calling - Indebted
Forever Came Calling aren't releasing their new album until September, but until then the band have released the single Indebted. The track is a catchy mixture of upbeat guitar riffs and lyrics. Forever Came Calling's new album is a follow up to their last album Contender. The new one, 'What Matter's Most', was produced and engineered by Kyle Black (New Found Glory, Comeback Kid) and will be available by Pure Noise Records on September 9th. 





Me vs Hero - I'm Completely Fine 
Me vs Hero are another band that we had been missing until they started putting out new tracks from their upcoming album - I'm Completely Fine. The band have currently released three tracks from the album - Marks of a Slave, Things We Know and Opposites and each song  has been epic. The only thing we're disappointed about is that the album isn't released until September but the three songs are enough to keep us going until then. Also, look at that artwork - it's practically the British summer summed up - a man standing in the sea fully clothed with an umbrella. 



Real Friends - Maybe This Place Is The Same and We're Just Changing
Pop Punk/ emo favourites Real Friends are releasing their debut album this summer and from what we've already heard it looks like it's going to be awesome. The band have already released Loose Ends, Sixteen and I Don't Love You Anymore all of which sound like the typical heart on sleeve lyric, pent up emotion, Real Friends songs we love. And don't fear, the sleepy eyes/ bony knees references have not disappeared. 






Homebound - Coming of Age
Homebound have spent a year writing the songs which make up their debut EP 'Coming of Age'. The EP consists of songs penned about regret, learning from past experience and just growing up in general. The outcome has resulted in an excellent EP that is an impressive first release from the band. Homebound's EP is also perfect for summer so make sure you get your copy. Also, if you want to go to a show but have no money, Homebound are participating in a free tour this September with As It Is and Like Torches. To find out more click here.  




The Story So Far - Songs Of 
Who knew that The Story So Far had a soft side? With all this beating up of security guards it's a hard to believe that TSSF are capable of putting out an EP with the capability of singing a newborn baby to sleep. Of course we have seen this side before on Placeholder and Clairvoyant but this EP is just simply beautiful. If you're having trouble sleeping through humid summer nights just put this on, it will work much better than counting sheep. 





Nathan Detroit - Peace of Mind
Nathan Detroit are releasing their new EP on August 11th. The band who hail from Trowbridge in the UK have a mixture of melodic riffs and heartfelt lyrics (listen to The Way Down) and also display catchy, upbeat songs such as 17 (Although this was released lat summer it's still great). Nathan Detroit have also been playing dates alongside ROAM, Light You Up and As It Is and will also be touring this summer. Find out more here.

Rust Belt Lights - Religion and My Ex
Rust Belt Lights released Religion and My Ex in February of this year and although the cover is quite dark, this deserves a place in this list. You know those albums you wish you had a soft top car for and you could put the roof down and play it really loud. This is that album. The album is full of fast paced drums, an abundance of energy and catchy lyrics. Our favourites include Old Ghost and How to Live Without which are perfect for summer. 





Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties - We Don't Have Each Other
Dan 'Soupy' Campbell from The Wonder Years recently started a side project called 'Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties'. Although it's extremely different from TWY (think acoustic guitars, harmonicas and country-esque music) if you're a big TWY fan, then it's definitely worth checking this out. The album - We Don't Have Each Other - sold 30,000 copies in the first week and was 89 on the American Billboard charts which is pretty impressive for a side project. If you want to find out more check out Soupy's interview with AP here.



Trash Boat - Look Alive 
Trash Boat have only officially been a band since the beginning of 2014 but from listening to Look Alive, you would never have guessed it. As Trash Boat's first musical endeavor, the EP shows no hint of weakness and is an impressive mixture of memorable melodies, youthful affirmations and an abundance of energy; the perfect musical accessory for summer. Trash Boat have also played a number of dates supporting ROAM on their UK tour this summer. Fear not if you have missed out as the band are playing shows throughout the next coming months. Find a date near you here.  




Knuckle Puck - The Weight That You Buried
Summer is not summer without Knuckle Puck. Whether you're listening to The Weight That You Buried, Don't Come Home or their recent split with Neck Deep, Knuckle Puck will definitely brighten up your summer. Knuckle Puck also recently released a new video fro their song No Good (click on the link above to watch), which was directed by Eric Teti, the same person who directed Real Friend's video for I Don't Love You Anymore. 





Seaway - Hoser
Although Hoser was released in 2013, it definitely belongs in any summer playlist. Especially as the band just got signed to Pure Noise Records. You could argue that 'Keep your stick on Ice' means that it should belong in a winter playlist but we're going to put it in here because nothing makes you feel more summery than an album that sounds like a modern spin on old blink 182. Seaway also released a new video for No Direction from the album which you can watch by clicking on the link above. 



No Sleep Records - A Comp For Mom
No Sleep Record's president/ founder Chris Hansen is releasing a compilation in memory of his mum who sadly passed away this year. The comp is limited to a 1000 copies and all proceeds go towards his mum's medical bills and any left over will go to the Linda Hansen memorial fund. The compilation features a previously unreleased full band version of the Living Room Song by The Wonder Years (Listen out for the Modern Baseball shoutout), an acoustic version of Montreal by Major League and a previously unreleased b-side from the Swellers.





Seasons Change - Nothing and Everything EP
Seasons Change hail from Pico Rivera California and even the cover to Nothing and Everything is sunny. Just Look at it. Although this was released last year it deserves a place on any summer playlist. The band also recently got signed to No Sleep Records and are recording their debut full length with Sam Pura at the Panda Studios. Sam Pura + Panda Studios + awesome band can only equal one thing: one fucking awesome album.  





Like You to Me - Bigger Jaws
Like You to Me, who we think are named after the Set Your Goals Song of the same name, recently released their new song Bigger Jaws which features a special guest. Yep, that's right New Found Glory's Jordan Pundik lends some guest vocals to Bigger Jaws. In fact, the singer sounds a lot like him so it's like a buy one get one free of Jordan Pundik's which we're definitely not complaining about. Also, look at the shark on the cover that has summer written all over it, right? Okay maybe not but the song is a pretty good one to put on your summer playlists. 


If you have any more suggestions, whether it's your favourite band, you're own band or a friend's band, we'd love to hear from you. Please email us pop.punk.uk@gmail.com 

The Works of Sam Pura...

In the Bay Area of California, Fremont to be precise, lies The Panda Studios where otherworldly things appear to happen. Founded by Sam Pura in 2003, the studios have hosted a number of critically acclaimed names including Man Overboard, Polar Bear Club, Balance and Composure and The Story So Far. Not only does Pura mix, master, engineer and produce albums and EPs, he also started The Waiting Room in 2011 which is a live performance series intended to showcase the live talents of bands instead of just their abilities in the recording studio. Because of the sheer brilliance of Sam Pura's releases we thought we'd bring you a list of our favourite albums that have been recorded and produced at The Panda Studios.

1. The Story So Far - Under Soil and Dirt
Pura worked on The Story So Far's debut album Under Soil and Dirt which received a prodigious reception. Not only did he produce the record, but it was also engineered, mixed and mastered by him too. Pura has worked on TSSF's other releases starting with While you Were Sleeping and their split with Maker. He also recently co-produced The Story So Far's most recent release What you Don't See with Steve Klein from New Found Glory. In an interview with Casual Friday Pura stated that the reason The Story So Far keep coming back to the Panda Studios is: 'They always wanted to be a serious band and I think working together really helped them recognize their potential as a touring band... They know that I’m on their team and have a lot of respect for them as people and their music... The Story So Far is the perfect example of a band who comes to the studio to work real hard, but wants to have a good time and make sure their songs feel good'. 

2. Misser - Distancing 
Misser is the creation of Tim Landers of Transit and Brad Wiseman formerly of This Time Next Year. What started as a side project can now safely be called a band after a number of great releases. Pura worked on the band's EP which was a follow up to their debut releases Problems.Problems.Problems and Every day I tell myself I'm going to be a better person. Absolute Punk even said of Distancing 'I, for one, hope that Landers realizes that Misser serves as a much brighter showcase of his talent than does Transit' 



3.State Champs - The Finer Things
Pura engineered, mixed and co produced (with Steve Klein) State Champ's debut album The Finer Things. Tyler had this to say about Sam's work in an interview with Property of Zack: 'Sam was pretty involved. Sam engineered it. So a lot of the time, for the last week, me and Steve would be in one side of the studio working on leads, while Sam was doing something in the other room with vocals or rhythm guitar. A lot of the times it was just Sam like, “Hey. You’re not doing that right. That needs to be better.” Because he wants to put out a sick record too. His thing is that every record he wants to be better and better. I think he’s doing it. It sounds sick so far.'


4.The American Scene - Safe For Now

Alternative Press stated in a review that Safe For Now is'assured, confident statement with far greater musical and emotional depth from TAS's occasionally homogenized scene'. Pura produced, mixed and engineered Safe For Now and Jeff Wright commented in a interview with Already Heard on their working and personal relationship with Sam:  " Sam has been apart of our musician lives forever. Even some of our other bands have recorded with him and we’ve known him for a long time. He’s one of our really good friends and he’s a great engineer and producer. Recording with him is really easy for us because we’re just friends and he knows what we’re thinking so we don’t have to try and break it down for him." 

5.Basement - Colourmeinkindness

Under the gun called Colourmeinkindness 'an amazing adaptation of 90’s emo and a grunge-filled masterpiece that, while it may serve as the end of the band, is certainly the perfect way to say goodbye'. Although Basement broke up in 2012, Basement and Pura's work will never be consigned to an inadvertent memory. The band stated that working with Sam was a creative experience which pushed new things out from the band. Guitarist Alex Henery said of Pura: 'Luckily Sam Pura really understood where we were going with the record sonically and helped us enormously in creating the record we wanted. He gave us so many ideas and helped us explore new techniques in layering and texturizing the sound of the album.'

6.The Story So Far - What you don't see
Sam Pura co produced What you don't see with Steve Klein. Kelen stated in an interview with Alternative Press:  'We are all in such a close vicinity to each other, and it’s the team we’ve worked with since we started, so it’s just the functionality of it. We trust each other, so we have this little network to help our friends out and they can help us out. We know from our experiences recording with Sam [that it works]' 

7. Forever Came Calling - Contender
Contender was engineered by Sam Pura and co produced by Matt Vincent/ Sam Pura. Joe Candelaria said of Sam in an interview with Fuck Yeah Pop Punk: 'Sam is one of the hardest working dudes we have ever had the opportunity to work with. He told us “Hey, let’s work with a pop structure with this record. You have cool parts, let’s make a chorus so we don’t fuck up and make a weird minute long song with no chorus and it’s just one verse and a weird ending.” He helped us restructure a lot of the songs, as far as taking a guitar part that was awesome and making it into a chorus and repeating. The difference from other records is that we followed a bit more of a structured sound'.

Credit to Alternative Press, Absolute Punk, Already Heard, Casual Friday, Fuck Yeah Pop Punk, Property of Zack, Under the Gun for interviews.