Up & Coming Pop Punk Bands | Unamused Dave

Unamused Dave are a band with the most impressive EP artwork we have seen in a while. Described on their bandcamp as your 'basic rock band that spends their time doing their homework two weeks in advance and wiping their feet before entering the house', Unamused Dave are a band you'd be silly to miss out on. They kindly answered some questions for us about their recent release Leroy, their magnificant artwork that accompanies it and how they came up with their unusual name...

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

We are from Germantown Hills, Illinois. It is a suburb right outside of Peoria, Illinois.

WHERE DID GET THE NAME UNAMUSED DAVE FROM?  

One of our frontmen, Bryson Maddock, has a dad name Dave. We found some old family pictures of him just staring at the camera, and that is how the name "Unamused Dave" originated.

IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE UNAMUSED DAVE'S MUSIC IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

 Emo Pop Punk.

YOU RECENTLY RELEASED YOUR EP LEROY, TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT... 

Well 90% of our album was written by our other frontman Seth Wagers. Bryson sings on it too, and he wrote his own lyrics, while our drummer, Jack Dintelman, chipped in a little too. Seth gave our bass player, Brayden Lambiase, a simple bass line and Brayden branched off from there. The EP was started back in September of 2014 and ended up being released on May 29th, 2015. The drums were recorded in a church, while the rest of the EP was recorded in Seth's bedroom.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE ARTWORK FOR LEROY? 

It is actually an old picture of Seth's uncle, Scott Wagers. Seth saw it at his grandparent's house and thought it would be perfect for a cover. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG FROM LEROY AND WHY? 

It is hard to pick a favorite song. It would be like choosing your favorite kid. We love every song equally. 

TELL US ONE THING ABOUT UNAMUSED DAVE WE MIGHT BE SUPRISED TO KNOW?

Most bands buy a big van and a trailer to tour in. We fit all our equipment, clothes, food, and ourselves all into a mini van and just recently toured the Midwest. It was all in a mini van.

IF YOU COULD PLAY A SHOW WITH ANY BAND WHO WOULD IT BE?

The Story So Far or Title Fight. 

Unamused Dave's Facebook | Twitter

Up & Coming Pop Punk Bands | Coast To Coast

For today's up and coming post we have Coast to Coast who have just released their brand new EP, Lessons Learned. We asked the band a few questions to get to know a bit more about them...

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

The short answer is that we're from all over, ha. Myself (Chris) and Derek are both from the same small town in the state of Kentucky in the USA. Tomo and Yuichi are both from Aichi Prefecture in Japan. Matty is originally from Brazil, but has grown up in Japan most of his life. Brent was born in the USA, but grew up in Germany and Australia. We usually just say he's Australian haha.

HOW DID YOU FORM?

Coast to Coast originally came together in late 2011, and was a creation of Brent and Tomo's. There was a short hiatus in 2013 after Brent was in an accident that left him hospitalized for a while. During that time some of the original members moved on to other things. The current lineup came together in late 2013. Brent and Matty met and became friends after Brent noticed Matty wearing the shirt of a band that he liked. Tomo and Yuichi had been friends since school. I knew Tomo from my time as an exchange student in Japan years earlier. Derek is a friend of mine from home, and we'd played in bands together before, so he came over shortly after I did.

So basically Tomo and Brent got together and talked about getting CTC rolling again. Tomo enlisted Yuichi on drums; Brent brought in Matty. Tomo asked me about guitar, and I eventually brought Derek over as well and that was that!

DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN FIVE WORDS FOR SOMEONE WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE LISTENED TO YOUR MUSIC BEFORE...

(1) Upbeat, (2) Driving, (3) Fun, (4) Intense, (5) Catchy.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW EP, LESSONS LEARNED...

‘Lessons Learned’ is the first fully produced EP for CTC. After we all got together, we set out to define our sound. We all come from different musical and cultural backgrounds, so this EP is a mix of everything we've learned along the way... about ourselves, other people, or the world in general. For this release we chose the 5 songs that best reflected an even mix of our various influences. So there's a range of heavy to poppy, lighthearted to intense throughout.

We recorded the EP ourselves here in Japan, then had Seth Henderson at ABG Studios (Knucklepuck) do mixing and mastering. The EP will be released physically here in Japan via our label, Maxtreme Records, on July 8th. For the rest of the world, it's already available online via iTunes and Bandcamp!

 WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG FROM LESSONS LEARNED AND WHY?

This is a tough question, because I feel like it changes every week almost haha. Overall, my favorite to listen to is probably the opening track, 'Empty'. It started out as my least favorite, but I've really come to like it. It's poppy and fun to listen to, but also I really like the lyrics--both their meaning and how Brent and Matty deliver them.

DO YOU PREFER RECORDING OR PLAYING LIVE?

Another tough one. I really love recording; the technicality and precision required, and being able to hear what you've created as a listener rather than a performer is all awesome... but, I definitely prefer playing live. There's nothing that can compare to putting all of your heart and all of your voice into playing the songs that you've created, and then having your fans do the same with you.

IF YOU COULD PLAY A SHOW WITH ANY BAND, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

I always want to play shows with bands I'm either (a) really into at the time, or (b) I've never seen live. Recently I've been really jamming Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! I love their style, and the blend of genres they pull off, and as a musician I'd love to watch their show to see how they do it, and what I might be able to pick up from them. We'll actually be playing a date with them and A Loss For Words on their upcoming Japan tour this September, so I'm pretty stoked for that!

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP FIVE FAVOURITE POP PUNK ALBUMS?

I'm going to give you six, if that's OK--one for each member.

Brent: Four Year Strong – Rise or Die Trying

Matty: A Day to Remember – Homesick

Tomo: Hit the Lights – Skip School, Start Fights

Yuichi: As It Is – Never Happy, Ever After

Chris: Senses Fail – Let It Enfold You

Derek: Brand New – Deja Entendu

Lessons Learned is out now! Check it out below:

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