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July 2002: St. Louis-bred fivesome Story Of The Year (then known as Big Blue Monkey) hits the stage at the Phoenix,Arizonastop of the Vans
Warped Tour in the Peoria Sports Complex. But, there?s no real stage ? rather, the group iscrammed ontoa rickety platform that?s relegated
to a remote corner of the venue. Although temperatures are well north of103 degreesand the assembled audience is largely unfamiliar with
the band, Story Of The Year doesn?t just play the songs onthe setlist ?they live for it and deliver.
July 2004: Story Of The Year hits the stage of the Vans Warped Tour, thoug ...read more
July 2002: St. Louis-bred fivesome Story Of The Year (then known as Big Blue Monkey) hits the stage at the Phoenix,Arizonastop of the Vans
Warped Tour in the Peoria Sports Complex. But, there?s no real stage ? rather, the group iscrammed ontoa rickety platform that?s relegated
to a remote corner of the venue. Although temperatures are well north of103 degreesand the assembled audience is largely unfamiliar with
the band, Story Of The Year doesn?t just play the songs onthe setlist ?they live for it and deliver.
July 2004: Story Of The Year hits the stage of the Vans Warped Tour, though this time it?s on decidedly different terms ?forstarters, they?re
playing the main stage. Thousands of dedicated fans rush to the front in an effort to gain a glimpse ofthegroup well before the first note is
even heard. Precisely as they?d done two years prior, the fivesome doesn?t just playthesongs on the setlist ? they live for it and deliver.
It?s this remarkable consistency that?s embedded within the collective mindset of Story Of The Year. Though they?remusicians first, the band
also takes time out for a bit of good, sometimes-not-so-clean fun and games. ?You can?t beseriousfor too long,? says bassist Adam Russell.
And it?s this well-balanced attitude that?s worked to the benefit of the group, particularly in the success of 2003?snearplatinum, Maverick
debut Page Avenue.
The next several months post-Page Avenue?s release were filled with whirlwind blurs of touring stints, both domesticandinternational,
interrupted by mere days of rest. In fact, Story Of The Year wouldn?t have a significant break from theroaduntil the end of 2004, when it
came time to write and record their follow-up to Page Avenue.
Writing sessions began almost immediately after the band?s touring cycle ended. ?We pretty much got together in thewinterand just started
working it like a 40-hour-a-week job,? Marsala says. Most of the writing took place at guitarist RyanPhillips?house, whose residence also
doubled as the band?s practice studio.
With songwriting sessions wrapped up, the band joined forces with veteran producer Steve Evetts (Snapcase, Hatebreed)tobegin tracking
their new album. ?[He recorded] a lot of old records that I grew up listening to, some of my favorite recordsofall time,? says Marsala of
Evetts. ?That?s one of the main reasons why a bunch of us were like, ?Yeah, we should talk tothisguy and see if he?s cool.? And the first time
we met with him, it was like instantly good chemistry. He really knew whatwewere trying to go for and we all agreed and were on the same
page.
?We felt like we were always a little heavier than [Page Avenue] sounded,? he adds. ?Live, we always played heavier thanourrecord actually
sounded, so we wanted to try and capture our live sound on this record.?
Capturing Story Of The Year?s stage sonics also meant being physically able to perform on record as the band had doneontour. During initial
tracking sessions for Josh Wills? drums in a Chicago studio, Marsala, Phillips, guitarist Philip Sneedandbassist Adam Russell performed
alongside Wills, making sure to incorporate all their stage maneuvers.
?We did the drums with everyone in the room and we were actually jumping and stuff!,? says Marsala. ?It was really cool,weacted like we
were playing a show. Even Steve was in the room, rockin? out with us.?
And when the drum sessions were complete, Wills made it a point to let everyone know. On the last take for the last songonthe record, ?Josh
stabbed the heads of drums with his drumstick, pushed his drums over and we were all screaming,?Russellrecalls. ?We were feeling the fire!?
That same fire blazed its way back to St. Louis, as Story Of The Year continued its sessions at what became theprimaryrecording studio for
the new album ? Phillips? practice room.
?It?s just a big room, so we can run around and sweat in there,? says Marsala. ?We made it really soundproof andwithProTools now, you can
record anything anywhere. We did guitars, bass and vocals all in our practice room. It?seasierbecause you?re at home, you can spend more
time, you don?t have to drive anywhere or go anywhere.?
The band spent plenty of time at their new studio, mostly recording, but at times, blowing off a little steam with plentyofpranks ? much like
the sort found on their recent DVD release, Live at the Lou/Bassassins ? like tossing snap bags ateachother. (Don?t try this at home!)
?Phil took off his shirt, and I was throwing handfuls of ?em at him,? Russell says. ?He was like, ?Dude, throw two more!?Ieventually threw
like 15 at his chest and he ended up with all these red marks. We took a big straw and startedshootingthem at each other.
Weeks later, Story Of The Year finalized their sophomore Maverick full-length, aptly dubbed In The Wake Of Determination. ?We were really
excited to write a new record, we knew exactly what we wanted to do, and we knew how we wanted tocomeacross,? says Marsala. ?We were
just really determined, so it seemed as if the title worked really well. That was ourmindsetthe entire time.?
Firing off with the first single, ?We Don?t Care Anymore,? In The Wake Of Determination immediately finds Story Of TheYearon a full-throttle
course throughout its dozen tracks. The track offers tight, synchronized guitar riffing interspersedwithbroad choruses, and according to
Marsala is about ?the pressure of making a second record for a band like us, or justthepressure in anyone?s life, you know. Having to follow
up to your first record, you can?t ruin what you already had, orelseyour band will be over. We could worry about all these things and have the
pressure get to us, or we can do thingsforourselves, do it the way we want to do it, and just have fun doing it.?
?Five Against The World? finds Story Of The Year reflecting on its success and accomplishments over the past couple years.?These are good
days and we?ll remember this stuff for the rest of our lives,? Marsala says. ?We?re happy to see where we?ve gone. We never thought we?d
get as far as we did. It?s just an awesome thing.?
As one of the most propulsive tracks on In The Wake Of Determination, ?Jarhead? recalls the hyper-tempo bursts ofthelegendary East Coast
hardcore scene. As its title might suggest, ?Jarhead? also points out miscreants whose sole purposeisto cause a commotion.
?From my whole life of going to shows and over the last few years of playing shows, you?d see those guys in the crowdwhoyou could tell
aren?t there for the music whatsoever,? says Marsala. ?They?re just there to beat up as many kids astheycan. But it?s not only about going
to shows; it?s about any random, tough guy who thinks he?s tougher than any otherguy inthe world. He takes his aggression out to prove
how cool he is. Why are you here? We?re here to have a good time,not totry and fight people.?
In addition to having a good time, Story Of The Year also has plenty of reason to celebrate. And looking back at the band?sroots as a hard-
working, independent operation, Marsala understands just how much the band?s hard work and efforthasfinally paid off.
?It helps that we were that band that nobody knew and we?d try to go around and sell our CD,? Marsala recalls. ?Especiallyon Warped Tour, I
see a lot of bands do this now ? but at the time we were one of the only bands that would walkout thereand try to put headphones on people?
s heads and sell them our CDs. It?s good to have that background of workinglike that,just to appreciate how lucky you are to make it as far
as you did.?
After all, such determination (interspersed with an ounce of good humor) isn?t just the story of the year ?? it?s the story ofalifetime. « hide |
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