State Champs

State Champs
Background information
Origin Albany, New York
Genres Pop punk
Years active 2010–present
Labels Pure Noise
Website www.statechampsny.com
Members Derek Discanio
Tyler Szalkowski
Ryan Scott Graham
Tony Diaz
Evan Ambrosio
Past members William Goodermote
Dave Fogarty
Matt Croteau

State Champs is an American pop punk band from Averill Park, New York, formed in 2010. They are currently signed to Pure Noise Records and have released three EPs and two full-length albums. They released an acoustic EP titled The Acoustic Things in October 2014 and their second full-length album Around the World and Back one year later, in October 2015. Their 2013 full-length, The Finer Things,[1][2][3] debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.[4]

History

Formation and early releases (2010–12)

State Champs formed in the spring of 2010 in Albany, New York[5] by founding members lead guitarist Tyler Szalkowski and lead singer Derek DiScanio. Shortly after forming, they self-released EP 2010 in August,[6] which was followed by their second self-released EP, Apparently, I’m Nothing, in January 2011.[7] This EP contained several new songs and 2010 EP in its entirety. In July, the band toured with The Tired and True and Call It Fiction.[8] In April 2012, interest in a demo of "Critical" helped the band gain a recording contract, a management company and a booking agency.[9] On April 19, it was announced that the band signed to Pure Noise.[10] In July and August, the band toured with With the Punches and Forever Came Calling[11] on The PropertyOfZack Tour.[12] The band released the Overslept EP[5] in September through Pure Noise.[13] In September and October, the band supported Handguns,[14] then supported Citizen the following month.[15] The band toured alongside Hit the Lights, A Loss for Words and With the Punches in December.[16]

The Finer Things and The Acoustic Things (2013–15)

Originally, the band was supposed to support Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! on their Pardon My French Tour in March and April 2013;[17] instead Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! went on tour with A Day to Remember, resulting in State Champs supporting Handguns on their Pardon My Angst tour in March.[18] The band finished recording their debut full-length with producer Sam Pura at The Panda Studios and co-producer and former New Found Glory guitarist Steve Klein in Fremont, CA in May 2013.[19]

Their debut full-length album, The Finer Things, was released on October 8, 2013.[20] It debuted at #2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart,[4] selling a little over 3,100 copies in the first week of release. To support the album, the band supported Motion City Soundtrack and Bayside on a fall tour in North America. The band spent a majority of 2014 touring in support of The Finer Things. The band started their busy 2014 schedule in March with their first full United States tour, opening for We Are The In Crowd, William Becket, Set It Off and Candy Hearts.[21] Shortly after completing this tour, the band headed on tour overseas for the first time to support pop-punk band The Wonder Years and A Loss for Words. The tour routed throughout the UK and mainland Europe.[22]

The band performed on the Kevin Says stage for the 2014 installment of the Vans Warped Tour occasionally playing the main Kia Soul stage.[23] During the tour, it was announced that the band would also be co-headlining the 2014 Pure Noise Records Tour with Handguns, with support from Forever Came Calling, Front Porch Step, Heart to Heart and Brigades.[24] On October 7, 2014, the band released an acoustic EP titled The Acoustic Things which featured acoustic versions of five tracks from The Finer Things as well as two new songs.[25]

Around the World and Back (2015–present)

The band opened for All Time Low on that group's Future Hearts tour in spring 2015, and then opened for 5 Seconds of Summer in June 2015 in Australia and New Zealand. On July 15, the band announced their second album, Around the World and Back, would be released on October 16;[26] by November, the album had reached #30 in the U.S. Billboard Top 200 Albums charts.[27] The band began a co-headlining world tour in the UK with Neck Deep in February 2016, with support from Creeper and Light Years.[28] The tour continued in the US and Canada in February and March with support from Knuckle Puck and Like Pacific. Official music videos were produced for two of the album's singles, "All You Are Is History" and "Secrets".[27]

Style

State Champs have been described as pop punk.[5] The Finer Things has been described as pop punk.[29][30][31][32]

Accolades

Around the World and Back was ranked at number 4 in Alternative Press's "10 Essential Records of 2015" list.[33] Mackenzie Hall of Alternative Press wrote that the band brought "everything you love about old-school pop punk with new-school heart."[33] The album was included at number 8 on Rock Sound's top 50 releases of 2015 list.[34] "If I'm Lucky" was nominated for Best Music Video and "Secrets" was nominated for Song Of The Year at the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards.[35]

Band members

Current members

Former members
  • William Goodermote - bass (2010–13)
  • Dave Fogarty - guitar (2010–11)
  • Matt Croteau - drums (2010–12)

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
US
[36][37]
US Rock
[38][39]
US Indie
[40][41]
US Alt
[42]
AUS
[43]
UK
[44]
The Finer Things 132 43 24
Around the World and Back
  • Release date: October 16, 2015
  • Label: Pure Noise
  • Formats: CD, DL, LP
30 3 5 3 31 78
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Extended plays

References

Citations
  1. "State Champs - The Finer Things". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  2. "State Champs - The Finer Things". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  3. Review of The Finer Things, Kerrang, October 12, 2013, p. 52.
  4. 1 2 Charts, Allmusic
  5. 1 2 3 Thomas, Fred. "State Champs | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  6. "Ep - 2010 - Ep by State Champs". iTunes. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  7. Ilvonen, Keagan (January 18, 2011). "Featured Stream: State Champs". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  8. Nassiff, Thomas (June 27, 2011). "State Champs Tour Dates". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  9. Walker 2015, p. 45
  10. Ilvonen, Keagan (April 19, 2012). "State Champs Sign To Pure Noise Records". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  11. DiVincenzo, Alex (May 24, 2012). "With the Punches, Forever Came Calling, State Champs Tour". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  12. Wagner, Christian (May 11, 2012). "The PropertyOfZack Tour". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  13. DiVincenzo, Alex (July 5, 2012). "State Champs Detail New 7". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  14. Ilvonen, Keagan (August 30, 2012). "Dates For Handguns Headlining Fall Tour". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  15. Ilvonen, Keagan (September 24, 2012). "Citizen Fall Tour With State Champs and Candy Hearts". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  16. DiVincenzo, Alex (October 18, 2012). "Hit the Lights/A Loss For Words Tour Dates". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  17. Paul, Aubin (January 20, 2013). "Tours: Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! / Handguns / State Champs / City Lights". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  18. Ilvonen, Keagan (January 25, 2013). "Handguns Announce The "Pardon My Angst" Tour". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  19. State Champs finish recording full length, AbsolutePunk
  20. The Finer Things release announcement, AbsolutePunk
  21. We Are The In Crowd Tour Dates, AbsolutePunk
  22. State Champs UK tour with The Wonder Years, AbsolutePunk
  23. Warped Tour 2014 Stage Guide, VansWarpedTour.com
  24. 2014 Pure Noise Tour Announcement, PureNoise.net
  25. State Champs ‘The Acoustic Things’ EP premiere, AltPress.com
  26. "State Champs announce new album with "Secrets" single - Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  27. 1 2 Ciccone, Rachael (March 9, 2016). "An Interview with State Champs: They've Got More Secrets Than You'll Ever Know". The Aquarian Weekly (Arts Weekly Inc.). Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  28. Biddulph, Andy (October 5, 2015). "Neck Deep + State Champs Just Announced An Amazing Tour". Rock Sound Magazine. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  29. Gardner, Ryan. "State Champs - The Finer Things". Absolute Punk. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  30. Kraus, Brian (October 4, 2013). "State Champs - The Finer Things". Altpress.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  31. RENALDO69 (October 30, 2013). "State Champs - The Finer Things". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  32. Ritchie, Andy (October 4, 2013). "State Champs - The Finer Things - Reviews". Rock Sound. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  33. 1 2 Hall 2015, p. 96
  34. Bird, ed. 2016, p. 28
  35. Whitt, Cassie (March 18, 2016). "Here are the nominees for the 2016 AP Music Awards!". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  36. "State Champs – Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
  37. "Billboard 200". Billboard. October 26, 2013.
  38. "State Champs – Top Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
  39. "Top Rock Albums". Billboard. October 26, 2013. (subscription required (help)).
  40. "State Champs – Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
  41. "Independent Albums". Billboard. October 26, 2013.
  42. "State Champs – Alternative Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
  43. "State Champs". Hung Medien.
  44. "State Champs". Official Charts Company.
  45. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015.
  46. Awards, The Acoustic Things, Allmusic.com
Sources
  • Bird, Ryan, ed. (January 2016). "Top 50 Releases of the Year". Rock Sound (London: Freeway Press Inc.) (208). ISSN 1465-0185. 
  • Hall, Mackenzie (December 2015). "10 Essential Records of 2015". Alternative Press (Cleveland: Alternative Press Magazine, Inc.) (330). ISSN 1065-1667. 
  • Walker, Jennyfer J. (October 17, 2015). McMahon, James, ed. "Passport to Fame". Kerrang! (London: Bauer Media Group) (1590). ISSN 0262-6624. 
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