Underdog Alma Mater

Underdog Alma Mater
Studio album by Forever the Sickest Kids
Released	April 29, 2008 July 7, 2009 (Deluxe Edition)
Recorded	2007–2008 at Red Bull Studios, Santa Monica, California Annetenna Studio, Burbank, California
Genre	Pop punk[1] power pop pop rock
Length	39:48
Label	Universal Motown
Producer	Matt Squire Geoff Rockwell Matt Mahaffey Jeff Turzo
Forever the Sickest Kids chronology
Hot Party Jamz (2008) Underdog Alma Mater (2008) The Weekend: Friday (2009)
Singles from Underdog Alma Mater
"Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)" Released: April 1, 2008 "She's a Lady" Released: July 14, 2008

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
AbsolutePunk.net	(78%)[3]
Punktastic	[4]

Underdog Alma Mater is the debut studio album by American band Forever the Sickest Kids. It was released on April 29, 2008 worldwide through Universal Motown Records.^[5]

On July 7, 2009, the deluxe edition of the album was released. It featured the twelve original songs from the album and seventeen additional tracks from the band, mainly from the band's earlier days. A DVD with live shows and other footage was also included, as well.

Background

Although its official release was not until April 29, many of the songs from Underdog Alma Mater had already been released in the band's previous EPs.

The band's very first EP, Television Off, Party On, featured the tracks "Believe Me, I'm Lying", "She's a Lady", and "Breakdown". However, these tracks have a significantly different sound to them in their respective recordings from the EP and Underdog Alma Mater. On the band's release, The Sickest Warped Tour EP, "Hey Brittany" and "Coffee Break" were featured on it, but were also different from their respective recorded versions on the album. Unlike the other songs, on the band's EP, Hot Party Jamz, the track "That for Me" was featured, but its recording remained the same as it was on the album.

During the writing of the songs for the album, guitarist Marc Stewart stated, "Our songs are about real stuff that's happened to us because that's what kids want to hear about. They want to listen to stories about things that could happen to them as well, or that already have happened to them."^[6]

The track "Believe Me, I'm Lying", written by Austin Bello and Caleb Turman, is based on how Turman once ran into trouble with his girlfriend after he lied to her and left her in tears. Turman stated, "I was hanging out with some other girls, but I told my girlfriend that I was going out by myself. So, the girls and I decided to get some coffee, and as we're walking to the car, my girlfriend pulled up and her headlights were right there in my face. I was totally busted."^[6]

"Believe Me, I'm Lying" and the track "My Worst Nightmare" were both written by Bello and Turman and both tracks had originally descended from the duo's former acoustic/electronic project Been Bradley. The original recordings of these two songs are featured on the deluxe edition of Underdog Alma Mater.

Track listing

All music composed by Jonathan Cook, Austin Bello, Caleb Turman, Kyle Burns, Marc Stewart, and Kent Garrison. All vocals by Cook, Bello, and Turman, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)"	Cook Bello Turman	Matt Squire Geoff Rockwell	3:24
2.	"Hey Brittany" (Cook/Turman)	Cook Bello Turman	Squire Rockwell	3:05
3.	"My Worst Nightmare"	Bello Turman	Matt Mahaffey Jeff Turzo Rockwell	3:45
4.	"Believe Me, I'm Lying"	Bello Turman	Squire Rockwell	3:05
5.	"The Way She Moves"	Bello Turman	Mahaffey Turzo Rockwell	3:42
6.	"She's a Lady"	Cook Bello Turman Stewart	Squire Rockwell	4:00
7.	"Uh Huh"	Bello Turman	Mahaffey Turzo Rockwell	2:58
8.	"Phone Call"	Bello Turman	Squire Rockwell	3:18
9.	"Breakdown" (Cook/Turman)	Cook Turman	Mahaffey Turzo Rockwell	3:37
10.	"That for Me"	Bello Turman	Squire Rockwell	2:56
11.	"Coffee Break" (Cook/Turman)	Cook Turman	Squire Rockwell	2:40
12.	"Catastrophe"	Bello Turman Shep Goodman	Squire Rockwell	3:18
Total length:				39:48

Best Buy bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Give and Take (Remix)"	Cook Bello Turman	2:19
14.	"Hurricane Haley"	Bello Turman	3:42

iTunes bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Indiana"	Bello Turman	3:47
14.	"Becky Starz (Remix)"	Cook Bello Turman	3:47

UK bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"The Party Song"	Cook Bello Turman	3:30

Deluxe Edition tracklist
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Cook Bello Turman Burns Stewart Garrison	0:19
2.	"Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)"	Cook Bello Turman	3:24
3.	"Hey Brittany" (Cook/Turman)	Cook Bello Turman	3:05
4.	"My Worst Nightmare"	Bello Turman	3:45
5.	"Believe Me, I'm Lying"	Bello Turman	3:05
6.	"The Way She Moves"	Bello Turman	3:42
7.	"She's a Lady"	Cook Bello Turman Stewart	4:00
8.	"Uh Huh"	Bello Turman	2:58
9.	"Phone Call"	Bello Turman	3:18
10.	"Breakdown" (Cook/Turman)	Cook Turman	3:37
11.	"That for Me"	Bello Turman	2:56
12.	"Coffee Break" (Cook/Turman)	Cook Turman	2:40
13.	"Catastrophe"	Bello Turman Goodman	3:18
14.	"Middletro"	Cook Bello Turman Burns Stewart Garrison	0:15
15.	"Believe Me, I'm Lying (Original Demo)" (Bello/Turman)	Bello Turman	1:59
16.	"Indiana (Hotel Demo)" (Bello/Turman)	Bello Turman	2:44
17.	"Who Invited the Monster" (Bello)	Bello	1:53
18.	"Bundled Up" (Cook)	Cook Bello Turman	2:47
19.	"Uh Huh (Demo)"	Bello Turman	1:40
20.	"Catastrophe (Acoustic Demo)"	Bello Turman Goodman	2:53
21.	"Believe Me, I'm Lying" (featuring Chae Hawk)	Bello Turman Chae Hawk Geoff Rockwell	3:52
22.	"My Worst Nightmare (Demo)" (Bello/Turman)	Bello Turman	1:21
23.	"Give and Take (Acoustic Demo)"	Cook Bello Turman	1:22
24.	"Give and Take (Remix)"	Cook Bello Turman	2:19
25.	"Heat Wave Jam Out" (Cook)	Cook	1:35
26.	"The Party Song"	Cook Bello Turman	3:30
27.	"Love Story" (Cook)	Taylor Swift	3:24
28.	"Cop Car (Demo)"	Cook Bello Turman	3:14
29.	"Outro"	Cook Bello Turman Burns Stewart Garrison	0:08

Deluxe Edition bonus DVD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"To the Show"
2.	"Alien Encounters"
3.	"Battle of the Bands"
4.	"The Death of Scuz"
5.	"Forever the Sickest Epilogue"
6.	"1755 Live"
7.	"In the Mix"
8.	"She's a Lady (Music video)"
9.	"She's a Lady (UK music video)"
10.	"Behind the Video of Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)"
11.	"Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone) (Music video)"
12.	"Jumping (Out the Window) (Music video)"
13.	"London September 2008"
14.	"London September 2008 part 2"
15.	"London September 2008 part 3"
16.	"London September 2008 part 4 - 'Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)'"
17.	"London September 2008 part 5 - 'She's a Lady'"
18.	"London September 2008 part 6 - 'Hey Brittany'"

Personnel

Forever the Sickest Kids Jonathan Cook – vocals Austin Bello – bass guitar, vocals Caleb Turman – rhythm guitar, vocals Marc Stewart – lead guitar Kent Garrison – keyboards, synthesizers Kyle Burns – drums, percussion

Additional Tom Coyne – mastering Tom Lord-Alge – mixing Shep Goodman – A&R Evan Hunt – photography Cover concept and Underdog Alma Mater emblem illustration by Kyle Burns

Promotion

Fans would receive special bonuses by pre-ordering the album from certain retailers.^[7]

• Best Buy
  • Two bonus tracks: "Give & Take (Remix)" and "Hurricane Haley"
  • A bonus live video of the band's full set at SXSW
• Interpunk
  • Button, sticker, and signed poster
• iTunes (Digital download)
  • Two bonus tracks: "Becky Starz (Remix)" and "Indiana"
• Newbury Comics
  • Signed CD booklet
• SmartPunk
  • Autographed poster

Chart performance

Chart (2008)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	45[8]

References

1. Fulton, Katherine. "Underdog Alma Mater - Forever the Sickest Kids | Songs, Reviews Credis | AllMusic". All Music. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
2. Underdog Alma Mater at AllMusic
3. AbsolutePunk.net Review
4. Punktastic
5. "Forever the Sickest Kids' MySpace". MySpace, Forever the Sickest Kids. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
6. Underdog Alma Mater JamBase
7. "Forever the Sickest Kids' MySpace". MySpace, Forever the Sickest Kids. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
8. Forever the Sickest Kids Billboard Chart trajectory - Billboard 200