Team Beardcore, or, Say Hi to Four Year Strong
disclaimer: this is not a comprehensive primer, it's a very general overview and mostly picspam and videospam of awesome. not at all dial-up safe.
Meet Four Year Strong. They're a band from Worcester, Massachusetts and they are awesome. They're also one of the newest signees on Decaydance.
from left to right: Joe Weiss (bass), Alan Day (guitar/vocals), Josh Lyford (synth), Dan O'Connor (guitar/vocals), Jake Massucco (drums)
Dan O'Connor (23, guitar/vocals)
Alan Day (20, guitar/vocals)
Joe Weiss (bass)
Jackson "Jake" Massucco (20, drums)
Josh Lyford (synth)
Four Year Strong formed in 2001 while Dan, Alan, and Jake were still in high school along with two other friends. The two friends later left and were replaced by Joe and Josh but not before going through more lineup changes. Josh is the newest member, having joined on synth in 2006. The name stems from the friendships the members forged in high school and a lyric from the Get Up Kids' "Michelle with One L". They changed it from to A Four Year Strong but later dropped the A. Unfortunately, my Google-fu fails me and there isn't a lot more info on the band aside from official materials and such.
They built up a strong local following thanks to their energetic live show and blend of hardcore and pop-punk, taking their cues from the local hardcore scene, New Found Glory, Lifetime, Gorilla Biscuits, Saves The Day and a variety of other bands. The buzz built off their myspace/purevolume plays and word of mouth got the attention of one Rob Hitt. You might know him as the drummer of a certain now-defunct New Jersey band named Midtown and he currently manages The Cab. Rob signs Four Year Strong to his label, I Surrender Records, and their latest album, Rise or Die Trying, is released in September 2007.
Thanks to constant touring, positive word of mouth and most likely a good word from Rob as he's also their A&R and works for Crush, Four Year Strong get the attention of Pete Wentz. Pete likes what he hears and invites them to open a special Schrute Farms show, and the official announcement of their addition to Decaydance is made in February. In celebration, Rise or Die Trying is briefly re-released on Friends or Enemies for free download.
These guys are tour fiends. They've toured with bands like Straylight Run, Bayside, Steel Train, Alesana, Mayday Parade, Armor For Sleep, Every Time I Die, From First to Last and just finished opening The Starting Line's farewell tour. They've played Bamboozle and are slated for more festivals overseas with acts like Paramore, Alkaline Trio, Cobra Starship, The Color Fred, and tours with Every Avenue, New Four Glory, Set Your Goals, and will be playing all of this year's Warped dates. So there's no excuse to check them out live. Their show is insane. I'd go again and again and again because they are just that awesome.
Pictures!
All photos came from flickr, buzznet, and official press materials.
in their natural habitat
DON'T DROP ALAN!!
the guys of As Cities Burn and Mayday Parade join in the gang vocals
Four Year Strong will fuck your shit up. Seriously. Decaydance Industries' special forces squad, y/y?
the artwork of Rise of Die Trying.
WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT THIS? IT'S A WIZARD AND HIS PET MONKEY RIDING A SQUID AND BATTLING ROBOT SHARKS. IN SPACE. AND ALIENS WITH TENTACLES. COME ON, THAT IS A GLORIOUS PIECE OF ART. GERARD WAY WOULD BE INSANELY JEALOUS HE DIDN'T USE IT FIRST. YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP. <3333333333
LOL THRILLER
straight from the band:
Yea they are signing stuff in their underwear!
That's totally Alan and Josh in their underwear signing stuff, that's how much they love the fys fans they would come out of the shower (together) to just to sign stuff...
TRUFAX, FOUR YEAR STRONG'S BEARDS ARE THE BEST. THERE'S THE AWARD TO PROVE IT.
'sup, Eugene Montross shirt?
A FAN INVITED THEM HOME AND HIS PARENTS FED THEM. HOW COOL IS THAT?
The Music
Four Year Strong's brand of music falls under the pop-punk label, but labels include "happy hardcore", "melodic hardcore", "post-hardcore", the joking "beardcore", etc. Comparisons include Set Your Goals, New Found Glory, Lifetime, early Fall Out Boy, early Saves The Day, etc. Alan and Dan collaborate on the lyrics and the whole band collaborates on the music.
Because FYS takes most of their cues from hardcore and mixes it with pop-punk, hardcore signatures like the roars, breakdowns and gang vocals are a staple in their songs. Those also gives them an excuse to go nuts on stage, haha. Crowdsurfing and bum rushing the stage are a common sight as well as seeing Josh Lyford jump into the pit and crowdsurf. Seriously, when I saw them play, the whole pit went nuts and Josh was jumping around and hanging off the rails. See their video for Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die for a prime example of what happens at a Four Year Strong show.
Before they signed to I Surrender, they had a EP and a slew demos as well as a full-length that can be found online. They have no problem with people downloading their music as long as they go to the shows and show some love. Hell, like I mentioned, when FYS was signed to Decaydance, their current album Rise or Die Trying was briefly put up on Friends or Enemies for free download as a present for everyone.
selected tracks:
demos/b-sides
Dumpweed - blink 182 cover, how awesome is that?
Sparkle Motion
Not To Toot My Own Horn But, BEEP BEEP!
Alternate version of Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
It's Our Time - The first full-length
Rise or Die Trying - recommended tracks: The Take Over, Prepare To Be Digitally Manipulated, Heroes Will Be Remembered But Legends Never Die, Catastrophe and Bada Bing! Wit' A Pipe!
The discography is a bit scant at the moment since Rise or Die Trying is only their second album, but B-Sides "R" Us, a blog that specializes in demos and b-sides from selected and requested bands, has collected most of the demos and b-sides here: Four Year Strong b-sides and demos.
If you like what you hear, buy the record, go to the shows and show the band some love.
Bands you might like if you like Four Year Strong: Set Your Goals, Daggermouth, New Found Glory/International Superheroes of Hardcore split, H2O
Videos of the Awesome
The Starting Line, Hawthorne Heights, Boys Like Girls, Paramore, Bayside, and All Time Low warn of the epic battle between large squids and robot sharks.
official video for Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
this is what they had to say:
Hey crazies! This is Dan from FYS. I just wanted give you guys a little back story on our new live video for "Heroes". We recorded it in Worcester, Ma (our hometown) at the Palladium. We were super stoked to play there cuz it was our first time and we had grown up going to shows there. We decided to record a video of the show and work out all the details. The show was so insane! The kids were fucking awesome, even crazier than we ever imagined! Anyone who was there can back me up haha. People were jumping off the balconies!!!! Fucking great! Because the show was so insane the video taping was forced to end early, so we only got like 1 and half takes of the song, so we didn't have much footage to work with. No biggie, the kids showed up for work in full force haha. We had a fucking blast and are super proud of it. We got to showcase all the kids from home who have been with us since we started and wanted to show them they were as big of a part in this as we are. Basically the video is a thank you to everyone who has help us out by coming to shows and making them a blast for us. Well anyways, I hope everyone enjoys our video for "Heroes", and takes it as an instructional video for going fucking bonkers at the shows! Thanks to all the kids that came out to the show and risked life and limb.Take care guys.
Dan FYS
P.S. We should hang out more!
the video for the original working of same song. mostly a tour montage but very nice.
FYS announce their signing to Decaydance. THEY WANT HUGS.
and says thanks for downloading.
&BAND; <333333
acoustic rendition of catastrophe
being ridiculous on the road. sadly, they didn't post a part II so we don't know if the "jump on dan" stunt happened.
Alan and Dan's impromptu barbecue PSA. yeah, buzznet's video formatting sucks but no youtube versions, sorry.
Jake stage dives during "Best of Me" and fails spectacularly. Kenny Vasoli is speechless but plays on.
Crashing "Island" along with members of Bayside and Steel Train. ♥
Four Year Strong shares Christmas memories and are complete dorks. <33333
Halloweenies.
WTF PAULY SHORE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW, MAN.
Links to check out
buzznet
myspace
I Surrender Records myspace (ROB HITT, I SAW WHAT YOU DID THERE.)
beardcore101 - similiar to icecreamhdaches but for Four Year Strong.
SO YEAH THE POINT OF THE POST IS THAT FOUR YEAR STRONG ARE AMAZING. SHOW SOME LOVE. DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC AND GO SEE THEM LIVE. IF AND WHEN DECAYDANCE FEST PART II HAPPENS, THESE GUYS NEED TO BE ON THE BILL.
feel free to add anything else in the comments!!
Meet Four Year Strong. They're a band from Worcester, Massachusetts and they are awesome. They're also one of the newest signees on Decaydance.
from left to right: Joe Weiss (bass), Alan Day (guitar/vocals), Josh Lyford (synth), Dan O'Connor (guitar/vocals), Jake Massucco (drums)
Dan O'Connor (23, guitar/vocals)
Alan Day (20, guitar/vocals)
Joe Weiss (bass)
Jackson "Jake" Massucco (20, drums)
Josh Lyford (synth)
Four Year Strong formed in 2001 while Dan, Alan, and Jake were still in high school along with two other friends. The two friends later left and were replaced by Joe and Josh but not before going through more lineup changes. Josh is the newest member, having joined on synth in 2006. The name stems from the friendships the members forged in high school and a lyric from the Get Up Kids' "Michelle with One L". They changed it from to A Four Year Strong but later dropped the A. Unfortunately, my Google-fu fails me and there isn't a lot more info on the band aside from official materials and such.
They built up a strong local following thanks to their energetic live show and blend of hardcore and pop-punk, taking their cues from the local hardcore scene, New Found Glory, Lifetime, Gorilla Biscuits, Saves The Day and a variety of other bands. The buzz built off their myspace/purevolume plays and word of mouth got the attention of one Rob Hitt. You might know him as the drummer of a certain now-defunct New Jersey band named Midtown and he currently manages The Cab. Rob signs Four Year Strong to his label, I Surrender Records, and their latest album, Rise or Die Trying, is released in September 2007.
Thanks to constant touring, positive word of mouth and most likely a good word from Rob as he's also their A&R and works for Crush, Four Year Strong get the attention of Pete Wentz. Pete likes what he hears and invites them to open a special Schrute Farms show, and the official announcement of their addition to Decaydance is made in February. In celebration, Rise or Die Trying is briefly re-released on Friends or Enemies for free download.
These guys are tour fiends. They've toured with bands like Straylight Run, Bayside, Steel Train, Alesana, Mayday Parade, Armor For Sleep, Every Time I Die, From First to Last and just finished opening The Starting Line's farewell tour. They've played Bamboozle and are slated for more festivals overseas with acts like Paramore, Alkaline Trio, Cobra Starship, The Color Fred, and tours with Every Avenue, New Four Glory, Set Your Goals, and will be playing all of this year's Warped dates. So there's no excuse to check them out live. Their show is insane. I'd go again and again and again because they are just that awesome.
Pictures!
All photos came from flickr, buzznet, and official press materials.
in their natural habitat
DON'T DROP ALAN!!
the guys of As Cities Burn and Mayday Parade join in the gang vocals
Four Year Strong will fuck your shit up. Seriously. Decaydance Industries' special forces squad, y/y?
the artwork of Rise of Die Trying.
WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT THIS? IT'S A WIZARD AND HIS PET MONKEY RIDING A SQUID AND BATTLING ROBOT SHARKS. IN SPACE. AND ALIENS WITH TENTACLES. COME ON, THAT IS A GLORIOUS PIECE OF ART. GERARD WAY WOULD BE INSANELY JEALOUS HE DIDN'T USE IT FIRST. YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP. <3333333333
LOL THRILLER
straight from the band:
Yea they are signing stuff in their underwear!
That's totally Alan and Josh in their underwear signing stuff, that's how much they love the fys fans they would come out of the shower (together) to just to sign stuff...
TRUFAX, FOUR YEAR STRONG'S BEARDS ARE THE BEST. THERE'S THE AWARD TO PROVE IT.
'sup, Eugene Montross shirt?
A FAN INVITED THEM HOME AND HIS PARENTS FED THEM. HOW COOL IS THAT?
The Music
Four Year Strong's brand of music falls under the pop-punk label, but labels include "happy hardcore", "melodic hardcore", "post-hardcore", the joking "beardcore", etc. Comparisons include Set Your Goals, New Found Glory, Lifetime, early Fall Out Boy, early Saves The Day, etc. Alan and Dan collaborate on the lyrics and the whole band collaborates on the music.
Because FYS takes most of their cues from hardcore and mixes it with pop-punk, hardcore signatures like the roars, breakdowns and gang vocals are a staple in their songs. Those also gives them an excuse to go nuts on stage, haha. Crowdsurfing and bum rushing the stage are a common sight as well as seeing Josh Lyford jump into the pit and crowdsurf. Seriously, when I saw them play, the whole pit went nuts and Josh was jumping around and hanging off the rails. See their video for Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die for a prime example of what happens at a Four Year Strong show.
Before they signed to I Surrender, they had a EP and a slew demos as well as a full-length that can be found online. They have no problem with people downloading their music as long as they go to the shows and show some love. Hell, like I mentioned, when FYS was signed to Decaydance, their current album Rise or Die Trying was briefly put up on Friends or Enemies for free download as a present for everyone.
selected tracks:
demos/b-sides
Dumpweed - blink 182 cover, how awesome is that?
Sparkle Motion
Not To Toot My Own Horn But, BEEP BEEP!
Alternate version of Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
It's Our Time - The first full-length
Rise or Die Trying - recommended tracks: The Take Over, Prepare To Be Digitally Manipulated, Heroes Will Be Remembered But Legends Never Die, Catastrophe and Bada Bing! Wit' A Pipe!
The discography is a bit scant at the moment since Rise or Die Trying is only their second album, but B-Sides "R" Us, a blog that specializes in demos and b-sides from selected and requested bands, has collected most of the demos and b-sides here: Four Year Strong b-sides and demos.
If you like what you hear, buy the record, go to the shows and show the band some love.
Bands you might like if you like Four Year Strong: Set Your Goals, Daggermouth, New Found Glory/International Superheroes of Hardcore split, H2O
Videos of the Awesome
The Starting Line, Hawthorne Heights, Boys Like Girls, Paramore, Bayside, and All Time Low warn of the epic battle between large squids and robot sharks.
official video for Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
Click to viewthis is what they had to say:
Hey crazies! This is Dan from FYS. I just wanted give you guys a little back story on our new live video for "Heroes". We recorded it in Worcester, Ma (our hometown) at the Palladium. We were super stoked to play there cuz it was our first time and we had grown up going to shows there. We decided to record a video of the show and work out all the details. The show was so insane! The kids were fucking awesome, even crazier than we ever imagined! Anyone who was there can back me up haha. People were jumping off the balconies!!!! Fucking great! Because the show was so insane the video taping was forced to end early, so we only got like 1 and half takes of the song, so we didn't have much footage to work with. No biggie, the kids showed up for work in full force haha. We had a fucking blast and are super proud of it. We got to showcase all the kids from home who have been with us since we started and wanted to show them they were as big of a part in this as we are. Basically the video is a thank you to everyone who has help us out by coming to shows and making them a blast for us. Well anyways, I hope everyone enjoys our video for "Heroes", and takes it as an instructional video for going fucking bonkers at the shows! Thanks to all the kids that came out to the show and risked life and limb.Take care guys.
Dan FYS
P.S. We should hang out more!
the video for the original working of same song. mostly a tour montage but very nice.
FYS announce their signing to Decaydance. THEY WANT HUGS.
and says thanks for downloading.
&BAND; <333333
acoustic rendition of catastrophe
being ridiculous on the road. sadly, they didn't post a part II so we don't know if the "jump on dan" stunt happened.
Alan and Dan's impromptu barbecue PSA. yeah, buzznet's video formatting sucks but no youtube versions, sorry.
Jake stage dives during "Best of Me" and fails spectacularly. Kenny Vasoli is speechless but plays on.
Crashing "Island" along with members of Bayside and Steel Train. ♥
Four Year Strong shares Christmas memories and are complete dorks. <33333
Halloweenies.
WTF PAULY SHORE. I DON'T EVEN KNOW, MAN.
Links to check out
buzznet
myspace
I Surrender Records myspace (ROB HITT, I SAW WHAT YOU DID THERE.)
beardcore101 - similiar to icecreamhdaches but for Four Year Strong.
SO YEAH THE POINT OF THE POST IS THAT FOUR YEAR STRONG ARE AMAZING. SHOW SOME LOVE. DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC AND GO SEE THEM LIVE. IF AND WHEN DECAYDANCE FEST PART II HAPPENS, THESE GUYS NEED TO BE ON THE BILL.
feel free to add anything else in the comments!!