Story of the Year (a.k.a. Story or SOTY) is a band that was originally formed in St. Louis in 1995. Story of the Year at Allmusic.com. Accessed May 17, 2007. It currently consists of Dan Marsala (vocals), Ryan Phillips (lead guitar), Philip Sneed (rhythm guitar, vocals), Adam Russell (bass), and Josh Wills (drums). Initially named Big Blue Monkey, they changed their name to Story of the Year in 2001 because a blues group of the same name had already existed.

It would not be until eight years after forming that Story of the Year saw its first piece of commercial success in its major label debut, Page Avenue, containing the popular singles "Until the Day I Die" and "Anthem of Our Dying Day". A second album, In the Wake of Determination, followed in 2005, but did not achieve the success of its predecessor. The band is now working on a third album, their first on Epitaph Records, which is due to be released in spring 2008.

History

Page Avenue-era (2002-2004)

After spending 7 years as a local band, recording demos and three EPs, Story of the Year signed a deal with Maverick Records in 2002, then recorded and released their first album, Page Avenue, in September 2003. The first single from that album was "Until The Day I Die", written by singer Dan Marsala. It first received radio airplay around July/August 2003 on stations like KROQ and sold thousands of copies worldwide. The second single, "Anthem of Our Dying Day", featured a music video directed by Mr. Hahn of Linkin Park. Page Avenue has now sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. The single "And the Hero Will Drown" was featured on the soundtrack to the multi-format game Underground.

The band toured with Linkin Park on the Meteora World Tour in 2004 along with P.O.D. and Hoobastank. They were also on the Vans Warped Tour, featured in the Vans Warped Tour documentary, Wake Up Screaming, and at KROQ's Weenie Roast on June 12 that same year.

Band Brawl (2004)

MTV News reported on their website that during a radio show in May of 2004, the band members of Story of the Year got into a losing fight with the roadies of Godsmack, a hard rock band. Story of the Year Say Godsmack's Crew Kicked Their Asses. MTV News, June 2, 2004. Accessed February 6, 2007. The fight was initiated by the Godsmack crew, and was started because, as told by guitarist Ryan Phillips, the members of Godsmack were upset about Story of the Year's exciting live performance. Pictures of the band members' bruised faces were posted on their homepage as well as a blistering rant of the event. The members of Godsmack were not involved in the fight, but they were targeted by the rant as well. It went on to talk about being detained by the local police. There were no arrests from the incident, and the Noblesville Police Department had no record of anything having taken place. Story of the Year's account of the fight has been removed and replaced with a note reading: "I took the Godsmack post down because we are going to ask them to go get some ice cream with us."

In the Wake of Determination-era (2005-2006)

Live in the Lou/Bassassins (a CD/DVD combo of live performances and touring video) was released on May 10, 2005. It was a hit amongst Story of the Year fans and was certified Gold by the RIAA in late 2005, indicating shipment of over 50,000 units as it is video longform format. Gold and Platinum Database Search Type in "Story of the Year"

After the Page Avenue tour finally ended in late 2004, Story of the Year returned to the studio with producer Steve Evetts in 2005, to record their second studio album. In the Wake of Determination, released on October 11, 2005, is much heavier sounding than the previous album, due to switching producers to get their "true sound". As of March 2006, that album had only sold 150,698 units Soundscan Results: Week Ending March 5th, 2006 and has failed to achieve the gold certification that the band's two previous releases had, per the RIAA website. Although not as successful as its predecessor, the album debuted at #19 on the Billboard 200, making it Story of the Year's highest position to date.

In May 2006 the band finished a tour across Australia with supporting bands Emery and Flogging Molly.

Third album (2007-present)

In August 2006, it was reported that Story of the Year was planning to return the studio in as early as 2007 to begin recording their third full-length studio album, with an intended release date of summer/fall of that year. Story Of The Year To Enter Studio Next Year. Accessed January 8, 2008. According to an interview with singer Dan Marsala, the band had been working on "over 20 song ideas," hinting a possible double release for the album.http://www.rockinmusicreviews.com/interviews2/storyoftheyear.html The band is now recording the album with two producers, Goldfinger's John Feldmann (who produced Page Avenue) and Elvis Baskette. A spring 2008 release date is expected. For the recording of the new album, Story of the Year decided to end their five year relationship with Maverick and signed with Epitaph Recordshttp://www.epitaph.com/news/news/2976. The label has made note that there will be exhaustive touring in support of their new record.

As well as a full-length record lined up, the band is also in the process of making a second DVD, similar to Bassassins/Live in the Lou. According to 'The Nose' (Ryan Philips), the DVD will feature more in depth footage of the band as well as a "Year and a half in the life of Story of the Year" type of deal. Official Band Site It will include footage the band in the studio, in pre-production, writing, and working on music. Ryan also hopes to add a short film similar to the Bassassins one.

Story of the Year played a show on Friday, August 3rd 2007 in St. Louis Missouri, and gave a preview of the new DVD, and also played a song off the new album, entitled "Terrified." They also played another song, but did not mention the name. "Terrified" features Phil playing piano and guitar, which was something new for them. During the second song, Lil Timmy, their bass tech, was on the microphone and did some vocals. It's not confirmed, but it is likely that this song will be included on the CD with Lil Timmy singing. Also, during the show, there was a guest appearance by Mark Roth of The Too Silent Ghost.

Members

• Dan Marsala – lead vocals
• Ryan Phillips – lead guitar
• Philip Sneed – rhythm guitar and backing vocals
• Adam Russell – bass and backing vocals
• Josh Wills – drums

Former Members

• Greg Haupt – Guitarist who was asked to leave the band before the recording of the first album.

Discography

Recordings

Singles

See also

• List of bands from St. Louis

External links

• Official Band Site
• Official Band Board

• Taste the Poison Fansite
• Story of The Year Russian Site
• Storyoftheyear.info Fansite
• Story of the Year collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

References

2000s music groupsPost-hardcore groupsPunk rock groupsMissouri musical groupsAmerican emo musical groupsMusical groups established in 1995American screamo musical groups1990s music groups

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