Formed in 2001, the band all attended the same Massachusetts high school. Members Dan O'Connor, Alan Day, Joe Weiss, Jake Massucco and Josh Lyford (who has now left the band) wasted no time in recording their debut album ‘Its Our Time’ which the band released in a small run of 400 copies.
After releasing a demo the year prior, the band released sophomore effort ‘Rise Or Die Trying’ which, with the support of I Surrender Records, hit 31 on the Heatseekers chart. As the band’s popularity increased in later years it went on to sell over 50000 copies.
2009 saw the release of a covers album ‘Explains it all’, with songs from the likes of Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and No Doubt all being very important to the band growing up. 2010’s ‘Enemy of the World’ followed and with the support of Universal would go on to be the biggest chart success the band had had so far selling over 12000 copies in its first week.
The band supports itself through relentless touring playing on the likes of the Warped Tour and sharing the stage with big names like Blink 182 and All Time Low. In 2013 the band was on an extended break leaving fans worried that the band had broken up but by 2014 they had released a new EP and were back on the road again much to the relief of their worried fans.
I've been a fan of Four Year Strong for a long time and they never fail to give a great live performance. Just four normal guys singing and playing some of the most energetic pop-punk you've ever heard. They don't need any tricks or gimmicks to help them out. No auto-tune, backing tracks or any of that garbage.
If you love to go to shows with moshing, stage diving, crowd surfing and tons of sing alongs go to a Four Year strong show. You're doing it wrong if you don't leave covered in another persons sweat!
For a pop-punk band Four Year Strong has some pretty intricate riffs especially when you consider the fact that both of the vocalists are singing and playing guitar at the same time. Dan and Alan never miss a note on either end of the spectrum and pull off a flawless performance every time I've seen them. Hitting harmonies that you wouldn't believe are possible. You always know you're they're going to rock your socks off. They make you feel like you're back in high school with no care or responsibilities and just hit you with a huge wave of nostalgia.
For me, pop punk is the perfect fusion of two genres to create a sound that’s not too heavy, yet not too mainstream, and Major League have nailed their music with this combination of sounds perfectly. The show opened with the feedback ringing out through the monitor across the auditorium as the band ran on stage to the cheers of the audience. Before introducing themselves, the band launched straight into Need I Remind you, which immediately showcased all of their musical skills, from their guitar and drumming skills, to the beautiful harmonies that Brian Joyce and Matt Chila sang around each other.
They played a really good selection of their music from over the years, and even performed some short improvised sections within their tracks, so that we could hear some original material that wasn’t even recorded which was super exciting. They played through Hard Feelings almost in its entirety, and they were really good at encouraging everyone to sing along with them, and had us all crowding to the front to dance along with them. They were incredibly humble, and even stuck around for photos and autographs at the end of the show, which I thought was a lovely touch.