What would later become The Starting Line first started out as Sunday Drive in Churchville, Pennsylvania, in 1999, via an e-mail. The email, from guitarist Matt Watts to vocalist/bassist Kenny Vasoli, was simply asking if they could jam together sometime. A few weeks later they found themselves rehearsing with their future bandmates guitarist Mike Golla and drummer Tom Gryskewicz. After the band started touring, selling home-made merch and a self-recorded demo cassette and put out a three-way split with two other bands; Sunday Drive was approached by We The People Records. They produced a recording session that turned out to only have served as demos for future releases, since the band got signed with Drive-Thru Records in April 2001. After they got signed they soon changed name, due to it already being in use, to the only name they could agree on, The Starting Line. They also released their debut EP With Hopes of Starting Over; their full-length Say It Like You Mean It followed the year after in 2002. They secured a spot on the Vans Warped Tour after their two hit singles, Best Of Me and Leaving, got major TV and airplay. In three sessions, over the following year, they recorded their all-unplugged EP; which became The Make Yourself at Home EP released on November 25, 2003. They soon got signed by Geffen Records and released their major label debut Based on a True Story in May 2005, followed by semi-headlining Nintendo Fusion Tour with Fall Out Boy. A friend of Vasoli s, keyboardist Brian Schmutz, joined the band during that time. During this time, at their request, The Starting Line was released from their record deal with Geffen. They signed to Virgin Records in January of 2006, and released their third full-length album "Direction" in July. After completing the 2007 Warped Tour they began their nationwide headlining tour in September. On March 5, 2008 the band announced that they would be going on a break in order to focus on their personal lives. In November 2009, The Starting Line released their first Live CD/DVD entitled "Somebody's Gonna Miss Us;" which documents the band's formation and growth through their last tour and final show at Bamboozle 2008.
Throughout their hiatus the band performed a few reunion concerts; On December 29 and 30 th, 2009, (Theater of Living Arts and Philadelphia at the Trocadero Theater), the Australian Soundwave Festival in February 2011, and then at the at Slam Dunk Records Leeds music festival on May 28, where they announced they were getting back together and had a new song. On July 16, 2012 The Starting Line announced their "Say It Like You Mean It" Tenth Anniversary Tour. They will also be releasing new limited edition merch bundles featuring the original "Say It Like You Mean It" artwork reimagined on a t-shirt and a hand screened and numbered 11x17 poster. When I think of all the bands from around the early 2000 s, I think of what got me into music and how it all impacted me. What are some bands that impacted you growing up? Nirvana probably had the biggest impact to me personally and inspired me to learn how to play the guitar and eventually play in bands. Once I kept looking down the rabbit hole, I got really into Lagwagon, Nofx and before we started TSL we were big time into bands like Jimmy Eat World and the Get Up Kids. I feel like it was a really exciting time for discovery. You guys are kind of veterans in the music industry now, what are some of the new bands that you really admire? Lately, I've been really into Frank Ocean, Grimes, Alt-J, Body Language, Vacationer, the Weeknd anyone who is willing to help push their respective genre forward while crafting great songs. How do you think the pop punk/ rock scene has evolved in the last decade since you all started this band? In all honesty, I don't really know that it has evolved as a whole or at least not to the same degree as when TSL were first starting out, when our peers were doing some amazing things and doing them on bigger levels. The pop punk genre got to a place for a minute where there were a ton of cookie cutter/carbon copies of other bands, which in my option, diluted a lot of the legitimacy that the whole 'scene' stood upon and we're still feeling the effects of that. 'Nostalgia' artists are still doing really well, but there haven't been that many new (pop punk) bands that have achieved any similar level of success that a Paramore, Yellowcard, New Found Glory etc. has been able to help push the genre back onto the mainstream radar. I do feel like that's starting to change a bit with bands like the Wonder Years and the Story So far, who I think should be role models for any younger bands starting out in the scene. Those bands work super hard, craft really good songs and do it for all the right reasons.
I see a lot of musicians losing sight of what music really means to them because of the rapidly changing music industry. From your point of view do you see these younger musicians pursuing this industry because they are dedicated to the music or for the money/fame side of it? At this day an age with the ever changing industry, I don't feel like there are any real shortcuts that can directly lead to money/fame in my opinion (at least not on a bigger scale) labels and promoters are wise enough to know that. That being said, money/fame is sometimes a big motivating factor for these younger bands, but I'm convinced that most people are wise enough to spot it from a mile away and move on. Playing music for the right reasons and doing what you love will always get you a lot further than just having your eyes on fame and money. Who do you think has filled the void that The Starting Line left when you took a break? I think the Wonder Years have done a great job at being one of those newer pop punk bands that are filing quite a few voids. Your cover of Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now is such a classic cover now. Do you have any favorite cover songs? Ellie Goulding - Sweet Disposition (Temper Trap Cover) is a cover that I listen to all the time, I love that one. Against Me did a cover of Bob Dylan's 'Wagon Wheel' that I dig as well. The Say It Like You Mean It Tour is still 4 months away and 6 out of the 8 shows are already sold out. How does it feel to know that you still have all these fans waiting for more shows? It's absolutely amazing to know that people still care. We're all speechless. Based upon the response, we decided to add a few more shows, which we announced last week. We're really looking forward to playing some markets that we haven't hit in a very long time. I know you guys are on your own schedule and don t want to rush anything but how s the new music going? Any idea of release dates? We've all been so busy with other aspects of our lives that we haven't had much of a chance to get together in a rehearsing/writing capacity. I'm sure that will change over the next few months. No real update as far as new music or release dates goes
Besides playing music you also manage some bands, what inspires and motivates you to still pursue a career in music? I love music, it's the greatest thing in the world and I couldn't imagine not being involved w/ music in some capacity. Management came really natural to me and I've been fortunate to learn and work with some really great people along the way. It's nice for me to get to work with such talented artists and still get to be creative in the various aspects of their careers. The bands and artists that I work with all inspire and motivate me for different reasons. First and foremost, I'm a HUGE fan of everyone I work with and I find that to be incredibly inspirational. The internet wasn t really as big when you were really making a name for yourselves as it is now, what do you think this massive surge of social media does for bands/ the music industry? We actually used the internet as a huge tool for TSL in the early days and I contribute it to a lot of our success as a band. Social Media has opened the doors to a whole new world of band/fan interaction, which is more important than ever before. The fact that bands/artists can interact with fans across the various social platforms and almost every fan has access to what their favorite bands are up to, what they're listening to, where they're touring etc. is so amazing and easy to do from the smallest bands to the biggest artists out there. It's essentially leveled the playing field. In regards to the industry, it's incredibly helpful to see where a band/artist's fans are, what they're talking about, how they interact etc however, with the surge of people using the internet and illegal downloading and/or streaming services, I feel like the music itself has sort of become fast food and (some) people are missing out on the experience of sitting down and enjoying the full album. I'm hoping that changes at some point, but I think the industry as a whole has done a decent attempt of adapting. If you could go anywhere in the world, where's one place you would like to either play a show at again, or play it for the first time? I would love to go back to Australia, we've been there twice and it's the most beautiful place I've ever been to I would just make sure that I stayed a bit longer next time. What is the biggest lesson you ve learned working in the music industry? That a manager (or any team member) can't want success more than the band. There are a lot of bands out there that think by having the right 'team' that success will just all of a sudden happen. Having the right team is amazing to help navigate a successful career and present opportunities, but it all comes down to the bands passion, work ethic and the music they create.
What song or songs would you say represent your band the most? At this point, I would say a song like 'Something Left to Give' or 'Somebody's Gonna Miss Us' sums up things at the present moment. Has there been a specific night a show really sticks out in your memory? There are quite a few, the first time we played Philadelphia on a proper tour (which was with the Juliana Theory) was a pretty special moment because it was the first time most of our families had seen us play, and to finally play a venue that we had all grown up going to was just surreal. Our farewell show at Bamboozle will always be an incredibly vivid memory as well. Lastly, If the world was to really end in December, what would you be most of as a musician? Just the fact that our music meant something to someone and that we were able to tour and play for as long as we did.