Bands/artists/groups to check out

Story of the Year is an American rock band formed in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1995 under the name 67 North. The band eventually changed their name to Big Blue Monkey in 1998, and then subsequently changed it again to Story of the Year in 2002, after the release of their EP titled Story of the Year on the indie label Criterion Records. At the time, they claimed they discovered that a blues group named Big Blue Monkey had already existed. Later, on their podcast "Page Avenue Crew", they clarified that they just didn't care for the name and made up the excuse of another band having the same name.

Hawthorne Heights, formerly A Day in the Life, is an American rock band from Dayton, Ohio, formed in 2001. Their lineup currently consists of JT Woodruff, Matt Ridenour, Mark McMillon, and Chris Popadak.

Box Car Racer is an American pop punk band formed in San Diego, California, in 2001. The group consists of guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge and drummer Travis Barker of Blink-182, formerly alongside guitarist David Kennedy of Hazen Street. Anthony Celestino later joined the band on tour as a bassist. DeLonge created the project to pursue darker ideas he felt unsuited to his work with Blink-182. Box Car Racer was partly inspired and viewed as a tribute to Jawbox, Quicksand, Fugazi, and Refused.

The group recorded the band's eponymous debut, Box Car Racer, in quick fashion with a more DIY spirit. MCA Records issued the band's lone release in May 2002, which peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 12. Singles "I Feel So" and "There Is" also charted on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, with the former peaking at number eight. The band embarked on their sole headlining tour across North America in the fall of 2002 with supporting act The Used. The project was largely the cause of ongoing tension between DeLonge and Blink-182 bandmate Mark Hoppus and inevitably influenced the band's following studio album, the more experimental Blink-182 (2003). DeLonge ended the project in mid-2003, considering it to have served its purpose; however, DeLonge's later band, Angels & Airwaves (which also features Kennedy), has been described by DeLonge as a continuation of Box Car Racer. In 2021, DeLonge confirmed that the project has been revived and a new song has been recorded.

Angels & Airwaves (also written as Angels and Airwaves; stylized and abbreviated as ΛVΛ) is an American rock band, comprising Tom DeLonge (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), David Kennedy (guitars, keyboards), Ilan Rubin (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), and Matt Rubano (bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals). Former members include Ryan Sinn (bass guitar, backing vocals), Adam "Atom" Willard (drums), Matt Wachter (bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and Eddie Breckenridge (bass guitar).

The band formed after Blink-182 went on hiatus in 2005. They continued to record and tour despite DeLonge reigniting his career with Blink-182 in 2009, and after DeLonge subsequently parted with Blink-182 in 2015, he began to focus on Angels & Airwaves more extensively. To date, the band has released six studio albums: We Don't Need to Whisper (2006), I-Empire (2007), Love (2010), Love: Part Two (2011), The Dream Walker (2014) and Lifeforms (2021). The project also resulted in the documentary film Start the Machine (2008). In 2011, accompanying the two Love albums, the group scored and produced the science fiction drama film Love by director William Eubank in 460 theatres nationwide during their multimedia event, Love Live. The band released an animated short named Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker and their fifth album, The Dream Walker, on December 9, 2014. Other related media, such as comic books and a live-action film, followed in 2015.

The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah, that formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalist Bert McCracken, bassist Jeph Howard, drummer Dan Whitesides, and guitarist Joey Bradford. Former members include Quinn Allman, Branden Steineckert, and Justin Shekoski.

The group signed to Reprise Records and rose to fame in June 2002 after releasing their self-titled debut album. They followed up with their second album, In Love and Death, in September 2004 and their third album, Lies for the Liars, in May 2007. Shallow Believer, an EP that featured most of the band's B-sides, was released in February 2008. Their fourth studio album, Artwork, was released in August 2009. A fifth album, Vulnerable, was released in March 2012 through the independent label Hopeless Records. In July 2013 they released another EP: The Ocean of the Sky. Their sixth album, Imaginary Enemy, released in April 2014. Their seventh studio album, The Canyon, was released in October 2017. Their eighth studio album, Heartwork, was released in April 2020 and a deluxe version with the b-sides from the session was released in September 2021. Their ninth studio album is planned for released in spring 2023.

Armor for Sleep is an American rock band from New Jersey. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Ben Jorgensen, lead guitarist PJ DeCicco, bassist Anthony DiIonno and drummer Nash Breen.

Cauterize was an alternative rock band from Canada, active from 1995 to 2007.

In 2003, Cauterize's first single Something Beautiful was released, with its only music video, was broadcast on the web site muchloud.com. Its second and third singles Choke and Killing Me were used in Nintendo's 1080 Avalanche video game and commercials, with a hidden live video within the game.

Also in 2003, Cauterize recorded its 3rd CD, So Far From Real, produced by Murray Daigle. The band toured with Evanescence, Three Days Grace, and Hoobastank. It ceased touring, but in 2005 produced an independently released second album, Paper Wings, the band having left Wind-up Records. The same year, the band's personnel was augmented with guitarist Chuck Coles (previously of Murder Culture). Coles subsequently played in heavy metal band Brown Brigade, (with Sum 41 guitarist Dave Baksh), and has started a southern rock collaboration with Cauterize drummer Matt Worobec.

AFI (abbreviation for A Fire Inside) is an American rock band from Ukiah, California, formed in 1991. Since 1998, it consists of lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backing vocalist Adam Carson, bassist, backing vocalist and keyboardist Hunter Burgan, and guitarist, backing vocalist and keyboardist Jade Puget. Havok and Carson are the sole remaining original members. Originally a hardcore punk band, they have since delved into many genres, starting with horror punk and following through post-hardcore and emo into alternative rock and gothic rock.

AFI has released eleven studio albums, ten EPs, one live album and one DVD. The band first reached substantial commercial success with their fifth album, The Art of Drowning (2000), which peaked at number 174 on the Billboard 200. They then broke into the mainstream with their sixth, Sing the Sorrow (2003), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 51 weeks. The album was supported by popular singles "Girl's Not Grey" and "Silver and Cold", both of which peaked at number seven on America's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2003. "The Leaving Song Pt. II" was also released as a single, reaching number 16 on the chart. Sing the Sorrow was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2006 and is AFI's best-selling release, having sold over 1.26 million copies as of September 2009.

The Starting Line is an American pop punk band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that formed in 1999.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is an American rock band formed in Middleburg, Florida, in 2003. The band has released five studio albums to date. The band's current members include Ronnie Winter, Joey Westwood (bass), Josh Burke, Randy Winter, Nadeem Salam (keys) and John Espy (drums).

+44 (read as Plus Forty-four) was an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles, California in 2005. The group consisted of vocalist and bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker of Blink-182, lead guitarist Shane Gallagher of The Nervous Return, and rhythm guitarist Craig Fairbaugh of Mercy Killers. Hoppus and Barker created +44 shortly after the initial 2005 breakup of Blink-182 and before it was later reformed. The band's name refers to the international dialing code of the United Kingdom, the country where the duo first discussed the project. Early recordings were largely electronic in nature, and featured vocals by Carol Heller, formerly of the all-girl punk quartet Get the Girl.

Amber Pacific is an American pop-punk band that formed in 2002 in Federal Way, Washington. The band has released four full-length albums, The Possibility and the Promise in 2005, Truth in Sincerity in 2007, Virtues in 2010 and The Turn in 2014.

Yellowcard is an American rock band that formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997 and was based in Los Angeles beginning in 2000. The band is recognized for having a distinct sound in their genre, primarily due to the prominent use of a violin in their songs, and are best known for their singles "Ocean Avenue", "Only One", and "Lights and Sounds". The band released ten studio albums, with its most recent and final one, Yellowcard, released on September 30, 2016. Following this release and supporting tour, the band broke up. The band reunited in September 2022 for a performance at Riot Fest, though no official reformation plans have yet been revealed.

Yellowcard was formed in 1997 in Jacksonville, Florida, after its members met at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. The band got its name from a phrase its members used in high school: whenever somebody did something stupid at a party, such as spilling beer on the carpet, they cited soccer laws and gave the offender a "yellow card" for committing a "party foul".

Cartel is an American pop punk band from Conyers, Georgia, United States, that formed in 2003. The group was featured on the MTV television series Band in a Bubble in 2007 as part of an experiment where they were given 20 days to write and record a full album. The current members of the band include vocalist/bassist Will Pugh, lead guitarist Joseph Pepper, guitarist Nic Hudson, and drummer Kevin Sanders. In April 2020, Pugh released an EP for a new side project, TAURIDS, with fellow Nashville residents Bobby Holland and Adam Bokesch—both musicians and audio producers/engineers from the band The Daybreaks.

The five band members of Cartel grew up in Rockdale County, Georgia, and Cartel was formed in late 2003 while they were attending Georgia State University. In 2003 Chris Black (aka Done To Death) started managing Cartel. The band built a strong fan base and eventually was signed to The Militia Group, an independent record company in Long Beach, California, releasing their EP The Ransom. Around this time personal differences between Andy Lee and the rest of the band came to a head; and he was replaced as guitarist by band friend Nic Hudson. With their new lineup, the band released their first full-length album, Chroma, in September 2005. The pop punk album was powered by the melodic hits of "Say Anything (Else)" and "Honestly".

Matchbook Romance was an American emo band from Poughkeepsie, New York and was formed in 1997. They were signed to Epitaph Records. They released two full-length albums and one EP. Their EP, West for Wishing, released in 2003 was their first recorded album during their time on Epitaph; their full-length debut album, Stories and Alibis, was recorded in the same year.

Senses Fail is an American rock band formed in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 2002. Founded by vocalist James "Buddy" Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Garrett Zablocki and Dave Miller, and bassist James Gill (replaced by Mike Glita shortly after); the band has seen many lineup changes, with Nielsen being the only consistent member.

The band has released eight studio albums, Let It Enfold You, Still Searching, Life Is Not a Waiting Room, The Fire, Renacer, Pull the Thorns from Your Heart, If There Is Light, It Will Find You, and Hell Is in Your Head. In addition, the band has two EPs, From the Depths of Dreams and In Your Absence and one live album, Joshua Tree.

Senses Fail's beginnings started in October 2001 after Nielsen posted an advertisement on the Internet to recruit members for the band. The advertisement attracted attention from Garrett Zablocki, who then began writing with Nielsen. Later Zablocki contacted Dave Miller to join the band who also brought along his friend, James Gill. After a short time with another drummer the band came across Dan Trapp, who was only 14-years-old at the time. Before the band signed to Drive-Thru Records, James Gill was kicked out of the band due to irreconcilable differences; he was replaced by former Tokyo Rose drummer Mike Glita.

So They Say is an American rock band based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. They released their self-titled debut EP in 2005. Shortly after, in 2006, they released their debut studio album, Antidote for Irony on Fearless Records. They recorded the follow-up album, Life In Surveillance with Matt Hyde (Strung Out, Slayer, Liars Inc., Porno for Pyros), released on October 9, 2007. So They Say appeared on Warped Tour 2007, 2006 and one week on Warped Tour 2005. In April 2008 the band decided to take some time off to pursue other musical tastes. Justin Hanson is currently playing drums in the band 3TEETH, Nicholas Walters is currently working in the music industry. David and Joseph went on to play in a band called Me Verse You. In late 2010, David and Joseph put out a statement saying: "After taking some time off to clear our heads, and pursue various musical projects, Dave and I have realized when we were listening to our newest batch of demos that it was So They Say." The band then added Cory Laneman on drums, and Alex Wilkinson on lead guitar.

New Found Glory (formerly A New Found Glory) is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida, formed in 1997. The band currently consists of Jordan Pundik (lead vocals), Ian Grushka (bass guitar), Chad Gilbert (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Cyrus Bolooki (drums). Longtime rhythm guitarist and lyricist Steve Klein left the band in late 2013. During their lengthy recording career, the band have released ten studio albums, one live album, two EPs, and four cover albums.

After forming in 1997, New Found Glory released their debut studio album Nothing Gold Can Stay in 1999. The band then released their self-titled major label debut in 2000, with the album's song "Hit or Miss" peaking at number 15 the Alternative Songs chart. In 2002, the band became mainstream with their album Sticks and Stones and the album's hit "My Friends Over You". The group's popularity continued with their 2004 album Catalyst, of which the video for "All Downhill From Here" was nominated for a VMA for Breakthrough Video of the Year. Lead by single "It's Not Your Fault", the mid-tempo and critically acclaimed Coming Home followed in 2006. The release showcased a temporary move to an alternative rock style instead of their usual pop punk sound. The quintet returned to their energetic roots with the release of Not Without a Fight in 2009. They have since released four more albums; Radiosurgery in 2011, Resurrection in 2014, Makes Me Sick in 2017, and their tenth studio album Forever + Ever x Infinity in 2020.