Vasoli has lately been focusing on his side project, known as Person L. Tom has been recording with his new band, Cheap Seats, with Matt as their manager. Mike also has a side project, called The Traded Series. The origins of the group that would become The Starting Line go back to 1999, via an AOL instant message from Churchville, Pennsylvania guitarist Matt Watts to vocalist/bassist Kenny Vasoli. It asked if the then fourteen-year-old Vasoli, who was at that time in a band called Smash Adams, was interested in "Jamming and shit", as the message title read.
Only a few weeks later, Vasoli found himself rehearsing with his future bandmates Watts, guitarist Mike Golla and drummer Tom Gryskewicz. Soon, the band started touring under the name Sunday Drive, selling out home-made merchandise and a self-recorded demo cassette that the guys titled 'Four Songs'. Their first official release was a three-way split with The Jimmy Tuesday Band and The Commercials contributing three songs each, the work released on KickStart Audio in 2000.
Sunday Drive was soon approached by We the People Records and asked to produce a recording session (the infamous We the People Records Sessions). Set for a release in December 2000, the twelve songs were initially planned to become the band's debut full-length With Hopes of Starting Over on We the People Records, but they ended up serving only as demos for tracks on future releases, as the band signed with Drive-Thru Records in April 2001. On Drive-Thru, they soon released their debut EP With Hopes of Starting Over. Yet, as the name Sunday Drive was already taken by a Christian rock band, they went on as The Starting Line.
On July 16, 2002, almost exactly one year after the release of their EP, the full-length Say It Like You Mean It followed. The songs ranged from energetic and fast-paced to melancholy and calm, dealing with performing on stage ("Given the Chance"), feeling homesick ("Left Coast Envy") and getting even with Vasoli's ex-girlfriend Karina ("Up & Go", "Hello Houston", among others). The hit single "The Best of Me" and its two music videos, as well as the second single "Leaving", received heavy radio and TV airplay, securing The Starting Line a spot on the Warped Tour.
Due to their desire to put out new material, the band decided to release an all-unplugged EP, recorded in three sessions over the following year. The first three songs (recorded in The Prize Fight's Bob Jones' bedroom in August 2002), the second session (recorded in Vasoli's basement in March 2003) and the last track (recorded on the band's touring bus in April 2003) became The Make Yourself at Home EP, released on November 25, 2003. The CD and the DVD version issued simultaneously, featuring an acoustic set performed live at Skate & Surf 2003 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, would be their last releases put out solely on Drive-Thru Records, as The Starting Line was signed by Geffen Records soon afterwards.
Their major label debut, Based on a True Story, came out in May 2005. Lyrically, the band dissociated themselves from the post-relationship formula that was predominant on their previous records. On this album, a lot of the songs (e.g. "Inspired By the $", "Autography" and "The B-List") were explicitly inspired by the band's disdain for their record label Geffen and its executives. The album was far more successful than the band's 2002 effort and sold 42,000 copies within its first week, as opposed to its predecessor's 11,000. The release was followed by the semi-headlining Nintendo Fusion Tour with Fall Out Boy, kicking off in September 2005. A few dates into the tour, The Starting Line were — at their request — released from their record deal with Geffen, and became free agents. In early January 2006, their signing with Virgin Records was announced.
On March 5, 2008 the band announced in an e-mail and on Absolutepunk.net they would be going on a break in order for Ken and Brian to explore Person L, Matt and Tom to explore The Seventy Six, and Mike to spend time with his two daughters and explore The Traded Series. The band had been playing with the idea of coming back in 2011, but in a chat with absolutepunk.net, Kenny Vasoli said, ""it's looking good, may even be earlier. I hung with Matt and Tom the other day, we all are still in love with one another.
On November 10, 2009, The Starting Line released their first-ever live concert CD, film and documentary DVD titled "Somebody's Gonna Miss Us" via Image Entertainment on a 2-disc set. Through intimate and honest interviews with the band, friends and family fans will get a glimpse into the inner workings of the group and a career that spanned nearly a decade, five releases, and thousands of shows.
On December 29, 2009, The Starting Line had a reunion concert at the Theater of Living Arts. Starting Line guitarist Matt Watts stated on the website AbsolutePunk that "this doesn't mean that TSL are back together....It simply means that we're taking a break from our break, and wanted to play a fun show in Philadelphia and continue to focus on our lives outside of TSL"
The Starting Line added a second holiday show on December 30, 2009 in Philadelphia at the Trocadero Theater. This was added due to the fact that the first holiday show scheduled for December 29, 2009 sold out in a little over an hour and the band would like to give their local fans a better chance to see them. Towards the end of their set, Kenny Vasoli announced the band's reunion. However, the group has only toured intermittently since then.
Main Website: http://www.startinglinerock.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thestartingline
Leaving
The Starting Line Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Without saying goodbye
You and I, cold February night
It's been a half an hour
Taking sweet time saying our goodbyes
One minute more, go!!
Precious remembrance saved for rainy days on February
Few scenes from my life where moments mean more to me
Than our fine nights,
I remember like yesterday, the time of my life
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Lets travel back in time
Two-twelve-ninety nine at the stroke of midnight
Holding you tight, your body and mine, in February
Few scenes from my life where moments mean more to me
Than our fine nights,
I remember like yesterday, the time of my life
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Lets travel back in time
The lyrics to The Starting Line's song, "Leaving," evoke feelings of nostalgia, longing, and regret. The singer pleads with a loved one not to leave without saying goodbye, recalling memories of a cold February night when they said their goodbyes slowly, savoring their time together. The singer remembers this night as one of the best days of their life, thanking the person for the precious memories that they carry with them, even on rainy days.
Throughout the song, the singer emphasizes the importance of goodbyes and the pain that comes from leaving without them. By asking their loved one not to leave without saying goodbye, they acknowledge that goodbyes are difficult but necessary for closure.
The song also highlights the power of memory and the way that certain moments can stick with us long after they're over. The singer remembers their time with this person "like yesterday," emphasizing the deep impact that this experience had on them.
Overall, "Leaving" is a heartfelt and emotional song that explores themes of love, nostalgia, and the power of memory.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't leave me without saying goodbye
I don't want you to leave without letting me know you're leaving
Without saying goodbye
I don't want you to disappear without any closure
You and I, cold February night
We were together on a cold night in February
It's been a half an hour
We've been saying our goodbyes for thirty minutes
Taking sweet time saying our goodbyes
We're not in a hurry to end our time together
One minute more, go!!
Time is up, we need to part ways now
The best day of my life is all thanks to you
You made one of the best days of my life possible
Precious remembrance saved for rainy days on February
I keep a special memory of us for when I need comfort on a rainy February day
Few scenes from my life where moments mean more to me
There are only a few memories that are so meaningful to me
Than our fine nights
And our time spent together at night was one of them
I remember like yesterday, the time of my life
I remember that night as if it happened yesterday, it was a special time for me
Lets travel back in time
Let's reminisce about the past
Two-twelve-ninety nine at the stroke of midnight
We were together on February 12, 1999 at midnight
Holding you tight, your body and mine, in February
We were embracing each other in February
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
I want you to say goodbye before you go
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
I want you to say goodbye before you go
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
I want you to say goodbye before you go
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
I want you to say goodbye before you go
Lets travel back in time
Let's reminisce about the past
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GOLLA, GRYSKIEWICZ, VASOLI, WATTS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Destiny Holguin
Don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
You and I, cold February night
It's been a half an hour
Taking sweet time saying our goodbyes
One minute more, go!!
The best day of my life is all thanks to you
Precious remembrance saved for rainy days on February
Few scenes from my life where moments mean more to me
Than our fine nights,
I remember like yesterday, the time of my life
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Lets travel back in time
Two-twelve-ninety nine at the stroke of midnight
Holding you tight, your body and mine, in February
Few scenes from my life where moments mean more to me
Than our fine nights,
I remember like yesterday, the time of my life
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Please don't leave me without saying goodbye
Without saying goodbye
Lets travel back in time
leon
One of the greatest pop punk albums to ever exist.
Ashton Hynes
Pop-punk is timeless. It will always be such a huge part of who so many of us will always be!
vincent van shamrock
Don't you just love it when you listen to stuff like this for the first time and can't stop thinking "Where did this kind of music go?"
Jake
9 years later still wondering. It kinda makes me sad.
Zakamane
@Jake same 😔
Lazorlamon
It's called pop punk and it still exists lol
m h
August is Falling
Michael Gaines
its really hard to do this type of music anymore. you'd have to actually stand for something, and have the patience to be able to play an instrument and do it for the love of the music
Tyler767
I remember seeing The Starting Line live in Louisville, KY at some festival, and Ken the lead singer says, "So has anyone here heard of us before?!?" I proceeded to scream my drunken lungs out from the front row(most others said nothing because it was mostly metalish bands). Ken then directly points at me and says, "Well, at least this guy has...but he won't remember it tomorrow." I still remember that like yesterday and it still makes me laugh thinking about it. So fuck you, Ken, I remembered and TSL is still one of my favorite bands
Ghost W
Tyler767 Sounds like bullshit but ok