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
Nightlife
The Starting Line Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The ring of the bell gives a yell
To the crowd that's behind you
Did she sweep you off your feet
Are you deciding not to leave without her
Without her tonight
Break down all the chairs on the tables
Give up and Get into the van and go away again
Because the things you leave in the last town
Are getting out of hand
I'm sorry
I'm sorry about it
At least you lived to talk about it
At least you got your health
At least it made you feel alive
Oh well, you wish you weren't right now
Tap out when the weight on you're shoulders comes down on you
You're gasping for air, and its just not fair
He gets to be with her
Here you sit trying hard,
To forget something your thinking of
I'm sorry about it
Do you miss her so bad it hurts
At least you lived to talk about it
At least you got your health
At least it made you feel alive
Oh well, you wish you weren't right now
You're all caught up
After sleeping for days
Makes up for nights you spent awake
It will take awhile to see that smile
That's laid dormant since she?s gone
You're all caught up
After sleeping for days
Makes up for nights you spent awake
It will take awhile to see that smile
That's laid dormant since she?s gone
At least you lived to talk about it
At least you got your health
At least it made you feel alive
Oh well, you wish you weren't right now
The Starting Line’s song “Night Life” is a narrative about a man reflecting on his night out at the bar, trying to convince a girl to come home with him. The opening lines in the song refer to “last call,” and how everyone is hoping to find their next potential partner before the night ends. As the song progresses, we see the main character grappling with his feelings about being rejected, and ultimately deciding to move on.
Throughout the song, we see the main character struggling with letting go of someone he cares about deeply. He reflects on the time they spent together, and how he wishes he could feel that way again. The second portion of the song describes the main character’s regret about how he handled the situation, and the possibility of him never seeing the woman he was interested in again.
Line by Line Meaning
Last call everybody step up for another
The night is almost over, and everyone is gathering for one last drink.
The ring of the bell gives a yell
The sound of the bell signifies the end of the night.
To the crowd that's behind you
The crowd of people is following you towards the exit.
Did she sweep you off your feet
Did she make you fall in love with her?
Are you deciding not to leave without her
Are you planning on staying longer for her?
Without her tonight
If she's not there, the night won't be the same.
Break down all the chairs on the tables
Closing time means cleaning up and getting rid of everything from the night.
And my minds on you
All I can think about is you.
Give up and get into the van and go away again
It's time to leave and move on to the next town.
Because the things you leave in the last town
You left behind some unfinished business in the previous town.
Are getting out of hand
The situation is getting worse.
I'm sorry
I regret what happened in the last town.
At least you lived to talk about it
You survived the situation, and can now share the story.
At least you got your health
You came out of it unscathed physically.
At least it made you feel alive
The experience was intense and thrilling, even if it was dangerous.
Oh well, you wish you weren't right now
You regret being in this situation right now.
Tap out when the weight on you're shoulders comes down on you
When things get too heavy, you need to surrender and let go.
You're gasping for air, and its just not fair
You're struggling to breathe and the situation is overwhelming.
He gets to be with her
Someone else has the chance to be with the person you want to be with.
Here you sit trying hard, to forget something you're thinking of
You're trying to distract yourself from the person you miss.
Do you miss her so bad it hurts
Do you long for her so much that it's painful?
You're all caught up after sleeping for days, makes up for nights you spent awake
By catching up on sleep, you're making up for the nights you stayed up thinking about her.
It will take awhile to see that smile, that's laid dormant since she's gone
It will take some time before you can be happy again, now that she's gone.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AndiMichael
Last call everybody step up for another
The ring of the bell gives a yell
To the crowd that's behind you
Did she sweep you off your feet
Are you deciding not to leave without her
Without her tonight
Break down all the chairs on the tables
And my minds on you
Give up and Get into the van and go away again
Because the things you leave in the last town
Are getting out of hand
Im sorry
Im sorry about it
At least you lived to talk about it
At least you got your health
At least it made you feel alive
Oh well, you wish you weren't right now
Tap out when the weight on you're shoulders comes down on you
You're gasping for air, and its just not fair
He gets to be with her
Here you sit trying hard,
To forget something your thinking of
Im sorry about it
Do you miss her so bad it hurts
At least you lived to talk about it
At least you got your health
At least it made you feel alive
Oh well, you wish you weren't right now
You're all caught up
After sleeping for days
Makes up for nights you spent awake
It will take awhile to see that smile
That's laid dormant since she’s gone
You're all caught up
After sleeping for days
Makes up for nights you spent awake
It will take awhile to see that smile
That's laid dormant since she’s gone
At least you lived to talk about it
At least you got your health
At least it made you feel alive
Oh well, you wish you weren't right now
@jacksonwillingham6618
I remember where I was when I first heard this song! It’s very unique. They went on to make some great music.
@binhothompson
awsome song, had a little time travel while listening to it.
@V3NGEVILLAN
this give me anxiety for 15 years ago. where did that time go? i was a kid. i thought it would never end. there were night lifes and i felt alive... so alive
@TheEricMM
I was 17 and inexplicably sprung off a girl who loved this album just as much as I did. Like a dagger to the heart, this makes me impossibly nostalgic..I;m now 30..
@V3NGEVILLAN
Im 31 now.
@michaelverrone2422
Man this song takes me back ...
@gustavovinicius5258
Michael Verrone the same here man rs
And I wish this time back again, everything seemed to be so simple...
@brentbernardo7222
nostalgia hits hard.
@tom_bout
I got this album at Abercrombie and Fitch back in the day haha
@rey_kobain
Still listening 2021 🔥