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
Selected Attention
The Starting Line Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One better then you dreamt and it's weighing down,
The side of your mouth, to an appearing frown,
Theres more to it, than it might sound
Sharpen your over acting skills to cut through the tension,
Mark your words with confidence, selective attention
Loosing balance,
Take a look at your home town you're a different person now,
Only one who hasn't changed, only one who stayed the same.
Sharpen your over acting skills to cut through the tension,
Mark your words with confidence, selective attention
Make it a point to appreciate the life you lead,
Don't rush the day you'll wish they stayed for one year later,
It's a tragic case of bad taste, but its all concerning you,
Who truly can appreciate the mess you made. (x 2)
Sharpen your over acting skills to cut through the tension,
Mark your words with confidence, selective attention
The Starting Line's song "Selected Attention" is about the struggles of success and the pressure that comes with it. The song opens with the singer acknowledging the fact that the person he's singing about has made quite a life for themselves, one better than they dreamt, but this success seems to be weighing them down. While they may appear successful and happy on the outside, there's more to their emotional state than meets the eye. The lyrics "sharpen your overacting skills to cut through the tension, mark your words with confidence, selective attention" suggest that the individual is putting on a facade of confidence to mask their insecurities and doubts about their success.
The chorus repeats the lines about sharpening one's overacting skills and mark words with confidence, suggesting that this pressure to succeed requires a certain level of acting and careful selection of words to maintain the facade of confidence. The second verse focuses on the idea that success has changed the individual, but they are the only one in their hometown who hasn't changed. They seem to be struggling with finding balance in their new life while holding on to their old identity.
Line by Line Meaning
You make quite a life for your self,
You've built a life much better than you ever thought possible.
One better then you dreamt and it's weighing down,
It's so amazing that it's actually making you feel overwhelmed and uneasy.
The side of your mouth, to an appearing frown,
You might look unhappy, but there's actually more to it than meets the eye.
Theres more to it, than it might sound
There are deeper emotions and thoughts at play that aren't immediately obvious.
Sharpen your over acting skills to cut through the tension,
Be more expressive and convincing with your body language to diffuse difficult situations.
Mark your words with confidence, selective attention
Speak clearly and intentionally, highlighting only what's important and relevant.
Try and steady your self, by with one hand down,
Try to steady yourself by grounding one hand on something stable.
Loosing balance,
You're in danger of losing control and becoming unhinged.
Take a look at your home town you're a different person now,
Reflect on who you used to be and who you've become.
Only one who hasn't changed, only one who stayed the same.
You might feel like you're the only one who hasn't evolved, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Make it a point to appreciate the life you lead,
Don't take your life for granted, try to find joy in every day.
Don't rush the day you'll wish they stayed for one year later,
Don't be in such a hurry to move on that you miss out on the present moment.
It's a tragic case of bad taste, but its all concerning you,
You might feel like you've made some bad choices, but ultimately it only affects you.
Who truly can appreciate the mess you made. (x 2)
Only you can fully understand the struggles and challenges you've faced.
Contributed by Liliana H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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on Given the Chance
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