Jimmy Eat World

Childhood friends Jim Adkins and Zach Lind partnered with guitarist Tom Linton and bassist Mitch Porter to form the band in 1993. Under local label Wooden Blue Records Jimmy Eat World released a few singles, an EP and a self-titled album during 1993-94. The band got lucky in 1995 with a contract under Capitol Records that allowed them to release the album “Static Prevails.” For this venture, friend Rick Burch replaced Mitch Porter and drummer Mark Trombino joined the group.

In 1999, Jimmy Eat World released “Clarity” which was recorded in studios in California. The single “Lucky Denver Mint” was featured on the soundtrack of rom-com “Never Been Kissed” which elevated the band to mainstream audiences. However, the album that prompted Jimmy Eat World to worldwide fame is “Bleed American” which was put out in 2001 by DreamWorks. The single “The Middle” exploded on the airwaves and took the #5 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following tremendous success with “Bleed American” Jimmy Eat World recruited producer Gil Norton (whose previous experience includes working with bands like the Pixies and Foo Fighters) to work on “Futures.” Their fourth album came out October 2004 and the single “Pain” became a hit. By this time Jimmy Eat World had toured independently to promote “Bleed American” and also in collaboration with Taking Back Sunday. In 2005 they joined forces with Green Day on a worldwide tour.

In total Jimmy Eat World has released eight studio albums both independently and under major label Interscope Records (formerly DreamWorks). The band’s name comes from a cartoon drawn by Linton’s younger brother Ed, who was making fun of their brother Jim. The drawing depicts a slab of the Earth resting on Jim’s jaw, and the rest is history. Jimmy Eat World considers punk bands Mr. T Experience, Radon and Tempe’s Horace Pinker as influences in their music.

From the burning embers of the Lansdale, PA, band The Premier, came vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell, guitarist Matt Brasch, and multi-instrumentalist Nick Steinborn. Along with guitarist Casey Cavaliere, bassist Josh Martin, keyboardist Mikey Kelly and drummer Mike Kennedy, the line-up forms Philadelphia punk pop band The Wonder Years. Named after an essay of the same name lead singer Campbell wrote for his after-school education teacher, the band’s early years were spent releasing split EPs with other local bands.

After completing their first tour of the UK, The Wonder Years recorded and self-released their debut album “Get Stoked on It!” on October 30, 2007. The release, along with their touring schedule led to a swelling of the band’s fan base and signing with No Sleep Records shortly afterwards.

The band’s label debut came in spring 2008 with the EP “Won’t Be Pathetic Forever” followed by a split release with UK pop punk band All or Nothing titled “Distances” in 2009. Mikey Kelly subsequently left the band following the release to pursue other outlets.

With a devoted following for the release of their second full-length LP “The Upsides” (2010), the album performed much better commercially than the first, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard alternative artist chart. Shortly after the release the band announced they had signed to Hopeless Records and were releasing a deluxe version of the album with the added songs “I Was Scared and I’m Sorry”, “We Won’t Bury You” and “Dynamite Shovel (Campfire Version)” among others.

After following the release with an extensive touring schedule, The Wonder Years announced they were returning to the studio, the result of which was “Suburbia I’ve Given You All Now I’m Nothing”. Release on June 14, 2011 the album was inspired by the Allen Ginsberg poem entitled “America” and was led by the single “Local Man Ruins Everything”. Subsequent singles included “Don’t Let Me Cave In” and “Coffee Eyes”. In 2012 the band released a split 6-inch with pop punk band Stay Ahead of the Weather with the name “Punk Is Dead” and rereleased their debut “Get Stoked on It!”.

2013 brought four shows in less than 24 hours in promotion of the band’s fourth full-length LP “The Greatest Generation”. Sales for the album were more than double any of The Wonder Years’ previous releases and the success of which led to dates at the UK’s Slam Dunk festival and Vans Warped tour 2013.