Wilkes-Barre, PA punk rock band Stay Loud has just released their latest album, Sophomore Slump. The 15-track album features the lead single “Wow! That’s A Low Price” as well as follow-up singles “Justene is an Ugly Name” and the self-titled single “Sophomore Slump”.
The album was recorded at Novro Studios and mixed/mastered by Eric Novroski. “We really hope everyone has something they can relate to with this album,” explains the band. “It’s all about love and friends having fun! We recorded this record during the pandemic because we didn’t know when we would play a show again. We just wanted to have some fun!”
We had a chance to interview Stay Loud as part of our Refrain Interview Series. Check it out below.
Refrain Music Blog: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. You have a new album out now. What’s it called?
Stay Loud: Our new album is called “Sophomore Slump”
RMB: How many songs on the album?
Stay Loud: 15 Songs!
RMB: Is this your first album?
SL: This is our second album. This one is different from the first one. Our first record was very Punk rock/ Pop Punk focused. It was an album about emotional pain. Where in the new album it’s about having fun with friends and about love! This time around we really tried to push our musical boundaries.
RMB: What’s the story on how it was recorded?
SL: So we have to thank the pandemic for this record, because it wouldn’t have happened! We were supposed to go on tour in May-June July? Of 2020. You can guess that never happened. We were planning like a 3-4 song EP at the time! All those songs are on the new album. We finally got back together after a few months of lockdown and we were playing around with a Ska tune and we decided to go and finish it for fun! This song was called “One Shot”. We wanted to have fun and see what people would think. To our surprise the feedback was great! So we decided to keep making music we wanted too and have fun with it even in different genre styles. We wrote probably a good 20-24 songs and decided on the final 15 we felt we couldn’t cut. We started record in October of 2020 and finished December of 2021. A long but rewarding process.
RMB: Do you have a favorite song on the album?
SL: (Chris) My favorite song would have to be “No Room For Assholes in Rock and Roll”!
RMB: Are there any overarching themes on the album?
SL: Yeah we would say so! It’s all about love and having fun with your friends.
RMB: Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
SL: Some would be Green Day, Yellowcard, Blink-182, The Wonder Years, The Beatles, Breaking Benjamin.
RMB: What’s the one thing you are most proud of in your career so far?
SL: Playing The Vans Warped Tour for sure!
RMB: If you had to pitch your music to a potential fan in less than 10 seconds, what would you say?
SL: If you like Punk Rock music you can crank all the way to 10 and blow your parents speakers out this is the album to do it too!
RMB: What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten that you think everyone needs to hear or that has meant the most to you?
SL: If you love doing it then it’s worth doing it! Never give up.
RMB: If you could go back in time, what’s a piece of advice you would give to a younger you?
SL: Don’t move out.
RMB: What’s coming up next for your musical project?
SL: Well right now we are focused on our tour coming up. We have been playing around with some Ska tunes though….we will have to wait and see.
Stay Loud Is:
Chris Cashmere -Lead Singer/ Rhythm Guitarist
Gerry Tulao – Lead Guitarist
CJ Davenport- Bass
Jonathon Kamor- Drums/backup Vocals/ Keyboards
Connect with Stay Loud:
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