Derek Discanio, lead singer of pop-punk band State Champs, celebrates his birthday today, October 9th.
State Champs – Upstate Concert Hall – March 2013 – Jenny Caulfield
State Champs originated in Albany and made a name for themselves in the local punk scene playing regular shows at legendary Albany venue Valentines, which has since closed down. Derek founded the band in 2010 with current guitarist, Tyler Szalkowski.
State Champs – Upstate Concert Hall – March 2013 – Jenny Caulfield
State Champs have come a long way in a short time. After self-releasing a string of acoustic singles and EPs, State Champs garnered the attention of Pure Noise Records in 2012 which eventually led to the band being picked up by the label and given loads of promotion opportunities.
After teaming up with Pure Noise, State Champs released remastered versions of “Critical” and “Remedy” which opened the band up to a whole new audience.
The band’s first full-length studio album, The Finer Things, arrived on October 8th, 2013. It sold over 3,000 copies the first week and landed at Number 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Following the release of the band’s debut album, State Champs were a staple in any pop-punk kid’s playlist, fulfilling the prototype of skateboard-centric music videos, stage dives, and appearances at the Vans Warped Tour.
Since then, State Champs has gone onto release two more albums, Around The World and Back, debuting the hit single “All You Are Is History” and Living Proof, both of which were praised heavily by fans.
Aside from his involvement in State Champs, Derek has also featured on other prominent Albany pop-punk bands, notably in 2016 when he brought Young Culture’s “Bedroom Floor” to their repertoire, which has become a fan favorite.
State Champs are one of those bands that kids interested in punk music look up to in Albany, making a name for themselves and always remember Albany as their home. Join NYS Music in wishing Albany native Derek Discanio a Happy Birthday!
COVID got you down? Having some relationship troubles? Or maybe there’s a hankering for some good ol’ 2010 nostalgia? Take a listen to State Champs new album Unplugged and let it all out, in a true pop punk fashion. This collection was released to celebrate 10 years since the bands’ start in Albany. In their press release, they declare their change of pace as a “healthy growth spurt,” that will “set the table for the next ten years of their career.” They definitely have grown since their start a decade ago, but it’s arguable that they may have just aged out their genre, rather than growing into a new one.
This six-track album, with four original songs in their newfound acoustic sound, also features two covers of their highest rated songs, transposed into their new style. What’s fascinating is they’re able to keep that drive going in such a ‘low lit’ environment. This is their saving grace because, on its face, this album might not sound so appealing. How can you have a chill version of pop punk music about how your hometown sucks and you hate your ex-girlfriend? Well this is one way to do it. This feels highly multi-layered throughout. It’s not just a softer version of the songs you like, some are reimagined in creative ways.
“A Thousand Hearts” really sets the scene as to how laid back they’ve become. It has decent drive and motivation, but it’s not at all parallel to their original work, with one of the only similarities being Derek DiScanio’s voice and lyrical theme. That’s fine and all, being that the band wants to move in a new direction. It might be a bit of a shock to long time listeners, as will the smooth as butter saxophone solos. “The Recipe” falls into the similarly romantic space, but presents a better sense of direction and drive, as well as more relatable lyrics about how relationships don’t need to follow a ‘recipe.’
“10 am” has a very unique, self proclaimed EDM sound, mixed with well produced, natural sounds. It’s got a catchy hook to it, but again, not the most revolutionary word-smithing going on in this one. Musically though, this is very well executed. Fun fact: the song was birthed by Evan Ambrosio, who was messing around with an automated drum loop, and ran with the idea, creating a song with a synthetic drum loop that has a natural sound to them. Most of the song sounds completely acoustic and man-made, but fades out with the drum beat, which slowly morphs into a more computerized, 8-bit sound – a fun nod to the muse of the song.
“Crying Out Loud” is the best original on the album. The hook is super catchy, the energy created both lyrically and musically is moving and it should resonate well among Champ fans. This could easily be transposed into their original style perfectly, but again, that’s not their vision.
“Criminal” is the first acoustic version of an original song and it feels more natural compared to the first four tracks on the album. They’ve thrown in a very poppy, bluegrass feel to it, which takes some getting used to but it’s still a fun song if you’re a fan of the original.
“Dead and Gone” is the perfect song to cover. The lyrics are edgy enough to give it the drive it needs and the music follows to help propel it even further. It’s not too busy, or trying to be something other than what it is. The most extreme change is a twangy guitar that pops in and out of the song. The double time effect that we hear during the verses, (that feeling of the music getting faster) comes through perfectly in this too – a cornerstone of pop punk music.
Pop punk is a culmination of a lot of music, so the logic should be sound – why not just add another genre in there, and we should sound different. But pop punk is already so many things: Emotional, energetic, silly, dramatic, loud. There aren’t many genres that can say they have all of those things and still be palatable to the masses. It’s also quite the challenge to change a group’s entire attitude, let alone pulling from another genre of music. This is a definitely a sensible direction to go for State Champs, as the pop punk area of music may start to trail off soon, if it already hasn’t. But if State Champs find that golden ratio, as they did in their “Dead and Gone” cover and “Crying Out Loud,” then they themselves will be golden and “set the table for the next ten years of their career.”
Albany’s Young Culture is known for their pop-punk sound but they fully embrace the pop side on their new single, “I’ll Be There.” While drums and guitar are still present on the track, this song is primed for Top 40 with a boy bander-esque dance routine in the accompanying music video.
Despite the music video’s washed-out aesthetic, “I’ll Be There” sounds vibrant and ready-made for summer. Referencing another summer anthem, Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” the pre-chorus goes: “Just like the song says, every little thing is gonna be alright.” Whether in relation to the pandemic, current civil unrest, or life in general, the song’s message is reassuring for many reasons. “We’re happy to put out good vibes and hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did making it,” said lead singer, Alex Magnan. Enjoy listening below.
Listen to Young Culture Here.
In addition to the new music video, Young Culture launched “I’ll Be There”-themed merchandise. Over $1,600 of the total proceeds are going to the Albany and Louisville Community Bail Funds. The shirts depicted the Bob Marley quote and an image from the music video. They are now completely sold out. “We’ve been sitting on this simple song for a while and didn’t know that putting it out right now would give it a whole new meaning for us,” Magnan told Broadway World.
Founded by school friends Magnan and Gabe Pietrafesa, with Troy Burchett joining later on, Young Culture released their label debut EP in 2019, entitled, (This Is) Heaven. The pop-punk EP reached #22 on the New Artist chart and and #53 on the Indie chart, and maintains a sizeable Spotify presence. One of the songs, “Drift,” was co-produced by Sam Guaiana, as well as Derek DiScanio of fellow pop-punk Albany band, State Champs.
