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If you read Alternative Press Magazine or follow hardcore, punk rock or indie music of any fashion, you've probably heard the name before. You probably laughed and wondered what the hell these bands sound like or have in common. It's a label that has been attached to a wide range of acts - from metal-heads like Victory Records' Atreyu to current major label icons Thursday - with few acts seeming to fit the label correctly.
The label I speak of: SCREAMO! Yeah, it sounds stupid, I know - I didn't come up with it, some intern at Alternative Press did, actually (this being the same magazine that created the label "heart-core" to describe Brand New).
One band slapped with the screamo label, for better or worse, is Canada's latest musical export, Boys Night Out.
"I hate it - I think it sucks real bad," Boys Night Out guitarist Jeff Davis said of the unfortunately simplistic genre label. "The title works: We play emotional music. We scream. I guess it makes sense. It's just a shitty label because all the bands [adorned with said label] are totally different. I'd much rather be called a pop-punk band."
The music on Boys Night Out's debut full-length album, "Make Yourself Sick," is full of melodic pop and punk-influenced rhythmic patterns. And, it's littered with highly-charged emotional screaming about relationships and teenage angst.
Screamo? Pop-punk? Melodic hardcore? Aw, who cares - it's good stuff regardless of what you call it.
The ability to bridge the already-too-narrow gap between pop-influenced punk rock and scream-infested hardcore has allowed Boys Night Out to tour with a wide variety of acts, including the mall rat-worshiped Simple Plan and aforementioned Atreyu.
"In certain places it doesn't work, though - especially in Canada - where we can't really get into the hardcore or metal scene. We're pretty much pigeonholed into a screamo or punk rock scene," Davis said. "But when we come down into the States, we're considered a hardcore band."
"Personally, I have a lot more fun playing pop-punk shows with The Starting Line or Simple Plan," Davis admitted. "With shows like that, you get kids coming out who are younger and just really enjoy going to shows and having fun. It's not like they go to a show just to be a part of 'the scene.' Those [younger] kids appreciate what you do in a different way. [Hardcore] kids come out just to show off their tattoos and pick up chicks - those shows tend to suck."
Boys Night Out was recently named one of Alternative Press' "100 Bands To Watch in 2004." The Boys roll through Austin on Sunday, along with Drive Thru Records' Senses Fail, Moneen and Beautiful Mistake.
The band has featured a rotating cast of musicians since about 1998; oddly enough, the original version of Boys Night Out broke up after playing just one show that year. Lead singer Conner Lovat-Fraser and Davis began writing songs again in 2001, but, as the guitarist explains, Boys Night Out wasn't a very serious gig until just last June, when they began touring nationally and full-time (perhaps the ultimate test of one's commitment to a band).
"We recorded a demo and worked out a deal with One Day Savior Records to put out an EP with them," Davis explained. "Pretty much right away Ferret [Records] was interested in us as well and said they wanted to sign us once we put out the EP."
Ferret Records, home of a wide variety of acts, including A Static Lullaby, Scarlet and Austin's own The Rise, may be the vanguard of indie-label-to-major-label relations. Label founder/owner Carl Severson, upon noticing that many of his cherished, homegrown bands were capturing the attention of many a major label, inked a deal with Columbia Records that insures he and his D.I.Y. label won't lose out, should a Ferret band decide to take the major label route.
Rather than continuing the tired old major/indie divide, Severson and Co. have found a way to satisfy the needs of their own label, while allowing bands the opportunity to reach a much larger audience with the support of Columbia - time will tell if the deal becomes as precedent-setting as one would hope.
"There are advantages to major labels, but there's definitely a downside as well," Davis said. "Being with Ferret makes a decision like that easier, and it's not one we would ever rule out. Who knows who'll put out [our] next record - we're completely happy with Ferret right now."
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