NEW YEARS DAY

At one time or another, each of us has suffered heartbreak—and each person deals with it in different ways. However, instead of moping around or flirting with illegal substances, New Years Day—vocalist Ash, guitarist Mike, drummer Russell, guitarist Keith and bassist Adam (formerly of pop punk orange county band Homegrown )—decided to transform their relationship woes into a brand of upbeat pop-punk that’s as catchy as it is cathartic. "I was going through a really bad break-up two years ago and so was Adam, and we had both ended up at Keith’s house somehow," Ash explains about how the band formed. "I played both of them the music I’d been writing for my new project and they both fell in love with it—and that night we formed New Years Day. New Year’s Day began in Anaheim California. Within mere months of forming, Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump and Motion City Soundtrack’s Justin Pierre noticed them. Both were early supporters and who collaborated with them on the song "Brilliant Lies." They were then noticed by punk/emo bible Alternative Press, who salivated over the band’s "blend of girl-power vocals and dark pop-song structures," and gave a heads-up to the record industry: "We'd advise A&R reps to start booking flights, like, now. The band has been making quite a noise and touching the hearts of many fans with their ultra-catchy, anthemic songs that just happen to be loaded with daggers for lyrics. Further separating them from the boy-dominated punk scene is the truly unique presence singer Ashley Costello (you just call her Ash) providing distinct and empowering vocals to a rock band that can really back it up. New Years Day was also an early myspace favorite. Along with the help of myspace Tom himself, a fan of the band, they were able to play shows with the bands like Jimmy Eat World, The All American Rejects, The Plain White T's, Dashboard Confessional, and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. The bands began building a reputation through D.I.Y.-produced promotions and posting songs on MySpace, and were featured on the MySpace Records Volume 1 compilation. NYD were then signed to the large indie label TVT Records after a flirtation with Decaydance, Fueled by Ramen-affiliated vanity label. A self-titled five-song EP was released in the fall featuring the catchy first single "I Was Right” which garnered some MTV buzz. The band’s debut music video for the lead single "I Was Right" won an MTVU "Freshman Face" poll and was added to the channel’s playlist. The full-length debut by New Years Day, My Dear, followed featuring a song co-written with Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack. New Years Day also played on the Warped Tour 2007 on the main support stage and main stage and quickly became one of popular music channel Fuse's favorite new acts, winning them the #1 spot on the show "Oven Fresh." Almost directly after the release of their first record "My Dear" New Years Day hit a rough patch with former record label TVT records. The label announced, to the bands dismay that it was to go bankrupt and sell everything it owned, including New Years Day. After some time of struggle, losing band members and fighting to even keep their own band name, the band won their rights and is now back to performing and moving forward to the 2nd record. Now New Years Day is in the studio again writing and recording the first stages of their 2nd release and will be touring with the Warped Tour 2010. The band members now include Ash Costello (vocals), Russell Dixon (drums), Dan Arnold (guitar and formerly of the band A Static Lullaby), and Anthony Barro (bass)