Underdog Alma Mater

Forever the Sickest Kids | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 29, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Motown
• ASIN: B001675SSA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,282 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Although Forever the Sickest Kids have been around less than a year, their roots date back to the members' childhood. Guitarist Marc Stewart and drummer Kyle Burns are stepbrothers and shared many musical discoveries in their early lives. Around the same time, guitarist Caleb Turman and bassist Austin Bello became friends and started writing songs. Years later, Stewart met keyboardist Kent Garrison in high school. Then, when Garrison went to college, he hooked up with singer Jonathan Cook and Bellows. For a while, Turman and Bellows played together in the Dallas band Ben Bradley and everyone else from Forever the Sickest Kids rocked with The Flipside. But in late 2006, both of those groups reached a creative standstill, and the Sickest Kids were born.

"We all had the same idea and vision of where we wanted to go and how important the music was to us," says Stewart. "This was something that we all really wanted."

Immediately after writing "Hey Brittney," Forever the Sickest Kids continued working on other ideas, and by the end of their first week, they had finished three songs. "The chemistry that we have together is awesome," Turman says. "Whenever we get in a room together with our instruments, ideas just start pouring out."

Within four month, the band had recorded Television Off, Party On and written many of the songs for their full-length debut. Then, Forever the Sickest Kids started playing shows, including a three-week stint on the indie stage of the Warped Tour. "That was the hardest thing we've ever done because a lot of people didn't know who we were and we were constantly having to prove ourselves," Stewart says. "But it was also the most rewarding thing because we were playing to over 1,000 people a day."

As rigorous as Warped was, it paid off. Before Warped, Forever the Sickest Kids averaged 10,000 to 12,000 daily plays on their MySpace page. When they got home, the number jumped from between 15,000 and 22,000. And the band's fanbase continues to grow.

"There's a lot of word of mouth and the songs wound up on other people's profiles, which really helps spread the word," Turman explains. "The Internet has been an amazing tool for us, but there's still nothing like playing in front of a live audience."

Product Description

Success in the music business requires a magical combination of talent, perseverance and opportunity. The six young rockers in Dallas, Texas band Forever the Sickest Kids easily possess all this and more. They're unquestionably gifted, ambitious and hard working, and in the eight months since they formed, they've repeatedly created their own opportunities - sometimes accidentally. Five days after their official formation, singer Jonathan Cook was flipping through the Pure Volume web site when, with a click of his mouse, he inadvertently spent $350 the band didn't have on a front page song placement. Worse still, Forever the Sickest Kids didn't have any songs written yet. So, over the next two days, the band members got together and banged out a track called "Hey Brittany," then recorded it with their friend/producer Jeff Rockwell. "Buying that Pure Volume spot was an amazingly great mistake," laughs guitarist Caleb Turman, noting how "Hey Brittney" quickly becoming the band's first big break. "The song just took off and after that everyone was suddenly interested in us." It's easy to see why. "Hey Brittany" is a confectionary gem that combines elements of power pop, pop-punk, electro-pop and `80s radio rock into an unforgettable sing-along that resonates with the energy and vitality of youth. Contrary to popular belief, "Brittany" isn't Britney Spears, but rather a girl who was engaged to be married, yet made no attempt to hide her affection for the members of the Forever the Sickest Kids. Since it was first posted, "Hey Brittany" has garnered over 2.5 million Internet plays and triggered a bidding war between eight major labels. Motown emerged victorious, and recently released the band's EP Television Off, Party On, which features five fizzy, electric songs that should whet listener's appetites until the band's full-length debut comes out in March 2008.

Like "Hey Brittany" Forever The Sickest Kids' other songs tap into a place where boundless exuberance meets romantic disillusionment, and while the music is hardly a downer, it echoes with some bittersweet life lessons. "Believe Me I'm Lying," starts acoustic and builds with syncopated electronic beats, then busts into an exuberant, guitar-blaring pop song with yearning lyrics ("Go ahead and cry yourself to sleep and think how you hate me so bad). The sugar rush of "She's a Lady" is even more biting, as Cook sings, "I'm in love with a critic and a skeptic/ a traitor, I'd trade her in a second" over a bed of fist-in-air guitars and slithery synth lines.

"Our songs are about real stuff that's happened to us because that's what kids want to hear about," guitarist Marc Stewart says. "They want to listen to stories about things that could happen to them as well, or that already have happened to them."

While some of those stories, like "She's a Lady" and "Becky Starz" are about girls that have hurt the guys' feelings, Forever the Sickest Kids aren't entirely innocent of emotional button pushing. "Believe Me, I'm Lying," for example is about an occasion when Turman was caught red handed, leaving his girlfriend in tears.

"I was hanging out with some other girls, but I told my girlfriend that I was going out by myself," he explains. "So, the girls and I decided to get some coffee, and as we're walking to the car, my girlfriend pulled up and her headlights were right there in my face. I was totally busted."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Peanut Butter in my Mailbox., May 18, 2008

By 

Nefflyn "Ivorys" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underdog Alma Mater (MP3 Download)

I've been a fan of these guys for a while, since their first EP Television Off, Party On. So, naturally, when they announced that a new CD was coming out I was way excited, possibly the most I have ever been for a new CD. I found it slightly disappointing that they remade many of their songs and mixed them in with the new ones (I wanted ALL new music. but we all can't have it our way, now can we?) Needless to say, they produced eight new songs that will be stuck in your head for days. The CD is fantastic, even with the remade songs. I can't wait till they make a new one (in about two years. probably)
Check Out: Whoa oh! (Me Vs. Everyone), My Worst Nightmare, Coffee Break, and Catastrophe.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty awesome, June 28, 2008

By 

Tomy Wilkerson (el sobrante,ca,usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underdog Alma Mater (Audio CD)

I was beyond stoked for this album. i remember back when they were number one on Purevolume for Hey Brittany and I was hooked on them since that moment. When they released Television Off, Party On and it was mailed to my house, I blasted that cd for god knows how long singing into a microphone. I didn't think they could get any better than they were at that moment. THEN Underdog Alma Mater came out and they proved me wrong, they blew this cd out of the water. They pulled out all the stops. There is no such thing as a filler track on this album. They prove that they are totally worth all the hype they've been getting. Every song is completely amazing. However, if you're an old fan that was with them in the genesis of this band, you'll get tired of hearing "Breakdown", "She's A Lady", and "Believe Me, I'm Lying" because they were on TOPO. Even though they don't hurt the album, we ALL thought it was going to be new tracks with the exception of Hey Brittany because if you talked to them they probably told you "good things come to those who wait." This band is an amazing band to watch. Especially if you're there from the beginning, you remember when they weren't even signed and they had the old video for she's a lady. Speaking of which, what is up with the voice effect when John sings "She's A Lady and ladies shouldn't messed with." Am I the only one who finds that effect kind of obsolete. It's not bad enough to ruin the entire song, but i don't know why but it irritates me.

Nevertheless, a monster of an album and I await whatever they're going to do.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good fun, May 10, 2008

By 

D. Eves "davideves" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Underdog Alma Mater (Audio CD)

Previous reviews are so gushing about the coolness and originality of this album they may well have been written by the band. Having 2 teenage boys this CD is fun to listen to - loudly with the car windows down and my wife nowhere in the vicinity. It's not an original idea of teenagers singing wildy about wanting girls to show their underwear but it is good fun and it's well played. The first Busted album was great fun too. It probably appeals most to teenage boys but that doesn't make it a bad album. It's good fun and simple cruidity never goes out of fashion!