''Underdog Alma Mater'' is the debut studio album by American

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

band Forever the Sickest Kids. It was released on April 29, 2008 by

Universal Motown Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the "urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...

Composition

Many of the songs from ''Underdog Alma Mater'' had already been released in the band's previous

EPs EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to: Commerce and finance * Earnings per share * Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China * Express Payment System, in the Philippines Education * Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, Al ...

. The band's very first EP, '' Television Off, Party On'', featured the tracks "Believe Me, I'm Lying", "She's a Lady", and "Breakdown". However, these tracks have a significantly different sound to them in their respective recordings from the EP and ''Underdog Alma Mater''. On the band's release, ''The Sickest Warped Tour EP'', "Hey Brittany" and "Coffee Break" were featured on it, but were also different from their respective recorded versions on the album. Unlike the other songs, on the band's EP, '' Hot Party Jamz'', the track "That for Me" was featured, but its recording remained the same as it was on the album. During the writing of the songs for the album, guitarist Marc Stewart stated, "Our songs are about real stuff that's happened to us because that's what kids want to hear about. They want to listen to stories about things that could happen to them as well, or that already have happened to them." The track "Believe Me, I'm Lying", written by Austin Bello and Caleb Turman, is based on how Turman once ran into trouble with his girlfriend after he lied to her and left her in tears. Turman stated, "I was hanging out with some other girls, but I told my girlfriend that I was going out by myself. 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."Underdog Alma Mater JamBase
/ref> "Believe Me, I'm Lying" and the track "My Worst Nightmare" were both written by Bello and Turman and both tracks had originally descended from the duo's former acoustic/electronic project Been Bradley. The original recordings of these two songs are featured on the deluxe edition of ''Underdog Alma Mater''.

Release

Between mid-March and early May 2008, the band participated in the

Alternative Press Tour ''Alternative Press'' is an American entertainment magazine primarily focused on music and culture, now based in Los Angeles, CA. It generally provides readers with band interviews, photos, and relevant news. It was founded in 1985 by Mike Shea ...

. On April 10, a music video was released for " Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)". ''Underdog Alma Mater'' was released on April 29 through

Universal Motown Records Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the "urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...

. The album was made available for streaming on May 2 through

Imeem The online service imeem was a social media website where users interacted with each other by Streaming media, streaming, uploading and sharing music and music videos. It operated from 2003 until 2009 when it was shut down after being acquired by ...

. A couple of days later, the band appeared at the 2008 edition of the

Bamboozle festival The Bamboozle is an annual three-day music festival which was held in New Jersey from 2003 to 2012, and is scheduled for a 2023 revival by its founder. Every year, new bands competed for spots during the two days. The event evolved out of the ...

. Also in May, the group went on a US tour alongside

Metro Station A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase Train ticket, tickets, board trains, and Emergency eva ...

, the Maine,

the Cab The Cab is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Their debut album, ''Whisper War'', was released on April 29, 2008. They have been called "The Band You Need to Know 2008" by '' Alternative Press'' magazine. They were also featured in t ...

and

Danger Radio Danger Radio (sometimes stylized as Danger: Radio) was an American rock band from Edmonds, Washington. Career 2003–07: ''The Difference Between Love and Envy '' Danger Radio's lead vocalist ( Andrew de Torres of The Scene Aesthetic) and dru ...

. Between June and August, the band performed on the 2008 edition of

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

. On September 23, a music video was released for "She's a Lady". In October and November, the band supported

Cobra Starship Cobra Starship was an American dance-pop band founded in 2005 by Gabe Saporta (ex- Midtown), and headquartered in New York City. He recorded the first album as a solo project, ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets''. Saporta later enliste ...

on their Sassy Back (Tour) in the US. On February 4, 2009, the band posted a cover of

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

's " Love Story" online. Later in February, the band went on a tour of Europe, followed by appearances at Soundwave festival in Australia and a tour of Japan, ending in early March. In April, the band performed on the Bamboozle Roadshow and appeared at

The Bamboozle The Bamboozle is an annual three-day music festival which was held in New Jersey from 2003 to 2012, and is scheduled for a 2023 revival by its founder. Every year, new bands competed for spots during the two days. The event evolved out of the ...

festival in early May. Between late June and late August, the band performed on the

. On July 7, the deluxe edition of the album was released. It featured the twelve original songs from the album and seventeen additional tracks from the band, mainly from the band's earlier days. A DVD with live shows and other footage was also included, as well.

Promotion

Fans would receive special bonuses by pre-ordering the album from certain retailers. *

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

**Two bonus tracks: "Give & Take (remix)" and "Hurricane Haley" **A bonus live video of the band's full set at SXSW *Interpunk **Button, sticker, and signed poster *

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

(digital download) **Two bonus tracks: "Becky Starz (remix)" and "Indiana" *

Newbury Comics Newbury Comics is an American comic book and music retailer based in New England. Newbury Comics began as a comic book vendor on Newbury Street in Boston. The company was founded in 1978 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students John B ...

**Signed CD booklet *SmartPunk **Autographed poster

Track listing

Personnel

Forever the Sickest Kids

* Jonathan Cook –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Austin Bello –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, vocals * Caleb Turman –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, vocals * Marc Stewart –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

* Kent Garrison –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

* Kyle Burns –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Additional

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) (187 ...

– mastering *

Tom Lord-Alge Tom Lord-Alge (born January 17, 1963) is an American music engineer and mixer. He began his career at The Hit Factory in New York. Subsequently, he was the resident mixer at what used to be known as "South Beach Studios", located on the ground f ...

– mixing *

Shep Goodman Shep Goodman is an American New York–based multi-platinum record producer, songwriter, and musician. He got his start in the music industry, by fronting the Elektra Records signed rock-act, Coward. After the disbandment of the band, he start ...

– A&R * Evan Hunt –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

* Cover concept and ''Underdog Alma Mater'' emblem illustration by Kyle Burns

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control Forever the Sickest Kids albums 2008 debut albums Universal Motown Records albums Albums produced by Matt Squire