''Through Being Cool'' (typeset as ''"Through Being Cool"'') is the second studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Saves the Day Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1997. The band currently consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, and bassist Rodrigo Palma. After forming under the name Sefler i ...

, released on November 2, 1999 by Equal Vision. The songs on ''Through Being Cool'' were written while the band members attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. The album was recorded in 11 days and represented the band's transition from a

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and ...

sound to a more

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 p ...

style. It was produced by Steve Evetts at Trax East Recording Studio in

South River, New Jersey South River is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 16,008,Snapcase Snapcase was an American hardcore punk band from Buffalo, New York. Their records were released on the Chicago record label Victory Records. During the course of the band's initial run of fourteen years, they released six studio albums before ...

New Found Glory New Found Glory (formerly A New Found Glory) is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida, formed in 1997. The band currently consists of Jordan Pundik (lead vocals), Ian Grushka (bass guitar), Chad Gilbert (lead guitar, backing voc ...

Hot Water Music Hot Water Music is an American punk rock band formed in October 1994 and based in Gainesville, Florida. Since their formation, the group has consisted of Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard on shared lead vocals and guitars, bass guitarist Jason Bl ...

, and Face to Face, among others. A music video was filmed for the song "Shoulder to the Wheel." Eventually selling 50,000 copies, the success of ''Through Being Cool'' helped Saves the Day to sign with

Vagrant Records Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is hom ...

. It was named one of ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' 10 most influential albums of 1999. To celebrate the album's 15th anniversary, the band played the album front-to-back on tour and Equal Vision re-pressed the album on vinyl. Vocalist

Chris Conley Christopher Lane Conley (born February 29, 1980) is an American musician who is the lead-singer/rhythm guitarist of the rock band Saves the Day. He was the only remaining original member as well as major artistic contributor throughout their car ...

considers it "the most important record that we did."

Background

formed in late 1997. Their debut album, ''

Can't Slow Down Can't Slow Down may refer to: * ''Can't Slow Down'' (Lionel Richie album) or its title song, 1983 * ''Can't Slow Down'' (Saves the Day album), 1998 * ''Can't Slow Down'' (Foreigner album), 2009 * "Can't Slow Down" (song), by Hedley from their a ...

'', was released through Equal Vision in August 1998. The album helped the band to gain fans, mainly in the New Jersey area.Greenwald 2003, p. 80 The band promoted the album with two tours helping to expand its fan base. Initially, they were heckled at each appearance. Drummer Bryan Newman said that the group was "totally out of place" among the other bands on the tour. Saves the Day had three different lineup changes while touring in support of ''Can't Slow Down'', leaving vocalist

and Newman as the only original members remaining. Saves the Day's guitarist, Justin Gaylord, had left at the end of their first full tour of the United States. Dave Soloway, who had driven the band to their gigs during high school, was added to the band as Gaylord's replacement. Conley described Soloway as a kid who "came from bluegrass and his family would sit around singing folk songs and stuff at home." Guitarist Ted Alexander was the band's

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This ca ...

, and spent so much time with the band that they eventually "just gave him a guitar". Sean McGrath, bassist on the band's first album, was kicked out of the band and the group sought a replacement. Around the time, Saves the Day was playing gigs with local bands, one of which Eben D'Amico was in. Conley called him a "sick" bassist and eventually asked him if he would like to join Saves the Day. With this lineup, the band entered Shoulder to the Wheel studios in March 1999 and recorded an acoustic EP, '' I'm Sorry I'm Leaving''. The EP was released in mid-1999 on Immigrant Sun Records, and only 500 copies were pressed.

Recording

''Through Being Cool'' was recorded with producer Steve Evetts in June 1999 at Trax East Recording Studio in

South River, New Jersey South River is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 16,008, Unfortunately, the experience of recording in a studio nearly led to Newman having a

breakdown Breakdown may refer to: Breaking down *Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated *Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components *Decompo ...

, as he was not used to the environment; he later noted that the entire process "was intense". Recording and mixing was done over a total of eleven days. The band, attempting to finish the album, pulled all-nighters, relaxing in the control room, and sleeping in the lounge. In an interview with ''

'', Conley that while other people might have thought the group was trying to rush through production, he and his band members were actually "just having a blast". The recording sessions also included two additional half-day sessions, which were booked due to Conley losing his voice recording the vocals. Eventually, when it came time to track the album, Conley and the band were "really psyched" at how the songs were sounding. Evetts also engineered the album, while Alan Douches

mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

it at West West Side.

Composition

Saves the Day wrote the material for ''Through Being Cool'' while attending

(NYU). Conley said, "I had written all the songs while at NYU, writing lyrics during Psychology 101 and writing the guitar parts over at Bryan’s apartment on 7th Street and 2nd Avenue." The music was credited to Conley and Saves the Day, except for "Do You Know What I love the Most?" by Alexander and Saves the Day, and "The Vast Spoils of America (From the Badlands Through the Ocean)" by Soloway and Saves the Day. The band rehearsed in Conley's parents' basement and slept over at the home, "working all weekend long." During these sessions, they refined what Conley had written and recorded demos of their progress. The album has a more

sound compared to ''Can't Slow Down'', which was a

-driven record.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

reviewer Vincent Jeffries described the record's sound as "emocore". Conley explained that the shift in sound came from the music he was listening to. He liked several hardcore bands, but had played their albums "to death" and wanted to look for other sources of inspiration. While working on ''Through Being Cool'', Conley listened to the Foo Fighters' ''

The Colour and the Shape ''The Colour and the Shape'' is the second studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on May 20, 1997, through Roswell and Capitol Records. It marked the official debut of the Foo Fighters as a band, as their eponymous 1995 de ...

'' (1997),

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing ...

's '' Pinkerton'' (1996), and Joni Mitchell's ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

'' (1971), among others.

Artwork

Dan Sandshaw, the head of Equal Vision, said that there was a debate over the artwork for the album. Conley was unsure about what do with the artwork, and went along with Newman and Soloway's ideas. The cover artwork that was eventually chosen depicts the band as social outcasts, sitting on a couch during a high school party. The album booklet continues the outcast theme. Sandshaw felt that cover would give the wrong impression to

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

fans, and Newman regretted it after the album was released. Conley said people told the band that they had

sold out "Selling out", or "sold out" in the past tense, is a common expression for the compromising of a person's integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles by forgoing the long-term benefits of the collective or group in exchange for personal ga ...

because the cover art featured their faces. The band, and Luke Hoverman, designed the concept with Frank Davidson providing the layout. The photographs were taken by Hoverman with assistance from Lenny Zimkus. The CD art features

Gabe Saporta Gabriel Eduardo Saporta (born October 11, 1979) is an Uruguayan-American musician and entrepreneur. From the years 2005 until 2015, he was the lead vocalist and founder of the electropop band Cobra Starship. On November 10, 2015, after nearly ...

kissing a girl, while the back cover has actor James Ransone passed out on a couch.

Release and touring

When the band gave the finished album to Sandshaw, he said that the Equal Vision staff "couldn't stop listening to it" and were determined to get the band "the exposure they deserved." Sandshaw thought it was going to be a game-changing album. Dropping out of college to give the album live exposure, the band built a big fan base along the east coast. In October and November 1999, Saves the Day went on tour with

Snapcase Snapcase was an American hardcore punk band from Buffalo, New York. Their records were released on the Chicago record label Victory Records. During the course of the band's initial run of fourteen years, they released six studio albums before ...

and Kid Dynamite. ''Through Being Cool'' was released on November 2Sciarretto 1999, p. 19 on Equal Vision Records. The band played a release show with

The Get Up Kids The Get Up Kids are an American rock band from Olathe, Kansas. Formed in 1995, the band was a major player in the mid-1990s Midwest emo scene, otherwise known as the " second wave" of emo music. Their second album '' Something to Write Home Abo ...

At the Drive-In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (dru ...

, and Midtown. In January 2000, the band toured alongside

Piebald A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backgro ...

and

, and then with Snapcase in late January until early February. Saves the Day also played in February with

. In February, the band filmed the music video for "Shoulder to the Wheel" with director Darren Doan. The video was filmed at Soloway's parents' house and featured the band's friends. The group played songs to get people into the mood before miming along to "Shoulder to the Wheel". The video was released to television stations on April 7. The band was uncomfortable with Doan's ideas during the making of the video, and Newman said the group "hated it as soon as

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

saw it". The band went on a North American tour in 2000 with H₂O between March and May. On this trip, the band got into an accident with their van that almost ended their career. They rejoined the tour on the Seattle date. By the time this run had ended, the album had sold nearly 50,000 copies – a massive number for Equal Vision. In an issue of ''

CMJ New Music Report CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' dated May 2000, it was announced that due to the success of ''Through Being Cool'', Saves the Day had signed with

.Holbreich 2000, p. 4 Rich Egan, founder of Vagrant,Greenwald 2003, p. 68 became their manager. Egan "fell in love" with the band because their lyrics were "so honest, so cut and dried." The band performed on a few

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 touri ...

datesKeiper 2000, p. 22 in early August. Following this, the band played shows with Face to Face, New Found Glory, and

Alkaline Trio Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Matt Skiba (vocals, guitar), Dan Andriano (vocals, bass) and Derek Grant (drums, vocals). Founded in late 1996 by Skiba, bassist Rob Do ...

in late August to early October. They again joined Face to Face from late October to mid November.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

reviewer Vincent Jeffries noted that, for ''Through Being Cool'', the band went for a "punchier production," using it to foreground Conley's "romantic teen declarations". According to Jeffries, while some songs may have had issues, such as being too "obvious, sappy, or both, Conley pulls it together with plain-spoken honesty", and highlighted "Third Engine" as an example of this. While noting that their first album sounded like Lifetime, Aubin Paul wrote that the band "found themselves" with ''Through Being Cool''. At the same time, Paul argued that part of the album were derivative, highlighting in particular one song that he felt was "almost identical" to the

Samiam Samiam (pronounced "sam-I-am") is an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, active since 1988. History Samiam was formed in late 1988 after the breakup of the Gilman club mainstay Isocracy. Their first show was in January 1989 wit ...

song "Capsized". In a retrospective review for

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

, Megan Ritt wrote that "Shoulder to the Wheel" and "Rocks Tonic Juice Magic" had not "really aged at all" and sounded as "vital" today as they did when they were first released. Ritt opined that "Banned from the Back Porch" "rock dpretty hard," making listeners want to "thrash a little harder in the mosh pit" while Jeffries noted the song sounded similar to

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

Legacy

''Alternative Press'' writer Colin McGuire argued that ''Through Being Cool'' influenced a new wave of pop-punk bands, such as

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurle ...

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist ...

, and

Taking Back Sunday Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. The band was formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in 1999. The band's members currently are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keybo ...

. ''Alternative Press'' also included the album on their list of the most influential albums of 1999. Tris McCall of

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to a report in ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore r ...

cited the album as "every third-wave emo band's inspiration .. endinga shockwave through the pop-punk underground." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' listed the album was one of 20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic. BuzzFeed included it at number 5 on its list of 36 Pop Punk Albums You Need To Hear Before You F——ing Die. The album was included in ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...

''s 101 Modern Classics list at number 60, with the notation that "pop-punk has not been the same since

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: T ...

and this record play da major role in that change." Fall Out Boy's vocalist Patrick Stump listed the album at number 10 on his list of 10 Records That Changed My Life. Stump revealed that he would not "have been in Fall Out Boy if it weren't for this record". The album's artwork was included by

Fuse.tv Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyle programming targeting multi ...

as one of 20 Iconic Pop Punk Album Covers. Journalists Leslie Simon and Trevor Kelley included the album in their list of the most essential emo releases in their book ''Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture'' (2007), while Stereogum listed "Rocks Tonic Juice Magic" as one of 30 Essential Songs From The Golden Era of Emo. Saves the Day performed the album in its entirety at a secret show in Brooklyn in September 2013. On September 4, 2014, Saves the Day and

Say Anything Say Anything may refer to: Film and television * '' Say Anything...'', a 1989 American film by Cameron Crowe * "Say Anything" (''BoJack Horseman''), a television episode Music * Say Anything (band), an American rock band ** ''Say Anything'' (alb ...

announced a co-headlining U.S. tour with support from

Reggie and the Full Effect Reggie and the Full Effect is an American rock band, the solo project of James Dewees, the former keyboardist for The Get Up Kids. It has released seven full-length albums, the latest in 2018, and has toured with various associated acts in their ...

. On the tour, Saves the Day played ''Through Being Cool'', Say Anything played '' ...Is a Real Boy'' (2004), and Reggie and the Full Effect played '' Under the Tray'' (2003). The tour lasted from November 14 to December 21. Equal Vision remastered ''Through Being Cool'' and repressed the album on vinyl for its 15th anniversary. The idea for the tour came about from a conversation between Conley and Say Anything's frontman

Max Bemis Maxim Adam Bemis (born April 6, 1984) () is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, primary composer and primary lyricist of the band, Say Anything, before their hiatus in 2018. He sang alongside Chris Conley in the ...

. The two were discussing the past and Bemis mentioned that ''...Is a Real Boy'' was going to be 10 years old in the same year ''Through Being Cool'' turned 15. In an interview with ''Alternative Press'' for the album's 15th anniversary, Conley thought the album had stood up well and that it was "pretty fresh-sounding" and considered it "the most important record that we did".

Track listing

Personnel

Personnel per booklet. ;Saves the Day *

–

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 withou ...

* Bryan Newman – drums * Eben D'Amico – bass * Ted Alexander – rhythm guitar * David Soloway –

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 featu ...

;Production * Steve Evetts – producer,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

* Alan Douches – mastering * Saves the Day, Luke Hoverman – design concept * Frank Davidson – layout * Luke Hoverman – photography * Lenny Zimkus – assistant photography * Megan Delany – styling

References

; Footnotes ; Citations ;Sources * * * * * * * *

External links

''Through Being Cool''
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control Saves the Day albums 1999 albums Equal Vision Records albums Albums produced by Steve Evetts