Personally, nothing hits me in the nostalgia receptor and transports me back to my youth quite like a good pop punk anthem.
It was the soundtrack to many formative experiences and over the last few years, the pop punk revival has been coming in full swing.
A driving force behind the aforementioned revival is Barrie-based outfit 30 Going On 13.
In honour of their latest EP, which was officially released today, we’re taking a track-by-track look at Sophmoronic.
From the first 10 seconds of the EP, it's clear that band members Adam Dyke (vocals), Cheddarr McBoohawk (guitar and vocals), Mike Smusiak (guitar and vocals), Kiegan Christie (bass and vocals), and Alex Reid (drums) have fully realized their sound, which feels at home with Saturday morning cartoons, a montage of questionable hijinx, or on a Warped Tour compilation mix.
Sophmoronic is a collection of six tracks boasting fresh energy, catchy riffs, and lyrics that could easily be taken up as millennial anthems.
RV: How did 30 Going On 13 come to exist as a band?
CH: We were wandering through the sewers and we came upon some glowing, green ooze. We realized we weren’t very good at martial arts, but then we started jamming some old Motown tune and we thought, “Let’s start a band!”
MS: Really, we were just friends and friends of friends who came together to make some kick-ass music and have as much fun as possible.
RV: How do you approach songwriting? What do you do to keep things fresh and fun sounding without getting repetitive?
MS: We all contribute. Even if one person writes a fairly complete song, it comes to the group to refine and have everyone add their own piece.
CH: With everyone contributing, it stays fresh.
RV: What do you consider the 30 Going On 13 brand? What can people expect from you both live and from recorded material?
AR: Raunchy jokes. Lots of fun.
CH: High-energy tomfoolery! Borderline cringy peacocking.
KC: Nostalgia. Getting older, but never growing up.
MS: Ripping off Disney and hoping for infamy.
AD: Like, it’s a good time, man.
RV: There are so many influences present on the new EP. What are the influences you each bring into the process?
KC: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2. The golden years of pop punk.
AD: Positive vibes. And I like Flogging Molly.
CH: Leftover Crack was a big influence of mine.
AR: I didn’t play on this EP, but if I had, I would say Blink-182, Teenage Bottlerocket and Weird Al.
MS: Definitely Teenage Bottlerocket and Green Day were big influences for me on these particular tracks.
RV: What have you learned as a band between releasing The Best 3P We’ve Ever Made and Sophomoronic, and why does the track Patty Pits appear on both?
KC: We got a lot better since that first EP and we really wanted another chance to record a better version of Patty Pits.
CH: We rented some high-end instruments and went into Genesis Sound in Toronto with Matt Snell, who we had recorded Dear Kimberly with previously. We really wanted to record a ska song with him.
MS: We knew he would do that song justice and we knew we could, too.
Track by Track
Nemesis
AD: I wrote part of this song in the woods by some railroad tracks.
MS: This song is depressing, but also, you dance.
Shut Up, Becky
AD: When I was younger, I got drunk and lost my friends, and didn't have cab money, and had to walk home alone.
KD: This was supposed to be the name of our band.
MS: Jennifer Garner steals all our Google traffic.
CH: Sometimes Mark Ruffalo.
Patty Pits
MS: I originally wrote this as a country song about heartbreak, but later I remembered I don't really like country music.
CH: So, we made it into a fun ska song.
Stage 5
KC: This is actually based on real events about two stalkers that members have dealt with.
MS: Creepy. But also, you dance.
Mom Says Have Fun
CH: I sent my mom a video of me drinking a four-ounce tequila shot and she told me, "Have fun!"
MS: And we were like, "That's a song."
Locked Out
MS: I wrote this one about another lady who done me wrong.
KC: It's my favourite one.
CH: And also, you dance.
RV: If there was one track from Sophomoronic that best represents the band, which one is it and why?
All agree it would be Locked Out.
KC: Because it parties f--kin’ hard.
CH: You’ll just have to listen to find out.
To stream or purchase Sophomoronic on Bandcamp, click here.
To visit the 30 Going On 13 official site, click here.
