Formed in 2007 in the town of Walnut Creek, California, The Story So Far has become one of the biggest pop punk bands in history and is considered by some to be the greatest of all time in the genre. This five piece consists of members, Ryan Torf (drums), Kevin Geyer (lead guitar), Will Levy (rhythm guitar), Kelen Capener (bass), and Parker Cannon (vocals). The group has released four full length albums, “Under Soil and Dirt”, “What You Don’t See”, “The Story So Far”, and their latest which was released in late 2017. Each one of these albums has something different to add to their repertoire of gut checking pop punk. “Under Soil and Dirt” is considered to be one of the best pop punk albums of all time and is widely known as their best record. “What You Don’t See” was and always will be the perfect sophomore release for a pop punk band such as The Story So Far. Their self-titled album is definitely not their best work and most people will agree with that statement, but this is by no means a bad album. I don’t believe they have released an album that isn’t good. “Proper Dose” has so far been the least heavy of all their albums which I believe is a really good thing, they really showed their skills in diversity and that they could write and release hits much different from their previous releases.

The California rockers made a name for themselves in their early stages with having a bit of an edgier side to pop punk which was not all that popular until around 2010. Because of bands like themselves, Knuckle Puck, The Wonder Years, and Neck Deep. The genre of pop punk started to become really popular again and was considered to be mainstream music until somewhere around 2013. The Story So Far has in my opinion been the biggest influence on the popularity in pop punk. Parker Cannon has a knack for writing some amazing lyrics that are angsty, deep, aggressive, and relatable. The rest of the band play so tightly together it all just works out beautifully. The guys aren’t ones for jumping or dancing around on stage while they are playing all that much but if you look out in the crowd while they are playing you’ll see it by every single person in the room. They have something special that makes them their own and puts them on another level above other bands.
Up until 2018 I had always heard of them but, never really tried listening to them. Until I finally gave in because a close friend of mine is obsessed with them and always pushed for me to listen because, she knew I would love them. Soon after that I was hooked, enthralled, and obsessed with everything about them. I got the opportunity to see them live in November of 2019 at the Van Buren in Phoenix, Arizona. I knew they were going to be good and I knew the crowd was going to be intense but, I truly underestimated just how good they were going to be and how much fun the show as going to be. It was far and away my favorite club show I went to in 2019 and I am dying to see them again. And would recommend anyone that is physically able, to go see these active legends as soon as possible.
Song to listen to: Things I Can’t Change