Fireworks Band • Page 4

how TWY got so huge and Fireworks stayed in the shadows a little will always confound me. i think it had something to do with the live show.

 

honestly when i saw fireworks they were pretty dorky live

 

Love fireworks but their live show pales in comparison to TWY.

While I reckonize the great songwriting of fireworks, Wonder Years songs are so a lot catchier.

 

Wish I could go back to this show

 

Favorite song.

 

The craziest show i have ever been to was MDAM/Fireworks/TWY in an old firehouse in birmingham al. right before both gospel and suburbia came out.

 

Twy records were a lot better produced and sound pretty big and flashy, so they have more immediate appeal. But fireworks were compositonally and lyrically better, plus didn't have Soupys annoying ass yelling

 

fireworks couldn't decide between doing catchy fuckboy pop punk like FYS or emo-leaning (dare i say "experimental") pop punk like TWY. i think that made a lot of people hesitant towards giving them a fair listen

 

I don't think Fireworks were trying to go for either of those actually

 

Fireworks is basically a bands band - if that makes sense. They should've been huge and everyone wanted to tour with them and promote them (I think Soupy really pushed them) - but for some reason they didn't blow up. It's like the fans of the bands they toured with didn't understand them and get their music. That's me speculating. All I know for sure is that I miss them.

 

i'll rephrase it. it's not that they were going for it, but there was a clear distinction in sound/lyricism/concepts between bands like FYS, SYG, Neck Deep and State Champs, and bands like TWY, MoBo and Better Off. i think Fireworks started off a little similar to the first four, then got progressively closer to the last three, but was always really kind of in the middle of it all

 

I just remember going to their second to last show and my brother was at their last and between the two there may have been 200 people. Sort of sad when you think of it.

 

If I had stopped listening to them after their first EP and album I could see what you're trying to say, but Gospel and (Oh), Common Life sound literally nothing like TWY, MoBo, or Better Off.

 

of course these bands don't really sound alike between themselves, but they share a few traits. i don't really know how else to put it... they are more "serious" i guess? they put an emphasis on melodies instead of cheap hooks and gang vocals, and talk about depression, self-esteem and other more personal topics. also they flirt with other genres like emo and indie rock while the first batch of bands is pretty one-note

 

they took the punk out of their sound. its not a popular term, but OCL is an awesome pop rock record.

 

I just think that reducing the achievements of Gospel and, especially, (Oh), Common Life to being "in the middle of FYS/State Champs and TWY/MoBo" kind of does Fireworks a disservice, personally. I'm a ride-or-die TWY fan for almost ten years and I can still admit that Gospel and (Oh), Common Life are about on par with TWY's best work in terms of quality and emotional impact.

 

they are amazing records that just kinda sound like a meeting point between those two "schools" of pop punk, that has nothing to do with quality

 

Actually I think Fireworks was just writing music they wanted to write, not what they thought people wanted to hear either way

 

i rephrased it a minute later

 

Sorry, I guess I just misunderstood the association you made between Fireworks and "catchy fuckboy pop-punk."

 

oh it's just how i describe bands like FYS and State Champs

 

Right and I wouldn't mention those bands in the same breath as Fireworks, let alone the same sentence. Hence my confusion.

 

yeah i see how that would confuse you

 

I discovered Fireworks opening up for FYS.

 

Always loved this cover