STATE CHAMPS // Not Just Another Pop-Punk Band

For over a decade now State Champs have comfortably sat amongst the leaders of the modern day pop-punk movement.

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As one of the most influential groups in the new era of the genre, the New York based four piece are now regarded in the same stead as contemporaries Neck Deep and label mates The Story So Far, as one of the bands to largely redefine what pop punk is.

But whilst these bands may be commonly placed together, State Champs are making it abundantly clear that they aren’t just another face in the crowd, with the groups fourth effort Kings of the New Age, making a pretty darn obvious statement in its title.

“[That]’s exactly how we wanted to interpret it,” laughs the group’s drummer Evan Ambrosio, when asked about the connotations of the album’s title. 

“We wanted people to know that we want to take hold of this and we want to be the biggest band in the scene,” he states before concluding, “It is a bold statement, but honestly, we’re working on being confident and knowing who we are.”

“When the pandemic hit we were pretty much in the heat of writing the record, and then with all the shutdowns and lockdowns, it was a tough time. [It made us] feel lucky that we can still do this, which is something that helped to shape the record quite a bit. Not that it really changed any of the dynamic of it, but we knew that when everything came back, we wanted to be the leaders of pop punk.”

We wanted people to know that we want to take hold of this and we want to be the biggest band in the scene
[ Evan Ambrosio ]

Expanding on the group’s 4th LP and how it may impact the scene Ambrosio continued, “It’s been incredible so far. We were pretty confident before it came out that it was going to do well. We’re very proud of this one. And so seeing the reactions and coming out and playing shows for the first time after the record has been released has been absolutely amazing.”

“And every time we talk to fans, it seems like they are really, really enjoying it. So it’s just been an absolutely unreal experience, being able to release a record that we’re super proud of, and that people have been enjoying.”

Although, whilst State Champs hope that Kings of the New Age propels them even further ahead in the pop punk scene, Ambrosio confirms that the group didn’t want to stray too far from the genre which the band found their roots in, instead choosing to redirect for other areas within this sound.

“I don’t think we ever really had a discussion of what we wanted this to be about. We didn’t really want to write anything specific, moreso just what we felt at that time.”

Touching on the group’s writing process he stated, “We focused on mostly the energy of each song and how that made it feel. And then we collaborated with like all the lyrics and it kind of just worked itself out that way.” 

“We really wanted to focus on ‘fun’ on this record. And with ‘Kings of the New Age,’ it’s kind of a bold name to name your record, but we’ve always felt kind of like the underdog in our scene. So we wanted to let people know that we’re here, that we’re not going anywhere, that we know that we are valuable to the scene and that we’re demanding respect, I guess. So, we wanted it to be fun, but we also wanted to let people know that we’re here to stay.”

The lads will be bringing Kings of the New Age abroad for a string of headliner shows around the country this September, bringing along The Maine, Hot Milk and Paperweight as support for the stacked tour. 

STATE CHAMPS TOUR DATES: