Fueled by their spring 2003 release, produced by John Feldmann of The Used, Story of the Year ignites the music scene with chaotic openers like “Falling Down” and bittersweet ballads such as “Anthem of Our Dying Day.”

Story of the Year — known as Big Blue Monkey in the late 1990s — is a modern rock group comprising vocalist Dan Marsala, guitarists Ryan Phillips and Phillip Sneed, bassist Adam Russell and drummer Joshua Willis.

Persistent self-promotion early in their career landed the band a performance at the Point Festival (a concert featuring popular Midwestern bands), the release of four EPs and an eventual performance at the Johnny Depp-owned Viper Room in West Hollywood.

Continued successes have also earned them Warped Tour dates and shared stages with Linkin Park, POD and Hoobastank.

Page Avenue, which was named after a street in St. Louis where the band mates often ate and skateboarded, reached the number one spot on Billboard’s HeatSeeker’s chart, while their anthemic single, “Until the Day I Die,” reached number 12 on the publication’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Influenced by Metallica and the Deftones, Story of the Year asserts they’re open to all genre classifications. “If they like the music, it doesn’t matter if they think we’re rock or rap or country or polka, says Phillips. “We just say rock!”]]> 2004-05-20T18:00:00-05:00