Local skate-punk band 3upfront has been “defending a nation of ears from the evils of emo” since ’98, or so says their biography. Makes sense. Emo is pretty much the exact opposite of what the band is about.
“Nothing officially against it, just the fact that is unacceptable,” says bassist Josh “Fish” Fisher. “I can respect the talent. It just feels whiny to me. Everybody has hard times, a rough day. I think you stay positive, get a little crazy, run in circles, do a couple cartwheels.”
The group, which includes Fisher, Dave “D$$” Montanari on guitar, Adam “Mr. Pierce” Pierce on vocals and Mason “The Beast” Mitchell on drums, plays a mix of hardcore, pop-punk, funky alt-rock and some ska, but one thing that ties it all together is its nonstop energy. It’s not the kind of music to sit in your car and cry over. It’s fun and irreverent. (Songs “Boobies” and “Whoa Bundy,” for instance). Even the songs that are serious aren’t overly dramatic.
“It’s stuff you can drive fast, go skate or snowboard to—extreme sports, skydive. Do things like that,” says Fisher.
The band’s latest album, 2018’s Puppets & Psychiatrists, is their first studio record in a decade. It was a work several years in the making, and endured four drummers, three studio engineers, two hard drive crashes, and one divorce.
The result is an 18-track album that finds the band with renewed energy that is pure, old-school punk rock at its core.
“It’s the most powerful material that we’ve ever put out on one single album,” says Pierce.
INFO: 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25. Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $5. 423-7117.
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