 | | Rochester, NY's Polar Bear Club began in the spring of 2005 when vocalist Jimmy Stadt and guitarist Chris Browne -- each playing in separate local bands at the time -- started jamming together on the side. |
 | | New Jersey-based emo-pop players Man Overboard carry the flame of melodic, energetic, hardcore-influenced Garden State bands like Lifetime and Midtown. |
 | | Built on a foundation of classic hardcore and a strong touring ethic, Rochester, New York-based Such Gold bring extra intensity and passion to the world of melodic hardcore. |
 | | The Swellers are a straightforward skatepunk band with some pop elements, very much in the tradition of NOFX, Bad Religion, and No Use for a Name. |
 | | Made up of former members of 88 Fingers Louie, King for a Day, and Tomorrow's Gone, the five members of the Story So Far got together in July of 1999 and began playing shows with the Suicide Machines, Kid Dynamite, and Boy Sets Fire, among others. |
 | | Taking influence from the likes of Lifetime, Gorilla Biscuits, and New Found Glory, Four Year Strong built an aggressive and melody-riddled combination of hardcore, emo-pop, and pop-punk upon their formation in Worcester, Massachusetts. |
 | | Taking its name from the TV show The Wonder Years, the Philadelphia punk pop band was formed by guitarists Matt Brasch and Casey Cavaliere, vocalist Dan "Soupy" Campbell, bassist Josh Martin, drummer Mike Kennedy, and keyboardist Mikey Kelly. |
 | | Though they would later relocate to nearby Philadelphia, punk rock unit the Menzingers came together in Scranton, Pennsylvania and included former members of local ska-punk bands Bob & the Sagets and Kos Mos. |
 | | Transit were formed in Boston, Massachusetts by vocalist Joe Boynton, drummer Daniel Frazier, bassist P. |
 | | Based out of Boston, Massachusetts, Make Do and Mend were originally formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2006. |
 | | Save Your Breath came together as many groups do, born out of friends who all grew up in the same scene and eventually came to play music together. |
 | | Formed in 2003 in Kingston, Pennsylvania, Title Fight serves as a throwback to the early days of emo and post-hardcore, combining a driving, guitar-driven sound with anxious and gravelly hardcore vocals. |
 | | Hailing from Coral Springs, Florida, punk-pop band New Found Glory were formed in mid-1997 by vocalist Jordan Pundik, bassist Ian Grushka, drummer Joe Moreno (replaced by longtime drummer Cyrus Bolooki after the band's first release), and guitarists Chad Gilbert (previously the vocalist for Shai Hulud) and Steve Klein. |
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 | | The Lawrence Arms got together in 1999 after the departure of Chicago pop-punkers the Broadways, Slapstick, Baxter, and Tricky Dick. |
 | | Heartsounds combine the precision of their metal roots with the melody and speed of punk rock to offer their take on the ‘80s and ‘90s bands they grew up listening to. |
 | | The Gainesville, Florida-based post-hardcore quartet Hot Water Music were formed in 1994 by bassist Jason Black, drummer George Rebelo, and singer/guitarists Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard. |
 | | Bayside formed in the winter of 2000 and developed a quick following with their melodic, moody, guitar-driven emo. |
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 | | Alternative pop/rock outfit Limp emerged from the same region that spawned such bands as Neurosis, Fang, Econochrist, and Rancid, building on the roots they planted in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. |
 | | The Gaslight Anthem rose out of the fertile punk scene of New Brunswick, NJ, flaunting a unique style that melded the influence of Bruce Springsteen, Wilson Pickett, and various Motown groups with the rough, emotional grit of Hot Water Music and Jawbreaker. |
 | | New York City hardcore band H2O began as a group of friends headed by Sick of It All roadie Toby Morse, who would perform a song called "My Love Is Real" at shows where there was no opening act. |
 | | Formed by ex-Jerkwater and Traitors drummer Matt Skiba (vocals/guitar), former 88 Fingers Louie percussionist Glenn Porter, and Rob Doran (bass/vocals), Alkaline Trio was brought together in 1997 by heartbreak, angst, and the companionship of drinking. |
 | | Philadelphia-based punk trio the Loved Ones formed in late 2003 and are comprised of singer/guitarist Dave Hause, bassist Michael "Spider" Cotterman, and drummer Mike Sneeringer. |
 | | Although the members of Brand New cut their teeth in various hardcore bands, the group took a more melodic approach to its own work, embracing punk-pop on the debut album Your Favorite Weapon and incorporating aspects of indie rock during future projects. |
 | | Bringing to mind an amalgamation of bands like Lifetime, CIV, New Found Glory, the Movielife, and early Saves the Day, the Bay Area's Set Your Goals straddle the line between pop-punk and hardcore. |
 | | Following the dissolution of Laramie, WY, pop-punks the Lillingtons, vocalist/guitarist Kody Templeman was hardly done with music, moving on to form the similarly minded Teenage Bottlerocket, another group of rambunctious, Ramones and Screeching Weasel-loving punks. |
 | | Before becoming a full-fledged punk band, Against Me! was an acoustic solo project spearheaded by Tom Gabel, who began playing shows as a 17-year-old in Gainesville, Florida. |
 | | Perfecting their power pop rock since the mid-'90s, New Jersey's Saves the Day call it like it is. They refrain from characteristic pogo-bouncing anthems for their own quirky post-punk and energetic live shows, influencing a new school of emo/punk bands along the way. |
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 | | Bomb the Music Industry! is more of a ska/punk collective than an actual band. It's centered around chief songwriter Jeff Rosenstock, who formed the group in late 2004 in Nassau County, NY, after his former band, the Arrogant Sons of Bitches, went on hiatus. |
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 | | Independently minded and adhering to the old-school D.I.Y. punk mentality, West Coast punk-pop trio Jawbreaker's street-smart -- yet poetic -- lyrics, spirited musicality, and marathon live shows put them a cut above contemporaries like Green Day and blink-182. |
 | | Los Angeles punk trio Osker was led by singer/guitarist Devon Williams, still a high school sophomore at the time of the band's 1998 formation; with bassist Dave Benitez, Williams soon recorded a four-track demo which made its way to the offices of indie label Epitaph, which funded a second demo session before extending a record deal. |
 | | Smoke or Fire is an emo-tinged post-hardcore band that occasionally shades into rootsier material along the lines of Wilco or Marah. |
 | | Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, A Loss for Words follow in the footsteps of fellow New Englanders Four Year Strong, delivering driving pop-punk from the Beantown area. |
 | | A melodic post-hardcore supergroup of sorts, Terrible Things bring together members of Hot Rod Circuit, Taking Back Sunday, and Coheed and Cambria. |
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 | | The Riverboat Gamblers rocked their way out of the university town of Denton, Texas, in September 2001 with the "Jenna Is a No Show" 7". |
 | | The Movielife comprised vocalist Vinnie Caruana, bassist Phil Navetta, guitarist Brandon Reilly, drummer Evan Baken, and guitarist Alex Amiruddin. |
 | | A ska-influenced punk rock band along the lines of early Rancid, Canada's Flatliners (not to be confused with the Texas band of the same name) have little time for the usual skanking tomfoolery associated with the third wave of mid-'90s ska-punks: not for them either the naked pop aspirations of No Doubt or the exaggerated goofiness of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. |
 | | Fueled by "rejection, food, coffee, girls, fishing and food," the Descendents sprang up during the halcyon days of the Los Angeles punk scene; fusing the blind rage of hardcore with an unexpectedly wry, self-deprecating wit and a strong melodic sensibility which set them distinctly apart from their West Coast brethren, they gradually emerged as one of the most enduring and adored bands of their time. |
 | | The hard-edged and rapid-fire punk rock of Reno, Nevada's Cobra Skulls was born in January 2004. Drummer Chad Cleveland, singer and bassist Devin Peralta, and guitarist Charlie Parker had met a few years prior while they were students at the University of Nevada, and in time, they banded together around a shared love of groups like 7 Seconds, NOFX and Bad Religion. |
 | | Although formed in 1992 as a power pop trio with heavy punk leanings, Less Than Jake steadily transformed into a ska-inspired punk band with the addition of a horn section. |
 | | The scene: Seattle, Washington. A town known for its rainy days, the grunge explosion, and the Microsoft Corporation was also the home town of three recovering metalheads who just wanted to form a band that didn't resemble Soundgarden or Queensrÿche. |