Posted on: August 9, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Don’t be afraid, embrace the inevitable end, because as Abomination proves, death can be one badass dance party.Schoolyard Heroes are NOT for the faint at heart. They’re a far cry from the guyliner-smudged, wallowing-in-self-pity emo bands you’ve been drowned by for the past two years. “We need to go out and destroy everything that is wrong with music right now” announces towering bassist Jonah Bergman. Schoolyard Heroes aren’t here to save the day, but, as he describes, they “would like to fuck shit up.”

The foundations of this wonderfully weird and wild quartet were first laid in 1999 in a high school in Seattle, WA. Jonah Bergman and Ryann Donnelly became fast friends and very soon afterwards, teamed up with guitarist Steve Bonnell, before completing the line up a year later with the addition of drummer Brian Turner. They toured relentlessly with the likes of Bayside, The Fall Of Troy, Action Action and Vendetta Red, winning fans everywhere they went with their explosive live shows. The band finally found a home in 2007 with Stolen Transmission (The Horrors, Permanent Me, The Photo Atlas.) Just in the past year alone, Schoolyard Heroes has played SXSW, Bamboozle and Bamboozle Left.

This fall, Schoolyard Heroes arrive fully charged and armed with an album to blow your brains out of your ears. Brace yourself for their mighty ST debut, Abominations. Produced by John Goodmanson (Blonde Redhead, The Gossip, Bikini Kill,) the record is both an ambitious and impressive attempt at capturing the horrific parts of human nature with a heavy apocalyptic theme soaking each song like a bloody stain.

“We’ve always used the horror theme and violent dark imagery as the medium to tell the story in our songs,” explains Ryann. “We look at the shitty, gnarly parts of life and instead of dwelling on these dark situations, we celebrate them,” adds Jonah. “Instead of being bummed out, we dance!”

MP3 Link
“Dude, Where’s My Skin” MP3
http://www4.islanddefjam.com/media/ST/dudewheresmyskin.mp3
(MP3 approved for posting)

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Schoolyard Heroes at Bumbershoot
September 3 – Bumbershoot 2007 Exhibition Hall – Seattle, WA
(Other bands: The Shins, +44, Kill Hannah, Norma Jean and more)

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