Posted on: April 15, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

As the warmer months approach, Hopeless recording artists THE DANGEROUS SUMMER are gearing up to make the sunny season anything but safe. The first step is the release of their highly-anticipated (and largely autobiographical) debut album Reach for the Sun on May 5th, 2009.

Recording in their hometown of Ellicott (a suburb of Baltimore), The Dangerous Summer put familiar face Paul Leavitt (All Time Low, Circa Survive, Dashboard Confessional) in the producer’s chair (Paul had produced one of the band’s earlier EPs). “We’ve worked with him since we were freshman in high school, and he really understood what we were going for when we came to him with this album,” explains lead vocalist/guitarist AJ Perdomo.

The emotion and power behind this album are illustrated in the album’s first track, “Where I Want to Be.” “It explains a positive rush of energy into my life after the hard times I went through, being homeless, losing a lot of grip in my life,” says AJ. The energy carries through straight to the album’s first single, “Surfaced,” laden with introspective lyrics like, “I’m not alone because I live inside a world that is my own.” Coupled with aggressively melodic guitar fills and rudimentally-precise fills on the drums, the entire album provides a complete package of quality music and lyrics.

Originally formed while all the band members were still in high school, The Dangerous Summer established a very fervent and credible buzz from the release of their debut EPs, There Is No Such Thing As Science and If You Could Only Keep Me Alive. In addition to getting the support of their hometown friends, All Time Low, they gained a devoted fanbase who relished their incredibly melodic indie rock and musical dexterity that belied their tender teenage years. Resulting tours with Cartel, Hit the REACH FOR THE SUN – Out May 5th!Lights, and Valencia grew their fanbase exponentially. But as with most flames that burn brightly, their initial blaze was extinguished almost as quickly as it was ignited. Coincidentally the volatile and visceral internal band explosions mirrored the origin of the band’s name: the title of Ernest Hemingway’s final novel about the rivalry of bullfighters in the “dangerous summer” of 1959.

Two years later, with a great new outlook and a renewed sense of camaraderie among the original members, The Dangerous Summer are back with a fresh-faced vigor and a tighter control on songwriting. With positive reactions from fans and fellow musicians alike to the new songs posted on MySpace and played out live, these boys are more excited than ever about their new material and their upcoming tour with Sparks the Rescue through mid-April (dates below).

It’s been a long journey for The Dangerous Summer and they show absolutely no signs of stopping. They’re bound to bring excitement back to Summer. After all, isn’t all great rock and roll dangerous?

The Dangerous Summer is AJ Perdomo (bass/vocals), Cody Payne (guitar/vocals), Tyler Minsberg (drums), Bryan Czap (guitar).

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