Mayday Parade
Formed in Tallahassee, Florida in 2005 from the merger of two local bands, Mayday Parade became a Warped Tour and Myspace-era pop-punk staple on the strength of frontman Derek Sanders's high, keening tenor and the viral breakup ballad "Miserable at Best." Sanders has singled out Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate, and Saves the Day as "the musical Holy Trinity of every early-2000s Warped Tour wristband" — the emo and pop-punk records he says shaped his entire coming-of-age.
Sanders calls Jimmy Eat World "undeniable," naming Bleed American and especially Clarity among his all-time favorite albums; their emo-pop songwriting — big hooks built on real emotional weight — is the clearest template for Mayday Parade's own melodic, confessional pop-punk.
listen forJimmy Eat World's "The Middle" and Mayday Parade's "Jamie All Over" both pair a driving, palm-muted verse with an enormous, wide-open pop chorus built to be shouted back by a crowd.
Sanders names Something Corporate as part of his "musical Holy Trinity" of early Warped Tour influences — Andrew McMahon's piano-driven, emotionally raw pop-punk gave Mayday Parade a model for turning a breakup into a big, theatrical singalong.
listen forSomething Corporate's piano-pop hook on "I Woke Up in a Car" and Mayday Parade's own driving, confessional "Miserable at Best" both turn heartbreak into an anthem you're meant to scream along to.
Saves the Day rounds out Sanders's self-described "Holy Trinity" of formative influences — Chris Conley's nasal, urgent vocal and the band's fast, melodic emo-punk gave Mayday Parade an early model for pairing raw emotional lyrics with real pop-punk speed.
listen forSaves the Day's "At Your Funeral" and Mayday Parade's "Three Cheers for Five Years" both pair a fast, driving pop-punk rhythm section with a lead vocal that sounds like it's on the verge of breaking.