In Advance of Upcoming Agora Show, Story of the Year Singer Talks About Band's Decades Long Career

In the late ’90s, St. Louis become a hotbed for hip-hop as acts such as Nelly and Chingy stormed the Billboard charts. At the same time, the emo/pop-punk act Story of the Year cultivated a much different fanbase. Having caught the attention of John Feldmann, who served as a talent scout for Maverick Records and fronted the punk band Goldfinger, the group inked a deal with a major label and had a hit right out of the gates with its 2003 debut, Page Avenue.

“There wasn’t much of a rock scene in St. Louis at the time,” says singer Dan Marsala via phone from his St. Louis home that’s just about a mile from the Page Avenue referenced in the debut album’s title. On tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Page Avenue, Story of the Year performs at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Agora. “There was one band called the Urge that was signed. They were signed and toured. But we were the biggest rock band to come out of here at the time. There has always been a cool small scene. That was an advantage and disadvantage. The fans we built are so diehard. It’s one of our best markets, and we love it here, and it’s amazing to play here. It’s a cool thing to be from a smaller not huge music scene town.”

Prior to releasing Page Avenue, the group issued an EP called Story of the Year. At the time of that release, the band was known as Big Blue Monkey.

“That EP was the first full recording of the four of us with the same lineup as we have now with me on vocals and Josh Wills on drums,” says Marsala. “That was the first thing we officially put out. The technology was not there yet. It was just a raw band playing rock songs. It’s cool to hear now, but it’s not very polished.”

Marsala says Page Avenue became a huge leap forward if only because Feldmann brought a different level of production to the table.

“I had no idea the genius he was,” says Marsala. “We knew he had done the Used album, which was really cool. He was so new in his career. We lucked out on all of that. His production was so ahead of everybody that it still sounds good 20 years later. He was good at telling us what we could do. We were 20-year-old kids and just wanted to run around and scream at people. We didn’t know about proper song structure. He was much wiser than we were. He told us to put this part here and there. It was a learning process for us.”

Part of a burgeoning emo scene that included acts such as At the Drive In and Quicksand, the band benefitted from its ability to mix melodies and chugging guitars on songs such as “Anthem of Our Dying Day,” a track that begins with gentle guitars before distorted guitars and heavy drums kick in. The song balances its pop and punk tendencies perfectly.

“It was such a weird, evolving time,” says Marsala. “Refused and at the Drive In and Glassjaw were on the heavier side and Taking Back Sunday weren’t doing as much screaming. I grew up on '90s punk. We were in between all of that. I grew up on ’90s punk stuff like Bad Religion and NOFX. We also loved Deftones and Rage Against the Machine. We were all over the place, and we met in the middle. We didn’t want to be pigeonholed in one scene or another."

Marsala says the band still aims to avoid being pigeonholed.

"We just did a tour with Yellowcard and Mayday Parade and right before that, we did Knotfest with Slipknot and Megadeth," he says. "We’re all over the place. I always loved melody. I’m not into super-metal stuff. For our band, we never wanted that to be our thing. I love a big chorus and big catchy parts of rock with innovative riffs. I like weird stuff too. I’ve always been a singer and always loved harmony and all of that, and that’s definitely been an inspiration.”

For the upcoming Agora show, Marsala says the band plans to play Page Avenue in its entirety (but not in the same order as the songs appear on the album). The album, he says, still feels fresh, and he's excited to revisit it again.

“It doesn’t seem that long ago at all,” he says. “Time goes faster the older you get. Our parents told us that our whole lives, and now, it’s real. We’re so lucky to have a record that is that impactful that we can still revisit. It’s awesome to have that stable rock of a first record. Everyone knows that that’s who we are as a band. I hope to do the 40th anniversary tour, and we can come out with walkers and canes. I’m never gonna stop.”

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