“If and when,” they say. “If and when…”
The Starting Line embodies what punk music meant to the early 2000s. Their sound alone is quintessential to that time period, but what the band has done for the overarching alternative scene as a whole is very real and will be felt for decades to come. Their debut album has become an iconic piece of media, with the album art being just as iconic as the music itself. Not every band – from that time, or any time – can say that.
Formed in the late nineties, The Starting Line cut their teeth in the Philadelphia underground scene, rocking and moshing for the local punk fans. They gained momentum and dropped three flawless albums before going on hiatus in 2010. They’re still on the top of their game despite not releasing new music as frequently as they used to, but the band could be gearing up for something massive.
This band means so much to many. They are not a passing fad, nor is their style. The music hits just as hard in 2024 as it did two decades ago, and the way they combine hard-hitting punk music with pop sensibilities is unmatched. They’re a great band that knows their way around a chorus, but can open up a pit at anytime. It truly is the best of both worlds when it comes to The Starting Line.
This week we had the chance to sit down and revisit everything around The Starting Line with their vocalist, Kenny Vasoli, and it was a long time coming. Our last interview with the band was in 2016 with guitarist Matt Watts, but we have interviews with these guys dating all the way back to 2005. They’re the best, and we had the best time catching up and jumping on this expansion to our 8123 preview.
First question, Kenny – the reason we’re on this phone call is to talk about 8123 Festival, which is this weekend, so how are you feeling?
Really good! It’ll be nice to get out there. We love the organizers of this event so we’re happy to be a part of it and definitely excited to get out of the cold weather and into the warm. I just got back from walking my dog and it’s like 29 degrees. It’ll be nice to feel my hands again for sure. It’s nice and sunny, but you can’t really feel it.
The Aquarian is based in New Jersey. Can you share a bit of East Coast love while we’re on the subject?
I am an East Coast kid and an East Coast adult. I haven’t been able to see myself out of it just yet. I love the New Jersey/Philadelphia area. I’ve lived in the Philadelphia area my entire life! There’s something about it that just feels very genuine and doesn’t suffer fools lightly. It’s known for its brutal honesty, which I’ve come to really appreciate. I think people get a bad rap for being unfriendly here, but it’s not that. We’re just aggressive; even in our friendliness, we’re aggressive.
Of course! I want to dive into your annual holiday show that just passed, too, where you debuted a brand new song, “Granted.” Tell me about that.
Oh, yeah! We’ve been generating some new songs for a couple of years now and they’re just starting to leak their way out into the public. I have a feeling there’s going to be more leakage this year, but I don’t know how much I’m at liberty to talk about that… I haven’t set a game plan with the rest of the guys for what can be said. On that, I have to be tight lipped.
No worries! If you’re allowed to say, it’s been since 2007 since we’ve had a new record, 2015 since a new EP – are these new songs like “Granted” part of something larger, or are these one-off songs?
You know, logic would dictate it’s part of something larger. I think everyone can draw their own conclusions from there. I would say just keep your ears peeled.
Ok then! What’s the fan expectation of that? The Starting Line doesn’t drop music frequently, so when you do it’s a big event.
I just hope that we have people’s attention if there comes a day where we do have a new project to show everybody. It seems like we do. Every time we have expressed ourselves to keep going or just extend the life of this band in any way, people respond very positively to that. I hope everyone keeps that spirit about them… if and when some new material surfaces.
I think the fans are still loving it! Look at the crowd you drew at When We Were Young Festival – you are still in your prime.
I’m eternally grateful the crowd hasn’t really gone anywhere. That’s something we talk about a lot; we’re not quite certain what we did right to deserve the sustainability of our fans showing up for this long, but we sure are grateful for it and just want to keep riding the wave as long as it will carry us.
Absolutely! Speaking of When We Were Young a few months ago, you played Say It Like You Mean It from 2002 in full!
It is a special experience! There came a time when we did a 10 year anniversary for that record, so playing it in its entirety has become a bit of old hat for us. It was nice to go in there with a record, like, yeah, we’re proud of it, but at this point a majority of those songs are in our setlist anyway. It’s not like we had to do too much out of the way to play the entire thing. It’s a relatively short record as it is. It was nice seeing everyone show love for that record even though it’s coming up on 20-something-years-old now.
There were other bands that had to do an entire record and were thrown for a bit of a loop because they either weren’t used to playing it all the time or just didn’t want to. For us, we had no problem with that. We recognize that’s what gave us our start in this game, so we’re happy to honor it on an event like that.
That makes sense! You do play a lot from that record. It’s not as foreign as if you were to play 2006’s Direction in full.
For sure! That would be the most exciting one – to play Direction in full! I think BOATS [Based On A True Story, 2004] would be the toughest one. We’ve done it before where we’ve played Direction and BOATS together, so the Say It Like You Mean It ones are the most painless to play all at once, if that makes sense?
That does. In previous interviews with other publications, you’ve mentioned you’re protective of The Starting Line’s legacy. How does that factor in when writing new songs?
I guess the best approach I’ve found is to not think about it too much. Once you start analyzing too much where you’ve been, it starts to obscure the future in a way that’s maybe undesirable for real, pure, creative expression. At the end of the day, all I want to do is enjoy what I’m doing and sort of mime the enjoyment out of playing music. It’s got to emit movement from my body. I just try to think, “What are the essential things I enjoyed about writing these songs back when I was 16 or 17?” Not to say I want to write in the same style or any kind of formula, but what was it that excited me about this type of music? What kind of energy can I put into the context of the music I love today in this world of punk rock? I just always hit refresh and have a sense of childlike wonder and excitement about it, but I also not try to play to old tricks. [We want to] push ourselves musically to the extent of how much we can handle within our capabilities these days. If we’re going to write new stuff, we might as well show what we can do and how much we’ve grown as a band.
I think the thing you said that I love is the energy you put into the songs. That’s what makes The Starting Line, The Starting Line. You have this enthusiasm on every track that’s palpable.
Thank you! I don’t think we’ve lost that yet. We’ve been able to maintain it, which I’m happy about.
Going back to 8123 Fest is so perfect, because even though there are bands that are more indie or alternative, they all have that energy The Maine has. You fit perfectly on that bill.
Yeah! I really know those guys more personally at this point than musically. We get along really swimmingly as people! They seem to be cut from the same cloth as far as character, and there is just an overall warmness about them that some people in this industry don’t seem to have. It’s always a breath of fresh air when you come across a gang like that.
Do you remember the first time you met The Maine?
I think, officially, last year we had a show out in LA that a couple of the guys came to. I think I’m still maybe meeting a couple of them for the first time. There’s a lot of them, so I’m still trying to keep track of everybody. I’ve met Ken – he’s an easy one to remember because of the name. He and I really hit it off!
You guys are one of the OG Warped Tour bands, one of the bands that helped define the sound of it. How does it feel to see Warped Tour come back?
It feels great! Our man Matt Watts [guitarist] is even at Vans now! He didn’t have anything to do with it coming back – at least not instrumentally. He is behind the scenes of the Vans world now. It is nice to even have a hand in that internally these days. It is sort of a full circle moment for us. I’m always happy to see Warped Tour alive and doing its thing. Warped Tour was obviously a formative time in my life and for sure the biggest, most intense first tour I’ve ever been on. It was also my first time on a bus. There was a lot of firsts for me on Warped Tour.
It’s funny you say that we’re associated with the sound of Warped Tour now. At the time when we were first coming in and playing on it, it felt like anything but that. I felt like I was part of the bastard children of punk rock. It felt like Hot Water Music and Bad Religion were silently lifting their eyebrows at me as I was just trying to film their sets on my camera. I hoped to be accepted by Warped Tour when I was really young. I sincerely didn’t feel like I was a staple of it in any way. We were sort of side-characters in it. It’s nice that when these events keep coming around these days, we seem to be a main suspect to put on the bill. It makes us feel like we do have our place in it once and for all.
Do you feel you’ve gotten rid of that imposter syndrome?
Slowly, but surely! I’m trying to convince myself that I am punk rock, because I am! Occasionally I get mistaken for a pop artist because I do know what a chorus is and I do know what a melody is. I try to make the most of those things! I also do this because I love punk rock so much. That’s what drew me into this entire band: yhe love of it and the expression of it and the meaning in the middle of melody and aggression. To be able to claim it has been a struggle with my identity throughout my life. It’s become more and more of a self acceptance that I am, because I know I am.
It’s good to hear you say that. When I listen to The Starting Line, I picture myself in a punk basement with crowd surfing.
Good! That’s what I want. That makes me really happy to hear.
While it’s incredible you had these huge When We Were Young stages and the All American Rejects stadiums in 2023, I always picture you guys at the smaller, crazy venues.
Me too! We’re talking about writing new material and I try to still have that spirit of playing in a VFW and just having two guitar amps, a bass amp, and a drum set. I like working within those limitations. I think some of that spirit has been forgotten throughout the years with the extent of technology we have to make records. I always try to boil it down to the bare essentials: What makes this music rad? What can we do with just these survival instruments?
TO KEEP UP WITH THE STARTING LINE, CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE & FOLLOW THEM ON INSTAGRAM! GET TICKETS TO 8123 FEST HERE!
