WSTR (band)

WSTR are an English pop punk band based in Liverpool, England. Their lineup currently consists of vocalist Sammy Clifford, guitarist Tom "Boots" Hawkes and bassist Alex Tobijanski.

WSTR
OriginLiverpool, England
GenresPop punk
Years active2015–present
Labels
Websitewww.wstrband.com
Members
  • Sammy Clifford
  • Tom "Boots" Hawkes
  • Alex Tobijanski
  • Kurtis Maiden (touring)
Past members
  • Kieren C
  • Jason Blackburn
  • Andy Makin
  • Kieran McVeigh
  • Conor O'Hare
  • Danny Swift

History

Formation and SKRWD EP (2015)

Formed in 2015, the band signed with No Sleep Records and released their debut single, "Graveyard Shift", in March,[1] of which the music video included cameos from members of Neck Deep. Following this, they played the Pinky Swear Records Fest in Manchester on 2 May,[2] headlined by Man Overboard, and Furyfest in Liverpool on 3 May,[3] also playing Empire Festival in Sheffield on 17 May.[4] They played the Jump On Demand Records Festival, also in Liverpool, later that June,[5] as well as the Hevy Fest in Port Lympne, Kent and the Make A Scene Festival in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire in August.[6]

Their debut EP, SKRWD, was released on 4 September.[7] The EP was produced and recorded by Seb Barlow, brother of Neck Deep frontman Ben Barlow, at Celestial Recordings. They then played the Hype Fest in Birmingham on 28 November.[8] In December, WSTR was nominated for Best British Newcomer by Rock Sound, with Boston Manor winning the category.

Red, Green or Inbetween (2016-2017)

In early 2016, the band was included in Kerrang!'s Class of 2016 list.[9] They played the Less Than Three Festival in Derby[10] and opened for Neck Deep on the European leg of their World Tour,[11] along with fellow openers Creeper. Later in July, they played the 2000Trees Festival at Upcote Farm in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.[12] They then released a new single, "Lonely Smiles", off their upcoming album in September.[13]

In support of their first album, the band went on their first headlining tour, “The Inbetween Tour”,[14] from October to November 2016, with support from Milestones, also playing the Slam Dunk Festival.[15] During this time, the band recorded an acoustic version of the album's second single, "Footprints",[16] which was made available on a "name your price" basis on their Bandcamp page. They additionally opened for ROAM on their UK/Ireland tour[17] in support of the album, Backbone, and released a third single, "Featherweight".

On 20 January 2017 the band released their first full-length album, Red, Green or Inbetween.[18] They then supported Seaway on a UK tour,[19] alongside The Gospel Youth, and returned to Slam Dunk[20] later that summer. They also played the Truck Festival at Hill Farm in Oxfordshire,[21] the Reading and Leeds Festivals,[22] the Deadbolt Festival in Manchester[23] and the 2Q Festival in Lincoln, as well as opened for With Confidence on an Australian tour.[24]

Signing to Hopeless Records and Identity Crisis (2018)

On 4 June the band announced that they were signing with Hopeless Records,[25] and followed their signing up by a playing a set at Download Festival[26] in the UK. They then opened for As It Is on multiple legs of their okay. tour, first in Europe with Courage My Love[27] and then in the UK with Like Pacific and Grayscale.[28] On 31 August they released their second LP, Identity Crisis,[29] which was led by the singles "Bad to the Bone", "Crisis" and "Silly Me". To support its release, they joined Neck Deep on the second North American leg of The Peace and the Panic Tour with fellow openers, Trophy Eyes and Stand Atlantic,[30] and went on a headlining UK tour with Between You & Me and Hey Charlie.[31]

Future (2019-present)

In early 2019, WSTR went on tour again as the supporting act for The Faim on their UK tour. They later released a cover EP titled Give Yourself a Hell,[32] featuring covers of "Give Yourself a Try" by The 1975 and "Gives You Hell" by The All-American Rejects, and played their third Slam Dunk Festival[33] that summer. In the fall, they embarked on the full run of The Noise & Ones to Watch Presents Stand Atlantic and The Faim Co-Headline U.S. Tour,[34] with fellow openers Hold Close and Point North playing on select dates. While on tour, they released a new song, "Filthy".[35]

On 25 November WSTR set out on a headlining UK tour,[36] starting in Brighton and ending in Nottingham on 8 December. Since January 2020, they have joined Grayscale, Hot Mulligan and LURK on the Nella Vita North American Tour: Part II.[37]

Name

Originally named "Waster", the group discovered a band with the same name from Canada. Because both bands were selling under the same name on iTunes, the Canadian band issued a cease and desist letter. The group ultimately decided to keep the most similar name as possible, removing the vowels, leaving simply "WSTR".[38]

Musical style and influences

WSTR is generally credited as a pop punk band. The group's lead singer, Sammy Clifford, has cited many of his music influences were from the United States, including Blink-182 and New Found Glory.[39]

Discography

Studio albums

  • Red, Green or Inbetween (2017)
  • Identity Crisis (2018)

EPs

  • SKRWD (2015)
  • SKRWD: Reimagined (2020)

Music videos

  • "Graveyard Shift" (2015)[40]
  • "Fair Weather" (2015)[41]
  • "Lonely Smiles" (2016)[42]
  • "Footprints" (2016)[43]
  • "Eastbound & Down" (2017)[44]
  • "Bad to the Bone" (2018)[45]
  • "Crisis" (2018)[46]

References
  1. "WSTR - Graveyard Shift (Official Music Video)". No Sleep Records. May 28, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  2. "Pinky Swear Records Fest Add 6 More Bands". Punktastic. March 10, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  3. "Liverpool's Fury Fest 2015 Releases Performance Info". Switchbitch Noise. April 27, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  4. "Roam Confirmed to Headline Sheffield's Empire Festival". Already Heard. February 16, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  5. "Jump On Demand Festival: Saturday Preview". Jump On Demand Records. June 3, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  6. "Make a Scene Festival Line Up". ALT-MU. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  7. "SKRWD by WSTR". No Sleep Records. September 4, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  8. "Pop Punk Stage – Hype Fest 2015 – Review". We Are Headstrong. November 29, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  9. @kerrangmagazine (6 January 2016). "Meet the class of 2016! New issue, out now!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. "Pop Punk All Dayer Set To Hit Derby". We Are Headstrong. December 24, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  11. "Neck Deep Announce Another UK Headline Tour". Kerrang!. October 26, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  12. "Final Line Up Poster 2016". 2000Trees Festival. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  13. "Lonely Smiles by WSTR". No Sleep Records. September 14, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  14. "WSTR Announce The Inbetween Tour with Milestones". Highlight Zine. September 14, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  15. "Slam Dunk Festival 2016 line-up and stage splits revealed". Welwyn Hatfield Times. March 29, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  16. "Footprints (Acoustic) by WSTR". No Sleep Records. October 27, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  17. "ROAM Announce UK Tour". All Things Loud. August 16, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  18. "Red, Green or Inbetween by WSTR". No Sleep Records. January 20, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  19. "Seaway Announce Tour With WSTR And The Gospel Youth". Punktastic. October 28, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  20. "Here Are The Stage Splits For Slam Dunk Festival 2017". Rock Sound. April 11, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  21. "More bands announced for Truck Festival 2017". Feisty. March 9, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  22. "Reading and Leeds Festival 2017 full line-up announced, including Liam Gallagher as part of 90 extra acts". Digital Spy. April 7, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  23. "Deadbolt Festival announces bands, including Holding Absence, and stage splits". Red Cardinal Music. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  24. "With Confidence Announce 2017 National Tour". MusicFeeds. May 10, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  25. @hopelessrecords (3 June 2018). "Well, cat's outta the bag! Welcome WSTR to the Hopeless fam! <3" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. "Download 2018". Download Festival. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  27. @asitisofficial (6 November 2017). "okay.E.U tour w/ support from our buds @wstrband & the rad @couragemylove! Tickets on sale Wednesday #okayEU" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. "WSTR To Join As It Is, Like Pacific And Grayscale On UK Tour". Punktastic. December 19, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  29. "Identity Crisis by WSTR". Hopeless Records. August 31, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  30. "Neck Deep Announces The Peace and The Panic USA Tour 2". Side Stage Magazine. May 14, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  31. "WSTR Have Announced The Details Of A Headline Tour". Rock Sound. September 3, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  32. "Give Yourself a Hell by WSTR". Hopeless Records. May 15, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  33. "Slam Dunk Have Revealed Set Times + Added Three New Bands To Their 2019 Line-Up". Rock Sound. April 10, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  34. "Ones To Watch & The Noise Present: Stand Atlantic and The Faim's Co-Headlining Tour [ANNOUNCEMENT]". Ones to Watch. August 5, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  35. "WSTR Just Dropped A Brand New Single 'Filthy'". Rock Sound. September 10, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  36. "WSTR Release New Single And Announce UK Tour". Punktastic. September 11, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  37. "Grayscale Reveal 'Nella Vita' North American Tour Part Ii 2020 Dates". Alternative Press. November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  38. "INTERVIEW: WSTR". Distorted Sound. July 20, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  39. "British pop-punks WSTR's frontman discusses the rocky road to his band's record deal". Alternative Press. October 17, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  40. "WSTR - Graveyard Shift (Official Music Video)". No Sleep Records. May 28, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  41. "WSTR - Fair Weather (Official Music Video)". No Sleep Records. July 30, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  42. "WSTR - Lonely Smiles (Official Music Video)". No Sleep Records. September 11, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  43. "WSTR - Footprints (Official Music Video)". No Sleep Records. October 18, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  44. "WSTR - Eastbound & Down (Official Music Video)". No Sleep Records. May 18, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  45. "WSTR - Bad To The Bone (Official Music Video)". Hopeless Records. June 4, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  46. "WSTR - Crisis (Official Music Video)". Hopeless Records. August 7, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
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