Underdog Champs perfectly capture the spirit of the garage pop punk sound. With songs reminiscent of Taking Back Sunday and New Found Glory, these Virginia natives are guaranteed to be your next new obsession. Currently they're out playing shows on their new record Skeletons in Daylight. Check out an interview we recently did together!
LJ DeWitt: Please introduce yourselves, include roles in the band, and to keep this part from getting boring, include something random about yourselves.
Josh: Hello I’m Josh, I play the drums and I'm a Leo, which means absolutely nothing.
LJ: I've seen a lot of great musicians come out of the Virginia scene. How do you guys feel about it personally? What's your favorite hometown venue to play?
Underdog Champs: Out of the few other areas or scenes we’ve gotten to play in or be a part of for a short time Virginia and the Richmond area seem to be special in their own way. We’ve definitely noticed an increase in people who notice or go out to see local music as of late and think it can only get better from here. Our favorite hometown venue has to be the canal club in Richmond because we’ve played all of our biggest shows with some really awesome bands there.
LJ: Do you have any bands you like to play/party with a lot?
UC: We love playing with Better Homes, 3PM, In Your Memory, Arc of the Sun, Centerfolds, Flight Club, and pretty much get along with everyone we play with! We do especially love to party with those bands though. Check them out!
LJ: Throughout all the places you've played, has there ever been a city or situation where you genuinely felt you'd die?
UC: One time while we were trying to sleep at a truck stop in CT, Josh started giggling and drinking beer with himself under his sleeping bag. Mark refused to sleep in the same van after that and the rest of us slept with an eye open. It reminded me of that scene from The Others. Hands down one of the scariest things that has happened to us for sure.
LJ: Have you ever "lost" a band member before a show? If so, where was he to be found?
UC: We regularly lose each other the closer it gets to show time, until one of us is alone in the venue. But it's all cool because they know everyone else is just having a pre-show beer in the van.
LJ: Three albums you'd want to be buried with?
Josh: There are only a few albums I haven't been able to over play yet. 1. Conditions - Fluorescent Youth, 2. The Maine - American Candy . 3. AudioStrobeLight - What You’re Running From.
Mark: Good Charlotte’s self-titled album, Blinks’ untitled album, and Copeland’s You Are My Sunshine...but that all might change next week.
Justin: 1. Blink 182-self titled, 2. DGD - Happiness, 3. All Time Low - Put Up or Shut Up.
LJ: Recently you released your newest record Skeletons in Daylight. Whether it be from emotional struggle, writers block, or what have you, what was the most difficult song to write on the record?
Mark: The most difficult song to write for me lyrically was "Coming Clean" - the subject matter was incredibly personal yet I wanted to be vague so people could draw their own conclusions. The music was written so well that I felt like I was going to screw it up if the vocals weren't perfect.
LJ: Which song would you say you're the most emotionally invested in and why?
UC: The most emotional song is also "Coming Clean", which deals with a lot of loss of life and loss of closure. It's a complex song about losing those who you cared about but never made things right with. how will they be remembered, could you have done anything to help? It's a strange helpless feeling.
LJ: So far you've released a video for the track "Hear Me Out". Do you plan to release anymore videos from this album? If so, are you allowed to reveal which ones?
UC: We have been working on some concept ideas for each song and the EP as a whole, it all just comes down to which songs people react to the strongest as to what will be the next single / video. We love the visual art aspect of music, so a new video would be fun for all of us!
LJ: Other than videos, are there any other releases you can talk about? Possibly new shows, tours, merch, etc.?
UC: We are working on some live EP recording sessions, acoustic shows, some special intimate events to finish out the EP cycle. We’ve been writing a lot of new stuff as well so there may be a release sooner than later.
LJ: Finally, is there any last statements, random facts, or words of wisdom you'd like to leave with your fans?
UC: Everyone should be well aware that Josh is a psycho and nobody should sleep in the same van is him…. He is the skeleton in the closet. Or van.
e. Rachel Rosell