How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
Eron Bucciarelli grew up in Princeton, N.J., not far from where similar bands like Thursday and Saves the Day captured teenage hearts in the late '90s. It's too bad he had already packed his bags and headed off to college in Dayton, Ohio when the New Jersey music scene started to garner national attention. By the time Bucciarelli graduated, Dashboard Confessional was gracing magazine covers and Jimmy Eat World was on commercial radio.
Despite the lackluster music scene in Dayton, Bucciarelli and his friends decided to start a band. They called it Hawthorne Heights. Two years later, their demo came to the attention of the president of Victory Records, who signed them within weeks. They recorded their debut album, The Silence in Black and White, last year, and have been on the road ever since. When Bucciarelli and his four bandmates roll into town next Thursday, they will perform their first show in the Big Apple.
The album, full of sing-along punk rock melodies and explosive bursts of aggression, has become the fastest selling debut in the history of Victory Records. A New Jersey native and frequent New York dweller, Bucciarelli is particularly looking forward to taking the stage at Irving Plaza.
'I'd go to shows at CBGB and out on Coney Island when I was a kid,' the 25 year-old drummer said. 'It's exciting to be back here, but I'm kind of glad to be on stage this time.'
For the past month, the band has been traveling around the country on their first tour bus. Bucciarelli is excited to finally be performing in front of larger crowds along with his tourmates, Sugarcult.
'Some of the venues we've been playing have held up to 1,500 people,' he said. 'We're used to playing shows with no barricades and people jumping up on stage in the middle of our set, so it's a bit different.'
The band credits Myspace.com, a social networking website that allows fans to interact with musicians, for some of the success they've had so far. Currently, they have more than 82,000 friends on the site.
'It helps whenever you have a chance to communicate with your fans,' Bucciarelli said. 'Sites like Myspace make them feel like they're more of a part of everything.'
In order to perform for as many fans as possible, the band plans to stay on the road for the rest of the year before heading back into the studio to record another album. Whether they're playing shows in Los Angeles or New York or halfway around the world, they will always feel a close connection to Ohio. Besides signing to a record label based in their home state, the first single off their debut album is titled 'Ohio is for Lovers,' which Bucciarelli said is autobiographical.
'The song is about leaving loved ones behind when we're on tour,' he said.
The band's journey will continue when they open for a string of Sum 41 performances later this spring, before heading out on this summer's Warped Tour, which will feature The Offspring, Fall Out Boy and dozens of other equally emo bands.
'This is all happening so fast and we have so much to look forward to,' said Bucciarelli. 'I know it's going to be a fun ride.'
Hawthorne Heights will be appearing with Sugarcult, Anberlin, Hopesfall and Melee at Irving Plaza on March 10.
