Being a huge music geek, I wear a lot of band merchandise. When I say a lot, I mean that about 90 percent of my wardrobe is made up of band tees and hoodies. Some of them are for bands that are well known, but a lot of them are for obscure bands that no one has heard of. That being said, when I wear a particular item, I get a lot of questions about what it is that I’m advertising. The band Waterparks fits into this category.
Waterparks is a pop-punk band from Houston, Texas composed of Awsten Knight (lead vocals/guitar), Geoff Wigington (backing vocal/guitar), and Otto Wood (drums). The band is managed by Benji and Joel Madden, from the band Good Charlotte, and currently have three EPs and one full length album on their discography.
Their first and second EP, “Airplane Conversations” and “Blacklight,” were self-released before being signed to Equal Vision Records in 2015. Following their signing, the band released their third EP, “Cluster” and their debut album “Double Dare,” which came out in November of 2016. The band recently announced that their second album, titled “Entertainment,” will be released Jan. 26, 2018. Along with the announcement, the band also released the first single off of the new record, “Blonde.”
Waterparks is unique from other pop-punk groups because of their lack of bassist. The trio uses recordings of different bassists on their albums when performing live to make up for the missing piece. On their debut album “Double Dare,” all the bass tracks were done by bassist Mikey Way from My Chemical Romance.
The band has toured with bands like Good Charlotte, Sleeping with Sirens and Never Shout Never. Along with these tours, they have also been included on the Van’s Warped Tour lineup and are currently getting ready to start their second North American headlining tour, the Made in America tour.
This band is a favorite of mine because they combine the hitting guitar that’s typical to pop-punk with the catchy bubblegum lyrics of traditional pop songs and make it their own. They have several gushy love songs, including my favorite and their biggest song to date “Stupid For You,” but also provide some more lyrically driven songs like “Mad All The Time.”
If you happen to get really into Waterparks, the band will be making a stop in Salt Lake City at In The Venue on their upcoming headlining tour on Nov. 17. If you’re up for a road trip or will be near Salt Lake, I highly recommend you check out their live set.
