Artist description Melodic Hardcore/Emo/Punk. From Harrisburg, Pa.

Music Style Melodic Hardcore, Post Punk, Emo

Musical Influences Texas is The Reason, Lifetime, Sunny Day Real Estate, Descendents, Jimmy Eat World

Similar Artists Texas Is The Reason, Saves The Day, Hum, Jimmy Eat World, Weezer, Brand New, New Found Glory, Sensefield, Julianna Theory, Thursday, Finch, Thrice

Artist History Formed on a Porn Shoot for "Deep Impact"

Group Members Tony - Guitar Gunz - Guitar Vocals Andy - Bass Vocals Dan - Drums

Albums "It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It"(Blackout Records), "Twenty Years Tonight" (Jumpstart Records), "First Time For Everything" (Chowda Records)

Press Reviews “The Commercials are a Pennsylvania band that is hard to explain but tough to ignore because they rock so freaking hard. Imagine the brevity of punk meshing with the soul searching of emo backed up by a unit as powerful as an arena rock band and you get an idea of what their 11 track CD feels like. Imagine Blink 182 (“Fairview”), Foo Fighters (“Needles and Pins”), and Hum (“For Tuesday”) all on one stage together and you have an inkling of the musical power that these guys wield. If you like your punk with dosages of guitar herodom and a strong sense of feeling (“Coach Lubick”), then these guys are the perfect choice for you. Pretty jaw-dropping stuff here.” -Skratch Magazine, California “I love that CD, It rocks! Any time I need my Commercials fix I pop in that CD and rock out.” - Evil Jared of The Blood Hound Gang, Universal Records “The Commercials have put the “P” back in PUNK. With great songs like “Ch-Change” and “All About Me”, this CD will keep you bouncing around for hours. Strong melody, great lyrics, and a superb sound are all packed into one.” -Tom Simon, Universal/Motown Record Group, International Marketing Department "I remember hearing these guys on a Jump Start Records compilation that I picked up at the 2001 Warped Tour, but kind of forgot about them until this full-length showed up. I plan to forget no more. "Twenty Years Tonight" is an exciting 10 song romp through a multitude of styles, all encompassing the genre of melodic hardcore, sometimes sounding like BAD RELIGION, SAVES THE DAY, INSIDE, ON THE MIGHT OF PRINCES and some old-school hardcore. Yeah, you try to figure that our in your head... Anyway, the key to this Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania band is that they play with loads of intensity and show off a sound that ferocious. The "ludicrious speed" style production gives THE COMMERCIALS a powerful sound to work with, one that is somewhat unrefined, but ready to bowl you over on the stop of a dime. The vocals remind me heavily of INSIDE at times, but that kind of melodicism isn't entirely consistent throughout, which is where the ON THE MIGHT OF PRINCES comparison rolls in. No particular song stands out amongst the rest, but there are moments of blind fury where it seems like the band is ready to rip apart at their collective seams ("10.26.85" and "Put You Out of Your Misery" come to mind). The artwork deserves some props on this release - it's a 32 page booklet with great pictures and a wicked monthly calender concept. With such a diversity of modern punk and hardcore sounds coming together on this release, I can't imagine what kind of stereo fights this band has in the van while on tour. Highly recommended. " - pastepunk.com “This band combines the FAT Wreck Chords sound with a splash of Emo. Very late 90’s sounding punk rock in the vein of NOFX and Blink 182. Sometimes the music branches off from this style and sounds a bit like Sunny Day Real Estate or Texas Is The Reason. Fast music, tight playing, good vocals. Best song on here is the fast paced, FAT sounding Ch-Change.” - Maximum Rock and Roll, California “It’s awesome guys, keep up the good work.” - Matt Pinfield, former host of 120 Minutes and MTV VJ "Awesome is the only word that comes to mind." - syphillisolly.com "The next band that hit the stage was The Commercials and I have to say, "wow!" This band was amazing. The Commercials sound like a mixture of Hot Water Music and The Get Up Kids, but with more energy and power to their songs. The also have very solid stage presence. The best thing about the band was that they had a huge fat guy with an All Out War shirt playing the drums, it was a beautiful thing. This guy looked like one of those guys that brutalizes the mosh pit at a Diecast show." -Laodicea.net “The following act THE COMMERCIALS of Pennsylvania treated the crowd to their own brand of emo-influenced rock that would make bands like The Get Up Kids and At The Drive In proud. Who could have expected that much rock from a band that met baking cookies in home ec class?” - Jersey Beat Magazine “The Commercials came on next and the crowd really seemed to support their hometown heroes. They put on a great show and ended a really good set by punctuating their melodic rock/punk/emo sound with their drummer literally throwing himself into the drums (he ended up on the floor with the drum kit all over the stage).” -Decapolis.com “I genuinely like this CD. It's very poppy punk, with sincere lyrics (not just about love and whatnot) - very fast paced. The standout feature for me was the melodic vocals & harmonization, it was awesome. The guitarwork is anything but standard punk release and the drumming is fuller than most punk bands I've heard in my time. I don't know how a guy that big moves that freaking fast. My favorite song on the CD is probably "For Tuesday" (9) - which also appeared on Kickstart Audio's PA comp. It's a furious anthem of loss that makes a lot of sense to me in a personal fashion. Good luck to these guys in the future... hopefully they'll finally be able to get the popularity they deserve - making good music and being a lot more sincere than most poppunk bands around today.” -pahardcore.com “The Commercials have undergone a major overhaul since the first full length "First Time For Everything" saw the light of day. The new sound is much more well rounded encompassing a little bit of punk, a little bit of emo and a little bit of hardcore. The recording is crystal clear with a depth to the vocals and a hint of acoustic guitar in the background of many songs. The writing is as creative as it's ever been. Songs like "It Never Ends" and "Put You Out Of Our Misery" explode with energy and emotion. Most of the songs are peppered with time changes, cuts, and really catchy vocal parts, and as a result they all have there own personality and are capable of standing on their own. If your looking for filler tracks, keep looking because "Twenty Years Tonight" doesn't have any. The vocal style is a tag-team attack from behind the bass and the lead guitar, which adds another element to an already packed release. The drums are capable of instant change from a hardcore fury to a soft rhythmic sound that can redirect the sound to fit the emotional content of the lyrics. Lying side by side with rough and tumble songs like "This Is Where We Die," is an emotional ballad, "Immediately" which any sap who has ever watched a girl from across a crowded room can identify with. "The Last, Sung First," like the Jimmy Eat World song, "Goodnight Sky Harbor," seems to continue on for ever then fade into crickets. One wonders how they lured that many crickets into the recording studio. The artwork also deserves a mention, with a calendar being used to further the theme of time. This is a fresh release, with a unique sound and great song writing. Capturing the best the Commercials have to offer and flirting with the listener by using a promise of continued greatness. The CD is available from Kickstartaudio.com so treat yourself to an early Christmas present and get this while the getting is good.” -Decapolis.com (review of Twenty Years Tonight) "As a band coming out of Harrisburg PA, The Commericals put on a great show. I caught the show in Athens Ohio, coming in late during the second opening band, who i dont rememeber maybe because they sucked. When The Commercials came out on stage, I was suprised how well they played, Drew's (guitar/vocals) voice carried throughout the crowd, melodic and soft. You could tell whenever the song got hard, and when it was time to bring out the screams, which i like if you dont know the band that well. They played only six or seven songs, which is short but the show was free. Overall, great band, great vocals and great songs to nod your head to. The Commercials are touring all around the U.S. you can find out when and where theyll be, www.thecommercials.net. " -In the fall Zine "The bass drum slowly begins beating, as cymbals are tapped and the bass and guitar starts... The vocals slowly kick in- dual vocals- and it is a rather quiet melodic sort of pop punk feel-- but without the punk just yet. Then it all comes down. The guitar comes thrashing in from notes to chords. The drums begin to be beaten. The pace quickens. The words grow to be more and faster. There's screaming. Then there's a break down where there are only vocals (after a big build up mind you), and then it kicks back into its rocking way. And this is just the first song mind you! I'd like to definitely say that the Commercials are something along the lines of pop punk, but they're definitely more towards the rocking side of it than the wussy side of it. Whereas you might think of bands who have problems with rocking and songs tend to be so mellow when you can tell they just want to bust out of their clothes and explode, the Commercials do bust out of their clothes and explode. The extra ingredient that makes the Commercials special is not only their ability to combine vocals, but to do so in such a distinct manner. There will be times when more than one person sings at once, yes. But then there will be times when someone is singing one part while another one is singing another part of the song, and they're just going right over each other. It's crazy. It's madness. There's screaming too. And I love every second of it. the Commercials really go that extra step to show that they are not just another pop punk kind of band to be thrown into a stack of hundreds upon hundreds of other CDs that all sound the same. the Commercials grab your attention from the beginning and they hold it throughout the ten songs on "Twenty Years Tonight". I guess once it started off so soft, and then just really kicked into the rock and they had the screaming in there too, I think that's what really grabbed me and made me want to keep listening and not be so quick to pass this off with a mass of other CDs that you may mistake this for being at first. "Immediately" is great slower, ballad type of song. Most of the other songs keep up that fast placed/slow it down/crank it back up a notch tempo. This is great for singing along to, not to mention that it seems incredibly heartfelt and just flat out real and honest. Here is a band that doesn't seem to be all about "Let's make a band to get chicks" or "Let's make a band that sounds like everyone else", they just seem to be very honest in their music and what they do. It shows. It seriously shows. And I don't know them and they're not paying me to say this. I have a high disregard for humans on a whole, so if I can see some honesty in this music, you better believe it is there. In "It Never Ends"- the first song- there's this part that is where it kind of slows down and chills a little bit, and the line is: "I wish I knew you better", and as soon as he says "better", it just kicks right back into this full out thrash rock kind of sound that makes you want to leap from your skin. I think that's really cool, and they do that a lot. Rather than just say the one line, then kick in to the rock- like most bands do- they actually do it at the last word, when people don't expect it. It's a good sense of relief from everything we've heard all too many times before, you know. Their lyric booklet is set up like a calendar, so it's fun to play with and read. "Gaining Ten Losing Nine" shows me the first hope of having a girlfriend in a long time, because rather than bash relationships and tell me how evil girls are it says, "I cannot help myself, I'm falling for you all the time. But I guess that's not so bad. Always reminding myself this is not a dream of mine. You're the greatest thing I have". Could this song be about me? "His wasted efforts steal his time- filling his days with loss. His searching finds no happiness- his mind plagued with thoughts of her. He asks himself unspoken questions- and answers with silent thoughts". That's from "This is Where We Die", a fucking great song. "Today, the Farewell" is also a song that I'm fond of, and it says, "Break my heart into uncountable pieces". Now, "Immediately" is the ballad of the CD, right, but it's kind of funny because the line "I want to tell you that you make me feel this way, but I can't form the words that I want to say" is something that I've been dealing with for a while now-- just knowing how you feel about someone and not knowing how to tell them about it exactly. These lyrics are just very real. If you're listening to some kind of pop punk-ish music now, something along the lines of Lifetime or anyone who ripped them off, you may want to instead put this CD in its place because they're taking it that one step further, kicking it up a notch and blowing the black rimmed glasses off your f-iz-ace." -NCA Zine "This is an unbelievable record. i can't say enough good things about it. it's a special sound you don't hear every day... and that's quite rare in these days. no, they don't redefine music, but they simply kick ass. slow songs, fast songs, two singers, a lot of stop's and go's, anything you want! there's so much EMOtion into the songs, you just wanna sing and scream along. if you dig anything like my hotel year, garrison or just rock n roll music you have to go out and get this. intense music doesn't get better than this!" -Thorsten from Oldenburg, Germany "I've loved the Commercials since the first time I saw them play back in the day in wayne PA when my old band played with them. And the intensity in which they make music has never wavered. If anything, they've gotten better and better and tighter. And I must say they have the best drummer that has ever graced a punk band. They have some re-recorded songs from the Kickstart release but the majority are new. They stick to their formula of fast and furious punk rock with a slight edge of emotion. Support this band, they've been around for ages, and it's about time all their hard work and effort paid off." - pahardcore.com

Location Mechanicsburg, Pa - USA

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