What do you get when you mix four quirky kids with enough southern charm to make Colonel Sanders blush and some of the freshest pop-punk on any side of the Mississippi? You get Veara, a band that’s currently pulling the rug out from under today’s “scene” with their unique blend of explosive edgy pop-punk riffs and catchy hook driven choruses. And with the release of their new album What We Left Behind, Veara are taking their southern mosh-pitality to a whole new level!
Formed in the halls of a Augusta, GA high school in 2003, vocalist Brad Wyrosdick, guitarist Patrick Bambrick, bassist Bryan Kerr and drummer Brittany Harrell, have since released a self distributed EP and full-length and have toured with bands The Maine, DangerRadio and Powerspace. In 2009 the band partnered up with Jeremy McKinnon and Joshua Woodard of pop-punk powerhouse A Day To Remember, who were looking for bands to work with on their newly formed company Running Man Records, and the rest is history.
“The dudes in Veara called me one night to see if I was in town and if I wanted to stop by and check out their new demos they had just wrapped up,” explains Woodard. “I got them to burn me a CD, and within 5 minutes of leaving them I knew they were the band I wanted to work with.”
In January of 2010, Veara entered Wade Studios in Ocala, FL, with McKinnon in the producer’s chair and Andrew Wade tracking and mixing, where they recorded their forthcoming album. Once the album was complete, the music made it to the ears of Epitaph's owner and president Brett Gurewitz who was immediately interested and inked a deal to release it.
Veara has a lot to prove with the release of What We Left Behind, a title which the band says is about leaving behind doubt and naysayers, and a theme that can be found throughout the album. After years of fighting a revolving door of band members, ceaseless doubt and small town narrow-mindedness, Veara respond with a bold new album.
“We have been through a lot of turmoil as a band,” says drummer Brittany Harrell. “Whether it be people doubting us, saying you can't do this, members quitting, people lying, etc. The songs on this record have to do with everything that we were going through within that year. It pretty much means all those topics are being left behind because we can do this and we will do this no matter what.”
“It's not just for us though,” adds vocalist Bradley Wyrosdick. “It’s for everyone that has a dream and has people telling them they can't do what they want to do with their life. It's your life and you can accomplish whatever you put your mind to, and that’s what we did with What We Left Behind.”
And the proof is in the music. Bouncy choruses, ripping riffs and terrorizing drums rule on What We Left Behind. Featuring tracks like the fiery opener, “We Have a Body Count,” the newly released sing-along “My B-Side Life” and the mosh-popper “Head For The Hills,” What We Left Behind is an honest take of the band’s life experiences over the past several years, set to a musical score of anthemic pop-punk.
Veara are ready to get back to what they love doing the most, touring, and with a sold out run of dates with mentors A Day To Remember already under their belt, the sky’s the limit as the band spreads their charming mosh-pop across the country.
