Down For The Count
For The Last Time
By: Bear Frazer
Last updated August 21st , 2009

Their lyrics might be too mature for some scene kids to handle and their sound is a little heavier than the flavor spewed by most pop-punk bands, but Down For The Count doesn't care. This piercing collective has their own identity - one that has won the hearts of many fans who can handle their sincere style.

Last night for instance, the band headlined a packed show at in Nashville, Tennessee at The Anchor – a venue that is attached to a church. Although they aren't the pop-punk version of Creed or a Christian band by any means, Down For The Count doesn't mind rocking out in God's House. In fact, they kinda prefer it to a regular concert hall.

"A lot of the time, church shows make for really good shows because the youth group kids are really supportive and kids usually buy merch," front man Nate Sirotta explains. "The kids are usually more receptive and it's a cooler vibe sometimes because when you play just normal clubs or venues, those typical scenester kids are kinda tough to win over. But if you play in churches, the kids are just happy to have bands, so they're just happy and receptive. Churches have definitely gotten a little bit more progressive nowadays."

While a Bible is normally the hot seller amongst the Church crowd, the hot ticket item is the group's new EP Battle Royale. It's not the radio pop punk or the whiney harmonies the industry is accustomed to, but instead all the six tracks have rock-inspired guitar riffs mixed into the melodic punk hybrid yet still has that pop appeal, which is best illustrated on "Paperback Novelty" and "She's Walking Like She Knows I'm Looking." 

While the average pop-punk band gets emo on the listener with song topics about breaking up with a girl, being ticked off or flat out depressed, Down For The Count uses their lyricism to channel their emotions and disclose it from an outside perspective, as if it were from a third party. Their style is something more like "Make My Day," a catchy little ditty where the dudes desire some good news.

This is a bit different from their full-length debut Broken Record Tactics, to say the least. "On the old record, we didn't pay as much attention to songwriting and structure as we should have. The songs were much longer. The intros are much longer [and] there is a lot of unneeded content on there," Sirotta explains. "And on the new record, it sorta gets straight to the point. It's straight out of pop rock music and that was a big thing that we try on because, as everybody knows, people with attention spans these days are really short and it's hard to get kids to buy music. So the songs have to be really prominent in the songs."

Down For The Count was originally conceived back in August 2004 when bassist Steve Cheung and Sirotta recorded a few songs together. Initially Cheung laid down bass and guitar part while Sirotta was held responsible for drums and vocals. Upon graduating high school in 2005, the duo decided to take it seriously and recruit a full band that now includes guitarist Anthony Weiss and guitarist Jason Michalski. A year later, they embarked on their first dour, a 30 date, 14 city extravaganza that they didn't enjoy as they got crapped out of money.

Things were about to pick up though. In 2007 they recorded their full-length debut album Broken Record Tactics, which was released in Japan via Kick Rock Music, in Europe via Pop Rock Records, and self-released in America, sold mostly through Smartpunk.com and iTunes. Since it was self-financed, Down For The Count mostly marketed their record by touring, receiving news love on AbsolutePunk.net and going on tour.

But also, they followed the Warped Tour around in 2007 with the plan to sneak in and set up their own tent to sell merchandise to fans. "We would roll up to each venue around seven or eight in the morning when load-in is, and we would just kinda go right in with the other vans and trailers," he says. "We rolled right into the parking lot and it didn't matter we didn't have laminates or wrist bands. Security in the morning is not very tight. So we got our backpacks full of CDs and stuff, and moseyed on into the venue and no one said a word."

While they didn't go through any label to release the record in America, they had interest from several labels including Hopeless. "Most labels know who we are, but they were more interested in signing bands like The Maine or The Summer Set. The way the market is going right now, kids want very simplistic kind of pop music that is kinda cutesy and very image friendly, and we're not really about that," Sirotta says. "I have nothing against those bands, but we try to write music we love and write pop music for show, but we like to keep the rock element and keep it driving and the lyrical subject somewhat substantial and write about things of value and things that are important to us."

Just like they've done on the EP. 

Everything is looking up for the band. Since signing with Negative Progression Records, Down For The Count has appeared on the pages of Alternative Press, are regularly featured on Smartpunk.com and are in the running to play three dates in California for the Warped Tour. And shows like last night at The Anchor details their mission statement to a tee. 

"We just want people to have a good time. We want people to feel good about themselves because I know there are lot of bands I listen to and I fell very uplifted when I hear a certain song," Sirotta says. "I want people to feel that way to our music. We want our music to put people in a good mood and people to feel like they have fun."

[Editor's Note: Although things were looking up and coming together, 101D.com sadly brings you the unfortunate news that Down For The Count decided to break up three weeks ago. From their MySpace, Nate Sirotta types, "The tensions and emotions that surface during time on the road can really bring out the worst in everyone. We almost forgot why we were doing this in the first place. And although we so desperately wanted to do this for a living, it just wasn't in the cards for us. We put absolutely everything we had into this band. We were broke and exhausted from our efforts, but none of us regret a thing we've done in this band." If you want to own the last official recording from Down For The Count, go here.]

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