State Champs

With Support: Cartel, Taylor Acorn. Over the past decade, Albany, New York’s State Champs have become a major player in the world of pop-punk, helping define the shape of the genre for a new generation of fans. And on June 10, Living Proof will push pop-punk forward. Formed in 2010 by vocalist Derek DiScanio and guitarist Tyler Szalkowski, the pair began laying the foundation of State Champs in garages and basements throughout their hometown. The band’s lineup would shift a bit, but DiScanio and Szalkowski were always at the helm, crafting the band’s 2013 debut, The Finer Things , along with guitarist Tony "Rival" Diaz and drummer Evan Ambrosio. They’d add bassist Ryan Scott Graham the following year and, in 2015, they’d release Around The World And Back , a record that elevated State Champs to a frontrunner in the genre. The band’s third album, Living Proof , will be released June 15 on Pure Noise Records, and it’s the most ambitious and cohesive work in the band’s catalog. “It was like, let’s take as many swings at it, try as many new things and experiment, until we get to the point where we could start searching through it all and then find the album,” says DiScanio of the writing process. After touring for Around The World And Back wrapped, the band returned to Albany, headed back into the garage, and started writing songs for what would become the framework for Living Proof . Getting back to their roots paid dividends, as the band had a new batch of songs ready, and once they linked up with the album’s producers, they wrote even more. Living Proof was recorded in two different sessions with different teams assisting the band. The first session saw John Feldmann producing, who brought his knack for writing hit records—which he’s done for bands like Blink-182 and Good Charlotte—into the fold. But State Champs wouldn’t let their old-school roots die, teaming up with Mike Green and Kyle Black, the pair that shepherded Around The World And Back across the fini