F E A T U R E S         T H O U G H T S         R E V I E W S         N E W S         e v e n t s         d i r e c t o r y Envy on the Coast - One Year Later By Tiffany Razzano Throughout the past three years, the boys of Envy on the Coast have seen the country several times over, not to mention other parts of the world. Obviously poised for success, they've made appearances at such music festivals as CMJ, Bamboozle and Warped Tour; they've shared the stage with acts like Cute Is What We Aim For, Angels and Airwaves, My Chemical Romance, Boys Like Girls and other names that stand out in the modern world of alternative rock. Not bad for a group of kids from Long Island who got their start essentially just out of high school. And now, after a brief respite - only a few weeks long - the guys are getting ready to hit the road again, planning to visit several locations in the United Kingdom before finding their way across the country again, this time with the Almost, Emery and Army of Me. It's a good thing they love the road. They even proclaim in their MySpace bio that they actually love to sleep in their van. And they have their label, Photo Finish Records, and its founder Matt Galle to thank for it all. "When we signed with them, we told Matt that all we want to do is tour," said bassist/vocalist Sal Bossio. "It's the reason we signed with him. He's capable of setting this up for us." "It's amazing what they've accomplished for us," said the group's vocalist/guitarist, Ryan Hunter in an interview with Perpetual Toxins for another article one-and-a-half years ago. "The tours that we've been getting have been absolutely amazing. We're fortunate to be on some unbelievable shows across the country." Click here for more information, to purchase, or to listen to audio samples. Its management's legwork aside, surely the group's talent has played a large part in the tours it has been invited to join, as well as the many accolades it has received. Since releasing its first full-length album, Lucy Gray, in August 2007, less than a year after releasing its self-titled EP, Envy has received only positive feedback and looks to have a great future. Though Envy's sound attracts the hardcore and emo kids, they have the musical chops to appeal to fans of all genres. After all, the band's wide array of influences ranges from Pink Floyd to Queen to Muse to Third Eye Blind to Radiohead - hell, even Billy Joel gets thrown into the mix. These days you don't hear many up-and-coming, young alt rock bands citing such groups as influences. Lucy Gray shows a significant maturation over the group's EP, which was largely written by Hunter and Bossio nearly five years ago, while they were still in high school. "[The EP] was old to us, but new to everyone hearing it," Bossio said. "So we weren't as confident with it, being that the songs were so old. We felt we could do more." The result was Lucy Gray and a strong first single, "Sugar Skull," which features all the key elements of the group, Bossio says, also calling it the most straight forward song on the album. Because of the album's overall strength, many other labels - both indie and major -have been knocking on Envy's door, but the group doesn't even give these offers a second thought. They're more than happy where they are. "We never consider them," Bossio said. "We could have taken a contract and had money, hotels and gear that doesn't break down," Hunter said, "but you don't want to worry about who has your hands in your money, not that we have any money right now. But that's really what it came down to for us. We don't buy into the bull crap everyone else is buying into. We're not trying to get a hit single." For more info and to see when Envy on the Coast is coming back to our area, check out www.myspace.com/envyonthecoast or envyonthecoast.com. Published May 13, 2008   Perpetual Toxins © 2006-2008. All rights reserved. c o n t a c t s / c r e d i t s     c o n t r i b u t e