Waterparks is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

in 2011. The group currently consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Awsten Knight, backing vocalist and lead guitarist Geoff Wigington, and backing vocalist and drummer Otto Wood. The band has released three EPs, two of which were released independently while the third was released via

Equal Vision Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. The label originally existed solely to ...

. The band released their debut studio album, '' Double Dare'', on November 4, 2016, via Equal Vision, then later their second studio album ''

Entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

'' under the same label on January 26, 2018. On May 23, 2019, the band announced that they had left Equal Vision and signed on with Hopeless. Their third studio album, entitled ''

Fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

'', was released on October 11, 2019. The band then signed with

300 Entertainment Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, ele ...

and their fourth studio album, '' Greatest Hits'', was released on May 21, 2021. The band signed with

Fueled by Ramen Fueled by Ramen LLC is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by 300 Elektra Entertainment. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1996, is now based in New York City. History John Janick conceived of the lab ...

in 2022, and has teased their fifth studio album, ''Intellectual Property'', set for release in 2023.

History

Early years and EPs (2011–2016)

The band was formed in 2011 by Awsten Knight and Gage Matthieu, who met while playing in different bands. The band was later joined by drummer Owen Marvin, guitarist Tommy Denley, and briefly, keyboardist Tyler Comer. This lineup soon dissipated before the band's first release. Their first EP, ''Airplane Conversations'', was released independently on April 3, 2012, and was the only release with Matthieu and Marvin before they both left the band in 2012. Guitarist Geoff Wigington and drummer Otto Wood joined the band that same year following the prior departures. The band's first show was on August 17, 2012 at

Warehouse Live The Warehouse Live is a large club/small theater-sized live entertainment venue located in East Downtown (EADO), Houston, Texas. alongside

Invent, Animate Invent Animate (previously stylized as Invent, Animate) is an American progressive metalcore band from Port Neches, Texas. The band formed in late 2011 and self-released their debut EP titled ''Waves'' on March 13, 2012. After a number of regiona ...

, DWHB, and Life as Lions. The band continued performing at local venues throughout Texas over the following years. The band performed as a supporting act for pop musician Aaron Carter, opening his Houston tour date on May 11, 2013. Their second EP, ''Black Light'', was released on June 5, 2014. The band also performed on the Houston dates of the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

in 2013 and 2015. On November 6, 2015, the band signed with label Equal Vision Records. After searching for producers, the band chose twins Benji Madden and Joel Madden of

Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of twin brothers Joel Madden (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar and vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (g ...

as their managers. On January 15, 2016, the group released an EP titled ''Cluster'', co-produced by Benji Madden.

Mikey Way Michael James Way (born September 10, 1980) is an American musician and actor. He is best known as the bassist of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He is also the multi-instrumentalist and backing vocalist of rock duo Electric Century. Mikey c ...

, known as the bassist of

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...

, played bass for the EP. On November 19, 2015, the band performed with Good Charlotte during the group's comeback performance at The Troubadour in

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

. The group performed on the Black Cat Tour supporting

Never Shout Never Never Shout Never (originally typeset as nevershoutnever! and NeverShoutNever!) is an American rock band formed in Joplin, Missouri in 2007. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Christofer Drew began the band as a solo project before expanding it t ...

in 2016, and on every date of the 2016

. The band then embarked on the End The Madness Tour supporting Sleeping with Sirens in late 2016.

''Double Dare'' and ''Entertainment'' (2016–2018)

The group released a single titled "Stupid For You" on August 31, 2016 in promotion of its debut album, '' Double Dare.'' They later released two additional singles, "Hawaii (Stay Awake)", and "Royal", before the album's release on November 4, 2016. In 2016, the band performed a cover of Hitchin' a Ride by

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

and was featured on a 30th anniversary covers album for Green Day titled, ''Green Day: American Superhits!.'' "Gloom Boys" was made into the album's fourth and final single in 2017. In March 2017, the group joined fellow bands SWMRS and The Wrecks as supporting acts on All Time Low's tour of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Later, during the Summer of 2017, the groups reunited for All Time Low's Young Renegades Tour, this time touring the United States.

Night Riots Night Riots (sometimes stylized as NIGHT RIOTS or , , NIGHT RIOTS , , ) were an American alternative rock band from San Luis Obispo, California. Formed in 2010, the band consists of Travis Hawley (lead vocals), Nick Fotinakes (guitar), Matt De ...

performed in place of SWMRS on the tour's Dallas and Houston dates. On October 20, 2017, the band announced their second studio album, ''

'', with a release date of January 26, 2018. Alongside ''Entertainment'''s announcement, the band released the album's first single, "Blonde". On December 13, 2017, the band released the second single from the album, titled "Lucky People". On January 17, 2018, Waterparks released the third and final single from ''Entertainment'', titled "Not Warriors". The album was released on January 26, 2018 via Equal Vision. ''Entertainment'' peaked at No. 98 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart on February 10, 2018.

''Fandom'' and live album (2018–2020)

In 2019, the band performed a cover of "Beating Heart Baby" by

Head Automatica Head Automatica was an American Rock music, rock band from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York fronted by Daryl Palumbo (also of Glassjaw). History The beginnings of the band stemmed from singer Daryl Palumbo's interests in the hip hop music ...

and was featured on

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, e ...

's covers album ''Worship And Tributes: Volume II''. On May 23, 2019, the band released "Turbulent", their first single off of their at the time, third album. Along with the album's title it was also announced that they got signed to

Hopeless Records Hopeless Records is an American independent record label in Van Nuys, California. History Hopeless Records was founded in 1993 by Louis Posen. The label's artists are generally considered to fall under the genres of punk rock, pop punk, post-ha ...

. On August 12, 2019, the band released the second single, "Watch What Happens Next", along with a music video and the announcement of the album to be released on October 11, 2019. On August 16, 2019, the band released their third single, "Dream Boy," along with a music video. On September 12, 2019, the fourth single, " eboot was released. On September 25, 2019, they released their fifth single for the album, "High Definition," along with a music video. The band's third studio album ''

'' was released on October 11, 2019. On October 17, 2019, "Easy to Hate" was released as the sixth single, along with a music video. On January 22, 2020, frontman Awsten Knight posted on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that if a certain tweet was retweeted 20,000 times, that he would release a new Waterparks album that day. This goal was achieved within hours, subsequently forcing Knight to release a

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

collection titled ''1 (A Collection of Unreleased Home Demos, This is Not G, or Even an Album, Shut Up Enjoy)'', a demo album that consists of unreleased Waterparks demos, including songs Knight has teased on his Instagram some of which were "Lemonade", "Noise", and "Glitter Times". He states in the song "Life Is Puke (20,000)" that he never thought the tweet would actually make it to that many retweets and that "everyone is so mad at me." When the band performed at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, England during the ''Fandom'' tour on January 27, 2020, they announced that the performance would be taped and released as a live album, with a companion concert film, that summer. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

delayed the release until the fall, and ''Fandom: Live in the UK'' was officially released on November 27, 2020, formally marking the end of the ''Fandom'' era.

''Greatest Hits'' (2020–2022)

On September 24, 2020, the band officially released a song entitled "Lowkey As Hell". This comes after Knight leaked the song the previous week on a live stream whilst cutting off his ''Fandom''-era green hair himself. Following the song's official release, record label

announced that they had signed the band. On February 25, 2021, the band announced their fourth studio album '' Greatest Hits'', along with the release of a new single titled "Snow Globe". The album was released on May 21, 2021. The next single, titled "Numb" was released on March 29, 2021, but was debuted on March 27 during the Anti Tour Performance. The fourth single, "You'd Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out To Get You)", was released on April 28 2021, sharing its title with an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Awsten Knight. The fifth single, "Just Kidding", was released on May 12, 2021. The sixth single, "Violet!", was released on May 19, 2021. A music video was released for the song on May 26, 2021.

''Intellectual Property'' (2022–present)

On January 27, 2022, the band posted teasers for their upcoming fifth studio album. On April 7, 2022, the first single, "Funeral Grey" was announced, and was then subsequently released on May 13 as their first release under

. In 2022, the band's song "Telephone," from their 2019 album ''Fandom'', was featured in episode three of the British TV series, '' Heartstopper.'' On July 5, 2022, the band announced the second single, "Self-Sabotage" to be released on July 7. The band also released a teaser of a new song titled "Brainwashed" that the band has been performing on tour. On August 8, 2022, the band released a music video for "Self-Sabotage". On October 14, 2022, the band released the single "Fuck About It", featuring Blackbear. On November 23, 2022, the band announced the title of their upcoming fifth studio album, ''Intellectual Property''. On December 1, 2022, the band released a music video for "Fuck About It".

Musical style and influences

Waterparks musical style has been mainly described as

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

, alternative pop, electronic rock,

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

neon pop Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

, and

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

. but also incorporates elements of punk, hip hop, rap,

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States i ...

electronic, indie,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

, dark pop,

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

, emo rap, stadium rock, hyperpop, and

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

genres. The band is said to derive their unique sound through the addition of vocal modulation, layered

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, and fast vocals to the traditional rock sound. Frontman Awsten has stated that he considers the group to be a rock band that has garnered significant inspiration from pop music. Since the departure of former bassist Gage Matthieu, the band has remained without a bass player in its official lineup, instead performing with a rotation of fill-in bass players or using pre-recorded backing tracks in live appearances. They have cited

Sum 41 Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...

, Blink-182,

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

Donald Glover Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...

, Tyler, the Creator,

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

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, and Saves the Day as musical influences.

Band members

Current members * Awsten Knight – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, programming (2011–present) * Geoff Wigington – lead guitar, backing vocals (2012–present) * Otto Wood – drums, backing vocals (2012–present) Former members * Gage Matthieu – bass (2011–2012) * Owen Marvin – drums (2011–2012) *Tommy Denley – lead guitar (2011) *Tyler Comer – keyboards (2011) Touring and session members *

– bass (2016–2018) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums *'' Double Dare'' (2016) *''

'' (2018) *''

'' (2019) *'' Greatest Hits'' (2021) * ''Intellectual Property'' (2023)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Pop punk groups from Texas Rock music groups from Texas American musical trios Musical groups from Houston Musical groups established in 2011 Equal Vision Records artists 2011 establishments in Texas