Free Throw is an American

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 ...

band from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

. They are signed to

Triple Crown Records Triple Crown Records is a New York-based rock music record label created in 1997 by Fred Feldman. The label features such artists as The Receiving End of Sirens and The Dear Hunter, ''Artists Page'' and launched the career of Brand New in 2001 ...

History

Free Throw was formed in April 2012 after the members had graduated high school and had met each other through the Nashville music scene while playing in previous bands. Vocalist Cory Castro described it as "a couple of beers and a couple of ideas". The band has since released four full-length albums, titled ''Those Days Are Gone,'' ''Bear Your Mind'', ''What's Past is Prologue'', and ''Piecing It Together''. They have also released three EPs, titled ''Free Throw'', ''Lavender Town'', and ''Missing Pieces''. After the release of their debut album, the band embarked on a tour opening for Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate).

Musical style and lyrics

Free Throw's music has been described as

, punk rock,

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 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 bee ...

and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

. In an interview, vocalist Cory Castro defined the term "

" as "taking your emotions and wearing them on your sleeve." The vocalist described the band's sound as being derived from "underground punk emo" bands such as

Snowing Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

and Algernon Cadwallader, while also citing

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American 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 Andy Hurley. ...

and

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 ...

as influences on the band's "pop sensibility". Lyrical themes often include topics such as alcoholism, addiction, relationship issues, and body image. Vocalist Cory Castro is an avid fan of the ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' video game franchise, and several of the band's song titles are direct references to the series. Examples include ''Lavender Town'', ''Pallet Town'', ''Cerulean City'', ''Better Have Burn Heal'', ''Worry Seed'', and ''Tail Whip, Struggle''. The frontman has a

Poké Ball Poke ( Hawaiian for "to slice" or "cut crosswise into pieces"; sometimes anglicised as 'poké' to aid pronunciation) is diced raw fish served either as an appetizer or a main course and is one of the popular dishes in Hawaii. Traditional form ...

tattooed on his wrist.

Members

Current band members *Cory Castro - lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2012–present) *Jake Hughes - rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2013–present) *Justin Castro - bass (2012–present) *Zach Hall - drums, backing vocals (2013-2015, 2022 - Present) *Lawrence Warner - lead guitar (2012–present) Former band members *Wes Winslett - rhythm guitar (2012-2013) *Tim Casey - drums (2012-2013) *Kevin Garcia - drums, backing vocals (2015–2022)

Discography

Studio albums *''Those Days Are Gone'' (2014) *''

Bear Your Mind ''Bear Your Mind'' is the second studio album by Nashville punk rock band Free Throw. It was released on May 26, 2017, nearly three years after the band's previous album ''Those Days are Gone''. Composition Lyrical content According to Castro, ...

'' (2017) *''What's Past Is Prologue'' (2019) *''Piecing It Together'' (2021) EPs *''Free Throw'' (2012) *''Lavender Town'' (2014) *''Missing Pieces'' (2018)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee Count Your Lucky Stars Records artists Triple Crown Records artists