New Years Day

New Years Day is an American group from Anaheim, California, active since 2005. The band forms around vocalist Ashley Costello and bassist Adam Lohrbach, who joins after leaving Home Grown. Its early lineup also includes guitarist Keith Drover, with Eric Seilo first on bass, before Mike Schoolden and drummer Russell Dixon join.

Style and early development

The group’s music is described as pop punk and alternative rock, and the verified genre listing also places it within alternative metal, gothic metal, gothic rock and hard rock. The band develops its early material from songs written by Costello and Lohrbach, shaped by their shared emotional experiences after relationship break-ups. The name New Years Day is chosen as a symbol of a fresh start and is adopted on New Year’s Day itself.

Releases and promotion

New Years Day builds an audience through DIY promotion on MySpace, with additional support from Tom, a fan of the band. It appears on the MySpace Records Volume 1 compilation and in the soundtrack for the video game Saint’s Row. After considering an offer from Decaydance Records, the band signs to TVT Records and releases its self-titled debut EP in 2006, originally known as the Razor EP. The EP is mainly distributed digitally, though CD copies are also sold at performances.

The band’s debut album, My Dear, is self-financed and self-produced over an eight-month period, recorded at producer Eugene Perreras’s home, and released in 2007. The album includes collaborations with members of Reel Big Fish and Motion City Soundtrack. The lead single, “I Was Right,” wins an MTVU “Freshman Face” poll and is added to the channel’s playlist.

Later activity

After TVT Records shuts down, the band loses members Keith Drover, Mike Schoolden and Adam Lohrbach. The remaining members continue, start writing new material in early 2009, and post two new songs to MySpace later that year. New Years Day also performs at South by Southwest and is set to play Warped Tour 2010. Its later work includes the 2019 album Unbreakable and the 2022 single “Hurts Like Hell.”

Members

Current members listed are Ashley Costello, Anthony Barro, Nikki Misery and Adam Lohrbach. Former members listed are Keith Drover, Mike Schoolden, Russell Dixon and Eric Seilo.