Kevin Jordan and Anthony Del Grosso knew the punk rock rulebook backwards and forwards. The duo behind This Wild Life grew up doing exactly what’s expected of kids growing up in the tight-knit DIY scene in Long Beach – avoiding MTV and the radio, attending punk shows at Chain Reaction, the ear gauges, the tattoos. And of course, they started their own pop-punk band. They played fast, they played loud and they didn’t stand out from the crowd until they did the least “punk” thing possible. It was also bolder than anything in the punk rock rulebook: they got quiet.

Though they ran in the same circles in Long Beach, Jordan and Del Grosso didn’t meet until they worked at the same musical instrument store. They soon got on like lifetime friends, bonding over the music of their teens – hardcore, punk and screamo bands such as Thursday, The Used and Senses Fail. It wasn’t long before they started making music together as This Wild Life.

After their first EP and modest local success, a strange impulse came over the duo. Inspired by the brutal honesty and intricate acoustics of Dashboard Confessional’s The Swiss Army Romance, they turned their practice space into a veritable campfire and relearned their songwriting approach. Jordan claims he was more “inspired” in the new, intimate setting and during their recording of their second EP, “we were realizing what we’re really good at. We want people to connect with the lyrics themselves, and sing along.” Their second EP was split between full-band performances and acoustic songs with Jordan on vocals and Del Grosso playing guitar.

The music itself connected with fans, even as it surprised them. And Jordan and Del Grosso made sure their transparency and staunch DIY ethics continued when the songs and the shows stopped. Emails get answered, tweets responded to and comments acknowledged. They let their roots show as well, covering Bring Me The Horizon’s “Sleepwalking” with a resulting video that currently has 2.75 million views.

They take pride in making music based in hardcore and punk rock, but with wider appeal. “We’re not tough guys, but we don’t look like typical open mic night coffee shop types,” Jordan notes, aware of the tattoos and other accoutrements of their past.

Having just completed a successful, first run in the UK, This Wild Life is taking the songs of Clouded on the 2014 Warped Tour, where they’ll play alongside peers and heroes such as The Story So Far, Yellowcard and Real Friends. Newly signed to legendary punk label Epitaph, they’re now within the lineage of the kind of uncompromising bands they grew up listening to. Because even if This Wild Life doesn’t sound like hardcore punk, they make accessible, honest music that speaks to the kind of kids they were growing up – “bands that can play softer music, but tour with heavier bands…that’s how we view ourselves.”

Pop Music, Punk Rock, Entertainers, Musician, Musical Performance, Celebrity Music,