Waterparks (band)

Waterparks is an American pop rock band formed in Houston, Texas 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.

For the similarly named CCM group that is also from Houston, see Watermark (band).

Waterparks
Waterparks performing on Warped Tour in Hartford, Connecticut in 2016. From left to right: Awsten Knight, Otto Wood, and Geoff Wigington.
Background information
OriginHouston, Texas, U.S.
Genres
Years active2011–present
Labels
Websitewaterparksband.com
Members
  • Awsten Knight
  • Geoff Wigington
  • Otto Wood
Past members
  • Gage Matthieu
  • Owen Marvin

The band has released three EPs, two of which were released independently while the third was released via Equal Vision. The group released its first full-length album, Double Dare, on November 4, 2016 via Equal Vision, then later their second album Entertainment 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 full-length album, entitled Fandom, was released on October 11, 2019. They are now signed with 300 Entertainment.

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.[1][2] The group's first show was on August 17, 2012 at Warehouse Live in Houston[3] alongside Invent, Animate, DWHB, and Life as Lions.[4] Their first EP, Airplane Conversations, was released independently on April 3, 2012.[5] The band continued performing at local venues throughout Texas over the following years.[2] The band performed as a supporting act for pop musician Aaron Carter, opening his Houston tour date on May 11, 2013.[2][6] Their second EP, Black Light, was released on June 5, 2014. The band also performed on the Houston dates of the Warped Tour in 2013[7] and 2015.[8]

On November 6, 2015, the band signed with label Equal Vision Records.[9] After searching for producers, the band chose twins Benji Madden and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte as their managers.[10][11] On January 15, 2016, the group released an EP titled Cluster, co-produced by Benji Madden.[12][13] Mikey Way, known as the bassist of My Chemical Romance, 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.[14]

The group performed on the Black Cat Tour supporting Never Shout Never in 2016,[15] and on every date of the 2016 Warped Tour.[16][17] The band then embarked on the End The Madness Tour supporting Sleeping with Sirens in late 2016.[18]

Double Dare and Entertainment (2016–2018)
Main articles: Double Dare and Entertainment (Waterparks album)

The group released a single titled "Stupid For You" on August 31, 2016 in promotion of its debut album, Double Dare.[19] They later released two additional singles, "Hawaii (Stay Awake)", and "Royal", before the album's release on November 4, 2016.[20][21][22]

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 and Ireland.[23] Later, during the Summer of 2017, the groups reunited for All Time Low's Young Renegades Tour, this time touring the United States.[24] Night Riots performed in place of SWMRS on the tour's Dallas and Houston dates.[25]

On October 20, 2017, the band announced their second studio album, Entertainment, with a release date of January 26, 2018.[26] Alongside Entertainment's announcement, the band released the album's first single, "Blonde".[26] Pre-orders for the new album became available on November 2, 2017. On December 13, 2017, the band released the second single from the album, titled "Lucky People".[27] On January 17, 2018, Waterparks released the third and final single from Entertainment, titled "Not Warriors".[28][29] The album was released on January 26, 2018 via Equal Vision.[26][30][31] Entertainment peaked at No. 98 on the Billboard 200 chart on February 10, 2018.[32]

Fandom and upcoming fourth studio album (2018–present)
Main article: Fandom

On May 23, 2019, the band released their first single off of their upcoming album, "Turbulent" and announced that they got signed to Hopeless Records.[33][34] 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.[35] On August 16, 2019, the band released their third single, "Dream Boy," along with a music video.[36] On September 12, 2019, the fourth single, "[Reboot]" was released.[37] On September 25, 2019, they released their fifth single for the album, "High Definition," along with a music video.[38] The band's third studio album Fandom was released on October 11, 2019.[39] On October 17, 2019, "Easy to Hate" was released as the sixth single, along with a music video.[40]

On January 22, 2020, frontman Awsten Knight tweeted that if he got 20,000 retweets he would release a new Waterparks album that day.[41] The tweet did get 20,000 retweets within a few hours, and on SoundCloud Knight self-released 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".[41]

On September 24, 2020, the band officially released a new song entitled "Lowkey As Hell".[42][43] This comes after Knight leaked the song the previous week on a livestream whilst cutting off his Fandom-era green hair himself.[43][44] Following the song's official release, record label 300 Entertainment announced that they had signed the band.[42][43][45]

Musical style and influences

Drawing from a diverse pool of stylistic influences, the band is primarily characterized as pop punk,[29][46][47][48][49] pop rock,[29][50][51][52] alternative rock,[53][54] electropop,[55][56] rock,[57] pop,[49] synth-pop,[49] and alternative pop,[58] but also incorporates elements of hip hop, electronic, indie, punk, and jazz music.[59] Frontman Awsten has stated that he considers the group to be a rock band that has garnered significant inspiration from pop music.[60] 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, Blink-182, Good Charlotte, Kesha, My Chemical Romance, Green Day,[3] Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park, and Saves the Day[61] as musical influences.

Band members

Current members

  • Awsten Knight – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, programming (2011–present)[2]
  • Geoff Wigington – lead guitar, backing vocals (2011–present)[2]
  • Otto Wood – drums, backing vocals (2012–present)[2]

Former members

  • Gage Matthieu – bass (2011–2012)[62]
  • Owen Marvin – drums (2011–2012)

Touring and session members

Timeline

Discography
Main article: Waterparks discography

Studio albums

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated Work Result Ref.
2017 Alternative Press Music Awards Song of the Year Stupid for You Nominated [64]
2017 Alternative Press Music Awards Album of the Year Double Dare Nominated [64]
2017 Alternative Press Music Awards Best Breakthrough Artist Waterparks Won [65]
2017 The Rock Sound Awards Best International Breakthrough Artist Waterparks Won [66]
2019 The Rock Sound Awards Song of the Year Turbulent Won [67]

References
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  3. "What's My Scene Again?". Alternative Press. 30 (333): 80. April 2016.
  4. "Waterparks with DWHB, Invent Animate, Life As Lions - Event Information". Warehouse Live. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016 – via Facebook.
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