A Day to Remember bringing musical mix to Cedar Rapids

Who knew Blink-182 was so influential? During a recent chat with singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, the Canadian pop star gushed about working with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and vocalist-bassist Mark Hoppus on her new album, “Love Sux.”

“Mark (Hoppus) is a personal hero of mine and having him sing on my album was an absolute dream come true,” Lavigne said. “They (Blink-182) were, without a question, my favorite band growing up.”

The amusing pop-rock act with a number of innocuous hits, such as “All the Small Things” and “Adam’s Song,” also had a huge impact on the members of A Day to Remember.

“There was no bigger band for me than Blink-182,” A Day to Remember guitarist Neil Westfall said while calling from Bangor, Maine. “I loved their humor. They had some serious songs but they didn’t take themselves so seriously. Their songs spoke to me. I checked out everything they did and led me to bands like The Descendents.”

A Day to Remember’s musicians draw heavily from the pop-punk and emo of Blink-182, but the Orlando-based band — coming to the McGrath Amphitheatre in Cedar Rapids on Aug. 16 — also is impacted by metalcore and hardcore.

“We have always just played what we love,” Westfall said. “I know we blend some genres that don’t normally go together, but they work for us.”

A number of bands have traveled such a precarious path, such as Fishbone, Faith No More and Primus.

“I understand that bands like ours aren’t as easy to market, but we can only create the music that we’re inspired to make,” Westfall said. “It’s worked out so far.”

It's been 20 years since Westfall and vocalist Jeremy McKinnon formed A Day to Remember in Ocala, Fla. The band is seven albums in with its latest, “You're Welcome,” released in 2021.

The band’s latest tunes are muscular, at times menacing and melodic. "Bloodsucker“ and ”High Diving“ are very catchy. And songs like ”Last Chance to Dance (Bad Friend),“ will satisfy the metalcore fans.

“I think we capture all of our sides with this album,” Westfall said. “This album is the essence of who we are, and the songs still feel new to us, since we didn’t get the chance to tour behind this album when it came out (in March of 2021).”

“You’re Welcome” debuted at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 200 album list.

“We’re so grateful that the fans support us like they do,” Westfall said. “We don’t take anything for granted, and we always do what we want to do, whether it’s cool or not.”

In 2007, the band covered Kelly Clarkson’s smash hit “Since You’ve been Gone.”

“We didn’t care what anyone thought since ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ is one of the best songs ever written,” Westfall said. “Max Martin wrote a masterpiece. It’s a great rock song.”

Corridor connection

A Day to Remember, which also includes guitarist Kevin Skaff and drummer Alex Shelnutt, has an album’s worth of songs in the can. The band will preview one new track, “Miracle,” in Cedar Rapids.

“We couldn’t help but play something really fresh,” Westfall said. “It’s a nice addition to our set. We’ll see how people in Iowa react to it.”

Westfall claims that Iowa City/Cedar Rapids is one of the band’s favorite markets.

“I remember playing Gabe’s back in our early days, and the shows were great because the fans there are so enthusiastic,” Westfall said of the Iowa City venue. “I remember after playing there the first time saying, ‘Iowa accepts us!’

“Iowa is like Florida,” he said, “since all the people care about is the music. We’re the same way.”