Saves The Day - Through Being Cool

Saves The Day - Through Being Cool
Download -  www.mediafire.com/?2jm2mlcigig
Purchase - Revelation Records
Release -  1999

Story by Dave Garren, singer for the Straight Edge band Outlast.

I can distinctly remember the first time I heard Saves the Day.  It was 2001 and I was a sophomore in high school.  Up until this point, my musical diet consisted mostly of Drive Thru, Kung Fu, and Asian Man Records bands with lots of Blink 182, Alkaline Trio and other assorted pop punk bands.  I was walking down the hallway with a friend of mine who shared similar musical tastes and he said to me, “Hey, you should check out this band, Saves the Day. They have a song about you.”  Confused by this, he clarified that it wasn’t really about me, but they said “Please, Dave, just drive” and that was close enough.  I would later find out that he was referring to “Shoulder to the Wheel”.  He was going on and on about how good this band was and that I needed to listen to them immediately.  For the rest of the school day, I couldn’t wait to hit up the local record store, Tunes, and check this band out.  Being 15 and having no car, this meant that I was relegated to riding my Mongoose Villain the twelve or so miles round trip for these sort of endeavors.

When I finally made it up to Tunes, I headed to the “S” section and started browsing. Their polarizing record, Stay What You Are, hadn’t come out yet so I had three albums to choose from; Can’t Slow Down, Through Being Cool, and I’m Sorry I’m Leaving.  Knowing nothing of the band or even what record the song my friend was referring to, I chose the one with the best cover, Through Being Cool.  Five awkward looking kids sitting on a couch in the middle of a crowded party connected with me since I wasn’t popular, didn’t drink, and didn’t go to parties so I felt a little left out from what all of the “cool” kids where doing.  I took the CD to the guy at the counter who was infinitely cooler than I (lest I forget) and paid for it.  The ride home seemed to take forever because I was so anxious to get home and listen to this record that had come so highly recommended.

When I finally got up to my room, I put the CD in my stereo and sat on my bed with the case. Ten seconds into “All Star Me” and I was already blown away.  I had never heard anything like this before, but I was so drawn to its energy.  I sat on my bed and read the lyric sheet along with the music and was completely floored by how good the lyrics were. As each song played, I felt a connection that I hadn’t experienced before.  It almost seemed like Chris Conley was writing about how I felt and what I wanted.  Once the CD ended, I played it again and again until I went to bed that night, reading the lyrics and memorizing every word.  That record didn’t leave my CD player for two weeks and I was changed forever.

I’ll never forget sitting in my room blasting Through Being Cool, memorizing every single word, and staring at the artwork.  Gone are the days of physical music where every tangible aspect of an album was savored, but I will cherish those days forever.  Saves the Day opened my world up to a new kind of music that was passionate, articulate, driving, and expressive.  They showed me that you could have fast, energetic music, but still have heartfelt and meaningful lyrics.  It would later lead me to bands like Lifetime, The Promise Ring, As Friends Rust and later, hardcore.  I owe everything to Chris Conley’s words and music and probably wouldn’t be who I am today without Saves the Day.  I can honestly say that Through Being Cool changed my life.