Press Fanatic Magazine June 2015 | Page 19

SECOND PLAYER SCORE

The members of Second Player Score know a few things about second chances. For all three of them, the Portland area is their second home – drummer Kyle Gilbert grew up in California, while Brian Tashima and bassist Daniel Downs were both born and raised in Hawaii — and each of them were coming off of what they considered to be their first serious musical projects.

Finding each other through musician-wanted ads and word of mouth, the three quickly discovered that they shared a fondness for hard rock, geek culture, and craft beer. After taking their name from a line in an episode of “The Simpsons,” they set about developing a collective sound that eventually grew to resemble bands like Weezer, Husker Du, Green Day, and Bad Religion.

What they were finally able to do was to create, what is now, a blazing power rock trio. Playing music ranging from Pop Punk to Driving Rock. Complete with great hooks, melodic vocals, powerful harmonies, and crushing rhythm.

At first, it was just meant to be something fun and casual, but as time went along, the songs really started to come together and take on lives of their own. That’s when the guys thought, ‘Hey, maybe other people would actually like to hear this stuff.’

Encouraged by the positive responses they received at their energetic live shows, the band decided to record some of the aforementioned “stuff” with producer/engineer Stephan Hawkes, whose credits include popular Portland-area bands such as Red Fang, Rags & Ribbons, and The Crash Engine. The resulting album, Fortress Storm Attack, is a collection of ten songs that range stylistically from pop-punk (“Chosen One,” “Better Than My Dreams”) to heavier driving rock (“Bend,” “Falling Forever”), all while maintaining the huge sing-along hooks and three-part vocal harmonies that are an integral part of the band’s anthemic rock approach.

To learn more go check their recently unveiled website: www.secondplayerscore.com