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An east coast quintet with a unique high energy post punk sound, Drive By is definitely a band to pay attention to. The band can be said to have been started by current vocalist and guitarist Todd Price, and it is his demons that form the subject matter for the songs.

Growing up in Detroit and having played in bands all his life, Price experienced all the ups and downs that life afforded, turning out to be downs more than not. He turned to drugs and alcohol to hide his frustration, before deciding to move away to try and clean up his act. Thins got worse before they got better, and he turned to writing songs to try and regain some perspective. Demos of these songs would eventually reach Brian Schechter (founder of the Riot Squad label and management company) who recognized Price’s potential and took it upon himself to help Price get his life back on track. Schechter moved him out to New York and got him everything he needed, and before long Price started trying to put a band together. He placed an ad online which was answered by guitarist Dan Fitzgerald and drummer Jaeson Hertzberg, two longtime friends who were working through their own rough patch after the lead singer from the band they were playing in (Everyday Decoy) was killed in a car accident. It was this initial combination of the band that first toured, opening for My Chemical Romance’s first tour in support of the phenomenally successful Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. Bassist Chris Perinno was added a few months later and Drive By as it now is was formed.

The band name stems from the challenging experiences all the members have faced in their lives, with Todd having the following to say on the band’s website – “The images we got from the phrase concern not having life pass you by. All of us have gone through so much bullshit, we didn’t know if we would ever be in a band, and in my case, never knowing, or caring, if I’d ever play again. Drive By is a huge metaphor for how we feel about life.”

The band doesn’t believe in rushing anything, choosing to let things grow organically. Although they secured a recording budget in 2004, the four sought to strengthen themselves and their creative balance as a band first by actually physically building their own studio, Citadel Recording Studio in Belleville, New York. Here they finally recorded their debut, I hate everyday without you kid, which produced by the band, mixed by Daniel Korneff (MCR, Ill Nino), and was released in May 2006 on Riot Squad. It is rare to find an album that is overall well crafted, but this is definitely one of them, there is not one track that one feels like skipping. It just flows. The songs prove to be both catchy and thoughtful, a direct reflection of the hard times and hope which created them. As price says on the site, “This might sound like a Rock 101 answer, but I hope that anyone who is having a hard time can listen to these songs and relate to us. I want to write a song that can give people hope, to know us as four guys who have been through a lot. We labored over these songs, and I hope that comes out when people hear them.” The album also translates remarkably well live and should the opportunity come up, it is highly recommended to catch one of their shows. As a hardworking, down to earth collection of guys, they are not your standard internet reared fast hype band of today. They mean business, and hopefully they are here to stay.