Punk Band Stud Count Announces Spring 2022 U.S. Tour Dates

By Jessel Thomas First Posted: May 01, 2022 10:30 PM EDT

Philly-based indie punk rockers Stud Count announced their spring 2022 U.S. tour. The band is excited to share the next era of their fashion-forward, modern iteration of punk with an album coming out in the summer, singles on the way this Spring, and an appearance at So What?! Music Festival on the horizon.

(Photo : WTFpublicity)

"We started just before quarantine hit early in 2020, and played a show only weeks before everything shut down that February and March - we've been itching to get out ever since. Getting back out there, making new friends and even playing So What?! Music Festival as a new band is super exciting for us. We can't wait to finally show the world what we've been working on," the band said.

Counting such influences as Wipers, Garbage, and Husker Dü, Stud Count is a new Philadelphia-based band featuring familiar faces. The fresh endeavor is composed of current/former members of Drill Sergeant, The Dividing Line, Academy Order, Fluoride, Leashes, and Fixation.

Combining an abrasive post-punk edge with a melodic undercurrent beneath it all, Stud Count features drummer Bret Hart, bassist Jake Beaver, vocalist Norelle Green, Max D'ambra and Matthew Green on guitars.

The group found its beginnings at the tail end of 2019, hanging out in a West Philly apartment. Founding member Matthew Green had written a demo's-worth of '77 style punk songs, seeking to combine the trademark hook-laden proto-punk sound of bands like Buzzcocks and The Undertones with the edge of modern hardcore.

Green and drummer Bret Hart had met earlier that year at a local gig while both of their bands at the time were touring steadily. After some concerted talk, Green and his wife Norelle took a week in the mountains to tighten up a handful of songs with Norelle on main vocals and Matthew on guitar.

Soon after, the band had their first practice, tracked their two song Demonstration (2020), and planned their first performances. In January 2020, they were invited for a live interview and track premiere on Philadelphia's Museum of Punk Radio Show and soon after booked their demo release show alongside Webbed Wing, Gel and Luxe.

Still riding the high of the gig, the group began to demo songs for a full LP. Unsure of when they'd be able to perform again when the pandemic hit, Matthew and Norelle took to the mountains again to distance track songs for the Pleasure Center Promo (2020, released on tape by Convulse) and tighten demos for a full LP. Later that autumn, the band booked studio time with Zach Miller (Gel, Sick Shit, Fluoride, Academy Order), finishing up that December.

Still unsure of if or when shows would come back, they sat on the record until the summer of 2021 until eventually finding their home on Florida's Smartpunk Records. With the world opened up and their debut self-titled LP on the way out, Stud Count stands to have a busy 2022.