You, Me, and Everyone We Know is a rock band from Washington, D.C., fronted by singer-songwriter Ben Liebsch. They released their debut EP Party for the Grown and Sexy in 2006. Their second EP, So Young, So Insane, was
... You, Me, and Everyone We Know is a rock band from Washington, D.C., fronted by singer-songwriter Ben Liebsch. They released their debut EP Party for the Grown and Sexy in 2006. Their second EP, So Young, So Insane, was released on November 18, 2008.
The band currently consists of Ben Liebsch on vocals, Noel Milford on guitar, Rico Vigil on keyboard, and Aaron Stern on drums.
History:
The band formed in 2006 consisting of lead singer Ben Liebsch, guitarists Ryan Sherrill and Noel Milford, bassist Dan Lee, and drummer Paul Martinez. Before You, Me, and Everyone We Know, Martinez and Sherrill were in a well-known D.C. band. They chose their name after the 2005 film Me and You and Everyone We Know. That same year, You, Me, and Everyone We Know released their debut EP, Party for the Grown and Sexy. The album received mostly positive reviews, with The Daily Chorus calling the work "a beacon that proves there are still bands that really enjoy the music they create" and gave the album an 8/10. Die Shellsuit, Die! gave the album a 9/10 and called the band "one of the funniest, most cheery, cheekily upbeat, smile inducing, rock-out-tastic fun poppy melodic pop-punk bands out there right now. Ever."
After releasing their debut EP, You, Me, and Everyone We Know was noticed by Drive-Thru Records' co-founders Richard Reines and Stefanie Reines, who offered to manage the band. While supporting the record, the band toured with acts including I Am the Avalanche, Piebald, Phantom Planet, Four Year Strong, and Plane and Pilot. However, in 2007, Dan Lee was replaced by bassist Mike O'Rourke, formerly of The Alpha Couple.
You, Me, and Everyone We Know toured with The Color Fred, The Pink Spiders, and Paper Rival beginning October 26, 2007. Before the tour, they announced that work was beginning on recording a full-length album. In January 2008, Rico Vigil joined the band to play keyboard. Also in January, the band confirmed an upcoming full-length album. However, as of September 2008, no full-length album has been released. On January 28, 2008, the band re-released Party for the Grown and Sexy with two extra tracks, "Livin' th' Dream" and "Dirty Laundry," along with new artwork. The new version was made available online to download for free.
In late April 2008, You, Me, And Everyone We Know toured with Socratic and Say No More on the Drive-Thru Records Small Fries Tour. Then, in June, the band toured with Just Surrender, Every Avenue, and The Morning Light. After the tour, it was announced that drummer Aaron Stern, formerly of Matchbook Romance, had replaced Paul Martinez. Before Stern joined, You, Me, and Everyone We Know, without a drummer, was forced to play a few acoustic sets before finding guest drummers to fill in (including Steve Miller of Just Surrender). Shortly thereafter, the band played two dates of Warped Tour 2008, July 1 and 2. They began a tour with The Dear Hunter, Lydia, and Eye Alaska in August 2008. Before a week was up, the band's van ignited and much of their possessions were destroyed. However, their instruments survived and You, Me, and Everyone We Know continued the tour.
Prior to a tour with Sing it Loud and Take Cover (during September and October 2008), the band announced their upcoming, sophomore EP So Young, So Insane in September 2008. You, Me, and Everyone We Know stated that it will be released November 18, 2008, and that the band will work with Joshua Cain of Motion City Soundtrack and Jordan Schmidt to record the album. The band also announced a nationwide tour with Karate High School and I Set My Friends On Fire during November and December 2008. Before the tour started, Liebsch announced that O'Rourke and Sherrill left the band before recording So Young, So Insane.
They toured with Forgive Durden, and Anarbor from May 5, 2009 through June 6, 2009 playing 28 shows in 33 days covering 18 states, from Pennsyvania through Washington State. Joining the band was Augustine Rampolla, a young talented guitar player and singer/songwriter from Reisterstown, Maryland. Augustine, along with his older brother Matt Rampolla, originally performed in the band Eye Cry Fire, performing their original songs throughout the Baltimore area from early 2006 through the middle of 2008. The tour with Forgive Durden and Anarbor was filled with many high energy performances in which the members of YMEWK brought their high energy to bear on the performances of their touring partners, including Ben lending his vocal abilities on Forgive Durden's Razia's Shadow performance. The tour culminated in Seattle with a specatacular high energy performance by all three bands at the highly popular Chop Suey music venue.
The band continued to tour throughout the midwest and back toward their home state on the east coast with Asteria and Take Cover.
Style:
You, Me, and Everyone We Know's music falls under the rock and pop genres. The band's influences include Joe Cocker, Andrew W.K., and Schuylar Croom, lead vocalist of the band He Is Legend. You, Me, and Everyone We Know is frequently compared to the band Say Anything, for various reasons, notably the similarity of Leibsch's voice to Max Bemis's, where both voices are very strange and idiosyncratic; the prominence of shouted gang vocals; the highly sexual content of the lyrics, unusual for rock music in the emo vein; and so on. They have also been compared to others such as The Format and Panic at the Disco. Of the band's lyrics and music, Liebsch has said, "A lot of the stuff is a mix of what sits in the back of your head," and, "Most of the songs are more cautionary tales then anything else. In the end we're trying to write exciting music that's catchy and throws you for a loop at the same time."
