Those familiar with Mae's Destination: Beautiful know of the song "Skyline Drive", which was actually a song originally done by Dave Elkins' previous band, Sky's the Limit (whose album has now been released). Head to the replies to stream the song and read from Elkins on how "Skyline Drive" came to be.

What is now a bonus track on Anberlin's 2007 album Cities and opener on their b-sides album Lost Songs, "The Haunting" was originally written by frontman Stephen Christian back before Anberlin's existence. Head to the replies to find out how "The Haunting" came to be and which song Christian would have taken off Cities in order to include it.

This week, our "Before They Were Stars" feature brings you into the past of current States and ex-Lydia vocalist Mindy White. Before lending her pipes to these two bands, she stumbled upon Garageband and made a few demos of her own. Head to the replies to hear "Distant Heart" and read the history behind it.

We finally have another Before They Were Stars feature after a long break. This week is from piano rock kings Seabird. Frontman Adam Morgan discusses being young and writing music for the sake of creating it before actually making it was a realistic thought. Head to the replies to hear one of the first songs he ever recorded and his story behind it.

Before Valencia was Valencia, they were Attracted to Miss, The Capgun Heroes and Honest Engine. In this installment of our Before They Were Stars feature, George of Valencia takes us through a pre-band history lesson. Pictures and song streams are delightfully included. You can see and hear all of this in the replies.

Streaming in entirety at the Humble Beginnings AP.net Profile is the Overanalyzing the Manifestations of the Unconscious EP (released by Eyeball Records in 1998). These snotty New Jersey pop-punks included a blossoming rockstar named Gabe Saporta, and it's here that you can hear what it sounded like at step one. Head to the replies for commentary from Eyeball owner Alex Saavedra.

Just this week, Andy Hull announced The Big Bad Devil and The Great Good God, the third and final installment to his Right Away, Great Captain! project. To celebrate, this week's Before They Were Stars features a song off an unreleased Right Away, Great Captain! record titled Twelve Months Is A Waste Of...[read more]

We are now collecting submissions for our Before They Were Stars Feature. If your band has material that has never been heard, is incredibly old or extremely rare, we'd like to hear and potentially feature it. But please keep in mind - we're looking for relatively well-known bands. If you think you've got something, feel free to send it to julia.conny@absolutepunk.net.

Before Boys Like Girls became pop wonder-stars, Martin Johnson was singing in a band called The Drive. They were your typical high school pop-punk band, booking DIY summer tours and dreaming big. Head to replies and you can hear "Autumn Calling" released on the band's Summer 2003 U.S. tour sampler.

This week's Before They Were Stars feature takes a look at Bayside frontman Anthony Raneri. Before his mouth was shooting blanks and portraits were bruised just like you, he was a 16-year-old guitarist in a band called The Saints of 35th Street. Check out the song "K.Y.G." in the replies along with Ant's reflection of his time in the band. Oh how different things could have been...

When Spitalfield hung up their coats in 2007, they left us with the early days collectible, Everything 1998-2002. Not on that album was "Capture The Moment", a song that was originally released as the title track of the band's very first EP. Mark Rose was kind enough to give us the song for you reminiscent folk; go ahead and stream it in the replies. Ok, and yes, we kind of miss Spitalfield.

This week's installment of Before They Were Stars features Dan Hunter, mastermind of PlayRadioPlay! (now Analog Rebellion). Before his solo career, Hunter was the bassist in post-hardcore band Our First Fall along with Lee Duck and Brack Cantrell of Sky Eats Airplane. Check the replies to...[read more]

This week's Before They Were Stars feature takes a look at the one and only Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy fame. Before the clothing label, before the nude pictures, before the global domination, Pete Wentz sang in Arma Angelus. Check out the song "Misanthrope" in the replies along with Pete's reflection of his time in the band. Oh how different things could have been...

Starting now, we'll be offering tiny snippets into the past of your favorite bands and artists. Never heard, incredibly rare or just really freakin' old, here is the first installment of the Before They Were Stars feature: "Half of It" by Manchester Orchestra. Stream the song in the replies and then tell us what you think.