Second Player Score is a #nerdpunk band out of Vancouver, WA producing new pop punk with a '90s/'00s vibe. Being described as having a sound that is truly unique, yet oddly familiar, Second Player Score fans know their music as being incredibly catchy and having more hooks than a fisherman's tackle box. Second Player Score has become known for producing concept albums telling stories through the music, as well as adding multiple layers of creativity including references to previous albums, easter eggs from other Second Player Score projects, additional companion pieces, and nerdy nuances to keep the listeners discovering new aspects to the music long after the first listen. FFO: The Offspring, Green Day, Blink-182, Bad Religion, Millencolin, MxPx
Now they’re back with a third release, titled Glorified, that tells the story of a woman who, raised to be an emotionless soldier, ends up fleeing her oppressive hometown and reluctantly helping people as she traverses a post-apocalyptic wasteland in search of answers about her past. The album’s twelve songs are structured like episodes in the first season of a television series, and in fact, the band has written and produced an accompanying comic book (in Japanese manga style) that contains the story of the album’s first track, “Eye of the Needle.”
The band has also had success in licensing their music, with several of their songs having been used by Access Hollywood, the MLB Network, and others. They have also garnered consistent airplay from numerous Internet radio stations, including Neue Regel, Code Zero, EGH, and Boston Rock Radio.
Guitarist/singer Brian Tashima is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, where he won a Hoku award—Hawaii’s version of the Grammys—for Best Rock Album with a previous group. He is also the author of the Joel Suzuki series, an award-winning set of young adult sci-fi/fantasy novels about a world where music is magic.
Drummer/backing vocalist Kyle Gilbert has won several awards for his homebrewed beer at local competitions, and his recipe for “Head of Sin” Dark IRA—inspired by one of the songs on the aforementioned Nobody’s Hero—was produced on a limited basis by the Portland, OR-based brewery and hotel chain McMenamins, one of the top 50 largest craft breweries in the United States.
Bassist/backing vocalist Daniel Downs (also originally from Hawaii) is a skilled machinist and artisan who has extensive experience in constructing custom parts for cosplay costumes as well as merchandise booth displays.
Together, the three of them not only write and perform music that is reminiscent of ‘90s-era Green Day and Bad Religion, but they also enjoy other pop culture-related activities like attending comic conventions, watching movies, and playing video games. It’s because of all of this that Second Player Score (whose name is a reference from The Simpsons) has been branded as “#nerdpunk,” a label that they wear with pride.
