Dan Campbell (singer)

Daniel Jason "Soupy" Campbell[1] (born January 17, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. He is best known as the lead vocalist and songwriter for American pop punk band The Wonder Years, as well as the creator of folk punk project Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties.

Dan Campbell
Campbell performing with The Wonder Years at Warped Tour 2013 in Mesa, Arizona
Background information
Also known asSoupy, Aaron West
Born (1986-01-17) January 17, 1986
Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • guitarist
  • producer
Years active2005–present
Labels

History

The Wonder Years (2005–present)
Main article: The Wonder Years (band)

Campbell was originally part of a band called The Premier, which he "thought had a lot of potential," but "kind of couldn't get a foothold on anything," and the members chose to break up and attend college.[2] The Wonder Years were supposed to be "just a fun thing to do on the side when we were bored."[2]

The band signed to No Sleep Records in 2007 and released their first full-length studio album, Get Stoked on It!, later that year. Campbell has largely disavowed the album, calling it an "unmitigated disaster."[3] Sophomore effort The Upsides (2010), was released to critical acclaim, and propelled the band to the forefront of the pop punk scene.[4]

Shortly after the release of The Upsides, the band signed to Hopeless Records, and released follow-up album Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing the next year. The Upsides, Suburbia, and The Greatest Generation (2013) together make up a trilogy of albums surrounding Campbell's struggles with fear, loneliness, and feeling lost.[5]

Campbell suffered writer's block following the release of The Greatest Generation, and decided that he didn't "want to write about the suburban American experience anymore."[6] Instead, the next Wonder Years album, No Closer to Heaven (2015), was a concept album surrounding the loss of a loved one.[7] The band's follow-up album, Sister Cities (2018), similarly follows a thematic link of unity.[8] Their most recent release, The Hum Goes On Forever (2022) is a stunning, beautiful, and honest reflection on parenthood and touches on themes from previous albums as well.[9]

Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties (2014–present)
Main article: Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties

In 2013, Campbell created an acoustic side project, Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties, in an attempt to hone his guitar abilities.[10] The project was originally intended to be a series of fictional vignettes, but he settled on writing "a whole album about one guy."[11] Campbell cited the Mountain Goats album All Hail West Texas and the Weakerthans album Reunion Tour as influences, speaking to how they created such real, whole characters that I found myself invested in their lives and their stories."[12]

The project's first album, We Don't Have Each Other, was released on July 8, 2014 via Hopeless to largely positive reviews.[13] The next year, Aaron West appeared as part of the Acoustic Basement segment of Warped Tour.[14] A follow-up EP, Bittersweet, was released May 20, 2016,[15] and the non-album single "Orchard Park" was released on October 5, 2017.[16] Most recently, the project's sophomore LP, Routine Maintenance was released May 10, 2019.[17]

Other ventures

Campbell helped produce British pop punk band Trash Boat's debut album, Nothing I Write You Can Change What You've Been Through (2016), and contributed a vocal feature to the track "Strangers".[18]

In 2018, Campbell and Ace Enders of The Early November announced Clear Eyes Fanzine, a "musical fanzine" dedicated to the TV show Friday Night Lights.[19] Their first EP, Season One, Episodes 1-6 (2019) featured three songs by Campbell and three by Enders.[20]

Campbell was one artist selected for ReRed (2019), a cover album of Taylor Swift's 2012 LP Red. Campbell sang "All Too Well" on the Something Merry compilation.[21]

On February 12, 2021, Campbell released his debut solo single, "When I Face Into the Wind."[22]

Musical style

Much of Campbell's work references religion, specifically the Catholic Church. He attended Catholic school as a child, but was born to non-religious parents, describing his father as a "full-board atheist" and his mother as "a non-practicing Catholic who doesn't think about it much and doesn't go to church."[23] Campbell is critical of organized religion, saying in a 2011 interview with Alternative Press, "To me, there is no flaw in believing in God. If you want to believe in God, that's fine. Where I find a flaw is in being a part of this church that's basing itself off this convoluted text where you can't know everything, and it can't be 100 percent."[24]

Personal life

Campbell graduated from the Temple University College of Education in 2011, and worked with K-12 students at Tanner G. Duckrey School and Joseph C. Ferguson School during his college career.[25]

Campbell and his wife Alison have two children together, Wyatt James Campbell, born April 9, 2019, and Jack August Campbell, born October 4, 2021.[26]

Discography

References
  1. Reid, Sean. "Interview: The Wonder Years".
  2. Willshick, Aaron (30 July 2011). "Interview with The Wonder Years vocalist Dan "Soupy" Campbell". V13. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  3. Pearlman, Mischa (26 April 2018). "Rank Your Records: Dan "Soupy" Campbell Rates The Wonder Years' Five Albums". Noisey. VICE. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  4. Rogers, Jack (5 January 2021). "A History of the Wonder Year's 'The Upsides' & 'Surburbia...', As Told By Vocalist Dan Campbell". Rock Sound. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  5. Biddulph, Andy (September 2015). Bird, Ryan (ed.). "What Are You So Scared Of?". Rock Sound. London: Freeway Press Inc. (204). ISSN 1465-0185.
  6. Brodsky, Rachel (3 September 2015). "The Wonder Years Resurrect an Interrupted Life on 'Thanks For the Ride'". Spin. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  7. Sherman, Maria (August 26, 2015). "35 Most Anticipated Fall 2015 Albums: The Wonder Years, 'No Closer to Heaven'". Fuse.tv. Archived from the original on August 26, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  8. Dedman, Remfry (6 April 2018). "The Wonder Years – Sister Cities: Exclusive Album Stream". The Independent. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  9. "The Hum Goes on Forever".
  10. Willis-Abdurraqib, Hanif (7 March 2017). "The Sad, Beautiful Story of Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties". MTV. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  11. Pearlman, Mischa (23 September 2019). "An Intimate Portrait Of Aaron West Courtesy Of His Creator, The Wonder Years' Dan Campbell". Kerrang!. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  12. "The Wonder Years' Dan Campbell Announces Side-Project". Rock Sound. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  13. Manley, Brendan (4 July 2014). "Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties - We Don't Have Each Other". Alternative Press. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  14. "Acoustic Basement performers announced for Warped Tour 2015". Alternative Press. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  15. Ralph, Caitlyn (25 March 2016). "Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties stream new song, announce new EP". Alternative Press. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  16. "Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties Share New Song "Orchard Park"". Substream Magazine. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  17. Sacher, Andrew (18 March 2019). "Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties announce new album & tour". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  18. Stam, Janneke (27 May 2016). "The Wonder Years' Dan Campbell: "I Helped Push Trash Boat Write the Best Record They Could Write"". Rock Sound. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  19. Casteel, Beth (19 December 2018). "Dan Campbell, Ace Enders Launch Project Inspired by Classic TV Show". Alternative Press. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  20. "The Wonder Years And The Early November Men Debut Friday Night Lights-Themed Side-Project". Kerrang!. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  21. Greenwood, Koltan (13 December 2019). "Taylor Swift 'Red' comp for equal justice has Dan Campbell (TWY), more". Alternative Press. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  22. White, Logan (February 12, 2021). "Dan Campbell (The Wonder Years, Aaron West) Release Solo Song, "When I Face Into The Wind"". Substream Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  23. Pearlman, Mischa (30 September 2015). "The Wonder Years' Dan Campbell is a changed man". Louder. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  24. Manley, Brendan (28 July 2011). "Taking Back Sunday School: The Wonder Years' Dan "Soupy" Campbell Clarifies His Thoughts on Religion". Alternative Press. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  25. Bixby, Meaghan (28 September 2016). "Alumnus rocks the stage". Temple Now. Temple University. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  26. Bradley, Alex (7 May 2019). "Dan 'Soupy' Campbell is embarking on a massive year: "I always saw myself as a father"". Upset Magazine. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
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