The Ataris – COMPLETE DEMOS: So Long, Astoria

The Ataris, these days, are kind of a nostalgia act. With some many line-up changes, on-stage tantrums and promises of new albums that never seem to actually appear, the band has lost a lot of it’s so-called cred.

Despite that, no one can deny the influence Kris Roe and The Ataris had on the pop-punk scene at the turn of the century. Blue Skies, Broken Hearts and End Is Forever are, by all accounts, pop-punk classics and The Ataris ended their rise with the release of 2003’s So Long, Astoria (Seriously, In This Diary was my junior high graduation song).

Now, a decade later, the band is offering a free download of a selection of demos from the album. A selection is probably the wrong work, its 54 songs – demos, unreleased attempts, half songs and more all culled from Kris Roe’s personal collection. Roe describes it best saying: 

We spent a lot of time fine tuning these songs before we finally went in and recorded the album with Lou Giordano. 
I guess we basically recorded “So Long, Astoria” twice. 
What you are listening to here is that first version of the album. Recorded live in the studio, very little or no overdubs, with the exception of vocals. 

The Ataris – Complete Demos: So Long Astoria

Download from Bandcamp.