The Dangerous Summer

The melodic, catchy emo-pop band the Dangerous Summer formed in August 2006 in Ellicott City, MD. Guitarist Cody Payne moved back to town after a brief stint in Florida, recruiting three of his longtime high-school buddies to join his musical endeavors upon his return. Taking their name from the classic Ernest Hemingway novel and looking to groups like the Starting Line, Third Eye Blind, U2, and Name Taken for influence, the Dangerous Summer — which further included A.J. Perdomo (lead vocals, bass), Bryan Czap (guitar), and Tyler Minsberg (drums) — hit the studio that December to lay down their first tracks together. The resulting EP, There Is No Such Thing as Science, was self-released in January 2007 (limited to 1,000 copies), and the group supported it on the road whenever school would allow, hooking up on shows with likeminded bands the Ataris, Cartel, and Hit the Lights. The EP eventually made its way into the ears of California-based Hopeless Records courtesy of the band's hometown friends All Time Low. A deal with the label was subsequently inked that spring. High-school graduation followed for three-fourths of the Dangerous Summer before their next EP (and Hopeless debut), If You Could Only Keep Me Alive, appeared in August, which contained four songs from the previous Science EP and three new ones. The group's first full length, Reach for the Sun, was released on Hopeless in 2009, followed by the darker, more mature War Paint in 2011. Minsberg and Czap left the band after that album to be replaced by Ben Cato and Matt Kennedy respectively. The new line-up's first record together, Golden Record, was released in summer of 2013.