Count Your Blessings

By Jenine Clancy
Count Your Blessings is at the “Top of the Naughty List...,” and no, not THAT naughty list that Santa Claus puts young boys and girls on, but rather the name of the pop-punk band’s new Christmas Album. Labeled a “transitional album” from the band, “Naughty List” was a fun record to make in between touring for their debut album “Like Gum in Your Hair” and recording their second full-length. Hailing from Good Charlotte’s hometown of Waldorff Maryland, this five-piece group of guys who shared a passion for music (and like most bands origins,) decided to start a band.
The band that describes themselves as “an abrasive, honest and muscular approach to the rock/pop genre,” have a pop-punk sound that is catchy enough to make any young kid mosh and dance at the same time. CYB’S fans are constantly rewarded with the bands tenacity and amazing work ethic. Their goal is to constantly prove they are not like every other band, and to give their fans something different. That altruistic philosophy gave way to “Top of the Naughty List. Lead singer Michael Miller explained the band’s motivation: “We didn't think anyone understood how much we love music by listening to the first CYB CD. It was pretty much... just an unbelievable lie. We thought a good holiday album would be a nice way to let people know we're playing music because it's fun, not because it's what everyone else does. Not many play Christmas songs right?” Miller screams on classic Christmas songs like “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree”and “Two Front Teeth.” In “Two Front Teeth,” the lyrics are changed a bit, modernizing the tune: “back in ’95 we didn’t have Facebook, 9-years-old didn’t have friends old enough to cook.” Guitarist Antonio Ricci even said that “Teeth” was their favorite song to record because they got a chance to reminisce about their childhoods. After the holiday season wears down, CYB plans to promote their second full-length on Stand-by Records, which currently doesn’t have a title. They plan to give it a name once the album is complete and gave an analogy about the thought process: “When you are writing an album it's like creating your offspring. Which makes us about 8 months pregnant and we haven't got a name picked out yet. We're waiting ‘til birth to know the sex.” Once the name is given, everything will come full circle to a band who wrote on their Facebook status:
“ Kenny and Miller here! Jammin our first bands cd (10 years ago!) and we're
glad we've been lucky enough to still be here creating music! We will not let
you down on this album. NO WAY NO HOW!” It’s nice to know that some bands count their blessings. Count Your Blessings are playing at Freehold VFW in Freehold, NJ on December 17th and at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia, PA on December 18th.