I enjoyed the video a lot.
My one criticism would be that the drums could be tighter, but I am an awful drummer myself so have no real room to talk here. Actually a good live performance
A strong early Brand New vibe in the song with a bit of Blink thrown in. Good tune
I'm actually the guy with the goofy face in the thumbnail of the video. This was my band way back in high school, I would take it down, but there is some issues with the login information. Now it just floats here in digital purgatory.
This was written during a time where skateboards and Blink 182 was my religion. There is a much cleaner version I made back on this current page. If anything, it makes it even clearer as to how badly I was ripping off my childhood idols.
Not a big deal aping your idols. I think everyone does it until they become comfortable enough with their craft to really start searching for their own voice, creatively. My earliest stuff from like 10 yrs ago was pretty much straight up folk, derivative as hell. Over the years though I begin incorporating a lot more jazz and rock influences in my writing, which has helped me break out of that mold. Lately though, I have been returning to my early roots to write more simple tunes that are more direct and straightforward, without monkeying around with minor 6s and diminished chords