| Founded by vocalist/guitarist Daniel Hornell, self-described drum nerd Alex Heibein and inventive bassist Brad Dodge, The Goodbye Summer are an emo powerhouse who deliver a catalog of pop-punk love letters and catchy mosh pit anthems for any underground scene. Fans of Blink 182, Brand New, and Rise Against.
Formerly of Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, Hornell's love of music came fast and furious from a young age from the moment he picked up an electric guitar at the age of 12. He's been the driving force of bands and musical projects across Atlantic Canada ranging from pop punk, rap, techno and screamo. But in 2020 Hornell decided that it was time to cement a path that was true to his roots.
"When I first landed in Nova Scotia back in 2011, it was all about DJ, techno and rap. I was doing that for artists and rappers in the area and eventually did a bit of my own. But it just wasn't my vibe," he recalled. "It came to the point where it was like, OK, I've been writing songs for 15 years. I've got all these songs and they all had this leaving home, crying about girls vibe. I'm going to package this. I'm going to make this my band."
Recruiting London, Ontario native Alex Heibein and former session-mate Brad Dodge, Hornell carved out the bones of what would become the debut LP of The Goodbye Summer, a concept record of sorts reflecting the emotional highs and lows that came from leaving his home of Newfoundland a decade prior.
"We made The Goodbye Summer, which is all about the summer I left home from Newfoundland and the emotions in that. That longing of wanting to be back home. And it had a lot of emo vibes and a real good source of lyrics for the album. and for the band. I've got a fountain of this. There's going to be more longing for home songs."
During the winter of 2022-2023 Hornell wrote what would become their newest and most aggressive release "Hockey Skate Punk EP" which showed a darker and more rambunctious side of the band.
"The name Hockey Skate Punk is a play on the Skate Punk genre of southern California. Instead of Skateboards and sunshine we've got Hockey skates and snow banks. We're making fast, aggressive pop-punk and being Canadian, the title just felt right."
While the EP was written over the course of a weekend, the recording process took almost 6 months due to scheduling issues and other musical projects.
"I honestly think me and Alex tracked the drums in his garage in like November of 2022 and then got distracted by other projects were working on. It wasn't until spring of 2023 that we were like 'oh yeah! We need to finish that EP' so we did all the bass, guitar and vocals in the month immediately before releasing it. We coordinated the release date with the end of the NHL hockey season to really drive home the whole hockey thing. This EP was particularity cool as Brad sings harmonies on most songs where he never really did on previous releases."
Fast, desolate and full of heart, Hockey Skate Punk is proof that The Goodbye Summer are able to produce endless hits that compliment the introspective journey of their sad-boy-summer debut.
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