Suburban Hostage is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band from Denver, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

 formed in 2004. The current lineup consists of Ross Swirling (vocals), Felipe Patino (guitar), Bret Ahroon (bass guitar, back-up vocals), Cody Bennett (guitar, back-up vocals), and Ruben Patino (drums). The band is currently recording with Ridiculous Records an independent

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 punk rock record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 based in Denver. Suburban Hostage has released one studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

.

History

In 1998, two young brothers named Felipe and Ruben moved to Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

 from their native Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 to pursue their musical dreams in The United States. Before leaving Peru, Ruben had been playing in a band named Futuro Incierto, well known throughout Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

 for their smooth hard-core punk rock music. Early in 2004 the brothers met a young guitarist named T.J. Petty and formed a hardcore

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band named Suburban Hostage.
The band began playing small shows Denver bars

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

 and clubs and gaining some local notoriety. In 2005, Ross Swirling left the band Action Shot where he played Alto Sax to become the lead singer of Suburban Hostage. At the same time, Felipe and Ruben asked a young bass guitar

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

 player by the name of Bret Ahroon to joint the band. He agreed, and the line-up was set to record the bands first studio album.

In 2006, the band began work on A Sorry State, its first studio album. It was recorded entirely in a home-made studio

Studio

A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...

 located in the basement of Ruben's house. Knowing the album needed some "fine touches" put on it before release, Bret convinced the band to have the album mixed and mastered at The Blasting Room, a famous punk rock recording studio located in Fort Collins, Colorado and owned by Descendents

Descendents

The Descendents are an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California. As of 2011, they have released six studio albums, three live albums, three compilation albums and three EPs. The Descendents broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different musicians...

 drummer, Bill Stevenson.

In 2008, Felipe took a break from the band and from Denver for school related reasons. This left Suburban Hostage without a lead guitarist at almost the same time a tour was booked in support of A Sorry State. The band was rescued by highly talented Berklee grad and guitar teacher, Jeff Solohub. It was understood that he would only be filling in for Felipe while the band was on tour. During the summer of 2008 Suburban Hostage played a slew of shows around Colorado and the West Coast with Jeff in the lineup and it was decided that, when Felipe returned, he would be a permanent member. Shortly after the decision to add Jeff to the band, T.J. left to start a new band called “The Sunday Strippers.”

A Growing Reputation

Suburban Hostage dove head first into the Denver punk rock scene before ever recording a proper album, relying entirely on their stunning live show, along with t-shirt and ticket sales, to keep growing as a band. Their unique hard-core punk rock style and inviting stage presence caught the attention of local promoters and fans alike. In a short amount of time, they started sharing stages around Denver with local favorites like Red Stinger, Frontside Five, and Boldtype as well as national touring acts such as; A Wilhelm Scream

A Wilhelm Scream

A Wilhelm Scream is a melodic hardcore band from New Bedford, Massachusetts. Many people have referenced Strung Out, Hot Water Music, Propagandhi, and Strike Anywhere as the band's similar artists. Their name is a reference to the Wilhelm Scream, a famous stock sound effect which mainly is used in...

, The Unseen, Ignite, Teenage Bottlerocket

Teenage Bottlerocket

Teenage Bottlerocket is a punk rock band formed in Laramie, Wyoming in 2001.The band was formed by twin brothers Ray and Brandon Carlisle, following the dissolution of their previous band, Homeless Wonders, in 2000...

, Agent Orange

Agent Orange

Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...

 and Only Crime

Only Crime

Only Crime is a melodic hardcore group formed by Good Riddance singer Russ Rankin and Bane guitarist Aaron Dalbecin 2003. The band plays melodic but hard-hitting punk rock that borrows heavily from early-1980s hardcore bands such as Black Flag.-History:...

. The band has continued working on a lot of new music while songs from their upcoming EP Unified Theory of Critical Thinking can be heard in their live sets.

A Sorry State (2006)

A Sorry State was recorded over the course of 2006 and was tracked in the basement of drummer Ruben Patino's house. The album was mixed and mastered by Andrew Berlin at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins Colorado. A Sorry State became available in stores and the I-Tunes Music Store the same month. Current distribution of this album is being handled by Ridiculous Records.

Unified Theory of Critical Thinking (2009)

Recording began on a follow up to A Sorry State in early 2009 at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado where Felipe Patino found work upon returning from school in Florida. The EP titled; “Unified Theory of Critical Thinking” is the first to feature the bands current lineup on a recorded album. Felipe Patino tracked and mixed the new EP which the band then brought to Jason Livermore for mastering. Unified Theory of Critical Thinking has been set for a September, 2009 release date and is slated to be the first release from Ridiculous Records.

Ridiculous Records

After years of being free of major record labels and independent record labels alike, Ross Swirling, singer for Suburban Hostage, made a decision to start his own label. Ridiculous Records, an LLC, was set up initially to release the forthcoming Suburban Hostage EP and hopes to help bolster the Denver music scene by working with other local bands and artists.

There has been favorable reaction from musicians and fans alike to the news of a new record label in Denver. Ross is following in the footsteps of other musicians turned label owners such as Fat Mike from Fat Wreck Chords

Fat Wreck Chords

Fat Wreck Chords is a San Francisco, California based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by Fat Mike and his ex-wife, Erin, in 1990....

, Joe Sib and Bill Armstrong

Bill Armstrong

William Harold Armstrong is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played in one NHL game for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1990–91 NHL season and spent the rest of his professional career in the AHL and IHL. Armstrong played collegiately at Western Michigan University from...

 from Side One Dummy Records, and Mike Park

Mike Park

Mike Park is a Korean American musician and progressive activist. His musical ventures include Skankin' Pickle for whom he both played the saxophone and sang, The Chinkees, The Bruce Lee Band, and most recently an acoustic solo project under his own name...

 from Asian Man Records

Asian Man Records

Asian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...

 who have successfully started their own labels and supported the Punk Rock community by releasing quality albums from bands they enjoy.

Influences

Suburban Hostage is strongly influenced by the music of Propagandhi

Propagandhi

Propagandhi is a Canadian punk band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba....

, NOFX

NOFX

NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...

, Minor Threat

Minor Threat

Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...

 and Bad Religion

Bad Religion

Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...

.

Current members

Ross Swirling - Vocals

Felipe Patino - Lead Guitar

Bret Ahroon - Bass Guitar, Back-up Vocals

Cody Bennett - Guitar, Back-up Vocals

Ruben Patino - Drums

Discography

Sorry State (2007)

Unified Theory of Critical Thinking (EP) (September, 2009)