Powerspace

Powerspace guitarist Tom Schleiter and bassist Daniel McMahon met in high school in suburban Chicago, but they had to move all the way to Ohio to make their emo-fueled pop-punk quartet happen. On campus at Ohio's Miami University, Schleiter and McMahon hooked up with drummer Kevin Kane, whom Schleiter had been playing with in another band. After trying out several lead singers, they turned once again to the source of all inspiration -- high school -- and recruited singer Alec Cyganowski. Driving pop, earnest-yet-aggro emoting and very-long-song-titling ensued, so naturally, Fueled by Ramen came a-callin'. The label won the band in the bidding war that went down after their self-released EP (2006's Houston, We Have a Party) and hyper live shows started to get Powerspace some serious attention. Like sensible young rock stars, the boys quit school, moved back to Chicago and recorded their full-length debut, The Kicks of Passion, released on Fueled by Ramen in 2007.