Top Music Artist: August 2008

Boys Like Girls was formed in the final months of 2005, when singer/guitarist Martin Johnson — formerly of the Massachusetts act The Drive — wrote a handful of songs he wanted to record. He recruited bassist Bryan Donahue and drummer John Keefe, both of whom had been in bands of different setups with the frontman, most notably in the pop punk band Lancaster and less notably the short-lived local act The Bends. Keefe brought along lead guitarist Paul DiGiovanni, whom he had recorded a brief demo with, to complete the line-up. Oddly enough, the two learned that they were distant cousins several months later.[1][2] The quartet soon opened a PureVolume account to showcase their music, and uploaded a rough demo of "The Great Escape" and an acoustic rendition of "Thunder". By the end of the year, the group had landed the #1 spot on the website's Top Unsigned Artists chart.

The buzz around the band was overheard by both booking agent Matt Galle and record producer Matt Squire, who contacted the band about a future collaboration. With their support, Boys Like Girls embarked on their first nationwide tour with A Thorn for Every Heart, Hit the Lights and Keating in late February of 2006. Following the month-long venture, the group immediately entered the recording studio with Squire to record their debut album for Columbia Records/Red Ink. During their time in the studio Squire introduced the band to another of his alumni, Cute Is What We Aim For, who offered Boys Like Girls an opening slot on their upcoming headlining tour. Once the album was recorded, Boys Like Girls played back-to-back tours, including the Cute Is What We Aim For tour in June, as well as a two week stint with Butch Walker in late July.

"The Great Escape" Live

"Hero heroine" Live

Boys Like Girls is the eponymous debut album from Boys Like Girls. It was released on August 22 2006 through Columbia Records/Red Ink. The album's lead single is "Hero/Heroine", with the music video directed by Mark Serao and Chris Vaglio of Grey Sky Films. In January 2007, the band filmed a video for the second single, "The Great Escape", in Los Angeles, California, which was released in late February 2007.

As of August 11, 2007 the album has sold 200,000 copies.[citation needed]

Track listing

1. "The Great Escape" (Martin Johnson, Sam Hollander, Dave Katz) – 3:28
2. "Five Minutes to Midnight" (Johnson, Hollander, Katz) – 3:47
3. "Hero/Heroine" (Johnson) – 3:52
4. "On Top of the World" (Johnson) – 3:36
5. "Thunder" (Johnson, Paul DiGiovanni) – 3:56
6. "Me, You and My Medication" (Johnson, Bleu) – 4:28
7. "Up Against the Wall" (Johnson, Hollander, Katz) – 3:39
8. "Dance Hall Drug" (Johnson) – 3:29
9. "Learning to Fall" (Johnson, Hollander, Katz) – 3:04
10. "Heels over Head" (Johnson) – 3:08
11. "Broken Man" (Johnson) – 3:31
12. "Holiday" (Johnson) – 5:08