48May

48May hasn't let their New Zealand heritage hold them back from creating a note-perfect recreation of the American pop-punk sound. The re-creation may have been a little too perfect, as the band ran into trouble with Bowling for Soup over similarities in their sounds. 48May was named after drummer Jarod Brown's address, 48 May Street, Hamilton, where the members first started jamming together in 2003. Brown had been lead singer of Mama Said, while his brother Shannon Brown had been bassist for Tadpole. Frontman Jon Austin and the guitarist known as Captain Hook knew each other from their time together at Hamilton Boys' High School and had been writing material together since then. While attending the 2003 Big Day Out festival, the four of them decided to quit their other projects and form 48May. An early boost in the form of a grant from New Zealand On Air helped them hook up with producer Greg Haver to record their first album, 2004's The Mad Love. Two singles off the album made it into the Top 20 of the local charts, but one of these songs -- "Leather and Tattoos" -- was removed from a re-release of the album after allegations it was too similar to Bowling for Soup's song "Punk Rock 101." In 2007 the band released their follow-up album, Streetlights and Shadows, with the help of Warner. ~ Jody Macgregor, All Music Guide