The Anniversary

The Anniversary brought its own blend of male-female vocals, jangly guitars, and synth keyboards to the emo scene after signing with Heroes and Villains in 1999. The five Kansans produced Designing a Nervous Breakdown, drawing comparisons to their label owners, the Get Up Kids, and another boy-girl snyth pop band, the Rentals. The band's willingness to experiment led to guitarists Josh Berwanger, Justin Roelofs, and keyboardist Adrienne Verhoeven all sharing singing leads and the release of a nine-minute epic on Vagrant's Another Year on the Streets. Borrowing from the theatrics of '80s rock bands, the Anniversary revels in adding glittery pyrotechnics to its live shows. The new millenniun sparked new music and a continuous rise among the music press, for the Anniversary were tops. They issued a split EP with Superdrag in fall 2001, later collaborating with The Pulsars' Dave Trumfio for their 2002 sophomore effort, Your Majesty. ~ Ron DePasquale