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Rounding 3rd coming home for one more show
In the seven years it was together, Rounding 3rd was appreciated by its fans for its energy. The band merged pop songwriting with punk-rock speed and aggressiveness and passionate lyrics.
Industry types noticed, too: The trio earned spots on the Warped Tour in 2006, and its final album, “To Find Brittle Sense,” drew interest from record labels.
But the band broke up a couple of years ago at the height of its popularity, leaving fans in the lurch and hoping for a reunion.
The wait is over. Rounding 3rd — singer/guitarist Daniel VanKirk, bassist Steve Wishnewski and drummer Rusty Shuttleworth — will get together for one show only Saturday night at Cedars in Youngstown.
The Vindicator interviewed Wishnewski, who shed light on Rounding 3rd’s past, present and future.
Q. When did Rounding 3rd break up and why?
A. We made the official announcement of the band parting ways on March 13, 2007. Daniel had an opportunity that would enable him to move to Los Angeles and pursue some other ventures there. After many months of thought, he decided to take it. There really wasn’t any friction between us. It wasn’t your typical breakup where the band members have had an argument or disliked each other. It was just an opportunity for someone in the band to take, and we all had to try to understand that. Yes, we all had to deal with the emotions and realization that, after nearly seven years together, we weren’t going to be doing this together anymore. And it was especially difficult to deal with the timing of the whole thing. In the six months prior to the breakup, we had played the Vans Warped Tour, recorded and released an album, and had been drawing a lot of attention from producers. But we’ve all remained friends throughout the last two years, and there are no hard feelings about it whatsoever.
Q. What have you and the other members been doing since the breakup?
A. Dan moved out to LA for a while but has now returned to the area. He and Rusty are currently working on a new project together. Rusty remained in the area over the last two years. I still live here in the area. I played bass for Wesker over the last year and a half (Wesker is currently on hiatus until further notice). I am currently scheduled to do some remix work for other bands and have begun writing and producing tracks for my next music project. And I have a few other endeavors that I’m currently negotiating, so I can’t really speak on them at this point.
Q. How does it feel to be getting back together, even if only for a night?
A. It’s been great. I’ve really enjoyed getting back together with the other guys and playing our songs again. Things settled in naturally and easily during the rehearsals, and it didn’t take us long to get tight with each other again. The whole idea is to play one last show for the fans and just to have fun with it, and that’s the approach we’ve taken. It’s been a lot of fun so far. We all get along just like we always have, and we still have a great chemistry with each other musically.
Q. Is there any chance of future shows together?
A. I won’t say that we’ll never do it again, as I can’t predict what the future holds. But I will say that currently we do not plan on doing it again other than this one time. We all have other projects that we’re involved with, and this show is truly for the fans. After two years of being broken up, there still isn’t a week that goes by where one of us doesn’t get asked about Rounding 3rd playing again. We really want to get the point across that we are doing this for the fans. They are the reason that all of this has ever even been possible. Without the support of a solid fan base, you’re not going to get very far, and ours are still out there, still listening to the albums, still interested in us. We never had that final show when we broke up, so this is our way of saying thanks and giving the fans that one last chance to rock out with us.
if you go
Who: Rounding 3rd with The Kellys
When: 10 p.m. Saturday
Where: Cedars, 23 N. Hazel St., Youngstown
Admission: $6 (18 and older)