Specializing in polished and tuneful pop-punk, Pennsylvania's The Starting Line were formed when guitarist Matt Watts and singer/bassist Kenny Vasoli met online. Their demos got noticed by iconic emo and pop-punk label Drive-Thru Records, which released their debut album Say It Like You Mean It in 2002. They took on a harder-hitting sound for 2007's Direction which spawned three radio hits. In 2012 they celebrated their debut album's 10th anniversary by playing the entire disc on tour, and in 2015 they announced plans to break a long recording silence.