We the Kings

We the Kings are an unapologetically commercial pop-punk band from Bradenton, FL, a small town on the west coast of the state notable primarily for being the home of Tropicana orange juice. Friends since childhood (the band name refers to the name of their junior high mascot), the foursome -- singer and guitarist Travis Clark, guitarist Hunter Thomsen, his bassist brother Drew Thomsen, and drummer Danny Duncan -- formed the band while still attending high school. In 2007, under the guidance of manager Bret Disend, the still-teenage quartet placed a number of tracks on the social-networking site Purevolume to build their online buzz as an unsigned band while pursuing a deal with EMI's revived faux-indie imprint S-Curve Records (Joss Stone, Fountains of Wayne, the Baha Men). Their self-titled debut album was produced by Sam Hollander and mixed by Lou Giordano, who had each done the same for then-current chart favorites Gym Class Heroes and the Plain White T's, respectively.