To listen to and download all available tracks, use the player below. (You probably want to pause the player to the right first!) You can access a more complete catalog of tracks, including a lot of “vintage” tracks by clicking the “Become a Fan” link on the player or joining the SPR fan email list. If you are having trouble accessing the extra tracks, you can see a complete list here.

Chances are, if you’re reading this page, that The Self-Proclaimed Rockstars are somewhat new to you, so we’ve taken the liberty of trying to put together a sampling of what SPR’s music is all about. We write songs about our lives in suburban purgatory, and we write about the ambitions, disappointments, comforts and obstacles that we and our peers experience everyday.

You will notice that most of the tracks in the player are live tracks- Even though we’re now a five-piece, we were actually just a trio when we put out our first (and only) studio LP, “This is rock.” in 2008. At this moment (Spring 2010) we’re finally back in the studio and we’ll have an EP for you later in 2010. But, in the meantime we wanted to share with you some songs that are a little more current.

What you are listening to is the unedited sound board output from our March 13, 2010 show at The Bitter End in New York City, so bear with us when it comes to technical glitches and such. (James has a habit of kicking out other people’s guitar cables, for example.)

Whisky
We figured that Whisky was a good place to start…when we first wrote it, we probably should have guessed it would grow into SPR’s flagship song since…well…who doesn’t want to shoot Whisky on stage? (The pauses that you hear in the track are exactly that, in case you were wondering. See here for some video evidence.) In this version, each of us trades a bit of a solo at the end, so the song makes for a perfect finale. We really do love this song, especially since the concept of the tag line: “I just took a bullet, now I’m gonna take a shot” is a concept we all identify with and really embodies what SPR is all about. We’ve also included the studio version of the song at the bottom of the playlist- it’s not as much fun, but it’s a bit more, um, rehearsed.

Suburban Kingpin
Second up on the list is Suburban Kingpin, which is probably our favorite of the new songs. It’s super fun to perform, and it really captures our frustration in seeing people that we all grew up with take the “easy” route and not live up to their full potential. (Again, see here for the related video.)

No Faith
Moving on from there we have No Faith, which is our song that says “hey - thanks, but no thanks” to the lives most folks end up with where we’re from. (We even have some cool video, with some former band members even, here)

Bad Romance
Like we try to convey in our bio, SPR takes pride in not taking ourselves too seriously. Part of what we’ve learned playing in dive bars over the years is that wacky covers are a big win for everyone, band and audience alike. We’ve tried Material Girl, Gangstas Paradise…even the Fresh Prince theme. So our latest cover, Bad Romance, was the next logical tune for us to tackle. (Trust us, it’s even better with the visual.)

Hollywood (Anne’s Song)
The last two live tracks are songs that mean a lot to Mick and Johnny, respectively. The first one, Hollywood, is another holdover from the studio album, and it’s the only song where Mick takes over on lead vocals (and harmonica). In Hollywood, Mick tells a very Capra-esque tale of being trapped in his hometown and the very sad consequences for him and for someone he cared for. Like a lot of the songs, Hollywood has evolved a lot since it first came to life in the studio, and we’ve included both versions here.

Haymaker
Haymaker, on the other hand, is very new and still a work in progress, in fact. In case you were wondering, a Haymaker is a type of powerful punch. It has the advantage of being particularly likely to land a knockout blow, but it leaves the puncher vulnerable in the event that the other guy doesn’t go down. This concept represents the theme of the song, since SPR is trying their best to gear up and make the biggest impact that we can on the music scene.

If you’ve followed us for a while, you know that SPR has been through a lot in terms of band members, musical styles, names, girlfriends, hairstyles, you name it. As a token of appreciation to those who have stuck by us (and also those who are curious enough to take a look back in time!), we put a couple more current live tracks and are working on putting up material from our 2009 live album and also our 2008 studio album “This is Rock.” These tracks are available for download for people who are on the SPR fan email list. (You can join by simply clicking the “Become a Fan” link on the player as well.) If you are having trouble, you can see a complete list of tracks here.

Thanks for reading this far- our music means a lot to us, and we hope it will mean something to you too.

Love,
The Self-Proclaimed Rockstars