Page Avenue is the debut studio album by American rock band Story of the Year. Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann, who served as a talent scout for Maverick Records, began working on demos with the band, and eventually for their debut album. Sessions took place at Feldmann's home studio, Foxy Studios in Marina del Rey, California; the group tracked three songs before guitarist Greg Haupt left in November 2002. Guitarist Philip Sneed was drafted in and sessions recommenced in early 2003. The album's release through Maverick Records was pushed back several times to September 16, 2003.
The band toured as part of the Warped Tour before "Until the Day I Die" was released as a radio single. In early 2004, the band supported Linkin Park on their US arena tour; they subsequently worked with Linkin Park's Joe Hahn on a music video for "Anthem of Our Dying Day". The track was released as a single in April 2004, and the group embarked on a headlining US tour. A second stint on the Warped Tour followed, taking a month-long break, and headlining the Nintendo Fusion Tour. A music video was released for "Sidewalks"; the track was released as a single in October.
Critics drew comparisons between the group and Thrice, Finch, and the Used, the lattermost being another act that Feldmann had produced. Page Avenue peaked at number 51 on the Billboard 200. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in April 2004, then platinum in March 2021, serving as one of the first post-hardcore albums to achieve either status. "Until the Day I Die", "Anthem of Our Dying Day" and "Sidewalks" all charted on the Alternative Songs chart, with the first two reaching the chart's top 20. "Until the Day I Die" also reached the top 75 in the UK. An acoustic version of the album was released in October 2013, which coincided with an anniversary tour.
Background
Prior to the formation of Story of the Year, its members had played in local bands as early as 1995: Dan Marsala and Ryan Phillips in 67 North, Phillips and Josh Wills in Means Well, and Phillips and Adam Russell in Locash. With Marsala on drums and Phillips on guitar, the pair formed Bigbluemonkey. Soon afterwards, John Taylor and Perry West joined the band on vocals and bass, respectively. After performing in St. Louis, Missouri, and touring the Midwest, the group released two EPs: Three Days Broken in 1998 and Truth in Separation in 1999. Following high school graduation, the members were able to focus on the band. Shortly afterwards, Taylor and West left the group resulting in Marsala shifting from drums to vocals. Wills and Russell joined the group on drums and bass, respectively.
Since Means Well, Wills had been a close friend of Marsala and Phillips, following Bigbluemonkey on road trips and acting as their drum technician. Prior to joining, Russell was originally a guitarist and had no experience on bass. In February 2002, they recruited guitarist Greg Haupt, formerly of Disturbing the Peace, and released the Story of the Year EP. In May, the band performed at a local radio festival, Pointfest. The group sneaked into Goldfinger's tour bus while the band was playing and left copies of a home video that featured pranks akin to Jackass and a live show. In June, the group moved to Orange County, California, and built their own practice space. Two weeks later, they were contacted by Goldfinger's manager John Reese, who informed them the band wanted to take them on tour.
Partway through the tour, Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann said that he wanted to produce their demos to try to attract a record deal. They did pre-production acoustically, and tracked demos of "Until the Day I Die" and "Anthem of Our Dying Day" in the process. Following the tour's conclusion, Feldmann showed the home video to major label Maverick Records, for whom he acted as a talent scout. In September, the group changed their name to Story of the Year to avoid confusion with another band called Big Blues Monkey, and at the urging of Feldmann, who disliked the name. In October, the band signed to Maverick Records following a showcase. In the process, Reese became their manager.