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The Brooklyn Paramount. File photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\nWhen pop-punk band State Champs first wrote the song \u201cLosing Myself\u201d for their 2015 album \u201cAround the World and Back,\u201d lead singer Derek DiScanio had no idea just how deeply he\u2019d connect with its lyrics ten years later.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my favorite song back then, but I didn\u2019t really know what it meant,\u201d he told Brooklyn Paper. \u201cAnd now going back to and listening to \u2018Losing Myself,\u2019 I\u2019m like, I knew that was my favorite song on the album, but I wasn\u2019t really sure why. It\u2019s about not really knowing what you\u2019re going to get into, but you\u2019re going to lose yourself in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
One line in particular \u2014 \u201cWe attract what we\u2019re ready for\u201d \u2014 has stayed with DiScanio since the song\u2019s release. Fans often ask him to write it out so they can turn it into a tattoo, carrying the lyric with them wherever they go.<\/p>\n
\u201cI almost want to get one, too,\u201d he laughed. \u201cI think I have to.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Since the release of \u201cAround the World and Back,\u201d State Champs have certainly attracted plenty.\n<\/p>\n
From the band\u2019s basement beginnings to sold-out shows across the globe \u2014 and now, their first time headlining Brooklyn Paramount, a personal favorite of DiScanio\u2019s \u2014 the band is bringing the album full circle with a special, limited-run anniversary tour.<\/p>\n
The Brooklyn Paramount. File photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\n
For DiScanio, the eight-show run isn\u2019t about reliving the past so much as sharing the present with fans who have grown alongside the band. Revisiting the album\u2019s 11 songs, he said they feel more personal now than they did a decade ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so funny,\u201d he said. \u201cI wrote a lot of those lyrics with no real intention, and without knowing what it was going to mean to me. Ten years later, some of them mean more to me than they did when I wrote them in the first place. It was a prequel to life. It was like foreshadowing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The band \u2014 led by DiScanio alongside guitarist Tyler Szalkowski, bassist Ryan Scott Graham and drummer Evan Ambrosio \u2014 handpicked the cities for the anniversary tour, choosing the places that mean the most to them personally. Other stops include their hometown, Albany, as well as Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe only picked our favorite markets and our favorite cities and our favorite venues to do them all at. So New York City had to be one. Brooklyn had to be one,\u201d DiScanio said. \u201cIn Brooklyn, Paramount<\/a> has become one of my favorite venues, but we\u2019ve never played it yet. I\u2019ve DJ\u2019ed there for Emo Night<\/a>, I\u2019ve attended shows, and I was like, I wonder if the Champs are big enough to blow this place out. Sure enough, it\u2019s going fast.\u201d<\/p>\n The anniversary shows promise to be a full celebration of the album, performed in its entirety.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a few songs on it that we\u2019ve never played, ever, ever, ever \u2026 \u2018Back and Forth\u2019 is one, \u2018Breaking Ground\u2019 is a song we haven\u2019t played in years, \u2018Tooth and Nail\u2019 is a song we haven\u2019t played in years,\u201d DiScanio said.<\/p>\n Fans will experience the album played front to back, just as they first fell in love with it \u2014 though the band briefly flirted with a reshuffle \u2014 before State Champs launch into hits from their other albums.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to throw in fan favorites and not leave any stone unturned or let people be like, \u2018Well, you didn\u2019t play my favorite song,\u2019\u201d DiScanio said.<\/p>\n Fan experience is key to the tour, he added, because the show is just as much a tribute to \u201cAround the World and Back\u201d as it is to them.\n<\/p>\n \u201cSome of our fans came to our shows 10, 12 years ago. Now some of them even have kids, and they\u2019re the ones crowd surfing<\/a>,\u201d DiScanio said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really cool Circle of Life moment for us. The goal is still the same: to grow our brand and to build this community and build the engagement that we\u2019ve had with the people that let us do this in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, with all that nostalgia comes a little wear and tear.\n<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s got to stretch out a little more,\u201d DiScanio laughed. \u201cSome people might not be able to crowd surf like they once used to\u2026 Myself included, I used to stage dive into the crowd. I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s for me anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Offstage, the band\u2019s journey has been just as transformative as the one onstage\n<\/p>\n \u201cAll of us were living with our moms and dads, and now some of us have kids of our own, are married, and bought houses,\u201d DiScanio said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been through the high highs, the low lows, partied a little too hard, and been screwed over in ways.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I was invincible,\u201d he added of the old him. \u201cI\u2019d tell my younger self to take care of my voice a little more, live in the moment, enjoy every second, and always give back to the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n The shows are being supported by a mix of longtime friends and up-and-coming bands, creating a community-driven experience that mirrors the band\u2019s journey. New York crowds will see Broadside, Real Friends, and Cartel \u2014 a particularly meaningful addition to the lineup.<\/p>\n \u201cCartel was the first band me and Tyler covered in his basement when we were 16,\u201d he said. \u201cNow they\u2019re supporting us at the Brooklyn Paramount, like what the heck happened? It\u2019s really cool to call those guys friends now and have them say, \u2018We want to be part of it.\u2019 It\u2019s kind of like a bucket-list moment.\u201d<\/p>\n The shows will also feature State Champs\u2019 most ambitious production yet.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve amped up the stage and production every time we headline, but this is going to be the biggest and best production stage-wise that Stage Amps has ever put on,\u201d DiScanio said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a year now since their fifth, self-titled album, which DiScanio said the band is still \u201criding the wave\u201d of. But as they look back to their start in smaller venues, they\u2019re also looking ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re excited now to kind of dive into the next year, which is 2026, where we\u2019re going to get back into the studio and work on album number six,\u201d he told Brooklyn Paper. \u201cWe\u2019re going to put down a lot of new singles we\u2019ve already been demoing and writing for that. The engine keeps going. It doesn\u2019t stop, it doesn\u2019t take a breath. We\u2019re always excited for new material, and we\u2019re never not going to be on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n As the band gears up to hit the road again, the frontman says he\u2019s looking forward to Brooklyn, where he\u2019ll have \u201cthe best seat in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is for the fans. We can\u2019t do this without people giving a single f\u2014am I able to swear?\u201d DiScanio asked (we said yes). \u201cThe fact that they still give a f-ck is the reason we\u2019re able to put on a show like this. Honestly, I\u2019m more excited to watch them than they are to watch me.\u201d<\/p>\n The show takes place at Brooklyn\u2019s Paramount, 385 Flatbush Ave Ext. in Downtown Brooklyn, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2026. Tickets are available now through Ticketmaster<\/a>\u00a0or the venue\u2019s box office.<\/p>\n \t![\"state](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SC-DALLAS-25.jpg\")
State Champs frontman Derek DiScanio.Photo courtesy of Loreal Reyes<\/p>\n