Hopes High

It should take little time to decide between sitting in a classroom at Penn State while staring at snow through the windows, and sitting in a Los Angeles apartment while staring at the beach while hanging out with 3OH!3 and giving your music career a go.

And thankfully for State College band-turned-pro Hopes High, it didn’t.

The band started out when all members were juniors or seniors at State College High School. Now, the members live together in Los Angeles while working with some of the top producers in the pop-punk genre and building their fan base in the hopes of landing a record deal.

But the decision to leave school, family and home wasn’t easy for most of the band, especially since four of the five members had as little as a month to do it.

The opportunity arose when drummer Steve Tippeconnic landed a recording internship after he graduated from Full Sail University in Florida with a degree in recording arts and music production.

While working at The Lair Recording Studio, Tippeconnic became friends with Matt Squire, the acclaimed producer accredited for both of 3OH!3’s hit albums.

Tippeconnic said both Squire and owner of The Lair Larry Goetz heard some of what Hopes High had previously recorded and agreed to produce an EP for them for free.

With such an amazing opportunity, the only thing Tippeconnic needed in L.A. was his band.

Meanwhile, the other band members were still trying to keep the band together even though they couldn’t have regular practice. Vocalist and guitarist Jesse Weidner said he never really saw the move coming, but quickly decided to drop everything he had going on at Penn State to follow the band’s dreams.

“There was definitely uncertainty,” he said. “I mean, we had never lived in a big city before. I had never really been away from home. So especially in a big city like L.A., there was some uncertainty and we didn’t know what to expect. But I think that was sort of cancelled out by the fact that we were all super excited about the opportunity to actually take the band somewhere. We were like, ‘There’s no way we can’t do this.’ ”

T.J. Barnhart, bassist for Hopes High, said he and guitarist Matt Mark just quit their jobs and drove out to L.A. with all of their equipment.

“It wasn’t a gradual process,” he said. “It was just kind of like, ‘Oh, OK,’ and we just left.”

Though the move was sudden, Barnhart said no one in the band feels an ounce of regret.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he said. “We’re having the time of our lives out here writing good music with great producers. There’s just so many opportunities out here.”

Tippeconnic said the whole experience of the move and the opportunities the band was given helped them grow in their abilities to write and perform. Not only did the band recently release its EP, titled “Move Stop Wait,” but it has had the chance to play venues like the House of Blues and The Viper Room.

“We’ve gotten to play all of these awesome venues and meet all of these awesome people,” he said. “We’ve all grown so much as musicians and people being out here.”

Through his connections at the studio, Tippeconnic assisted on 3OH!3’s entire last album and earned a credit for playing tambourine on “Double Vision.” He also recently appeared drumming for 3OH!3 in a 40-second promo ad on Fox Sports for the NHL.

“It was so awesome — it’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” Tippeconnic said. “They’re the best guys. They’re really cool.”

Even more than the friendships they’ve made with bands like 3OH!3, the members of Hopes High said even the day-to-day life style of L.A. is helping their music.

Tippeconic recently chatted with Travis Barker after seeing him in a Starbucks, and guitarist Keenan Hall said he talked music at a bar with the recording engineer for the last three Angels and Airwaves albums.

“I just think L.A. is a cool place to just meet people like that who you couldn’t meet anywhere else in the world,” Hall said. “So it’s cool just going through everyday life and meeting people like that with crazy connections in the music industry.” - The Collegian

It should take little time to decide between sitting in a classroom at Penn State while staring at snow through the windows, and sitting in a Los Angeles apartment while staring at the beach while hanging out with 3OH!3 and giving your music career a go.

And thankfully for State College band-turned-pro Hopes High, it didn’t.

The band started out when all members were juniors or seniors at State College High School. Now, the members live together in Los Angeles while working with some of the top producers in the pop-punk genre and building their fan base in the hopes of landing a record deal.

But the decision to leave school, family and home wasn’t easy for most of the band, especially since four of the five members had as little as a month to do it.

The opportunity arose when drummer Steve Tippeconnic landed a recording internship after he graduated from Full Sail University in Florida with a degree in recording arts and music production.

While working at The Lair Recording Studio, Tippeconnic became friends with Matt Squire, the acclaimed producer accredited for both of 3OH!3’s hit albums.

Tippeconnic said both Squire and owner of The Lair Larry Goetz heard some of what Hopes High had previously recorded and agreed to produce an EP for them for free.

With such an amazing opportunity, the only thing Tippeconnic needed in L.A. was his band.

Meanwhile, the other band members were still trying to keep the band together even though they couldn’t have regular practice. Vocalist and guitarist Jesse Weidner said he never really saw the move coming, but quickly decided to drop everything he had going on at Penn State to follow the band’s dreams.

“There was definitely uncertainty,” he said. “I mean, we had never lived in a big city before. I had never really been away from home. So especially in a big city like L.A., there was some uncertainty and we didn’t know what to expect. But I think that was sort of cancelled out by the fact that we were all super excited about the opportunity to actually take the band somewhere. We were like, ‘There’s no way we can’t do this.’ ”

T.J. Barnhart, bassist for Hopes High, said he and guitarist Matt Mark just quit their jobs and drove out to L.A. with all of their equipment.

“It wasn’t a gradual process,” he said. “It was just kind of like, ‘Oh, OK,’ and we just left.”

Though the move was sudden, Barnhart said no one in the band feels an ounce of regret.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he said. “We’re having the time of our lives out here writing good music with great producers. There’s just so many opportunities out here.”

Tippeconnic said the whole experience of the move and the opportunities the band was given helped them grow in their abilities to write and perform. Not only did the band recently release its EP, titled “Move Stop Wait,” but it has had the chance to play venues like the House of Blues and The Viper Room.

“We’ve gotten to play all of these awesome venues and meet all of these awesome people,” he said. “We’ve all grown so much as musicians and people being out here.”

Through his connections at the studio, Tippeconnic assisted on 3OH!3’s entire last album and earned a credit for playing tambourine on “Double Vision.” He also recently appeared drumming for 3OH!3 in a 40-second promo ad on Fox Sports for the NHL.

“It was so awesome — it’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” Tippeconnic said. “They’re the best guys. They’re really cool.”

Even more than the friendships they’ve made with bands like 3OH!3, the members of Hopes High said even the day-to-day life style of L.A. is helping their music.

Tippeconic recently chatted with Travis Barker after seeing him in a Starbucks, and guitarist Keenan Hall said he talked music at a bar with the recording engineer for the last three Angels and Airwaves albums.

“I just think L.A. is a cool place to just meet people like that who you couldn’t meet anywhere else in the world,” Hall said. “So it’s cool just going through everyday life and meeting people like that with crazy connections in the music industry.” - The Collegian

It should take little time to decide between sitting in a classroom at Penn State while staring at snow through the windows, and sitting in a Los Angeles apartment while staring at the beach while hanging out with 3OH!3 and giving your music career a go.

And thankfully for State College band-turned-pro Hopes High, it didn’t.

The band started out when all members were juniors or seniors at State College High School. Now, the members live together in Los Angeles while working with some of the top producers in the pop-punk genre and building their fan base in the hopes of landing a record deal.

But the decision to leave school, family and home wasn’t easy for most of the band, especially since four of the five members had as little as a month to do it.

The opportunity arose when drummer Steve Tippeconnic landed a recording internship after he graduated from Full Sail University in Florida with a degree in recording arts and music production.

While working at The Lair Recording Studio, Tippeconnic became friends with Matt Squire, the acclaimed producer accredited for both of 3OH!3’s hit albums.

Tippeconnic said both Squire and owner of The Lair Larry Goetz heard some of what Hopes High had previously recorded and agreed to produce an EP for them for free.

With such an amazing opportunity, the only thing Tippeconnic needed in L.A. was his band.

Meanwhile, the other band members were still trying to keep the band together even though they couldn’t have regular practice. Vocalist and guitarist Jesse Weidner said he never really saw the move coming, but quickly decided to drop everything he had going on at Penn State to follow the band’s dreams.

“There was definitely uncertainty,” he said. “I mean, we had never lived in a big city before. I had never really been away from home. So especially in a big city like L.A., there was some uncertainty and we didn’t know what to expect. But I think that was sort of cancelled out by the fact that we were all super excited about the opportunity to actually take the band somewhere. We were like, ‘There’s no way we can’t do this.’ ”

T.J. Barnhart, bassist for Hopes High, said he and guitarist Matt Mark just quit their jobs and drove out to L.A. with all of their equipment.

“It wasn’t a gradual process,” he said. “It was just kind of like, ‘Oh, OK,’ and we just left.”

Though the move was sudden, Barnhart said no one in the band feels an ounce of regret.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he said. “We’re having the time of our lives out here writing good music with great producers. There’s just so many opportunities out here.”

Tippeconnic said the whole experience of the move and the opportunities the band was given helped them grow in their abilities to write and perform. Not only did the band recently release its EP, titled “Move Stop Wait,” but it has had the chance to play venues like the House of Blues and The Viper Room.

“We’ve gotten to play all of these awesome venues and meet all of these awesome people,” he said. “We’ve all grown so much as musicians and people being out here.”

Through his connections at the studio, Tippeconnic assisted on 3OH!3’s entire last album and earned a credit for playing tambourine on “Double Vision.” He also recently appeared drumming for 3OH!3 in a 40-second promo ad on Fox Sports for the NHL.

“It was so awesome — it’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” Tippeconnic said. “They’re the best guys. They’re really cool.”

Even more than the friendships they’ve made with bands like 3OH!3, the members of Hopes High said even the day-to-day life style of L.A. is helping their music.

Tippeconic recently chatted with Travis Barker after seeing him in a Starbucks, and guitarist Keenan Hall said he talked music at a bar with the recording engineer for the last three Angels and Airwaves albums.

“I just think L.A. is a cool place to just meet people like that who you couldn’t meet anywhere else in the world,” Hall said. “So it’s cool just going through everyday life and meeting people like that with crazy connections in the music industry.” - The Collegian