The Sidekicks

The Sidekicks hail from suburban Cleveland, getting their start in 2003 as high-school students who loved the usual punk suspects like Bad Religion, NOFX, and Rancid. It wasn't long after forming that Steve Ciolek (vocals/guitar), Matt Climer (drums), Brandon "Petey" Petrick (guitar), and Josh Henry (bass) fell into the area's D.I.Y. punk community and began nurturing their sound and fan base in community centers and basements with likeminded bands, instead of going unnoticed on overcrowded club bills. Climer also held shows at his place, dubbed the Soggy Dog House, and their profile steadily grew. The Sidekicks recorded a few demos and EPs before issuing their first full-length of pop-punk, So Long, Soggy Dog, through Red Scare Industries in late 2007. The four-song 7" Sam appeared the following year on Whoa Oh Records. In September 2009, and again through Red Scare, the Sidekicks' second album, Weight of Air, was released, and it showed the band expanding its sound a bit more by delving into various indie-punk influences; the album featured new guitarist Matt Scheuermann as well (also of No Target Audience and American War).