Number One Gun - "Wake Me Up" (2008)

Number One Gun is a rock band from California that now consists of just front man Jeff Schneeweis. The band started out in 2002 and released their debut Celebrate Mistakes on Floodgate Records. The record was a pretty straightforward take on the pop punk/emo genre that would become widespread in the next couple of years. It was a great record, but not really a standout record. In 2004 the band signed with Tooth & Nail Records and released their sophomore album Promises for the Imperfect, ten polished tracks with a little more edge and much slicker production courtesy of resident Tooth & Nail wiz Aaron Sprinkle (Anberlin, Emery, The Almost.) In 2007 it was announced that the band would be breaking up and Schneeweis would continue to record, but under the name The North Pole Project. I’m not clear on all the details, but somewhere along the way, Tooth & Nail decided it would be better to release the album under the name Number One Gun and title it The North Pole Project. Despite being labeled as Number One Gun, Schneeweis is the only remaining member and played nearly everything on the record. This was very similar to what happened with Watashi Wa. The album was released in January and also consists of ten tracks. It’s just about what you would have expected listening to the previous two records. That’s not a bad thing though. There are a few slower numbers such as “The Best of You and Me” and “The Different Ones.” However, the crunching guitars are back on songs like the opener “The Massacre” and the more lyrically biting “Thank You Ending.” Overall, the album reminds me very much of Acceptance, a great band that unfortunately broke up a few years back. Today’s song is one of the more melodic and poppy tunes, but it still rocks quite a lot.


Number One Gun - "Wake Me Up"