The Ataris

The Ataris began in Anderson, Indiana in 1996, when singer, songwriter, and guitarist Kristopher “Kris” Roe founded what would become one of American punk rock’s most enduring bands. Early releases on independent labels set the pace: the debut album “Anywhere but Here” arrived in 1997, followed by the “Look Forward to Failure” EP on Fat Wreck Chords in 1998, which introduced fan favorite “San Dimas High School Football Rules” and even featured Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus on backing vocals for “That Special Girl.” Bassist Mike Davenport joined in 1997 ahead of “Blue Skies, Broken Hearts…Next 12 Exits” (1999), on which he co-wrote “In Spite of the World.”

The band’s breakthrough came with their major label debut “So Long, Astoria” in 2003. Certified gold, it became their best-selling album and delivered their highest-charting single, a cover of Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer,” alongside the beloved “In This Diary.” In 2019, Consequence ranked the band number 37 on its list of “The 100 Best Pop Punk Bands,” and in 2025 Screen Rant’s Terry Bezer called “In This Diary” one of the best pop-punk songs ever written.

Across eight studio albums, from “End Is Forever” (2001) and “Welcome the Night” (2007) to “Hang Your Head in Hope” (2015) and “Silver Turns to Rust” (2017), the band has stayed rooted in pop-punk, emo, and alternative rock, with influences spanning Descendents, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, and the Ramones. Roe remains the only constant member, and after a mid-2000s split, he and Davenport rebuilt the band from North Hollywood, California during the pandemic, reuniting the original “So Long, Astoria” lineup for anniversary shows and a long-awaited European return.