While on tour, in March 2000, the band got into a van accident that almost ended the band's career. The van accident was somewhat of an inspiration for the band's song writing. By this point, vocalist Chris Conley "really felt confident" and subsequently had "a lot more fun" while writing. Conley had a personal recording studio set-up where he would "spend the entire day" in "building songs in my own little world." In April, it was announced the band had signed to Vagrant Records due to the success of Through Being Cool. Later that month, Punknews.org reported that the group would release their next album in early 2001. In January 2001, Punknews.org reported that the band was recording with Steve Evetts, who had produced the group's previous two albums. Recording began on March 17, 2001 and continued into April with producer Rob Schnapf. Conley described Schnapf as "a really mellow, laid back guy. Him being relaxed just made for a nice, creative environment in the studio." Recording was spread over three studios: Sunset Sound and Sound Factory in Hollywood, California, and Sonora Sound inLos Feliz, California. Doug Boehm recorded the proceedings with assistance from Steven Rhodes and Seth Mclain. Josh Turner acted as the Pro Tools engineer during the sessions. Productivity was initially slow due to, as the band explains, "some difficulty we're having with tuning guitars". Richard Barron performed organ on "Cars & Calories". Schnapf and Boehm mixed the recordings, while Don C. Tyler mastered them at Precision Mastering. 13 tracks were recorded in total, including two outtakes "Ups and Downs" and "For Erminie". The album was a shift from the band's previous power chord-based sound and featured more intricate guitar work and arrangements. "Cars & Calories" talks about celebrity culture. Conley explained that he was "felt sort of mildly alienated at different points in my life just looking at culture, especially this hectic, modern culture." Conley wrote the song in an empty room at Vagrant Records' offices. He played open chords, and the rest of the song soon followed. "As Your Ghost Takes Flight" is about a friend's heroin addiction.
Release
In early June 2001, an MP3 of "See You" was posted on PopPunk.com. The group embarked on a brief two-week US tour, leading into a few shows in Japan later in the month. After initially planned for release on June 5, Stay What You Are was eventually released on July 10 through Vagrant Records. The group was planned to appear on the Warped Tour, however, they instead headlined the Vagrant America Tour between early July and early September. "At Your Funeral" was released as a radio single in September. Also during that month, a music video was filmed for the song in Los Angeles. It features a creative way of motion control, similar to Requiem for a Dream. Following the Vagrant America Tour, drummer Bryan Newman left the band to study at college. His position was temporarily filled by Damon Atkinson of Hey Mercedes. In November and December, the group went on tour with Hey Mercedes and Thursday. In February 2002, the band supported Weezer on the Hyper Extended Midget Tour in the US. In May, a music video was filmed for "Freakish", featuring Muppet-esque puppets. The band supported on Blink-182 and Green Day on their co-headlining Pop Disaster Tour in May and June. In August, the band went on the Vagrant America 2002 arena tour, alongside other Vagrant Records bands. In October and November, the group went on a headlining US tour with support from Ash.
Reception and legacy
The album sold 15,000 copies in the first week, and 70,000 copies by the end of the year. By March 2002, the album had sold over 120,000 copies, becoming one of Vagrant's best-selling releases. Stay What You Are reached number 100 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In the years since its release, Stay What You Are is widely regarded as a classic and a highly influential piece of music for the emo and pop punk genres. NME listed the album as one of "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time". Similarly, Houston Press included the listed the album as one of the best emo albums of 2001–2005. Paste included the video for "At Your Funeral" at number seven of their 10 Best Emo Music Videos list. Tim Landers of Transit and Brandon McMaster of The Crimson Armada featured the album on their Five Albums That Changed My Life lists. Saves the Day played the album in full at FYF Fest in August 2016.
Track listing
All songs written by Bryan Newman, Chris Conley, David Soloway, Eben D'Amico and Ted Alexander.
