INTERVIEW: New Album, Touring & More With State Champs
State Champs have been championing pop-punk for more than 10 years and on November 8th they dropped their 4th studio album which is self-titled State Champs.
To celebrate the release of the record we had a chat with Ryan Scott Graham, bassist and singer in the band.
Read below more about the album, touring and personal favorites from Ryan:
Strife: Hey Ryan! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. It’s been a week since your new record, State Champs (self-titled), dropped. How’s it been going? I saw you guys even had a Spotify billboard in Times Square!
Ryan: Honestly, it’s been amazing. You never really know how new music is going to land, and there’s always a bit of anxiety when you’ve been working on something for two years. But the response has been incredible. We’re already playing new songs on tour, and fans are singing along, it’s surreal! I’ve even had people who don’t usually listen to us reach out to say they love the record, and to me, that’s a great sign we’re doing something right.
Strife: That’s awesome! At what point during the process did you decide to make this record self-titled?
Ryan: It wasn’t planned from the start. Once we had all the songs together, it just felt right. This album pulls elements from every era of State Champs—we’ve been a band for 12 years, and this record captures our journey. If someone’s just discovering us, this is the perfect intro. And if you’ve been a fan for a while, you’ll find the core of our sound here, too. When Derek suggested we call it self-titled, we all agreed immediately. It just made sense.
Strife: Thanks for sharing that! Let’s dive into the tracks. What’s your favorite song, or top three, from the album?
Ryan: I’ve got a mix of favorites. My absolute favorite is Save Face Story. From the moment we wrote it, it had this special energy. Adding Slope’s feature took it to another level, it brought a fresh vibe that really excites me, even after all these years of making music.
I also love Tight Grip and I Still Want To. Tight Grip is so much fun to play live,it has this youthful, throwback State Champs energy. Watching fans react to it like, “This is what I came for!” is such a great feeling.
Strife: You mentioned Save Face Story, which was also one of the singles from the album; how did your collaboration with Slope on this song come about?
Ryan: Honestly, it was all pretty random. Derek put one of their songs on a playlist ages ago, and we were all hooked on their sound. Then, while we were in Germany with a day off, we found out they had a release show that night. I DMed them on Instagram like, “Hey, big fans here!” Even though they didn’t know us, they put us on the guest list.
We met them at their show, hit it off immediately, and invited them to our next show. The connection was so natural, it felt like we’d known each other for years.
When we were working on Save Face Story, the bridge felt like it needed a fresh voice, and Slope was the first band we thought of.
We sent them the demo and told them to make it their own. They sent back their part, and it was perfect—no notes needed. It’s cool how something so spontaneous turned into such a meaningful collaboration.
Strife: That’s such a great story, I love when people from different music genres get to connect and make music together! And they were in the music video, right?
Ryan: Well, it’s not actually them in the video! Scheduling was a nightmare between tours and festivals, so we came up with the idea of ski masks. That way, it could work even if they couldn’t be there. It worked out perfectly, though.
Strife: Clever workaround, I could have never told it wasn’t them! I know you often direct the music videos of State Champs, how did you come up with the concept for the video?
Ryan: Credit goes to my wife for that one. She’s amazing at writing music video treatments—she also did Everybody But You. She pitched the idea of a murder mystery after hearing some of the songs, and we ran with it. We wanted it to feel like a mini movie but with a light, comedic vibe. No gory deaths, just funny, over-the-top moments.
The whole process was a blast. We got a bunch of friends to be extras, and the day on set was just so much fun. It’s important to me that our videos don’t take themselves too seriously. We’re here to have fun, and I think that comes across in our visuals.
Strife: Love that approach! Going back to the songs specific questions – was there a track on the album where you felt like you really pushed the boundaries?
Ryan: Definitely Hell of It. It’s got this fun, slightly pop-country vibe, which is different for us. It wasn’t intentional, it just naturally leaned that way during the writing process. It’s short and catchy, and the chorus is a total earworm.
Another one is Clueless. At first, I was nervous it might come off as cheesy or too carefree, but that was kind of the point. Even Evan (our drummer) wasn’t sure if this song should make it to the album as it felt a bit cheesy.
It was the last song we wrote for the record, and it just flowed so effortlessly. It’s become such a fun song to play live, and it’s resonating with fans who might not even be hardcore State Champs listeners.
Strife: It is interesting because these songs that you saw as “risky” turned out to be some fan favorites. Which track do you think is underrated right now?
Ryan: I’d say Sobering. When we wrote it, I thought it would be one of the big anthems, like Everybody But You. It’s been getting love, but I expected more buzz around it.
Also, I Still Want To feels like a slow burn. It’s got a more modern pop-punk vibe, almost like a Blackbear influence, which is something we haven’t really explored before. I think over time, people will really come to appreciate it.
Strife: It’s great seeing how diverse the fan reactions are. Speaking of live shows, how are the new songs going over on tour?
Ryan: Really well! The singles, of course, are getting a lot of love since fans know them already. Tight Grip is probably the standout, it’s high-energy, and fans go wild for the middle finger part. Save Face Story is another favorite, with our merch guy Cody absolutely nailing Slope’s part every night. Overall, the reception has been fantastic.
Strife: Last question: are you excited for the upcoming European tour?
Ryan: Absolutely! The UK has always been incredible for us, since our first tour there in 2014, they’ve shown up for us every time. Europe’s been more of a slow build, but each time we come back, the crowds get bigger and more enthusiastic.
I love exploring Europe, it’s so different from the U.S., and the food, the people, the energy, it’s all amazing. I can’t wait to see how fans respond to the new music over there.
Strife: We’re looking forward to it too. Thanks so much for your time, Ryan!
Ryan: Anytime! Thanks for having me.
If you enjoyed reading this, you will definitely enjoy seeing State Champs live as well. They are coming to Europe in February of next year, you can check out the tour dates here.
You can listen now to State Champs by State Champs below!
