Derek Sanders Ranks Mayday Parade’s Albums, Talks New Solo EP

In honor of Derek Sanders first solo EP, we asked him to reflect and rank Mayday Parade's albums.

On February 14, Mayday Parade frontman Derek Sanders will release his first solo record, My Rock and Roll Heart. A collection of five covers of bands including Jimmy Eat World and Saves The Day, it’s rather apt that Sanders has chosen Valentine’s Day as the moment to release the EP, given this project all started with a Valentine’s gift to his wife.

“I recorded a cover of Goodbye Love’s “But Lauren” for my wife for Valentine’s Day in 2017,” Sanders tells Note To Scene. “I didn’t intend for anyone else to hear it, but I loved how it turned out, so I decided to record some more covers for fun, and it gradually grew into My Rock and Roll Heart.”

Each track on the EP is one that meant a lot to Sanders in his formative years, but as well as being the soundtrack to his youth, the songs here provide a snapshot of the music that influenced Mayday Parade’s early sound.

“Bands like Jimmy Eat World and Saves The Day have had a huge influence on my life and career, and for the EP I tried to pick music from my high school years that really pulled me into this scene,” Sanders says. “Before I got into emo and pop-punk I was already in a band with Brooks [Betts, guitar] in middle school, and hearing the likes of The Juliana Theory really shifted the music we were making more toward that sound. These bands had an awful lot to do with the origins of Mayday Parade.”

Now almost 15 years into their career, Mayday Parade are in the position where they are the ones influencing the emo scene’s bands of tomorrow, so to celebrate the release of My Rock and Roll Heart and the impact its songs had on a generation of musicians, we asked Sanders to look back over Mayday Parade’s entire discography and rank their six full-length albums from his least to most favorite. Spoiler alert: His No. 1 probably isn’t the record you were thinking of…

My Rock and Roll Heart is out Feb. 14 via Rise Records, and you can pre-order a copy or pre-save the album right here.

My Rock and Roll Heart Track Listing:
1. But Lauren
2. Rocks Tonic Juice Magic
3. A Praise Chorus
4. Punk Rock Princess
5. August In Bethany

Derek Sanders U.S. Headline Tour Dates:
February 15 – Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub
February 16 – Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl
February 17 – Nashville, TN @ The High Watt

Get tickets here.

55 Scene Albums That Went Platinum