Stay What You Are
Stay What You Are is the third studio album by Saves the Day, released on July 10, 2001, through Vagrant Records. After a serious van accident in March 2000 that inspired new writing, frontman Chris Conley grew more confident and spent a lot of time crafting songs in his own little studio. The band signed to Vagrant because of the success of their previous album, Through Being Cool, and began recording in March 2001 with producer Rob Schnapf. Sessions took place at Sunset Sound and Sound Factory in Hollywood and Sonora Sound in Los Feliz, lasting longer than their earlier records. The album features 13 tracks (with two outtakes, “Ups and Downs” and “For Erminie”) and blends emo, pop punk, and post-hardcore with a cooler, more melodic post-punk feel.
Musically, Stay What You Are is mellower and darker than the band’s earlier work, while still carrying energy and emotion. Critics noted that it combines the thrill of pop punk with the intellect of indie rock and the emotional bite of emo. Lyrically, the songs cover personal and social themes: the opener “At Your Funeral” deals with losing a friend; “Cars & Calories” critiques celebrity culture; “Jukebox Breakdown” is about taking creative risks; “As Your Ghost Takes Flight” touches on heroin addiction; and “All I’m Losing Is Me” asks questions about Generation X.
The album was originally set for a June release but came out on July 10, 2001. The band toured in the United States and Japan to promote it. The lead single, “At Your Funeral,” was released to radio in September, and a music video was filmed in Los Angeles. Drummer Bryan Newman left the band in September to attend college, with Damon Atkinson of Hey Mercedes filling in temporarily. The group continued touring, including dates with Weezer and, later, Blink-182 and Green Day on the Pop Disaster Tour.
Stay What You Are sold strongly for an emo/pop punk release. It debuted at number 100 on the Billboard 200 and sold about 14,970 copies in its first week, reaching around 70,000 copies sold by the end of 2001. By March 2002 the album had sold over 120,000 copies, becoming one of Vagrant Records’ best-selling releases. Over the years, Stay What You Are has come to be regarded as a classic and an influential record in emo and pop punk. It appears on various “best of emo” lists, and its videos and songs are kept in public memory. In 2016, Saves the Day played the album in full at FYF Fest, and in 2014 a ska tribute version by the Holophonics was released.
All songs on the album were written by Bryan Newman, Chris Conley, David Soloway, Eben D’Amico and Ted Alexander. Production involved Rob Schnapf as producer, Doug Boehm as engineer, and Don C. Tyler handling mastering.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:45 (CET).