RECORDED AT ZEN WEST IN TOWSON
If you are a fan of mid 2000’s pop punk, you’re in for a treat as 98 Rock’s B.Y.O.B. Featured Artist for July is none other than Baltimore’s very own, AITA!
With their high-energy and sounds that make all of us yearn for those days of summer, AITA rapidly entrenched themselves as a force in Baltimore’s punk scene in 2023.
AITA started as a project between lead singer, Patricia Bryan Ramónwho, and drummer, Josh Bosse. Not too long after, the two added three additional members to complete the iteration of AITA as we know it today with guitarists Elijah Busse and Gavin Norman, and bassist Justin Kuhl.
Speaking on their formation, Busse mentioned that he discovered Ramónwho and Bosse through social media.
“This man (Josh) posted some drumming on social media. He is a unit on the drums, and this one (Ramónwho) saw it, and, they decided to start a band.”
As they were recording their first studio album, the band performed under the name ” Lollipunx.” When they all agreed that the former name wasn’t what they were truly looking for, Ramónwho recalled having a spreadsheet that consisted of the numerous band names they had come up with in a lengthy brainstorming session.
“So they came up with, like, 300 names, 500 total, and then we had to pick one… We narrowed it down to five, and AITA made it to the last five. It was a kind of unanimous, and no one knew what it meant.”
The name AITA is a not safe for work acronym that came to Kuhl’s mind when he was listening to a song from the band Four Year Strong,
“I was listening to a song by Four Year Strong, and I was like, this song has like, “am I the a*****e? vibe to it,” said Kuhl.
AITA’s first major breakthrough moment came when they opened for Fitz & the Tantrums, an opportunity they won after winning a ‘Battle of the Bands’ at Loyola Baltimore.
“So, Gavin and I had only been in the band for, like, two weeks, and these guys were like, ‘hey, we’ve got, a battle of the bands to play’ at Loyola Baltimore. And the grand prize is to open up for their fests, their big Spring Festival.” said Kuhl.
Not too long after, they were told that they were the winners of the contest, and the prize came in the form of opening for Fitz & the Tantrums.
When asked about what it was like being selected as this month’s BYOB artist, Ramónwho was ecstatic given 98 Rock’s presence in Baltimore over the last few decades. Not only does she value the station’s dedication to news sports and the best rock in town , but also 98 Rock’s involvement in the community, an aspect that the band holds dearly themselves.
“We don’t want to just be musicians. We want to make sure that we are taking care of our community too. We do things that are really trying to support other bands and musicians and stuff like that. So yeah, we absolutely respect it.”
What separates AITA from many other bands in the local scene is that they actually have their own festival called “PunxFest”, a pop-punk oriented festival hosted by the band.
“We had this big, wide open space and we knew a bunch of bands, and we start to get to know all these vendors when we go to farmer’s markets.” said Bosse.
While it does cost a fortunate to book all the bands, vendors and various other accommodations, booking the farm wasn’t too difficult as it is titled Norman’s farm. Yes, ‘Norman’ as in their guitarist Gavin Norman.
Another notable venture for the band was their for The Tiny Desk at NPR, but rather than the desk we’re all used to seeing, they took a different approach in order to perfectly encapsulate their Baltimore roots.
“We rented out, space in the graffiti warehouse in Baltimore. We picked that spot, and I found that spot because we wanted to have the windows where you can see Baltimore in the background, and it looks like Baltimore, which is a grimy city, and we love it,” said Kuhl.
AITA may only be two years into their journey, but given the path they’ve already carved out for themselves, their future remains bright.
