Had the story of pop-punk band Surprise Years been pitched as a film, no self-respecting Hollywood producer would consider it. The high-school-musicians-make-it-big plot sounds both trite and fictitious. But as Stacy Coleman reported in the Keystone Gazette, it’s neither.

The band launched 17 years ago, when founder-leader Dan Campbell of Lansdale was at North Penn High School.

Its lyric and melodic inspiration is unapologetically based on angst. Singing and playing out the band members’ disappointments and downfalls (especially Campbell’s as creative driver) to audiences and feeling them reverberate back became foundational to the live performances.

“Lyrically, narratively, we were taking these things that were causing us pain or discomfort — our anxieties and sadness — and turned it into something that could be useful for others,” said Campbell.

“The crowd,” he continued, “feels better yelling … back to me because they found commiseration in the music. We were able to turn sadness into a useful tool for others.”

Albums followed, six of them (with a seventh due in September), and tours across the globe.

Yet, the Phila.-area fans — where Montgomery County friends are close — have become the most meaningful.

“We love playing in Pennsylvania,” Campbell admitted. “The energy is different. You can feel it.”

More backstory on Surprise Years is at the Keystone Gazette.