Local punk rock band Giving Chase is finally coming into their own. In the past year the band has solidified its lineup, changed its sound, found a record label and, most importantly, matured as individuals. And all of this will be celebrated at the band's CD release party on July 16 at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave.

Giving Chase has had its name since 2000, but the band has been together in some incarnation or another since 1998.

"Our older stuff is more poppunk oriented," said Mike Woliansky, singer and guitarist. "Now it's a meshing of old school and newer hardcore."

It's a sound that Woliansky likens to Jawbreaker and Kid Dynamite.

Giving Chase owes its change in sound to new drummer Matt Floravit, who joined the band a year ago.

"Ever since I joined the band we've been working on heavier stuff," Floravit said. "The heavier sound is the way I wanted to go."

Although the band played pop punk, its real interests lie in harder sounding punk music. Floravit said along with the help of Jeremy Myers of Jump Start Records they were able to channel the interests of the band into a new sound they all liked.

"They used to be much more poppy and now they are doing interesting stuff, chord-wise," Myers said. "They made changes band-wise and sound-wise and that is helping them become more well-known in the punk community."

And becoming involved in the punk community is something the band feels strongly about.

"When I got involved in punk rock, it had a lot to do with being involved in community," Woliansky said.

"People would start labels, 'zines and help make shows. Kids coming into the scene now aren't learning from the older crowd."

Woliansky said bands are more worried about making themselves popular.

"Punk rock used to be a viable alternative to pop music," he said. "We're losing that now and it's becoming part of pop music."

Woliansky thinks it's a problem when bands like Sum 41 and Avril Lavigne are what kids consider to be punk, a type of music Woliansky said is all about taking care of other people.

"It sounds silly, but it's indicative of other things," Woliansky said. "A lot of bands don't seem to have to say important things in between songs. That time between songs is when you can say something people can pick up on."

As Giving Chase matures into its role as mainstays in the punk community it intends to do its part at shows and in its music.

"Using the place given to us as a band to do something meaningful is important," Woliansky said.

"We try to help out another band if they ask for help," he said.

The band's new album, Nothing Ever Changes, which will be given away for free to the first 25 people through the door, deals with traumatic experiences.

The song "Autogeddon" is about a friend of the band who was in a car crash and used that event as a means to turn his life around.

"A lot of times people need traumatic events to change a life," Woliansky said.

"The idea [of Nothing Ever Changes] is that you should say something if you see something is wrong."

Nothing will change if you don't do something to change it, he added.

And Giving Chase is doing its best to change its music and genre to make the band the best it can be.

"State College has been a difficult place, especially for original music," Woliansky said. "It is cool that the Crowbar has given us a chance."