University Drive wins silver award in Times Leader Best of Best voting

Mar. 24—University Drive is an alternative rock band from Scranton and they're a fan favorite. The band won the silver award for "Best Music Group" in The Times Leader's 2023 Best of the Best awards.

Ed Cuozzo, frontman of University Drive, was honored to receive the award but with the talent in the local music scene — he didn't see it coming.

"I've played all over the country a bunch of times and there's just something different about the water in NEPA when it comes to the arts," said Cuozzo. "I've been a part of the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre music scene for so long. I see so many incredible bands and artists in this area. I see what some of my friends can do, and I'm like WHAT — it should be them!"

University Drive's current members are Cuozzo (Vocals/Guitar/Etc.), Ryan Grutt (Bass/Vocals), Angelo Maruzzelli (Vocals/Guitar), Mark Naples (Guitar), and Tony Kruszka (Drums).

"The five people in the band really care about what we're putting out. The most important thing for us is connecting emotionally through art in a real way," said Cuozzo.

The band's latest record, "Heal" was released at the end of 2022. The three albums put out so far by University Drive have built off one another, telling a clever story of growing, overcoming, and ultimately, healing.

"When you listen to something contextually, that gets you into the band. So, I like to have a little string connecting everything in some way," said Cuozzo.

University Drive's debut release, "On/Off Reset" was a breakup album about putting yourself back together and moving on. Then, they put out "Clear" in 2019 which dealt with grief at a time when everyone in the band was going through something difficult. Cuozzo's mom passed away unexpectedly around that time and she was always his best friend. His emotions and challenges at that time informed the music.

"When we put that record out, I thought this might be the last big thing I try to do for a while. But that's the record, that's the reason we met the band, Cold — and that kind of started everything," said Cuozzo.

When they released "Clear," Scooter from Cold reached out about jumping onto their tour. While busy playing music all over the country, Cuozzo started writing tons of new material. When University Drive returned, they were ready for a continuation.

""Clear" is all about being inside your head, all the thoughts, fears, questions, doubts. Once the dust settles, "Clear" is the house you watched catch fire and now it's the next day, you need to sift through the rubble. That's the context of "Heal"", said Cuozzo of their third and latest album. "What was neat about the whole process, there wasn't a distinct choice to make the record about post-grief but the narrative lyrically, slowly revealed itself. You make connections that just happen naturally. That's the magical part of the creative process. And, everyone participated in their own way."

Afraid he wouldn't have enough material, Cuozzo brought almost 55 songs to the studio that he'd been working on and together they filed them down. Grutt and Maruzzelli also wrote songs for the "Heal" album. "Contradiction," the hidden bonus track is Grutt's song, and "Execution" was co-written by he and Maruzzelli.

"It was the first time in my life that I had two other songwriters," said Cuozzo. "I LOVE the two songs the guys contributed. They are my favorite songs to play."

University Drive founder, Cuozzo has been playing in bands since he was fourteen. Cuozzo played in A Social State for about eight years and the project was his baby. When it ended, Cuozzo treated it like a relationship ending and took time to detach from music and regroup. Then, inspired by The Foo Fighters' self-titled album, Cuozzo returned with a refreshed perspective.

"So, I started going down to the studio where all the local bands congregate, JL Studios in Olyphant. I started recording stuff for fun," said Cuozzo. "Whereas other bands I'd been in were sonic, focused on a certain sound, when I went there — it was a different set-up every time. We didn't give a s*** about consistency. We were experimenting and having fun with no pressure and it was my favorite times recording, maybe ever."

Cuozzo prepared a single for debut. He almost put the single under his own name when he found the perfect title for his new alt-rock project. "I was driving past Penn State Worthington campus and I saw that "University Drive" street sign. Something about it just made me feel connected to the name," said Cuozzo.

The way he thought about the name, "University Drive," wasn't necessarily limited to university college, but more "drive" in a sarcastic interpretation. Like giving it the ol' college try. From the single release, Cuozzo started playing shows under the University Drive name and the band grew around him from there.

"Over the course of the year, it kept filtering through certain people and certain shows. I think we're in seven years as a band already," said Cuozzo. "Last year when we were on the road with Cold, that's when we finally solidified a lineup with people who truly felt familial, collaborative."

"I've been in a lot of bands and they aren't all like that — to treat each other with respect and still be excited about the art you're making. It's so rare. You hear that stuff in any band interview, "we found each other," but it's such a real thing when all the right people come in."

"I banged my head against the wall for years saying I had to be successful, I'm going to be a failure. The truth of the matter was it wasn't until I started University Drive that I realized I'm doing this because I love to do it. NO expectations," said Cuozzo.

University Drive is thankful for those who have followed along and supported their projects along the way to make this "Best Music Group" recognition possible.

"Thank you for supporting local artists in the scene. I'm just grateful that anybody cares!" said Cuozzo. " — I really sincerely appreciate their support. If we didn't have it, we wouldn't continue to tour and do what we do."

Our local "Best of the Best" music group is still looking ahead to what is next. Band members are currently on the road, but they're working on new music and look forward to booking shows this summer. They may be planning to release a single in coming months.

Cuozzo doesn't subscribe to the "play as often as you can" mentality and says they also know when to hang back and generate energy. "You want to play different places, you want each show to feel like an event. You want people to feel excited about coming out, like attending a party or going to a movie," said Cuozzo.

So, when you see University Drive on the NEPA Live Music List, be sure to make a night out of it for one of the Times Leader's Best of the Best Music Groups of 2023. Follow and support them on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with their latest updates.