by David JeffriesPunk-pop, pure pop, and a wry sense of humor all meet in the sound of Eastern Conference Champions, the three-man band from Bucks County, PA, with a serious alt-rock pedigree. Vocalist/keyboardist Josh Ostrander and drummer Greg Lyons were longtime friends and members of the band Laguardia, who released an album on Universal in 2003 before crumbling. The two spent 2004 with menial day jobs while working on new music at night. Two years later they were ready to take their music to the people and found old friend Vern Zaborowski available after leaving his bass job in the punky outfit CKY. Zaborowski joined, added a rough edge, and helped finish the debut EP The Southampton Collection, which was released by the Leftwing Recordings label in 2006. The major-label imprint Interscope picked them up in 2007 and released their full-length debut, Ameritown, in the summer of that year.