Emo Social
Emo Social Credit: Courtesy

For most of his life, drummer Chris Kamrada has been on the road, moving from one tour to the next with little time in between. It’s a pace he learned early, starting at 13 with Orlando band There for Tomorrow, coming up through the Warped Tour scene, then as a hired-gun drummer bouncing between projects, and eventually as an eight-year presence behind the kit for Dashboard Confessional.

That run came to an abrupt end in early February, when Kamrada exited Dashboard Confessional. Long before that door closed, he had already been building something of his own. Emo Social, his Orlando-based event series and weekly night, was gaining traction, pulling crowds and steadily becoming a business. So while the end of Dashboard marked a shift, it didn’t leave a vacuum. If anything, it accelerated a transition that was already underway.

In an interview with Orlando Weekly, Kamrada walks through the play-by-play of his departure from the band and what comes next as he turns his focus fully to Emo Social.

Let’s start with the timeline. When did things actually begin to shift for you with Dashboard Confessional?

Probably November. It was Warped Tour week here. Every one of my friends and professional acquaintances is in town, everyone’s coming through Orlando, and I had four Emo Social events that week. That’s like my version of convention week. It’s the biggest week to be present for what I’ve built here. Suddenly, I learned that I needed to fly out L.A. to record with Dashboard. It was chaos, honestly. 

So you’re managing your own events while also preparing to go record an album?

Yeah. I’m trying to balance both. I’ve got a real thing here with Emo Social. It’s not just a hobby. I built it from the ground up, and I’m responsible for it. At the same time, I’m getting told I need to be out there to start the record. Originally, I was supposed to fly out Sunday night so we could have a rehearsal day Monday. I was overwhelmed. I had all these events happening, everything going on, so I changed my flight to Monday morning instead. I still showed up. I still got there and did what I needed to do.

And that became an issue?

It got brought up. Which, to me, is frustrating, because I did the work. That’s the part that matters. I went in and handled what I needed to handle.

From your perspective, what was that moment really about?

It felt like everything was being watched. Not just the playing, but everything around it. And at the same time, I’m balancing a lot. I’ve been doing this long enough to know what matters. The performance, the recording, that’s where I put my focus.

Was this tension new or had it been building?

It had been building. That’s the reality of being in that position. You’re committing your time, turning down other opportunities, and you don’t always have a clear picture of what’s ahead. That’s tough when you’re trying to build your own life at the same time.

So take me to early February. How did things actually end?

It ended at the top of February. That’s really it. After everything in November, after recording, after still doing the work, it just stopped.

How did you process that, given everything you had just done with them?

It’s jarring. You’re in the studio a few months before, working on a record, and then it’s over. But at the same time, I wasn’t starting from zero.

You’d already been building Emo Social.

Exactly. That’s the difference. I already had something built. I already had momentum. I started it in February 2021, right after everything opened back up. It was just supposed to be a night at a bar, Sly Fox, but I built it into something bigger, a traveling emo night. I DJ, play all that music from that world I came up in, and create a room people actually want to be in. It’s grown into a brand and a series of events in different cities. People know what it is. They know where to go, what they’re getting, who’s behind it.

Do you think Emo Social influenced how you handled leaving Dashboard?

Yeah. I think if I didn’t have that, it would be a different conversation. But I’ve always been someone who builds things. Even when I was touring, I was doing other work, creating, putting stuff out there. So now I just get to put more into something that’s mine. 

What does that next phase look like for you?

Growth. Expanding Emo Social, doing more events, building it out in more cities and states. I’m not trying to be the most famous drummer. I am creating something bigger than me that will last.

Emo Social goes down weekly on Thursday nights at Sly Fox Pub on Orange Avenue downtown. In addition to the weekly shindigs, Emo Social hosts special events, including a show by emo rockers Rookie of the Year on Friday, April 3, also at Sly Fox.

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This article appears in April 1-7, 2026.