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| Friday, March 12, 2010 at Wonder Ballroom |
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(click for full-page printable poster)
GENRES
Pop
Punk
Rock
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KUFO Presents
New Found Glory
Saves The Day
Hellogoodbye
Fireworks
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wonder Ballroom 503-284-8686
128 NE Russell St, Portland, OR (MapQuest)
8pm (doors open at 7pm). All Ages.
$19.99 advance tix from Ticketmaster.
$23.00 at the door.
New found energy, new found purpose: that's what Not Without A Fight is all about. The first New Found Glory album to bear the Epitaph logo brims with fresh promise, showcasing a band comfortable in their own skin and eager to get back to basics and present it all to the world. Not Without A Fight is arguably the strongest addition to an impressive catalog with no less than three gold records and some of the most memorable songs of the past decade.
Album opener "Right Where We Left Off" is an instant reminder of the keen self-awareness that endeared New Found Glory to millions of fans worldwide in the first place. And naming their album Not Without A Fight? That's a nod to that other side of the group Epitaph owner Brett Gurewitz called "the greatest pop-punk band in history," the side that is scrappy, that's from the do-it-yourself scene. The side of a band who probably never should have been lumped in with some of the more teeny-bop friendly fare they've often shared the rock radio and TRL charts with.
Lead single "Listen to Your Friends" flips the script by rocking a verse even catchier than its chorus; "I'll Never Love Again" boasts a killer singalong. "47" has a hooky scream that breaks new ground for the Florida-bred five-some while "Truck Stop Blues" summons the potent urgency of the burgeoning scene that New Found Glory arose from, recalling a bygone era when they shared small stages with their friends in Get Up Kids, Piebald and Saves The Day.
Not Without A Fight packs together the best elements of fan favorite albums like Sticks and Stones (2002) and Catalyst (2004) with a reinvigorated drive making for a declaration that's fresh and timely. There's pop, there's punk, there's crunch, there's those irrepressible melodies and Jordan Pundik's instantly recognizable voice is in fine form.
"Nobody in New Found Glory loves anything as much as this band," says guitarist Chad Gilbert, by way of explanation as to how they have managed to maintain the same lineup - Pundik, Gilbert, Steven Klein (guitar), Ian Grushka (bass) and Cyrus Bolooki (drums) - for over ten years. "You fight with your mom. You don't hang out with her all the time. But you love her! You're never going to hate her. We're family. It might sound cliche, but that's what it is."
That family first came together in Coral Springs, Florida in 1997. Nothing Gold Can Stay (1999) and New Found Glory (2000) became classics thanks to hard-touring and good natured relationship building the world over, which ensured the next two albums (Sticks and Stones and Catalyst) would both debut in the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 chart.
As happens all too often, the uber-successful and beloved band found themselves delivering Coming Home to a group of relative strangers who lacked the same investment in them as before. By 2006, many of the folks who worked with the band at the label had been replaced by new faces, from the president on down. "At major labels, people are always losing their jobs," Gilbert points out. "Someone can love your band one week and the next week that person is fired."
With their recording contract fulfilled and in between management, New Found Glory seized the opportunity to have some fun while weighing their options, releasing From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II (something their most ardent supporters had demanded for years) and a split EP with their alter-ego, International Superheroes Of Hardcore.
"It brought this different attention to our band that we hadn't had in a while," Gilbert says. "Through the major label years, some of those lines got blurred because of some of the things the label did representing our band. With the release on Bridge 9 Records, we were able to do things how we wanted to do them. It was awesome."
In the midst of all of this, the band continued to write their next album, which they ultimately decided to record before choosing a new label. That's where +44 / Blink 182's Mark Hoppus came in, agreeing to produce Not Without A Fight at the studio he co-owns with Travis Barker. "He's an old friend of ours," Gilbert explains. "We had no money to make the record so we wanted someone with the confidence to do the album for free and get reimbursed later."
Eventually, of course, the label situation needed sorted out, as the guys in New Found Glory have no desire to be in any kind of "business" other than than business of writing great songs, recording them and playing them live.
"When we announced that we were no longer signed to Geffen two years ago, Brett Gurewitz was the first one to call me," Gilbert remembers. "'People at Epitaph are all music fans and have their shit together."
And as for that spectacular accolade from the man running their new record label home? "It's crazy!" Chad says, laughing. "The Descendents could take that crown way before we could, or Screeching Weasel, or Green Day. I don't know why he said that! He's crazy. It's flattering. It's really flattering. But I don't know what to say!"
New Found Glory's first Epitaph album has no guest appearances, no frills, nothing but fantastic songs and powerful performances. "If you really listen to our music, you can't pigeonhole it. We play music that we love."
Not Without A Fight is alternately the band's most streamlined and direct but powerful and broad album thus far.
"New Found Glory is back to where we want it to be: we tour, we play music and it's from the heart."
ABOUT SAVES THE DAY -
Amidst a generation of fickle trend-followers and fast-rising star-chasers, Saves The Day earned admiration from their contemporaries and compassion from listeners of all stripes. For 10 years the musical integrity they have maintained through six full-length albums is an inspiration for many.
Saves The Day's music -- a compelling mix of melodic punk, unabashed pop instincts and driving anthemics -- has evolved relentlessly with each album. Its hallmarks -- Chris Conley's dark lyrical ruminations and the varied sonics surrounding them -- are impeccable. Undeniable. Saves The Day is that rare, boundless musical unit listeners can trust.
Even so, somewhere between 2003's ambitious, transcendent In Reverie and 2006's immediate Sound The Alarm, something unexpected happened. Saves The Day -- now vocalist/guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist David Soloway, returning bassist Manuel Ragoonanan Carrero and new drummer Durijah Lang (who both also play in the recently reunited band Glassjaw) -- stopped trusting themselves. And, for a time, almost ceased to exist at all.
"Essentially what happened was through the accumulated years of self-loathing and self-doubt, I had created this black cloud of negativity," explains Conley. "And I nearly destroyed every relationship I have. I nearly lost my friends. I nearly lost my band. I nearly lost my family. And I realized that it was all due to my shortcomings and inability to face the facts and grow and actively change my life. I realized I was either going to lose everybody that I loved or I had to completely change what I was."
Fortunately, change arrived in the form of Sound The Alarm, the first chapter in a trilogy of albums -- Under The Boards is the second installment -- Conley wrote while seeking catharsis for his personal struggles.
But dark clouds sometimes clear slowly. Before Soloway could commit to seeing the trilogy's second act through, he needed assurances from his friend of 15 years that the personal issues threatening Saves The Day's future would be addressed, rehabilitated and overcome. "I made a simple statement," remembers Soloway. "'Either there's no drama or there's no band.' And that was it. We made an agreement to focus on the music and not get wrapped up in anything that might drag us down. There's an element of drama that can exist in the world of bands which I don't think is necessary. We're all a little older and it's nice not to have that now."
On disc, Sound The Alarm let Saves The Day fans into the world Conley was drowning in. Its follow-up was conceived to stand as a sort of reconciliation record. "Sound The Alarm was facing the mirror and letting go," explains Conley. "Under The Boards is the repercussions of living a life of confusion and self-doubt; the story of the destruction of everything I cared about, by my own hands. And at the end of Under The Boards, it's me picking up the pieces and trying to be the man that I want to be."
And like every album they've created previously, Under The Boards is unequivocally the sound of the band Saves The Day wants to be. Rejuvenated by the challenge of composing enough material to capture his story in a three-piece anthology, Conley crafted some 90 songs before arranging the opus, ensuring that every sensation in his tale's complex emotional arc was properly reflected in the trilogy's musical narrative.
"It was very important for me to be able to vent my emotions," says Conley. "I was writing to keep myself going. This chapter is almost more difficult because it's the chapter where it all falls apart and I need to learn how to live with it, or I'm going in the ground. I'm writing from the truest parts of my soul. And it's so real that it's terrifying."
Beginning with the eulogistic title track -- itself one of the first songs Conley wrote after overcoming the writer's block that plagued him post-In Reverie -- Under The Boards explores sides of Saves The Day's soul that even the most uncompromising avenues of their catalogue hadn't dared to dig through. So whether it's the desperate stomp of 'Woe,' the anxious calls of 'Get Fucked Up,' or even the airy pop abandon of 'Bye Bye Baby,' this is today's Saves The Day, unrefined and, significantly, unafraid.
Produced by the band in tandem with their long-time live engineer Marc Jacob Hudson (Chiodos) and tour manger and engineer Eric Stenman, Under The Boards is as adept at channeling the band's most memorable qualities (the blissful melodic crunch of 'Can't Stay The Same') as blazing new paths (the slurry epitaph of "Turning Over In My Tomb') -- all while simultaneously providing a proper canvas for some of the most unflinching lyrical revelations Conley's ever confessed. In other words, it's a perfectly logical second chapter for this intensely personal work. One that, without question, leaves nothing sacred for the eventual conclusion.
"People talk about the evolving sound of Saves The Day," intimates Conley. "I wish I could take credit for it, but I'm just following my muse and trying to have fun. It's a big undertaking, but it's neat to work on something I can look back on and see the movements of my own personal journey. It's more vital to me. I'm singing about stuff that's currently in my veins."
ABOUT HELLOGOODBYE -
If there's one thing to expect from Hellogoodbye, it's the unexpected. One day the band is sharing the stage with Beyoncé--or at least a cutout of Beyoncé--and the next day, each member--vocalist/guitarist Forrest Kline, keyboardist Jesse Kurvink, bassist Marcus Cole and drummer Chris Profeta--is dressed up as a different piece of fruit. With all the energy and intensity of Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch--minus all that pesky Scientology stuff about people living in volcanoes--Hellogoodbye have spent the last two years perfecting their unbridled live show and booty-shaking jams, which culminate in the release of their debut album Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!.
However, when the band formed, there weren't really any zombies or aliens or vampires or dinosaurs, and don't get us started on the exclamation points. "I started recording really horrible midi music on my PC in my bedroom," remembers Kline, who just so happened to be working for Drive-Thru Records at the time of his tinkering. "The rhythm was all jittery because my computer sucked and the vocals were all soft cause my parents were sleeping upstairs while I recorded them." Writing songs for friends and girls he wanted to woo, Kline kept the material to himself never sending demos to any labels. A mutual friend shared the songs with Drive-Thru owners Richard Reines and Stefanie Reines and they flipped out! With the unconditional support of Drive-Thru and after hook-up with Kurvink, Hellogoodbye was born. Well, sort of. "We went through a few drummers and a few bass players until we found Marcus, who was already friends with Jesse, and later Chris, who was raised by gorillas deep in the Congo."
After the band hoofed it out of Central Africa, they got to work recording their self-titled EP, which spawned the David Hasselhoff fave and MTV2 choice-cut "Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn." Although initially meant to be free, available at shows and on the band's web site, the EP flew off the digital shelves faster than you can Google "Paris Hilton + sex tape." Scoring 750,000 downloads, selling nearly 105,000 copies and eventually winning MTV2's Dew Circuit Breakout contest, the band had no choice but to give the fans more of what they wanted--Hellogoodbye. In addition to touring the country for the next two years with bands like All American Rejects, Motion City Soundtrack and the Academy Is..., Hellogoodbye started headlining--and selling out--venues and practically had to be surgically removed from the road in order to get back in the studio. Luckily, it didn't leave a scar.
For Hellogoodbye's long-awaited debut album, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, the band enlisted the help of Matt Mahaffey, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist of the power-pop band Self, turn-table master on albums by Pink and Smash Mouth, member of Beck's back-up band and personal musical hero of Kline. The Southern California quartet settled into Mahaffey's home studio and started going through which songs would make the final cut, which was a foreign experience for Kline, who was used to producing all the band's music. "It was definitely a different process and a weird experience," says Kline of collaborating with an outside producer. "But when I look back on recording, I think that [Mahaffey] brought a lot of really cool stuff [to the album] and a lot of my favorite parts are the ones that he did."
The eleven tracks that ended up making it onto Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! are a collection of songs that work together to create a non-stop, radtastic party mix, but separate them apart, and no two songs are alike. "I never really thought of the record as a record," admits Kline. "I just thought of this song as a song and that song as a song. For different songs, I definitely had different goals for the sound. Part of what I like about Self and other bands is that there isn't one drum sound, one guitar sound and one vibe. Every song's is an entirely different production. That was the goal--that each song was approached individually. I didn't want it to sound all over the place but I wanted each song to be its own song and have its own sound."
Mission accomplished. From the opening beats of the new New Wave powerhouse "All Of My Love" to the tender plucking and pining of "Oh, It Is Love" Hellogoodbye have created the perfect soundtrack to any hot and heavy make-out or even something more personal. "Mostly, [the songs on Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! are] about my girlfriend or someone who did or didn't used to be my girlfriend," reveals Kline. "I guess you could say it's the soundtrack to being my girlfriend." Sorry, ladies. He's taken.
The future for Hellogoodbye is so bright, you might want to wear shades--or at least a sun block with a high SPF. "We have always just done whatever we wanted to and whatever was funny to us and so far it's worked out okay, so we'll probably stick to that," explains Kurvink. "No one wants to be famous. Nobody wants to tour forever. We want to do this for as long as we can and then get married to our girlfriends and have puppies and kids and live happily ever."
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