Tag: "new found glory"

In a Set It Off song, you’re as likely to find strings and woodwinds as crunching guitars and sugary pop harmonies. The band’s members have been perfecting their unique blend of orchestral pop-punk since 2008 and are about to embark on their biggest adventure yet: a European tour with Yellowcard this spring. We chatted with vocalist Cody Carson about his classical background, love of ’90s R&B, and what advice he would give to up-and-coming acts looking to make their mark.

OS: You guys recently donated over $5000 to the VH1 “Save The Music” Foundation and you mention the influence of music programs on the band when you were young. What music programs were you involved in when you were in school?

Cody Carson: I went to Tarpon Springs High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida. In second grade, I picked up a clarinet, and I kept playing and I got very heavily involved in classical music. The only reason I went to Tarpon Springs High School was because of their music program; it was incredible. It taught you a great deal of work ethic, and there was also a leadership program that was called Tarpon Springs High School Music and Leadership Conservatory. I learned a lot of valuable life lessons there. I played clarinet and was involved in marching band and wind ensemble and jazz band. Because of the leadership program there, at the end of every year there was always a political campaign and I would run for clarinet section leader and woodwind captain, and those were two positions I held. I met Dan Clermont, our guitarist, there. He was the trumpet player there and he was also trumpet section leader and field commander and stuff like that. The program was incredible to us. Continue reading ‘Exclusive Q and A: Set It Off Talk Orchestral Origins’

Ever since last night’s Billboard interview with Jordan Pundik, the internet has been going haywire with rumors of New Found Glory’s impending hiatus. The only problem? It isn’t true.

Speaking to Billboard, Pudnik said:

“I think we need to go away for a little bit,” explains Pundik, who’s in the process of opening a tattoo shop in Nashville. “We’ve been touring for a long time. I don’t think anybody’s in the headspace for writing a new record. We won’t go away completely; we’re still gonna be doing things here and there, probably some one-offs and things like that. But to be honest I don’t think we’ll have anything new out until 2014.” But, Pundik adds, he’s not worried about the band members straying apart during any kind of hiatus.

To be honest, it’s easy to see this from both sides, however as guitarist Chad Gilbert points out, Pundik never used the word hiatus, and Gilbert says the entire thing has been a misunderstanding. At most he says, they’ll be taking six months off.

Check out what Gilbert had to say after the jump, and weigh in below in the comments. Do you think there’s more to the story? Continue reading ‘New Found Glory “Taking Time Off”’

Venture Guitars is an independent custom guitar company based out of Pawtucket, RI. It was founded in 2009 by four friends, including Travis Alexander of the band Ghost Thrower (formerly of Therefore I Am). They have handmade high quality 100% custom guitars for major artists including Steve Klein of New Found Glory, Dallas Green of City and olour (ex-Alexisonfire), Bryan Donahue of Early Morning Blues (ex-Boys Like Girls), and more. Now they are hoping to push their business to the next level by entering their first original design into the professional guitar market, but they need your help! The guitar is called the Anna-Lee, and through Kickstarter, they are hoping to raise at least $15,000 to afford new parts and equipment to expand their business and build more of this model. If you would like to help fund this project and support an ambitious, independent, all American-made company, click here to learn more, donate, and receive some cool pledge rewards!

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Break out your Etnies and your nautical star wristbands because we’re going back to 2002. This fall, pop punk stalwarts New Found Glory will be hitting the road to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of their ’02 album Sticks and Stones by playing the record live in its entirety. In contrast with recent gigs, the dates for the Sticks and Stones 10 Year Anniversary Tour will be primarily at smaller, more intimate venues. Ticket pre-sales begin this Thursday, September 6. In addition, Epitaph is offering a limited edition Sticks and Stones vinyl that includes “Anniversary,” a previously unreleased song. Supporting New Found Glory will be Seahaven (November 24 to December 3), Candy Hearts (December 5 to December 16), and The Story So Far (full tour), who take their name from the hidden track at the end of Sticks and Stones.

More like this:

• Rock ‘n’ Roll Call: Dashboard Confessional’s “The Swiss Army Romance” 10th Anniversary Show Review
• Exclusive Q and A: Man Overboard Talk Philly Pride and Punk Longevity

Releasing three albums in just 18 months sounds like an exhausting endeavor, but you wouldn’t know it from the looks of Yellowcard at their recent Vans Warped Tour dates. The band is as full of energy as they were back during the early 2000s, and are gearing up for the release of their newest studio album Southern Air. We sat down with guitarist Ryan Mendez at their Mansfield, Mass. Warped Tour stop to talk about his early days on the tour, the writing process for the new record, and the album’s one big guest appearance that didn’t make the final cut.

OS: It’s the band’s 5th time on Warped Tour.  What’s different this time around?

RM: Well, I did the tour in ’02 and ’04 with my old band when we were traveling in a van, and it was just the most bottom-of-the-barrel experience of paying your dues on Warped Tour. Now, with us being at the level that we’re at, and me being a part of Yellowcard, it couldn’t be any more different for me. We did about half of the tour in ’07, and that was awesome too, but we were in kind of a tough time as a band then, and we were having issues with our bass player, who ended up leaving the band later in the year. It was just not the right mental page for us to be on, but now everybody’s doing great, we’ve got a new record coming out, and the tour has been awesome. Warped just treats us so well, and we’ve been having a great time.

OS: Yeah, the reception at your show today was awesome

RM: I think it was probably the best show of the tour for us. Before that, I think Chicago was the best show, but this might have taken it’s place!

Continue reading ‘Exclusive Q and A: Yellowcard Open Up About ‘Southern Air’ And Being Warped Tour Veterans’

It wouldn’t be hyperbolic to call New Jersey pop punk act Man Overboard a touring machine. Their schedule for 2012 has so far included dates in the United Kingdom, United States, continental Europe, Russia, and Ukraine. As if that weren’t enough, this summer they played every single date on notoriously brutal The Vans Warped Tour. We caught up with guitarist Justin Collier at their Mansfield, MA Warped Tour stop to talk stage dives, Russian punk shows, and why little girls love New Found Glory.

OS: You guys played a killer set earlier today, even though you had a pretty early time slot.

JC: I think that a lot of bands get really bummed out when they first come on the tour and find out they have to play either really early or really late. They think that if they play first, then nobody’s going to be there, and if they play last, then everybody’s going to be gone already. Even though some kids at our signing today told us that they missed our set because they didn’t get there until 1 p.m, I think a lot of kids do get there early.  Some of the people who arrive early and don’t have anyone to watch will think, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of that band.  I’ll check them out.” And that’s half the battle of Warped Tour.  That’s what you’re here for—to get new fans.

OS: But by now, you guys have become a fairly established act on the tour, and it doesn’t seem like you need to try incredibly hard to get a lot of people out to see you.  There were a certainly a lot of people out there this morning.

JC: It’s different in different places, you know? When you play somewhere like Boston and there are 20,000 people out there, it’s a little easier than when you play Kansas and there are only 5,000 people for all of the bands on the tour. Being from a city like Boston or Philly, where I’m from, there are always good shows. There would be bands that I’d see in Philly and I’d think, “Wow, they’re huge,” but I’d see them somewhere else and realize that they weren’t as big as they seemed.

OS: Being from a place with very intense scene loyalty, like the Philly or Jersey area, how do you feel when you tour abroad? You guys have toured in some very distant places recently, like Russia and Ukraine. What effect do those experiences have on the feeling of musical place you get from your hometowns?

JC: It makes me really appreciate being from the city of Philadelphia. I think that I didn’t before, but now I do, because there are things like R5 Productions and other really great companies, people, and collectives that do shows and events and all kinds of cool stuff. I have a very high standard of how punk shows should be run, but then we would go somewhere like Russia and, not to their discredit, they just haven’t been bred the same way that Phildelphians and Bostonians have been bred to run punk shows. I’m used to some pretty cool shit, but other places are just different and you have to get used to it. It’s always an adventure going somewhere else anyway.

Continue reading ‘Exclusive Q and A: Man Overboard Talk Philly Pride and Punk Longevity’

It’s official: We’ve survived one week on the Vans Warped Tour…and we’re having a blast! Our national Warped Tour competition winner Larry g(EE) has been stopping people in their tracks with his energetic live performances, and the crowds have been left screaming for more. Plus, Junior Doctor, Avion Roe and the rest of the artists on the OurStage.com Stage artists are tearing up the stage every day.

Here’s a collection of our favorite photos from Warped Tour this week. Check out our official Tumblr blog for more photos, live videos, interviews and more, and share your photos with us on Twitter and Instagram by tagging them with #ourstagewarped. See you on the road!

Larry rocks out in Kansas (we need to get our hands on some of these tees!)

We love "hanging out" with Avion Roe

Continue reading ‘OS @ Warped Series: This Week On Warped Tour — Week 1′

• Finally, dudes!
• I think we’ve seen enough of OFWGKTA’s writing on Twitter…
• Never ask the audience for shoes.
• Why don’t you save the Mars bars for people who aren’t burning down buildings?
• Sorry, girl. Some days you just can’t flow.
• I think we have a new secret character for the next Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
• New Blink 182 and New Found Glory? Our 14-year-old selves are so happy.

Despite being leaked, A Day To Remember‘s most recent effort, What Separates Me From You, has experienced great success, presumably to due to the fact that the Florida rockers possess a great skill in blending styles seamlessly, finding themselves on the brink of genre reinvention. While other bands are quick to chastise those who try to pigeon-hole their musical tastings, ADTR has found a sweet spot and settled into their unique fusion of metal, punk, hardcore and pop.

We caught up with guitarist Neil Westfall to discuss the success of What Separates Me From You, why a leak wasn’t the worst thing the in the world and the band’s return to Warped Tour.

OS: Your new record, What Separates Me From You, received rave reviews from multiple Web sites and magazines. How did you build on the success from Homesick on this album?

NW: When we went into the studio, we had a lot of momentum coming off a hard touring cycle.  So we just capitalized on that by not really taking any time off and paying shows even while we were in the studio.

OS: Unfortunately, the new album was leaked a few days prior to the release. How did you react to that?

NW: We were actually kind of happy—it was only like 5 days out or something. Homesick leaked 2 and a half weeks out.  It worked out well, because our fans are amazing.  They may have downloaded it early to check it out, but they also went out and bought one to support us.

OS: You’ve faced some criticism for mixing the genres of pop-punk and hardcore. How do you respond to people who say that blending genres is a bad idea?

NW: Well, we don’t respond to people like that.  We just keep doing our thing.  We just keep touring and writing music we love.  That was one of the first lessons we learned as a young band coming up.

OS: In mixing the two genres, your influences must be varied. Who are some of the artists that most influenced your songwriting for each record?

NW: Well, every record we’ve made has been influenced by Blink 182 , Millencolin, NOFX, On Broken Wings, Seventh Star.  We were playing a lot of European festivals during the time that we wrote WSMFY, so we were surrounded by different types of music.  That helped us take our music in new directions.

OS:  Chad Gilbert from New Found Glory produced both Homesick and What Separates Me From You. What made you want to work with him for a second time?

NW: He really gets us.  He understands exactly what we are trying to do with our sound.  He’s also an awesome guy… and it doesn’t hurt that he’s in one of our favorite bands.

OS: You’ve spent a lot of time touring around the US and overseas. How do crowds in different countries receive you?

NW: I think the best way to describe it is that before every show, the crowd is a little different.  But when we play, and everyone is in there, and it’s dark, it is pretty much the same everywhere—people just having a good time.

OS: Josh and Jeremy have launched their own record label called Running Man Records. What do you look for in artists to potentially sign?

NW: I think they are just looking for something good and original.

OS: Despite originally saying you weren’t planning on it, you’ve already announced that you’ll be out on Warped Tour in 2011. What made you change your minds?

NW: Warped Tour is badass!  We know it will be an awesome summer getting to share the stage with some of our best friends!

You can buy What Separates You From Me on iTunes now.

Artists like Chris Carrabba, a.k.a. Dashboard Confessional, are a dying breed. Genuine, sensitive and undeniably talented, he has been the premiere singer-songwriter on the contemporary emo scene for ten years.

And though he has inspired many artists to follow, Chris is truly in a league of his own—completely unconcerned with what’s cool, and honestly in love with his art. Over the last ten years, fans have fallen in love with his heartfelt music and have watched Carrabba morph from a soft-spoken young man with an acoustic guitar into a full-fledged rock star. Now, he is usually found fronting his band in sold-out arenas, composing songs for movie soundtracks and touring with the likes of Bon Jovi, Brand New and New Found Glory.

For reunions and anniversary tours, 2010 has been a huge year—with artists like Something Corporate, Good Charlotte and The Dresden Dolls all celebrating their ten-year milestones. In celebration of the tenth anniversary of the release of his first album, The Swiss Army Romance, Carrabba decided to do it old school: just him and his guitar. The tour began on November 27th in Fort Lauderdale and will run until January 22nd in San Diego, with Carrabba playing the ten acoustic songs of Swiss Army in order every night.

The intimate performance at Boston’s Paradise Rock Club began with Dashboard’s magnum opus, “Screaming Infidelities.” The ecstatic crowd sang every word at the top of their lungs (and would continue to do so for the remainder of the hour and a half-long set). After all, Swiss Army is known best for Carrabba’s poetic lyrics, echoed time and time again by any teenager going through a rough breakup. Because of this, the audience consisted of almost all people in their mid-twenties, as Swiss Army was a defining album for many of them during the trial and tribulations of high school.

Chris played through the entire record with finnesse, letting the audience sing for him many times, as well. Though he claimed to have a cold, he laughed it off, saying that it made him sound more like he did on the original recordings. The crowd went crazy for fan favorites “The Sharp Hint of New Tears,” “The Swiss Army Romance” and “Again It Goes Unnoticed.” The impeccably well-versed audience did make one mistake, however, when during “Age Six Racer,” many of them started singing lyrics at the wrong time. Chris chuckled and said, ” I guess that’s how it goes now, huh? Actually, I kind of like that. I should start playing it that way!”

Once Swiss Army had been played all the way through, Carrabba announced he’d be staying on stage to play some tracks that we may have been hoping to hear. He then played a mix of songs from his first three albums (though, interestingly, none from his latest two), including “The Brilliant Dance,” “So Impossible,” “Stolen” and “Vindicated.” He then announced his last song and closed the set with the Dashboard classic, “Hands Down.”

As a long-time Dashboard Confessional fan, it’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since the release of The Swiss Army Romance. But it’s clear that no one is more surprised than Carrabba, who smiled with disbelief throughout the night. What made the show so special was how incredibly thankful he was to be there—constantly commenting on how amazing it was that we made it this far. He even said that he recognized many of the fans from years ago and thanked them tirelessly for their support. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing him another ten years down the road.

If the Swiss Army Romance 10th Anniversary Tour hasn’t come to your city yet, check it out at these dates:

Dec 14 – Westchester, PA @ The Note
Dec 15 – Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall
Dec 17 – Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot
Dec 18 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Dec 19 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
Jan 10 – Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall
Jan 11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
Jan 13 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Jan 14 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Jan 15 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
Jan 16 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
Jan 19-21 – West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour
Jan 22 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues