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By Waleed Rashidi Pump up the volume Just four years ago, Taking Back Sunday vocalist Adam Lazzara was delivering deli food for a living. His band had just released its debut, Tell All Your Friends on indie label Victory Records and Lazzara, now 24, was wishing he could throw in the towel on carting grub from place to place. We used to think, How cool would it be if we just wrote songs and played guitar every day? says Lazzara. And thats what I do now. Sure enough, on our interview day, Lazzara was phoning from a tour stop in Portland, Oregon. So just how did a job shuttling cold cuts prepare him for the road life hes living now? Well, it kinda didnt. It got me used to the road since I was always in a moving vehicle, he jokes. And after the release of his bands 2004 disc, Where You Want To Be, it seems like hes been everywhere but his New York-based home. Everything feels really foreign, he says of his highly mobile life. I have a place where I keep my stuff, but thats like about it. Since the bands creation in 99, Taking Back Sunday Lazzara, guitarists Fred Mascherino and Eddie Reyes, bassist Matt Rubano and drummer Mark OConnell has conquered many a venue several times over. In fact, the bands extensive stage activity found Lazzara making one of his dreams come true performing at Roseland in NYC. I remember going to that venue and saying, One day Im going to play here, he says. And then when we finally played there, it was sold-out and I lost it. But the road hasnt been the only success story for the band, which has also seen noteworthy record sales, having moved well over a million career units via its two-album back catalog. Taking Back Sunday hopes to add another to the list via Louder Now, the bands first with major label Warner Bros, released last month. Produced by Eric Valentine (best known for his work on Queens Of The Stone Ages breakthrough Songs For The Deaf), this third album really lives up to its name, packing a serious sonic punch from the start with Whats It Feel Like To Be A Ghost? [W]e brought in a whole bunch of records we didnt want it to sound like, he says. We didnt want it to sound like it was recorded in 2005. The way people are making records, nothing has a timeless sound you can almost name the month it came out. But with this, Eric was all about finding the right sounds. And such right sounds were clearly located. Though most of the album comes across as both bold and brash, there are clear breaks from the melodic assault for example, Miami sports largely clean, Cure-esque guitar tones, a first for the band. Chalk it up in part to getting more comfortable with each other. When we recorded the last record, we had only been with this lineup for six months, says Lazzara. And with this record, weve been together for three years, so we kind of know the ins and outs of each other and I think that really shows with this record. Everybody got an individual chance to shine. And with Louder Now, the band gets another chance at scoring some record sales figures plus another shot at some additional acceptance from the parentals, should things go according to plan. When Where You Want To Be went gold, after we went through the debacle trying to get the plaques for them, I sent one to my dad and he freaked out, says Lazzara. He thought it was the coolest thing ever. So, does Lazzara feel like hes sold a million albums? No, no, man, he says. I feel like we still have a long way to go. In his humble defense, he still owns the same car, one that he hasnt driven in a couple years (a 98 Honda Civic I was really proud of it when I got it because its the nicest car Ive ever had). As for the future, Lazzara finds it hard to predict what sorts of gains Taking Back Sunday stands to make but hopes theres one in particular they dont make. I dont really know whats going to happen tomorrow, he says. I feel so blessed, things can go in any direction. Id like to think in five or 10 years, wed still be doing this. But hopefully we wont be fat! On the web: www.takingbacksunday.com |
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Copyright © 2002 Mean Street Magazine, LLC |
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