The last year has not been particularly kind to New Found Glory. The biggest obstacle has come in the form of losing founding member and guitarist Steve Klein, following a world of legal trouble that neither the band nor this publication are willing to delve into (Google the matter if you’re so inclined).
Still, what hasn’t killed the veteran pop-punk band has only made it stronger. The remaining members agreed to continue on under the name and work towards their eighth studio album,Resurrection. As the band itself will attest to, there’s never been a better time to hit ‘reset’.
“This record’s writing experience has been the easiest and the most fun in a while,” says lead vocalist Jordan Pundik. “Going into it, we knew we were committing to one guitar, bass, drums and vocals. We still wanted to make it sound like New Found Glory and have it reflect what people like about our band. We went back and listened to stuff like Rage Against The Machine and Pantera – these massive, heavy-as-fuck rock records with only one guitar. It inspired us to make the most out of this sound, even though we’re not a heavy-as-fuck band.”
Pundik – who is joined by guitarist Chad Gilbert, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Cyrus Bolooki – confirms that not only will Klein not be replaced in the official band fold, there will not be a touring guitarist joining them either. When it comes to New Found Glory in 2014, what you see is what you get. “I was so nervous before we did our first shows as a four-piece,” he says. “I was wondering how it was going to sound, but it’s actually better now. It’s tighter onstage and we can actually hear each other. The best part is that it sounds just as big.”
Resurrection is the sound of a band with something to prove and something to say about where it finds itself in the world. It comes at a very interesting time in the overall chronology of New Found Glory, with its release date falling just shy of 15 years since they dropped Nothing Gold Can Stay, their debut LP. A lot of trends, styles and demographic shifts have passed in those years, but New Found Glory have somehow found themselves as a constant. Pundik is asked what he thinks are some things that have never changed about the band in that time – and there are more than one would expect, at least on a personal level.
“We try to not feel like we’re above anybody as far as how we interact with our fans,” he says. “That’s something we still have a strong opinion about. We don’t want to have this rock-star attitude about us. Especially for me – I wake up in the morning, I look in the mirror and I feel like I’m still the same guy I was before we started this band. I’m just a mama’s boy. For me, that’s a big thing – and I know our fans appreciate that, too. I know that there’s something to be said about the big, mysterious rock-star enigma. I honestly feel, though, that writing about real-life things, the human experience and being true to who we are – that’s what’s made this band a success.”
With promotion and touring for Resurrection well under way, the band is set to return to Australia once again as a part of the Soundwave festivities in 2015. It follows an appearance on Australia’s 2013 Vans Warped Tour, which itself followed a 2012 headlining tour with Taking Back Sunday. Without resorting to clichО, there surely must be something that keeps bringing New Found Glory back.
“I know I’ve said this in the past, but I think it has to do with the fact that we don’t come and play there as often as we do in the States,” says Pundik on the band’s fervent Australian fan base. “Back home, we can do a tour and then do another tour a few months later and then do a festival. When it comes to Australia, we only come once or twice every couple of years. When we come back, people seem to really appreciate it and really want to show that they know the lyrics and want to go off harder. That’s a big thing for us, making the trip all the way out there. We want to make it worthwhile for everyone.”
Even the group’s previous trip to Australia brought back some fond memories for New Found Glory, as they were one of the few bands on the 2013 lineup to have done a Warped Tour in Australia before. “They do this whole thing where you have to travel around in big buses,” Pundik explains. “You’re sharing buses with three or four other bands full of dudes that are out of their minds. I remember Hatebreed getting on the bus about six in the morning, and most of them had been out all night. They were still raging! It took me back to when we did Warped in Australia back in 2001 – we were the young kids on the bus back then. It was us, The [Mighty Mighty] Bosstones and All. That was so cool to us – it was crazy to come back and do it again.”
Catch New Found Glory atSoundwave Festival 2015alongsideSlipknot, Faith No More, Soundgarden, Marilyn Manson, Incubus, Lamb Of God, Fall Out Boy, Ministry, Judas Priest and many more atSydney Olympic ParkfromSaturday February 28 and Sunday March 1.Resurrection out Friday October 10 through Hopeless/Unified.
