Interviews

New Found Glory

Interview with Chad on Oct 6, 2006 by Archive Bot

Three thirty in the afternoon, I sat and prepared for my interview with Chad of New Found Glory over the phone in my dorm room. It was a little nerve racking; having a first interview with a household name, but if anything the interview went to show me that if you work hard and you’re a nice guy you can still make it in the music industry. Thanks to Chad for being so cool throughout the interview. -Drew
 
Just listening to a little of the new album, it’s a lot different than the old ones. Are there any new innovations coming in the future? Are you going to keep re inventing yourselves?
 
Chad: You know, I think that, I don’t know how extreme we reinvent ourselves. We always write from the heart we didn’t write this album to be like let’s change, it wasn’t a change where we’re like “We gotta be different.” It just naturally came out. I think from being in a band for so long we just became more confident in our songwriting. I would say in the future if Ian and I become hippies and get into crazy drum circles maybe its kinda like however we evolve as people. Who knows what could happen to me in the next two or three years. As far as our band goes and future records it all depends on who we are and where we are in our lives which is why this record sounds the way it does it came out that way because of who we are now. We’re a band that writes from the heart and not because of what’s popular.
 
I’ve heard of some unique writing processes, any superstitions about recording or rituals?
 
Chad: No superstitions, the only thing I do is like, I’m one of those trendy Johnny cash fans like, I didn’t like Johnny cash until I saw “Walk the Line”, so after I saw the movie I had this like Johnny Cash toy and it was in the studio while we were recording and I didn’t think it had much of you know, it was just cool to have him there, and our producers a Johnny cash fan. We don’t have any kind of traditions or anything that we do besides eating, like we eat a lot.
 
Singles can be deceiving; do you feel like the singles released is any indication of the rest of the album? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve?
 
Chad: It’s weird because our album leaked three days ago and I'm so exited about it because most albums leak 4 or 6 months before people have it. Ours only leaked a few days ago and it comes out Tuesday and I’m excited because we put songs on myspace.com but we’ve always been a band that has an album full of songs. If you’ve heard  “I Don’t Wanna Know” on the last recording first you’d be like “Oh my gosh, New Found Glory turned into a ballad band.” Or if you heard different songs first you can’t get a grasp on a record from 2 or 3 songs so there were some people who were like “oh man these songs are amazing” and some people said “I love the new songs but I hope there's this kinda song,” or “I heard the new songs but this,” and then the album got leaked so besides the 2 or 3 songs they heard on myspace kids went and heard the whole thing and they’re freaking out like I’m so exited for it to come out already because kids that have heard it on different websites I’ve seen a lot of kids exited about it and they like it because our records are always more than one style song, we have a wide spectrum. So I’m happy about it. At first it was kind of scary because they only had the two or three songs on myspace.
 
You mentioned the kids in the youth music scene and it’s changed so much, do you feel the kids who go to shows have changed for the better or the worse?
 
Chad: You know, I can’t say, because as far as that goes I have no place in saying because when NFG started there were bands who said, “Man, things suck now.” No, I never judge things like that for better or for worse. Music is music and New Found Glory is a band that is one of a kind one of a kind, not to sound cliché but what I mean is we will exist and be the same and a band regardless of what’s popular. When our self titled album came out what was popular at the time wasn’t NFG and then when Stick and Stones came out there were other types of music. No matter what comes out we’re gonna do what we do and because of that is why we’ve been a band for so long. So as far as now if its better or not better, or who goes to shows, or if the scene is different or not different; our popularity and our band isn’t determined by the scene, you know, we make our own scene. We write songs and put out our records and there’s the New Found Glory scene. So as far as the scene or whatever I don’t think our popularity will ever be determined by that. We’ll write our songs and our fans will like them and anybody else who wants to like them whether or not they’re part of a scene will always exist.
 
As far as scenes go, the industry’s constantly changing, up and coming bands seem to have a different agenda that some of the veteran bands might. Who do you feel sets out with the same ideology as New Found Glory; attempting to accomplish the same things that you have?
 
Chad: Hm, I don’t know… I think the new band Say Anything is an awesome band, they’re a band that just wants to make whatever they have happen. They tour, play shows, and they kind of don’t fit in but they do fit in, so I kind of respect Say Anything a lot, ya know? They do what they do and love it and not because they’re trying to fit in or be cool. Say Anything to me is a band I could talk to.
 
As long as we’re on the topic of youth bands where do you feel the industries’ headed?
 
Chad: Man, I don’t know, I think from being here for so long it’s totally unpredictable. Anyone who sits around and tries to figure out where the industries’ going can’t. Who would’ve thought that a little website where you put little pictures of yourself and write stupid stories on would become the craze and the new music scene is run by Myspace, who would’ve thought that would happen? When we first started it was Napster and it was the huge thing and now it keeps going and going and to be honest my thing is this, it’s all about the music, its all about songs, it doesn’t matter where the industries goes it doesn’t matter whether it’s websites or it’s this or that or whatever the next craze is, whatever’s the next thing. Whatever it is I don’t worry about it. I just like writing songs. And whatever the means are or where the industries at, that’s just- whatever happens happens. As long as you like playing songs and writing music that’s all that matters.
 
Do you feel like myspace is helping or hurting music?
 
Chad: I think it only helps, there’s no way it could hurt. If it was around when we started… it makes it a lot easy for bands. Maybe it makes bands less appreciative because they get popular easier because maybe that’s a way where bands- I think that when we first started there were a third as many bands because there wasn’t a mean of getting your band out. I remember when we got a CD it was like, “Oh my God, we have a CD and not a demo, a real print CD.” And now you can go and buy the CD maker and make it at your house and go and do anything. You can do anything yourself and its awesome, and My space is awesome and you can promote your band get to millions of people just by sitting in your bedroom and sitting for three hours you can reach thousands and thousands of people and let them hear your band and its helping bands, ya know? So I don’t think Myspace is a big deal.
 
Whether you’re going pop punk or punk rock or emo it tends to be a youth oriented movement, how do you stay young in the genre?
 
Chad: Well we started early so we’re still you, we’re the same age or younger than a lot of the bands out there. I just turned 25 this year and I would say we always write music from the heart and we aren’t jaded. There’s musicians in bands and I’m not saying any names, but I’ve been on many different tours and I’ve seen it. There’s bands I’ve come across that are older and have been around for a while and they’re not open to new music they’re stuck in their ways. Like, “This band's not old school,” or, “this band's young,” or, “this band's new,” and like, it’s such a wrong way to look at music. You don’t listen to music because it’s been around for a while, and you don’t listen to music if its cool and it looks cool. You listen to it for the music. I think that’s the deal with our band, like, I’ll go buy new CD’s like the Say Anything record, and that band on Decadence, The Hush Sound. And I bought the Cartel CD I still buy and constantly discover new bands and records and I’m not the guy who’s like, “I’ve been around for nine years man I’m in New Found Glory,” because that’s now how it is. That’s not why you listen to music. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why that comes across in our new record or why our sound is always fresh; because we didn’t stop listening to music and only listen to old school that’s not how we are. Maybe that’s why it comes out like that.
 
It’s tough in a scene that can be style over substance. How do you feel that fashion influences music and music fashion? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
 
Chad: I think fashions been a thing where with New Found Glory that you can be anybody and listen to New Found Glory. Certain bands could get popular because they have a look, with teenagers and young kids who don’t know who they are yet and want their identity. So they like their favorite band but want to look like their favorite band. That’s all up to the person but then if anything that’s all a fad because the person get’s two years older and doesn’t want to look like their favorite band because they’re going to college and that’s not cool anymore. So it’s kind of inevitable and it doesn’t really matter and it doesn’t affect it either way, it’s all a fad. I think it’s bad to listen to a band based on how they look because then you’re not in it for the music; you’re in it for an identity. That’s not good. You got to be into music for the music and the songs. You can have an identity, like I have certain morals, I’m a straight edge, and a lot of my morals and roots come from the hardcore scene. How I treat people, my out look on life comes from being straight edge and things like that growing up, but I don’t let that dictate what I listen to, and I think that’s what people should differentiate. You can have your personal opinions, you don’t only have to listen to music for what you look like, and you listen to music for how good a song is. Not for how cool the band is or how they look.
 
So you feel like your time in the hardcore scene had a positive influence?
 
Chad: totally, when I was young and I first got into it, when I was in middle school and all of my friends did drugs and I made fun of them but I totally felt like an outcast. Because no joke I was the only one who didn’t smoke pot or do acid or drink and all of my friends smoked cigarettes. It’s probably because my mom and my brother installed in my head that drugs weren’t cool, like, if you do drugs I’ll beat the crap out of you, like my mom yelling, “If I ever catch you blah blah blah,” so like, that was in my head that I’ll never do drugs but I was with all these kids into punk alternative and hardcore and they all did drugs and I was like, “Man, I don’t like that, that’s stupid,” and then I discovered minor threat and I was like, “Oh my gosh, here’s a band that sings about what I hate, I have a place in life,” and it was almost like fate. You know when you find something so ironic, like, oh my gosh, I was just thinking it would be so cool if this happened, and that’s how it was with straight edge and hardcore. I was already having this feeling where I was like, “Man I don’t fit in this sucks, I love this music but I hate drugs,” and all the people that are in these bands do drugs and smoke and I look like them like my friend dyes his hair green and I dye my hair red and I wear these clothes and we look the same but all these people do drugs and I don’t, and then I heard; like I said, minor threat, and I was like, “Woohoo, I have a place, I have a place in this crazy music scene,” and from that I was able to grow up in the scene and was able to stay out of a lot of trouble because of that. Then I went on and met friends with the same beliefs as me and hung out with them instead of being around the kids who kind of caused trouble.
 
There have been a lot of rivalries in music; even on Warped Tour this year, and the internet can be a really ugly stomping ground for rumors like that. Are there any rumors that you’ve heard that you want to squash?
 
Chad: Rumors that aren’t squashed? No, I haven’t really heard any. There aren’t really any rumors about me or anything. Just the internet, I think with people it’s kind of like you can’t listen to them or let them bother you. I remember on the internet like a long time ago it was like I’m gay and have cancer or something, I was like “well I have a girlfriend and don’t have cancer.” You can’t really pay attention to that stuff because it came from a 15 year old kid sitting in his bedroom and was bored. You can’t really listen to the internet. (laughs) I mean, no offense, you got a really cool website but when people talk crap on the internet you know what I mean, just can’t listen to rumors, ya know?
 
Any last words you want to say about the album that you want to let kids know about?
 
Chad: Yeah, to our fans this is a record every one should listen to. We poured our hearts into this record and our personal lives and stories and sing about them and if you want a record to put in your car and drive around and sing along and you need that record to kind of like forget about all worries and relate to then you should buy the record; you need it coming home.
 
All right, thanks for everything man.
 
Chad: Thanks to all our fans too, and thank you for doing the interview.