NEW FOUND GLORY

Formed back in 1997, New Found Glory's energetic pop-punk has garnered them fans across the globe, with something of a cult following. Their music has earned them past support slots alongside the likes of Blink 182, and they are now legends in their own right. With five studio albums already under their belts, NFG have just released their sixth, 'Not Without A Fight'. Before the band head off on an almost non-stop world tour from late March to mid-June, bassist Ian Grushka took a moment to answer our Same Six Questions.

 

Q1 How did you start out making music?
We were all in different local bands. [Guitarist] Chad was singing in Shai Hulud at the time. My horrible band at the time (Inner City Kids) kicked its singer out and asked [frontman] Jordan to join. Me and Jordan wanted to change the band name so people didn't think we still had that old singer. So basically the whole band quit. Jordan then said, 'I don't want to sing and play guitar, I only want to sing'. So we had a singer and a bassist. We asked [other guitarist] Steve to join, who then asked Chad to join. Then we had an old drummer for about four shows, and that didn't work out. So we got Cyrus, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Q2 What inspired your latest album?
All of our albums are inspired by what goes on in our lives in between albums. Once an album is released we start gaining influences for the next record. Steve writes the lyrics in our band, and all of his lyrics are based on real life experiences. A song can be created from something one of us is going through or a conversation we've had.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Chad writes the music in our band. Chad teaches us all to play the music. Then we each give input on if we think the music needs changes. Then we will usually record a live version of the music. That could be on tour at a soundcheck, or at practice. Then Steve puts it on a CD or iPod, and listens in headphones. He writes the lyrics and vocal patterns for the most part. Then once he takes that to Jordan, he will change it around a bit to better suit his voice - add harmonies, etc. And that's the backbone for most of our songs.

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
That's impossible to say. We all like different music. Chad likes everything from Björk to H20 to Shania Twain. Super wide range. Cyrus likes everything on the radio, and rap. I like 80s stuff, mostly pop and metal mixed with pop country, Jordan likes every band you've never heard of, and Steve likes most of the bands I dislike... hahahaha. Just kidding.

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Our albums are the soundtrack to our live show. You need to see us live to understand our band. I enjoy our albums, but LOVE playing live.

Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
We want to tour and travel the world as long as we can. My goal for this album is to sell more copies then we did of 'Coming Home'. We are so happy to be on Epitaph now. Our old A&R guy at Geffen was a tool (only in my opinion) so it would be like a 'fuck you' to him when we sell more CDs.

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