Upon doing research for my upcoming interview with Florida pop punk veterans New Found Glory, the thing that struck me the most was discovering that the band has the same lineup now as when they first burst onto the scene way back in 1997. Considering the number of personnel changes that most bands have to endure during their existence, it certainly is an incredible feat and its one of the first things I mention when I eventually chat to vocalist Jordan Pundik. “I think it’s like the reason why we’ve been a band for as long as we have is because I feel like we all go through the same things and any problems that are going on with the band, we just talk about it, everything is just open. We all really love the band,” he admits candidly. “You know, I’ve been in the band for, shit, since I was 17 years old; it’s all I know.”
It’s remarkable for any band, regardless of genre, to have been around for as long as New Found Glory have, but to have the same group of people is almost unheard of. The benefits of having such a tight nit group and a group that know each other so well both personally and musically, are certainly not lost of Pundik. “It’s really helpful when we’re writing about the things we’re writing, everything we write is real,” he says. “It’s things that have happened in our lives and I really feel like that helps. We’ve all know each other since forever.”
With the release of their latest full length record, 2011’s Radiosurgery, it’s clear that after 14 years as a band, New Found Glory haven’t lost any of their energy. From the opening track, the music blasts from the speakers just like it did back in ‘97. “I really think for us, we just go in there and we don’t think about it really. We just go do it until it’s done,” says Pundik of their approach in the recording studio. “And for us, that has always worked. I feel like we go in there and write whatever we’re feeling and it ends up working and we just write about the things that we know.” Catchy melodies, memorable hooks and sing a longs as well as bucket loads of passion and energy; Radiosurgery is pop punk in its purest form. “I feel like we’ve always wanted to do a record like that, just a straight forward punk rock record,” admits Pundik. “I really love this record. It’s such good fun to play live.”
A constant to our shores over the last few years, 2012 will be no exception with the band coming out again for a tour that will include fellow bands and friends Taking Back Sunday and This Time Next Year. In fact, it will be the first time that the band will embark on a full tour with their long time friends in Taking Back Sunday. “We’ve done it for years. We’ve never done a full tour together though; more like festivals, one show here, one show there kind of thing so it will be really cool to get one whole tour together.”
Having now clocked up countless trips to Australia, these days their tours here are not just a chance for them to play to their adoring fan base but also a chance to catch up with old friends, other bands and just generally hang out, almost, as Pundik puts it, as if they’re on vacation. “[We] definitely love the shows. The bands there are awesome,” he says. “It’s cool because [Australian crowds] really appreciate when we come out there. Just from going there so many times we have friends that live there, we go out; it’s just a good time.”
There aren’t many bands within the punk rock scene that get to scale the heights that the guys in New Found Glory have, let alone play in the one group and maintain the longevity and relevance that they have achieved. I ask Pundik what is it, after all these years that keeps them coming back for more? “It’s all our fans, honestly,” he admits. “I know every band says that but I really feel like our fans inspire us to make the best records we can and to tour, and play shows and to keep the band going as long as we can there’s so many times where people will come up to me and say, ‘Man I like your band and it’s got me through so much shit.’ And that’s what kind of keeps us going, [it’s] a big reason why.”
No one knows what the future will bring, but one thing you can be pretty certain of is that New Found Glory will be sweating it out on a stage somewhere, just as they have been doing for the last 14 years. “I mean shit, I’d like to say, ‘Hey I want to be Mick Jagger and be up there when I’m 60 years old’,” says Pundik. “But you never know what’s going to happen. Like honestly, we want the band to go as long as it can.”
BY JAMES W. NICOLI
NEW FOUND GLORY play with Taking Back Sunday on Sunday April 8 at Festival Hall, with an all-ages and licensed area.
