(This interview took place after a show on March 13th at the Hanover House in Meriden, CT-- in the restaurant built within the building.)
Josh Nacho: Who are some of your influences?
Chad: Some of my influences, personally, are, um... There's like pop groups like... First off I'd have to say They Might Be Giants. Umm... Geez... What else? They Might Be Giants. Green Day. NOFX. I don't just, anything like hardcore bands like Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits. Old hardcore bands too. I'm influenced by a lot of different things and I think that comes out in our music, too. Because it's like pop punk, but it has break downs in it, and it has fast parts, it has like, you know, over all, it's a pop band but I think it has a lot of different influences. And I think because of that is because all of us, even me, are into like, a variety of different kinds of music. But, as a band, I think the biggest influence on our band is Green Day. Because when we were all growing up, Green Day was the big thing on Mtv. When we were all little. When we were all in middle school, Green Day was the thing. We were into hardcore and punk too, but like, Green Day was like, that was it. It was awesome. And that Billie Joe rockin out on the guitar probably made us all wanna play.
J.N.: Who was your favorite band to tour with and why?
Chad: So far my favorite band to tour with has been Piebald. Piebald is a band out of Boston, as I'm sure everyone knows. Piebald was so much fun because I think both of our bands are not into it for the same reasons, but we're all here to have a good time and have fun, and on tour we didn't give a crap. We just had a blast. Like, partying. Not drinking partying, but just like going back to a hotel, or not even a hotel but someone's house and just like, goofing off. And just like, farting in a room. Just like, silly shit.
I just had so much fun with them, and we didn't know them, and we got really close with them. So, it was cool. That was my favorite band to tour
with. Am I talking too fast for the interview?
J.N.: No... What cd is in your cd player right now, or tape in your tape player whatever the case may be?
Chad: My cds, the last two cds I bought were Smoking Popes "Destination Failure" and Slipknot. And Slipknot.
J.N. (laughs)
Chad: Yeah. Those were like, the last two cds I bought. I've been listening to those two cds on this tour the most- Slipknot and Smoking Popes.
As a band, everyone... We listen to everything. What do they listen to a lot? Shit! What's that cd... I don't know, the new Alkaline Trio. Umm,
the new Millencolin. Stuff like that.
J.N.: What do you do in your spare time?
Chad: Well, we haven't had spare time in the past eight months. We've been on the road for the past eight months, on and off. We'd go out for like, a month, and come home for a week. We've been on the road for the past three months and only have like, two days off. But, basically, what everyone else does, and that's like, nothing. Like, go to movies. Hang out with a group of friends. Go to some parties. Go to the mall. Fucking just, call up a bunch of friends and hang out and go to the movies, basically. And write songs. And hang out with my mom, because from being on tour so much I don't get to see my mom all the time, and my dad. Just hang out with friends, fucking go to movies.
J.N.: If you could tour with any band, past or present, who would it be and why?
Chad: Who would I wanna tour with? Well, as far as drawing wise, the band I'd love to tour with is Blink 182 because they're like, huge, but Green Day is probably the all time dream. Because that was my biggest influence, and the band's, and I think that'd be the best. Green Day.
J.N.: What is the craziest thing a fan has done?
Chad: Well, we sign a lot of autographs, which is weird. But, now we're used to it. Not to be all cocky, but it's like normal. It's weird. But, uh, craziest... Someone told me tonight, not mentioning any names, that they have a keychain of my face, like, my face on their keychain, and it was a girl. And her email address is about me. And, uh, I don't know, that's pretty weird, I think. And like, she lists her last name, my last name- Gilbert- like, she doesn't writes her last name. She writes her first name and my last name. I don't know, being on tour its, we'll be in California and girls will go up on stage and girls will like, scream our names, which is really weird. We've had a bra thrown on stage before. So that's kinda silly. That's probably the craziest.
J.N.: What do you think about labels in music?
Chad: Well, it's always been like that. I think people look too far into labels. I think people have to understand that labels are just an easy way to describe something- that's it. Regardless if a thing isn't really punk or isn't really hardcore that's the best way. Labels are just an easy way to describe something. It's not meant to seperate. It's not meant to divide. It's just what it is. and people look too far into it. You know, we're a punk band, but you can't just call us a punk band because we have emotional parts are slower, whatever, so people think "What's the easiest ways to describe them? Pop punk or emo." Which, we're not an emo band at all, we're not, you know what I mean? But, I just think that... I don't know... It's not a big deal to me. I think that it's just an easy way for people to describe bands. But, when I first got into music, emo was Fugazi. I was like, "What's Fugazi? What are they?" and this was like, five, six years ago, people were like, "Fugazi are an emo band", I'm like "Ok". Shudder to Think, I was like, "Emo band". Just like, you know, and then all of a sudden Get Up Kids and Saves the Day are emo bands, and that wasn't emo to me. But, now it's just like, that's the way it is. It's just an easy way to describe music. All right.
J.N.: Do you have any interesting road stories?
Chad: Uhhh... Funny road stories, Barby. This is Barby from Farby.
Barby: Funny road stories is, we stayed at Ian's house, or his brother's house, in Atlanta, and his pet snake got out, four days prior. So, we're laying there trying to go to sleep, and Chad's in the kitchen and screams, "I found the snake" and runs out with his dick hanging out of his boxers. And for the ladies, his penis is rather large.
Chad: Shut up. Yeah, that was Barby from RxBandits. Rich. The band we're touring with. But, um, yeah, that was a funny tour story I guess. For him.
I mean, I was playing the joke, so you know. I don't know, man. We all got kicked out of a Denny's once. All of us, we got thrown out, for like, no
reason. Something funny, but not really funny- sad... I killed a deer. I was driving and I smacked the deerwith the front of our van- our old van- and I didn't do it on purpose, she was on the side of the road and she just jumped in front of the van. That was a scary/funny tour story. I mean, I'm vegetarian, but it was shocking.
J.N.: What is your song writing process like?
Chad: Well let's see. It's kind of like a group effort, but not a group effort. There's not many bands where the group, the band actually all write together. Because it's hard, it's really hard. It's five conflicting ideas. What I usually do is I'll come up with guitar lines and come up with just the music, I'll write the song with just the music. And it's not set in stone. I'll bring it to band practice and I'll be like, "Dude, I wrote this whole song, tell me what you guys think". We'll play it, they'll be like, "Let's put this here. This here. Everyone, group effort. Do this. Do this. Do this." Change the song. Then we have the song, we all learn it. It's pat. You know, everyone put their influence into it. Everyone put whatever. And then we tape it and then Jordan, our singer, and Steve go back and put lyrics to it. Steve is a good poet, like, he's not a good poet, but in school he was good in like, literature and poetry, stuff like that. So he does some of the lyric writing, our guitar player and Jordan does some of the lyric writing. And they both just sit together and put it to the songs together and just come up with vocal melodies. And then they come to practice and put it to the song, and that's how it works. See, with our band we have a pretty cool, like, easy simple process.
J.N.: What do you have for future plans?
Chad: We don't know yet, but we might have a new full length cd coming out soon. Can't give details about it, but we're supposed to have a new cd coming soon, in September. And we recorded "Hit or Miss", we recorded "Hit or Miss" in the studio cause our old recording we did ourselves was really d.i.y., so we redid it really nice, in a big studio and they're supposed to be releasing it to like, commercial radio or something.
J.N. (laughs)
Chad: Yeah. So, it's pretty funny. So, that's not definite, and it probably won't happen. But, for the band, I don't know, just touring over the summer. We're playing some Warped Tour dates in the northeast, so look out for us on the Warped Tour.
J.N.: So, you'll actually get to play with Green Day then.
Chad: Yeah. We get to play with Green Day. But you know, I want, New Found Glory, and then Green Day. Yeah, but it's still cool we get to play with Green Day. But, uh, I don't know. The plans for the band are we just wanna try and get as big and popular as possible. And, uh, we just wanna, I don't know, do what we're doin' now, and be able to pay our bills. We don't wanna hafta work a 9-5 job. We don't wanna work. We just wanna play our guitars and live off of it. That's what we wanna do, you know?
J.N.: And your cd comes out... ? (hinting at a plug)
Chad: Oh, sorry, our cover cd comes out March 28th.
J.N.: How has your relationship with Drive Thru Records been?
Chad: Very good. And I'm not just saying that because whatever. I've been in a band on labels and we were forced- not forced- but we said good things just because we didn't wanna talk shit. And I'm not just saying this because it's true. You can ask any band on our label. Drive Thru Records is probably the best record label out there. Maybe not the biggest. Labels sell more, of course. But, the way the label is run they don't sign bands they know they're gonna make money off of, they sign bands they sincerely like. Like, there's been bands that have been looking for labels and I've been like, "Sign this band, you don't understand they'll sell so many records" they'll be like, "Why would I sign a band I don't like?". They sincerely like every band on their label and they love them as friends. Like, it's two people, it's Richard and Stefanie- brother and sister- and they both run the label equally. It's great. It's like the greatest label ever. They gave us what we truely needed. Like, if we're having a problem with something, we'll call them up, and they'll do what they can to fix it or to help us. Not like some labels that'd be like, "Screw you". They're awesome. This is Gabe. Gabe from Midtown. You can take someone else's word. Gabe say hi.
Gabe: Hey, what's up?
Chad: They have a new record out. So go buy the new Midtown record.
Gabe: It's called "Save the World, Lose the Girl" it's on Drive Thru. We got these guys signed to Drive Thru.
Chad: Yeah, actually Midtown hooked us up a long time ago. But what do you think about Drive Thru Records?
Gabe: It's the best record label out there. Honestly, the way we work, and I know it's the way they work too, we work with only people that like, you know more than just people that like your band or just people that see it as a vibe that'll come out that and instantly you can make profit from. We deal with people that sincerely love what we do, and feel the same way about it that we do. And they get excited about it in the same way. And there aren't really labels out there that are like that, you know? Labels are all business. Drive Thru's really the only label out there that's not all business.
Chad: Yes. That's Gabe from Midtown. I wanted to make sure he believed us, like I wasn't trying to lie.
J.N.: What's your favorite part of playing live?
Gabe: Duh, taking his shirt off.
Chad: Taking my shirt off. Crowd interaction. I feel bad when people see us and no one's going off. Because we feed off the crowd like the majority of bands. I'll do headspins and flip in the air and like, float and go apeshit, if the crowd's going nuts. You know, you feed off of it. Now, if the crowd isn't, you know, we'll still go nuts, and if they don't get into it after the fifth song, and we're still going nuts, then it takes its toll. It's like, man, there's nothing you can do. So, my favorite part of the live show is crowd reaction. I love it when kids sing along and pile up and just like rock out. It's so much fun, man. That's the best part. Me, I've been playing these songs for a long time, so I just concentrate on the crowd and just play like, just like, rock out. I just love the crowd response. Right, Gabe?
Gabe: Absolutely.
Chad: Absolutely.
J.N.: What bands do you think deserve recognition or credit that aren't getting it?
Chad: Well, I'm saying this 'cause Gabe's here, of course, Midtown. Haa haa, I'm just joking. Midtown's a great band but I don't really need to plug them cause they're gonna rule the world in six months. They're gonna be humungous.
Gabe: Six days.
Chad: Six days, I'm sorry. Six days. But, um... Bands that need... Name some bands... Gabe, help me out here... There's a lot of bands that I like, but most bands I'm friends with have recognition. Umm, I think Piebald deserves more credit than they get. Piebald are amazing. I think they deserve way more credit than they get, and they do get a lot of credit. They get plenty of credit, but I love them, so. Umm, let's see, who deserves...
Gabe: That's a good question.
J.N. (laughs)
Chad: Yeah. RxBandits deserve more credit than they get. RxBandits, they have horns, so people see them and they're like, "Oh, they're a ska band" and that's bullshit because they barely have any ska parts. I mean, they have some ska parts, but they're a rock band. They have songs that remind me of like, Hall and Oates and '80's bands. Unfortunately, because of the way ska was a passing trend, people treat it like that. People treat it like "Horns... ska". And when people say the word ska, everyone gets scared.
Gabe: I get scared.
Chad: Huh?
Gabe: I get scared.
Chad: Gabe gets scared. Gabe gets skarred. Like ska band, ska-rred. Nevermind. You got it. But, I think they deserve way more credit than they get cause they're amazing. Their cd's really good. So, yeah.
J.N.: This is my last question.
Chad: No!
J.N.: I didn't organize this very well, so it's kind of a bizarre question to end on, but, what's your favorite place to eat while on the road?
Gabe: Denny's.
Chad: Well, since this is my interview and not Gabe's, Gabe likes Denny's. I like Denny's, but WAFFLEHOUSE, dude. Wafflehouse is the fucking best. Seriously, I go to Wafflehouse I get so much food, it's ridiculous. And it's so good. So, here's my theory about Wafflehouse and Denny's. All right. Denny's is white trash, and they make it look all nice. Now, I'm not saying it looks all nice, but they get this expensive menu, they get all this crazy furniture and all these nice plants every where and they make it look all nice, and it's white trash. The food's disgusting. Now, Wafflehouse. White trash. Not any more white trash than Denny's is, but they're not ashamed to admit it.
Gabe: They're not fronting.
Chad: They're not fronting. So, like, you go into Wafflehouse and they have yellow and orange chairs, like, uncomfortable. They have like, the stove in front of you with people with like, missing teeth, and you can smell them. And it's just so cheap. And it's the same as Denny's, they're just not afraid to admit it. And Wafflehouse is cheap. They have shitty food, and they charge like, two bucks for it. And like, you go to fucking Denny's and it's like $5.99 because you're paying for the atmosphere. Wafflehouse is the fucking greatest.
Gabe: Dude, the best is fucking Wafflehouse, they have these all you can eat or whatever and shit, and then like, "No sharing please", you know? They're like, everything is like thirty nine cents, twenty nine cents.
Chad: Wafflehouse is all along the south.
Gabe: Because that's where the white trash lives.
Chad: Yeah.
Gabe: In Florida. Specifically in Coral Springs.
Chad: No, no no. What are you talking about?
Gabe: I'm just kidding.
Chad: Fuck you. We're from Coral Springs, FL, (New Found Glory) and Coral Springs is like, it's like "Saved by the Bell", it's not white trash. But, northern FL is white trash. All FL is white trash except for south FL. Except for like, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Right?
Gabe: Yeah, dude. First time I went to FL, I always thought FL was gonna be like, you know, go see Disneyland I thought it was gonna be this like, super developed state and total like modern and shit. But, it's the fucking slums, man. Fucking swamps, dirty, disgusting and mosquitos.
Chad: Except for south FL.
Gabe: Yeah, except for south FL. Then you get to south FL, it's just like...
Chad: So, I wanna thank Nacho Cheese and Anarchy. So, yeah, thanks a lot. Any final comments is...
Gabe: Go vegetarian.
Chad: No... Well, yeah, go vegetarian, but that's for me and not for the band. Final comments from me is, like what you like. Don't like anything because it's cool, or cause it's in. And don't be afraid to like something cause your friends don't like it. And that's the main thing about our band, is all of us are into so many different styles of music, it doesn't matter what's in or what's not in. Like something for what it is, and not because it's the in thing. And... I don't know... You know what I'm trying to say, right Gabe?
Gabe: Absolutely. Be true to yourself and you will never fall.
Chad: Be true to yourself and you will never fall. Quoting Gabe. Gabe Midtown.
Gabe: I was quoting actually the Beastie Boys.
Chad: Yeah, the Beastie Boys. So, yeah. And that's it. So, yeah. Thank you, sir.
For more on A New Found Glory, visit: www.newfoundglory.com Or: DriveThruRecords.com