New Found Glory
The VOX Interview

>>Chad & Jordan are gonna get you if you don't buy their record.>>

VOX: The new record, "Sticks and Stones," is out, but no preview copies went out pre-release - many of the labels are worried about piracy.   Where do you guys come down on the issue?
Chad Gilbert: It [downloading] has helped us actually in bringing in new fans.  If a band like blink says NFG is great, people go online and got the mp3 on Napster or whatever, then from there we get a bunch of fans checking out our show.  People are always going to do that.  I mean I hear some record store people are losing their jobs, which sucks but you can't control it.  If they like the music they’ll end up going to our shows and that's really what we're all about anyway.

VOX: I'm guessing that you're more involved in the business side than before - does the slump in music sales concern you guys?
Chad: Our success totally comes from touring…[silence]…Uh, I just had a brain fart, forgot what I was going to say…
Jordan Pundik: No.  For what we’ve done, I didn’t expect any of this.   I mean I’m here at MCA, sitting in the B.B. King conference room.  That’s awesome!  I mean, I don’t want to dis anyone but you have all these bands like P.O.D., triple platinum, Sum41 multi-platinum, Alien Ant Farm, multi-platinum, but they’ll play to a few hundred fans, while we play to at least double that.  I don’t want to dis anyone but, like, the Roseland Ballroom, we’ll sell 4000 tickets and P.O.D. will sell 400.  We sell 300 thousand copies of the record while P.O.D. sells 3 million.  So it doesn’t effect us at all 'cause the fans are at our shows.   That's what our focus has been and we're not going to change it.

>> Even Jordan says Chad is a little ripe... >>

VOX: You went from being a band that was working to get your name out there to a band with a hit record working on a follow-up.  Did it affect how you wrote?
Jordan: We’ve always done the same thing.
Chad: We treated it the same.  We wrote the songs naturally, no pressure from anyone.   I mean we’ve always had a strong fan base - that’s what’s important.   We have a strong work ethic.  When we brought them the album they [label] were like, "This is amazing!"

VOX: Were most of the songs written while you were touring or after you got off the road?
Jordan: We had more time this time…no rush in putting the album together.  Last time we had more pressure to get it done.  We basically demo'd on the bus with a 24 track.
Chad: The best time to write though is after I poop – or sex!
Jordan: Yeah, on the toilet…
Chad: When I poop that’s the best.  I mean, I’m there alone, no one bothering me.  After a nice release it’s so inspiring, there with my guitar…

VOX: What are your expectations or hopes for Sticks and Stones?
Chad: For it to be better than the last album.
Jordan: The last record we were only 18-19, now we’re 21 and we’ve been through a lot.  There's more maturity, and it doesn’t all have to do with girls.

VOX: How was the making of this record different from the last one?
Chad: We learned from the last release, since we were pressured, a little more nervous.   We thought the last album lacked energy so we wanted this release to reflect more what we do live which makes it louder.  But we still consider ourselves as punk/heavy rock with a melodic sound, if you need a label for us.
Jordan: We definitely had more time this time around.  We were relaxed, more time was spent with Neil, and we did our best.

VOX: How do you feel your lives have changed the most because of your success?
Chad: We are basically the same people.  We have our own pads now.  We're not living with parents. Jordan has a place in Temecula, I’m off of Melrose.  We are more independent but still the same.  I hope we don’t change.  I just want us to maintain our friendship if we get popular, I mean we’re not superheroes or anything.  We’ve had fans come up and go crazy, we’re like it’s cool, we’re just the same.

>> Funny, Jordan doesn't even play piano. >>

VOX: Do you miss Florida?  Have things changed for you when you go there?
Jordan: It’s been awhile. I miss my family, mom and dad and my sister, but they have been out here.
Chad: It’s the same, well, there are the older fans that get bitter, saying that we’ll fail but we still have our real friends.

VOX: What was the first big purchase you made?
Chad: A big screen, I love games and movies so I needed a big screen.  My place is a mess.  If I ever do 'Cribs' I won’t clean up!

VOX: What's the album cover all about?
Chad: The cover deals with relationships.  I mean it’s like when we’re kids, boys and girls will hit each other but in the end there’s still that love.   Life would be a lot easier if people remembered how it was when you're a kid.

VOX: You guys are on the main stage at Warped for the summer.  What's up for the band after that?
Jordan: The day after the last Warped date, we are going to Europe and then to Japan.
Chad: England is insane for use.  We’re still bigger here but we get much bigger press and magazine covers there.  The fans really appreciate bands, 'cause they may not make it out as much.  We’ve never been to Japan but we have a lot of interest there.  Our friend Joe [Escalante], bass player for the Vandals said he bought a pair of shoes there and it had an advertisement of us inside the shoe!   We're excited about all the toys.
Jordan: Yeah, we love toys!  I’m bringing an empty suitcase just to buy toys and bring them back.