So much more banter and stuff happened between songs than what actually made the final edit (I haven’t watched the full performance in a while so I could be misremembering this, admittedly). They clearly were checked out of it by the time it was being edited (and the Matt interview segments happening in a different location). The whole new again touring cycle feels like it didn’t happen in my memory, but now that I’m thinking about it, they did a fair amount for how short of a time it was. A few winter dates prior to its release and then that spring/summer tour with Anberlin and Envy on the Coast before hopping on to open for Blink. Then a fall coheadliner with AAR that hit a strange mix of places. I didn’t see that but prior to it starting they did a handful of shows with fun. who were just starting out at that point, and that was a crazy show. I remember being able to tell that some of them weren’t as enthusiastic about the record that they just put out as other were and that Warner was pushing for weird singles (they tried to make Where My Mouth Is a single and even did a few performances of it on TV and I feel like a verse maybe was cut for timing purposes?) they may have sounded better overall as they do now, but I think they’re clearly having more fun on stage these days. Just saw them this past week, and Adam and John going back and forth between songs is very entertaining to me, and even when they gave Rubano a microphone during the New Again cycle, they didn’t seem to be enjoying each other as much as this iteration of the band does.
I saw them twice on this touring cycle- once with Anberlin and EoTC and it was a great show. They sounded great and appeared to be having a great time. On the AAR tour that fall they came to my college and in hindsight the vibe was definitely different. I don’t recall feeling that shift at the time because I had smoked with their road crew on AAR’s bus and met Fazzi later in the evening so I was in too happy of a place to even really notice. Also met Adam and chatted with him for a bit after the show as well.
I think he did himself a HUGE favor by mostly not saying anything in the fall out of all that, but I don’t think he is without blame either. I also remember him having a lot of not so nice things to say about some of his bandmates/friends in happy body, slow brain that really turned me off from him.
Agreed. I would watch the fuck out of a TBS documentary. Don't forget the fact that despite there being three songs for the album, only one ever got a music video, which is bizarre when we were still in the era of music videos reigning supreme. I need a New Again video, as well as a video for Panic At The Disco's pretty. Odd. and Sum 41's Screaming Bloody Murder. It would be interesting for Todd to cover more albums that bombed that weren't universally panned.
They wanted to change producers for New Again and work with somebody else but they’d already started with David Kahne, and for whatever reason (I think this goes back to Warner if I remember correctly), they had to stick it out with him. I think the whole situation (not just the stuff with the Matts, but with the label stuff) really soured their perspective of that album. Adam’s talked a few times about not loving the production of that record, and I’ve always wondered what it could have sounded like. Especially knowing a song like Where My Mouth Is was so different in its original form to what we got and then it being pushed as a single (right at the end of summer when summer, man was right there? Who made that call?)
I also would love a doc or a very very in depth book with the one condition that every member former and current is involved (with no PR spin) along with some of their peers who toured or were around them at various points. Probably wishful thinking but it could be incredible!
Didn't AP pretty much talk to everyone when they did the Oral History of TBS back in 2010 or 2011? I remember that being a pretty good read and had interviews with Fred and Fazzi following the reunion.
Fazzi didn't participate, and he said he wasn’t asked, but I remember the AP Twitter account basically being like “you didn’t return our calls.” It was a pretty good read, but considering it was in support of the self-titled record, I do imagine that there were things that were ultimately left out because of that.
On the peer/touring part, i REALLY am curious to know why they fell out with EoTC. Come to think of it, that’s another band with a chaotic story that ought to be told
Seeing New Again right underneath Kelly Clarkson's My December on Kahne's Wikipedia page is pretty wild. I don't see a problem with the production of the album, but I also didn't work on it. What did "Where My Mouth Is" originally sound like? I'm curious. I'm sure it's in one of those Making Of videos that I watched a long while ago.
To clarify, at the time she was not his ex-wife, and Fazzi remaining close to Envy after the fact did not help when they were discussing bringing John and Shaun back, especially because Eddie was the one who had asked Fazzi to try out for TBS in the first place. (Edit: this was all in some interview back when John and Shaun rejoined the band, and I remember it just because I really enjoy Envy and the stuff Ryan’s done since) does anybody else remember a vague rumor of Sal being considered for Fazzi’s spot before they confirmed Fazzi? That would have been interesting.
That coheadliner with AAR was the first time I saw TBS. Anberlin totally stole the show that night. I think that was around the time Feel Good Drag went #1. I thought they were gonna blow up in popularity after how good their live show was I see people say Adam has a weird stage persona, but Tyson from AAR was a very odd duck with strange banter. If memory serves me right, he looked like he had dumped a bottle of glitter on himself before he went on stage too lol
Anberlin is amazing. God I wish they were bigger than were. Still incredible that Feel Good Drag hit #1 though.
Yeah I saw AAR on Blink reunion tour that year and Tyson was glittered (and maybe drugged?) Up. I say maybe drugged cause it was unlike ANY of the previous times I'd seen them since 04... really offputting behavior to go along with the look
I saw AAR headline in Cleveland around 2012 and Tyson broke some fan's ipad (to be fair - who brings an ipad to a show??). When they came out for their encore, he handed the fan hundreds of dollars to pay for it. I remember in 2005, seeing TBS in Cincinnati and Adam was pissed at the security guard in front of the stage for some reason and was treating the guard like shit all night, at one point, even wrapping the mic cord around his neck. Really weird stuff.
That would’ve been super interesting considering how high Sal’s voice is. He’s an incredible musician but vocally it wouldn’t have worked. I know it was either gonna be Fazzi or Andy Jackson from Hot Rod Circuit, which would’ve been cool after hearing what he ended up doing with Fred in Terrible Things
At the TBS/AAR show I mentioned before Tyson wore a dress and made his way up into the stands and made out with a girl I had classes with in the middle of one song. Met him after the show and he was a little stand off-ish.