Taken Back Sunday

Music | October 2nd, 2014

Old-school fans of Taking Back Sunday no longer need to believe, “this all was only wishful thinking.” Their wishes have come true: the band’s “Tell All Your Friends” lineup is back together.

While the news really isn’t new anymore, it’s still significant. Formed in 1999, during a time when emo was one of the most popular forms of alternative music, Taking Back Sunday has enjoyed a long, fan-raving career. And original guitarist/vocalist John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper left in 2003 to form their own band, Straylight Run, which eventually ended in 2010. The two missed the successes of hits like “MakeDamnSure” and “A Decade on Under the Influence.”

“I thought I was going to get some sort of normal job,” said Cooper. “I met my future wife, I knew we were going to be engaged and we were going to get married … but I didn’t know what I was going to do because music had been everything since I was 19 years old.”

Cooper continued, “Mark, who plays drums, gave me a call and was like, ‘Hey, listen I really want my band back. I want you and John back into the band.’”

The biggest concern was whether the chemistry would still be there, according to Cooper. Though all it took was a studio visit to realize Nolan and Cooper were dearly missed, musically and personally.

“We were all coming from a similar place. We were all just grateful to have each other back in each other’s lives. So that felt really good,” Cooper said.

Since the original line up has been back together, Taking Back Sunday has released two records, “Taking Back Sunday” and, its most recent release, “Happiness Is.”

“We wrote (‘Happiness Is’) over the course of two years,” Cooper said. “We had a lot of time to refine parts and listen back to them and kind of see what we wanted to change.”

“Happiness Is,” similar to “Tell All Your Friends,” was recorded and produced without the participation of a label, rather, with the help of two close engineering friends. Cooper said the comfort level the band had with the engineers helped make the record outstanding.

“(It’s) the best sounding and most real sounding Taking Back Sunday record – probably closest to our live sound,” Cooper said.

Taking Back Sunday’s show in Fargo this Oct. 3 will include The Used, a band that has had a similar career and perform similar music. The two bands formed around the same time, they’ve had hit singles around the same time and they are now both promoting new albums, hence why they are on tour together.

“We’ve both had up and downs in our careers and we’ve been through a lot of stuff and been on the same labels together and this is the first time it made sense to tour again,” Cooper said.

One major thing that is different now compared to years ago, Cooper added, is their maturity level.

“Back in the old days people would be hung over. People wouldn’t get out of bed on time to make their flights, they’d be sitting in the car waiting for somebody,” he said. “And we never have that – we all just want to go and get our jobs done.”

IF YOU GO

Taking Back Sunday and The Used w/ Frnkiero AndThe Cellabration

Fri, Oct. 3, 7 p.m.

The Venue, 2525 9th Ave SW, Fargo

jadepresents.com

IF YOU GO

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