“Heavy that you bop your head to.” – Glassjaw Interview

in Interviews by BBtBB Team — December 30, 2009 at 1:50 am | 7 comments

“Heavy that you bop your head to.”
Glassjaw Interview

by Selvin Cunningham

PHOTOS OF GLASSJAW’S PERFORMANCE HERE

We met at a Loblaws SuperStore, sitting in the hot foods section surrounded by grocery shoppers and anxious kids who think going to the show three hours early will benefit their lives. As Daryl Palumbo walks past, we give him a look and he says, “What? You don’t know who I am? Forget it, this interview is done”, as he walks away laughing trying to decide what he will eat. A minute later, he returns to our table with Justin Beck holding a full rotisserie chicken, ready to devour it savagely. Glassjaw has been making a return to action since 2006, promising releases and posting very vague hints at release dates on the web. Daryl’s battle with Crohn’s disease has forced canceled tours and hiatuses in the past four years, but they seem determined to release new material in 2010. Touring with Brand New in the end of ’09 has reassured Glassjaw fans that they are back and serious this time around. Check out our interview and look for any clues leading to the release of new material. Enjoy

BBtBB: How does it feel to have Glassjaw back on the road for the first time in a few years?

Beck: It feels great. I think the shows are going really well and I think we sound, for the most part, better than we’ve ever sounded on this specific tour. We’re having a lot of fun.

BBtBB: Have you been well received amongst the Brand New crowd?

Beck: Yeah, I would say so. I think last night was the weakest [Montreal]. I would say that was the weakest crowd reception. Other than that, it’s been amazing.

BBtBB: How has Glassjaw managed to stay prolific musically through all the years, even though there has been the hiatus?

Daryl: Classic tunes. They never die out.

BBtBB: As for the new Glassjaw material, are those EPs and LPs still going to be released?

Daryl: We intend to, exact dates, titles, and formats are undetermined at this time due to things outside of our immediate creative nucleus.

BBtBB: I remember seeing a MySpace post stating that this is some of the most aggressive material written in a while.

Daryl: It’s hard for us to tell when, because of other shit, we don’t have control of. Things outside of the band and other shit that has nothing to do with the music or the band – labels and other people.

BBtBB: Would you ever consider making Glassjaw an official five-piece again?

Daryl: If we needed the extra musician to add something, like if we brought in a maraca player or a fuckin’ keyboardist, maybe we would be an eight-piece band? Whatever is called for. Are you referencing specific people that have been in the band in the past? If they’ve been in the band, odds are they won’t ever play with us again because there are reasons why we don’t play together. We could be a four-piece, five-piece, 70 fuckin’ piece band if we wanted!

Beck: The new stuff doesn’t even have any guitar on it so I don’t think we need two guitarists doing nothing, let alone one guitar.

BBtBB: Has the song writing process changed since you’ve become a four-piece band?

Beck: No, it’s always been the same. Me and Darryl have always been the main proprietors of all the music, so it’s always been the same process since 1994.

BBtBB: With the new aggressive tunes that you wrote about…

Daryl: Whoa! What post is this? Tweet?

BBtBB: I think it was a tweet or a MySpace bulletin, where it said “Shit Slams is some of the most aggressive thing we’ve ever written in a while…”

Daryl: I don’t think I’d tweet the word aggressive. I definitely said it when, I think, there was a girl that interviewed me and I said that some of it is definitely some of the most aggressive shit we’ve done in a while, but for the most part a lot of it is not incredibly aggressive in a traditional sense to begin with. That quote seems to be coming up, but I said it in a really passing way about specific parts of the things we’re doing. I see it as the heavier stuff is WAY heavier than the heavier stuff, and the more heady, ethereal shit is more groovy and headier. On the record, that’s how I feel.

Beck: Heavy does not mean heavy metal solos. Heavy that you bop your head to.

Daryl: By aggressive, I also meant in terms of, like on one of the EPs of stuff in which  there is a certain phase in our sound that is more straightforward and aggressive, but not all of it. It’s all giant sounding and heavy, but not heavy metal. No heavy metal solos happening.

BBtBB: Did you intentionally steer in the direction you left off for the upcoming EP and LP?

Daryl: It’s just a natural progression and there’s no real thought or game plan put towards it, so whatever comes out, comes out.

BBtBB: With the new material, what have you drawn from for inspiration lyrically?

Beckt: Things that made him [Daryl] talk about incessantly and a couple of personal things here and there, some stuff dealing with family. It’s been a big few family years in a couple of interesting ways for me since the last Glassjaw record.

BBtBB: How do you feel about the music scene as it stands right now compared to a decade ago?

Daryl: Embarassing and gay. (laughs) I want to have no affiliation with anybody going on right now. We’re not that awesome, but there’s a lot of not-awesome shit right now.

Beck: We’re not saying that we’re awesome, we’re music fans. We’re just not psyched on anything out right now. At least we think outside the box, that’s part of what we do, and that’s a fact.

Daryl: I’m not saying we’re better than anybody, but there’s a lot of crap and it’s really disheartening. Maybe 15 years ago or 1998, bands that we were looking up to were getting signed – there barely were any – but the few that did get signed were like gods to us. Now we look around and look at our peer group and look at what’s happening…

Beck:  Some people have a tour bus and a record deal and they suck! They think that Bon Jovi and them can stand up to something. They can suck a dick! Yeah! (laughs)

BBtBB: That being said, do you have any bright lights or any records that you did appreciate from this last year?

Daryl: Yeah, but nothing rock and roll, there’s no rock and roll records that are blowing my mind right now. Primal Scream put out a great record a year and a half ago. There’s not a lot of current rock that’s flooring me.

Beck: I feel like I’d have more in common with the girl from the coffee shop here!(laughs)

Daryl: I feel like as people, we definitely have more in common with the people working here than we do with ones at our shows! (laughs)

Beck: I was shooting jams with the Ethiopian girl serving the coffee over there.

Daryl: This is how relevant our record collections are to what’s going on right now in rock and roll. Beck just put on an Ethiopian downtempo tune and had the Ethiopian girl at the counter listen to it and translate it for him. That’s where his [Beck] head is at right now.

BBtBB: Which direction do you see the hardcore community going in the future?

Beck: I think the hardcore scene that we grew up on doesn’t exist anymore. I work with a couple of dudes in New York who are hardcore, it’s in our pedigree. New York hardcore, post-hardcore, and we always viewed ourselves as the youngest of the generation, and that generation is long gone. Anything going on now has nothing to do with anything we grew up on. As far as I’m concerned, hardcore is dead. I’m so out of touch, a couple of my co-workers know what’s going on, but I’m so out of touch that I couldn’t even tell you what bands were in that world. Nothing on Equal Visions or Victory is considered hardcore, I don’t know if you consider that hardcore. It was when we were 15 – Earth Crisis, Strife, Shift, Orange Nine – that was hardcore, but shit that’s on those labels now are so far detached.

BBtBB: Yesterday, it was announced that Taproot signed with Victory. What do you think of that?

Daryl: I don’t think anything of it!

Beck: There’s no connection other than a corporate seal that’s on the side of the website or CD. There’s no musical ethic or any connection, it’s so so disconnected.

BBtBB: Do you think that any newer bands like Crime In Stereo and that wave of Bridge 9 bands can take it back?

Daryl: They can take it back, but I don’t think anyone’s really looking to. I don’t think Crime In Stereo is looking to do that either, I don’t think that’s what their goal is. They’re probably trying NOT to be hardcore right now. Everybody goes through that too. If Kurt is recording the band, and Jake is putting out the band, that’s hardcore, because those dudes don’t give a fuck. I don’t even know what Revelations has put out in the last 10 years. I know that there are some dudes like Jake [Converge] who manage to make a living doing it, being a millionaire, and he’s hardcore as fuck. Those people live forever. It’s just rare to see people that really embody what the whole ethos was supposed to be in the ’90s.

BBtBB: Looking into the future, where do you see Glassjaw a year from now?

Beck: Putting some new music out and playing some shows.

Daryl: Getting to play in new places that we never got to go together as friends. Finally having a record, I want the full length out and underneath me.

BBtBB: You are heading out in January to the UK and then hitting up Soundwave in Australia. Any bands that you’re looking forward to playing with?

Beck: Faith No More and…

Daryl: Who the fuck was on Soundwave? Anthrax, Janes Addiction. All of those screamo bands can kiss my ass. When I saw the roster and saw that [screamo bands] was in there and I said ‘Fuck no, we’re not doing this!’ and it took some convincing that there were some other bands on it of worth.

BBtBB: I noticed you were the eighth band to be added and one of the last big headliners to be announced.

Daryl: Isn’t that cute? We’re the eighth band to be added! It made me so happy when I found that out, I didn’t know if you [Beck] knew that. I figured you must have.

Beck: I didn’t know know what the fuck that meant! What does eighth mean?

Daryl: Kids wrote it to me and people picked up on it, I think that’s pretty rad.

BBtBB: Any touring plans after Soundwave?

Beck: We just hope to solidify all the record stuff and try to put out some music. This was supposed to be a happy medium and we were intending to drop some new material out by now. At this point, we’re itching to put out new music then play those songs.

BBtBB: As far as collaborations, you [Daryl] have lent your vocals to other bands, do you have anything in the works right now?

Daryl: No, not at the moment. The new Head Automatica record is completely done and we’re just figuring out a lot of things as far as business and how to put our music out in the world easily. It’s really hard to answer questions about music, but there’s music done with both bands. We’re just piecing everything together, and there’s lots of music to go around and also lots of people who want to touch it before it goes out. We just have to figure out who’s entitled to it and who’s not.

BBtBB: I haven’t heard about this in a while, so I have to bring it up – House of Blow. Where are you going with that?

Daryl: Shawn got married a couple of days ago and has a SICK haircut and adult flannel buttoned all the way up to the top. (laughs) Shawn’s had tunes, and we made a bunch of beats for a bunch of rappers. Yakballs just put out a few tunes that we made beats for.

BBtBB: Alright, that’s it! Thanks a lot guys!