(March 18, 2008) PCM's
Kristyn spent some time chatting with Jimmy Eat World drummer
Zach Lind about life on the road and the band's newest album
"Chase The Light." Read on:
Kristyn: This is Kristyn from Pop Culture Madness.
Jimmy Eat World (Zach): Awesome.
K: So, I heard you just got back from Europe a bit ago?
Z: Yeah, we got back actually a week ago.
K: Oh, okay.
Z: We've been home for a little bit.
K: So, you're enjoying the relaxation time?
Z: Yeah, it's been really, really nice actually. It was
a really long tour. I think it was probably our longest
tour ever; it was just short of 8 weeks.
K: Wow.
Z: Yeah, it's nice to be back.
K: That's a lot of time on the road.
Z: Yeah it is.
K: So, could you tell our readers a little bit about
your newest release, "Chase This Light?"
Z: Yeah. Sure!
K: Yeah, just a little about the release, how it came
to be, what your writing process was, things like that?
Z: Yeah. Well, you know we were done touring for the last
record we did, the record before it called "Futures,"
and one of the things we were really set on was to try and
record the record at a home studio, and that was something
we've never done before and we have this kind of like a
rehearsal space, sort of a minimal studio type set up in
our hometown where we rehearse and stow all of our gear.
It's sort of our home base.
K: Okay.
Z: And we just sort of we decided "hey, let's make
a record here." So that was something that I think
influenced the making of the record a great deal because
it was just so nice to be at home to make, work on music
and not have to be in some foreign place or be in a hotel.
So that was one of the kind of little interesting aspects
of making the record, and the songs themselves were really
shaping up to be more fun and upbeat and lighter than previous
records and I think we just had so much fun making the record;
we enjoyed ourselves so much, and I think it comes through
in the music and that was something we really appreciate.
I think it's probably the most pop-oriented record that
we've done, but at the same time there's definitely cool
really cool musical moments on the record and something
we're really proud of.
K: Your newest single is "Always Be," am I
correct?
Z: Yes.
K: How would you compare that to those from the past
such as songs like "The Middle" or "Bleed
American?" Would you say your sounds matured over the
years?
Z: You know, I don't know. I think it's matured to a certain
point. I guess it's sort of hard for us to answer that.
We feel like it has, but at the same time it's, you know,
I think that we feel like we've matured as a band. I think
"Always Be" is, I don't know. "The Middle"
is definitely more of a rock song, and "Always Be"
to me has more of a swing to it and that's something that
we do on not a lot of songs, and I think it's something
kind of unique for that. "The Middle" is very
kind of straight-forward and it has a rock feel to it, where
as "Always Be" kind of has like a swinging, swaying
back and forth kind of feel to it, and I think that that
really influences the song, and how the song feels and makes
you move. I think that would be the main difference from
the previous singles.
K: Well, I definitely like it, I think it's definitely
working out for you guys, according to my humble opinion.
(laughs)
Z: Cool, thank you!
K: Are you currently working on any material for a follow
up?
Z: You know, we've really been focused on touring right
now and haven't been doing a lot of work on putting together
a new release. We do have some songs leftover, previous
sessions that we are excited about continuing to work on
and see where they go. Right now I think it's really been,
the focus has really been on playing shows and touring and
traveling. So that's kind of where we're at right now.
K: I see you are getting ready to head out on tour with
Paramore. Are you excited for it?
Z: Yeah, we're really excited for it. I think it's going
to be a really great time. I think it's going to be a good
opportunity for both bands to play to different people who
they may not have been exposed to and we're looking forward
to that. It's always kind of exciting to be on and try to
win people over. I think it makes you a better band and
makes you heighten your level of intensity and that's something
that we kind of thrive on.
K: What would you say excites you most about a live
show? It looks like you guys have been touring for quite
a while.
Z: Yeah. I think it's really just the interaction with
the fans. It's a time when you can kind of get a sense for,
you know, what your fans are like, what they like from you,
and you learn about your audience. For us that's the most
important part of touring, is having that connection, and
meeting my fans after the show sometimes, and it's a good
opportunity for them to meet us and at the same time it's
a good opportunity for us to get to know them.
K: Well I'm sure you must get a lot of feedback that
way too?
Z: For sure, yeah! For our shows we always try to think
of our shows as like how would we like this or that, you
know? If we were fans, we always try to put ourselves in
the fans shoes and ask ourselves "What would we be
into?" We try to approach it from that way and I think
it's, hopefully, going to be something that results in making
fans happy.
K: That's great. Well, you must have some crazy road
stories from being out all that time. Have you had any crazy
fan experiences yet?
Z: We stayed pretty mellow and calm on the road, but there's
always like little stories. There was one time our van hit
a patch of ice and almost slid off the road off like what
looked like a 40 foot drop.
K: Ooh, that's not good.
Z: And so that would have been hairy.
K: Yeah, just a little bit.
Z: Then there was the time in Europe when we left our bass
player in the rest stop and we didn't know it until we were
like a few hundred miles away.
K: (laughs)
Z: So, yeah, stuff like that, little stuff like that happens
that are pretty funny and we laugh about to this day.
K: Right. So, I did read that you worked with producer
Butch Big on the album. What was that like?
Z: It was really fun. Butch is obviously, he's sort of
a legendary producer, he's produced a lot of records that
we grew up on.
K: Exactly.
Z: So being able meet him and to learn from him and see
how he makes a record and what his experience is was a great
benefit to us. He's just, you know, he couldn't be a nicer
guy. He's just the kind of person who, when he becomes involved
in a project, brings an element of enthusiasm to it and
I think that, you know, that's really necessary for anyone
who's taking that risk and putting together new music or
working on a new project and that's something that really
helped us along in making the new record.
K: That's great! Who would you say are some of your
main musical influences?
Z: I think, for me, personally, I'm a huge U2 fan, REM,
Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty.
K: That's some of my favorites!
Z: Yeah! All those kinds of bands. David Bowie. We have
a lot, as a band we have a wide variety of influences, but
those are the bands that have inspired us to be in a band
and I think to this day we still draw on that.
K: That's good. Have you heard the new REM yet?
Z: I haven't heard it, no!
K: It's good!
Z: I mean, I actually really like the more recent kind
of artier REM records that didn't seem to get as much attention,
but yeah, I'm pretty much an all-in REM guy. When they produce
a record I just get it without really asking questions.
K: They're probably the one band I've yet to see live,
but I'm waiting! (laughing)
Z: Yeah.
K: So, what would you say is the main message that you're
trying to convey with "Chase This Light"? Is there
any significance behind the title?
Z: You know, there's not like a specific message that we
tried to convey. I think "Chase This Light" is
a title that we had been hoping that people could kind of
take it as their own and the title can kind of point to
whatever's relevant in your life. I think we purposely,
it's vague enough to where we feel people can connect with
the title in different ways and I think that's something
that we value and not necessarily getting a specific message
and telling people how they should think and feel, but hopefully
the music and the lyrics can be something that they connect
to on a personal level. I think we try to stay out of the
way and not necessarily put out a specific message. That's
kind of what we like to do; get the audience to connect
how they want to.
K: It's kind of like let the audience take away what
they will from it?
Z: Exactly, yeah! That's kind of how we've always approached
it. That's how we approach writing the lyrics; be vague
enough but to be specific enough to really evoke different
kinds of responses from different people.
K: Right! What's your favorite song off "Chase
This Light" and why?
Z: I think my favorite song is "Always Be." It's
just a really fun song to play live. Like I said, it's got
a swing to it that's fun for a drummer to deal with to play,
so I really enjoy playing it and I think it's one of the
more unique songs on the record. That's right now. I think
it changes sometimes, but right now "Always Be"
is definitely it.
K: Where was the video filmed for that?
Z: The video's filmed at the Natural History Museum in
LA.
K: Okay! I always wondered about that, I was like "Hmm,
wonder where that is."
Z: Yeah.
K: Where do you see the future of music heading, and
where you do see Jimmy Eat World in that picture?
Z: That's a good question! It's hard to know really what
the future of music is, where it's heading. I think every,
seems like every other week, there's something new that
comes along that changes where music's going in terms of
the music business and all that. I think for us we're still
thinking about who we are as a band, and we feel that focusing
on writing good songs and playing live are the two things
that, if we put all our attention on those things, then
the other things will kind of fall in place. I think that
making great records and being a band that can play well
live are the two things we can actually control. Beyond
that there's so much in the music business that changes
and is out of our control, we kind of tend to focus on the
things that we have a hand in and if you have songs that
people connect with and that are meaningful to people, you'll
be okay in the end.
K: That was very well put. What do you guys enjoy doing
in your spare time, if any? I know that life on the road
must be pretty hectic.
Z: Yeah. I think that when we're not on tour I think we
just really enjoy hanging out with our family. Like, I have
a 6 year old daughter, so I spend as much time with her
as possible and hanging out with my wife.
K: Of course.
Z: I like to go see a lot of movies, I'm kind of a movie
freak. Different things like that. You know, when the weather's
good in Arizona, my family likes to go hiking.
K: What movies have you seen lately?
Z: I just saw a movie called The Counterfeiters, which
is a foreign language film that is about, it's a pretty
heavy movie, but it's about some Jews in the concentration
camps who were forced to counterfeit British Pounds and
the US Dollar. It's a really fascinating movie.
K: I'll have to keep it in mind.
Z: Yeah.
K: Just for fun, can you tell our readers one interesting
fact or tid-bit about the band like any funny habits or
hobbies?
Z: Hmm. About the band…
K: Did I put you on the spot?
Z: Yeah. Let me think. (long pause) One thing that
we do a lot on tour is, one of our favorite movies collectively
is The Big Lebowski, so we always quote lines from that,
pretty much daily on tour. Not a lot of people know that
about us.
K: Good choice!
Z: Yeah. (laughs)
K: Basically, I am just about out of questions, so what
will be next on the horizon for Jimmy Eat World? What should
fans be expecting in the future?
Z: I think the rest of the Spring and the Summer will be
spent touring and I really think we'll be focusing on having
great live shows. After that we're not real sure. I think
we'll probably do some more touring in the Fall but we've
yet to really kind of schedule what we're doing. Obviously
we're hoping to release a new record some time in 2009,
that's what we're shooting for. We'll see. We want to make
a new record, keep touring, and that's kind of what's coming
up for us.
K: We certainly wish you all the best. You'll be in
our area, I think Atlantic City, NJ closes your tour, so
hopefully we'll be able to come out to see the show.
Z: That'd be cool!
K: Is there any message or comment you would like to
add?
Z: No, I think I'm good.
K: Okay, well thank you so much for speaking to us today
Zach.
Z: All right, take care. Bye.
K: You too. Bye!
