Pat Thetic
(Anti-Flag)

Rolf Munkes
(Empire)

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!

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