MPP: That's awesome. Who do you think some major musical influences are for Taking Back Sunday?
FM: I think the music people listen to when they're between 16 and 20 is the most influential music for everyone, and that's different for all of us, but I always come back to those bands. Like for me, [guitarist] Eddie [Reyes] and Mark, it was a lot of punk rock bands, but also a lot of hardcore bands. We also like a lot of classic rock now. We kind of dug back. We have a record player on the road that we set up in the dressing room. We'll stop places and buy some vinyl records; we'll pick up AC/DC's Back in Black and some Def Leppard - I know, it's not too good. We put that on for a laugh. We'll do that and go back to the room and blast it.
That old rock is starting to pierce through our music in some ways. One thing we don't want to do, we don't want people to listen to our record in ten years and say, "that sounds like the music we played in 2006." We don't want to sound like the other bands in our genre. We want to be the band that still rocks. That's where we're coming from and what pushes us along influentially.
I think the songs on Louder Now also come across a lot better live than our old stuff. So in order to experience Louder Now, the best way is definitely the live show. It's where it's at right now. We're playing at our best, the best that we can right now. That's why I think this tour is so great. Our heads are in the same place.
Taking Back Sunday is currently on tour (in Japan and the UK) promoting their new album, Louder Now, with Angels and Airwaves, Head Automatica and The Subways. For dates and other info, check their tour page.
Interview by Laura Misjak
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