Warped Tour Feature:

Urgency on a Friday Evening

Taking Back Sunday
Camden, NJ 8/6/04

Adam Lazzara – lead vocals
Fred Mascherino – guitar, vocals
Eddie Reyes – guitar
Mark O’Connell – drums
Matt Rubano – bass

I sat at my laptop trying to come up with a word to describe Taking Back Sunday’s music and urgency was the first word that came to mind. The way the band moves around the stage quicker than any eager photographer in the photo pit (speaking from experience) could possibly capture in a frame and the intensity of their performance relates a level of urgency in their music, like they have something to say and they need to get it out there before it’s too late. As lead singer Adam Lazzara screams the lyrics into the mic he swings and tosses about the stage like a pro, the Warped Tour crowd shouts the words with fervor right back at him.

Drawing one of the biggest crowds at Warped tour, the band has developed a cult following that has intensified since their sophomore release Where You Want to Be came out on July 27th. The follow-up to their debut album Tell All Your Friends marks the first record that the new line up, featuring guitarist Fred Mascherino and bassist Matt Rubano, can be heard on. It’s shaky territory to have to live up to and potentially exceed an album as successful as Tell All Your Friends, but the band has managed to not let their fans down with this new release. The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard Charts on August 2nd, and sold over a whopping 161,398 copies during its first week of release. The band describes their reaction to the quick success of the album as shock. “We were like ‘What’s going on?!’” says Lazzara. Rubano adds, “It’s totally surreal for us to see that that many people like the band and our music.”

The past couple of months have been filled with nonstop touring for the band, who headlined this year’s Skate and Surf festival in Asbury Park, NJ. The band then joined forces with Blink-182 and Cypress Hill in April before joining Warped as one of the headlining acts this summer. The touring doesn’t stop there; the band is scheduled to play a few shows in Europe before returning for a string of shows across the US. The US tour will feature bands Matchbook Romance and Fall Out Boy during the first leg and Atreyu and Funeral for a Friend the second leg. Check out the band’s website at www.takingbacksunday.com for more information.