Just because New Found Glory are getting love from the “TRL” crowd doesn’t mean they’re changing their ways or cleaning up their act.
Sure, the band’s next video is for the song “Head on Collision,” one of the slower, more melodic tracks from their latest album, Sticks & Stones. But the clip, directed by the Malloys, will reveal a previously unseen twisted side of the group thanks to the help of schlock horror production company Troma Films, which provided the makeup and special effects for the video.
“Me and our singer Jordan are really big fans of ‘The Toxic Avenger’ and other movies they’ve done, so it was so cool to have them involved,” guitarist Chad Gilbert said. “There are all these cheesy effects to make it look like a B-grade horror movie.”
The weird, anachronistic video places present-day New Found Glory on a California movie set in the 1930s. As the segment progresses, the bandmembers realize they’re at the wrong shoot, but take the stage anyway and begin to play. Then madness ensues. “One of the 1930s-esque studio workers is on a piece of scaffolding, and he starts pouring fake snow on our drummer [Cyrus Bolooki],” Gilbert explained. “So Cyrus looks up. Then the worker drops the bucket [of snow] on Cyrus, and it chops off his arm while he’s playing the drums. So he kind of scrambles and grabs his arm and screws it back in and finishes the song. That’s just one of the things that happens.”
The band shot the video July 16 on the Universal Studios back lot, and the clip will be presented to video outlets this fall, around the same time the single goes to radio. Like New Found Glory’s current hit, “My Friends Over You,” the song is about the emotional upheaval of bad romance.
“It’s basically about a person in your life that you keep butting heads with and you hate it, and you feel like you’re at an all-time low,” Gilbert said. “It’s a hard thing to get over when you’re trying to get through something and no matter what you do it’s always like banging your head against the wall.”
“Head on Collision” will likely be saturating the airwaves as New Found Glory begin their fall headlining tour with emo-rockers Further Seems Forever, piano-punk band Something Corporate and hardcore grinders Finch.
Currently, New Found Glory are one of the main attractions of the Vans/Warped Tour, an outing that appeals to the bandmembers’ DIY sensibility and allows them to “keep it real, man”.
“I think one of the reasons people are so passionate about our band is because we’re so accessible,” Gilbert said. “Yeah, we might have a video on ‘TRL,’ but when you go to the Warped Tour you’re going to see us walking around in the crowd and hanging out with kids because we treat our fans like we wanted to be treated when we were going to shows. Fans feel so close to us and can relate to us because not only do we look like the kids at our shows, we’re in the crowd with the kids at our shows. We don’t create this weird barrier like we’re some crazy rock band.”
One of the perks of being on the Warped Tour – aside from the deluxe catering tent – is the access artists have to other acts that inspired them. Gilbert especially enjoys playing poker with NOFX bassist and vocalist Fat Mike, who sets up a card table backstage and ropes in gambling rockers for a $100 to $200 buy-in fee.
“It’s kind of cool being at a poker table with the guys from NOFX, a guy from Bad Religion, a guy from Lagwagon, all these cool punk bands you’ve always dug,” Gilbert said.
When they’re not rocking out or playing poker, New Found Glory are thinking about the future. Gilbert has already sketched out riffs for 12 new songs for a future album, and the band has made plans to collaborate with the lesser-known Warped reggae band Morgan Heritage.
“They’re really cool guys and they’re really supportive of our band,” Gilbert explained. “They always watch us and we always watch them. So we’re going to do a little collaboration for fun. We’ll probably never release it, but if it turns out really good, who knows?”
New Found Glory Fall Tour Dates, According To MCA Records:
- 10/3 – Los Angeles, CA – Palladium
- 10/4 – San Diego, CA – Cox Arena
- 10/5 – Las Vegas, NV – Hard Rock Hotel – The Joint
- 10/6 – Ventura, CA – Ventura Theatre
- 10/8 – Bakersfield, CA – Salon Juarez Dance Hall
- 10/10 – Chico, CA – Brickworks
- 10/11 – San Francisco, CA – The Concourse
- 10/12 – Portland, OR – Roseland
- 10/13 – Seattle, WA – Showbox
- 10/14 – Seattle, WA – Showbox
- 10/16 – Orem, UT – Utah Valley State College
- 10/17 – Denver, CO – Fillmore
- 10/18 – Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club
- 10/19 – Minneapolis, MN – Quest
- 10/21 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
- 10/22 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
- 10/23 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
- 10/24 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
- 10/25 – Detroit, MI – State Theatre
- 10/26 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre
- 10/27 – Pittsburgh, PA – Rock Jungle
- 10/29 – Toronto, ON – Kool Haus
- 10/30 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
- 11/1 – Worcester, MA – Palladium
- 11/3 – Asbury Park, NJ – Convention Hall
- 11/5 – New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom
- 11/6 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
- 11/7 – Washington, DC – Nation
- 11/8 – Virginia Beach, VA – Boathouse
- 11/9 – Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues
- 11/10 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
- 11/11 – St. Petersburg, FL – Janus Landing
- 11/12 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues
- 11/13 – Coral Springs, FL – Sportsplex
- 11/16 – Houston, TX – The Engine Room
- 11/17 – Ft. Worth, TX – The Ridgley Theatre
- 11/18 – Austin, TX – Emo’s
- 11/20 – Tuscon, AZ – Rialto
- 11/21 – Phoenix, AZ – Club Rio