By Rachael Bentley
The Recorder talked to guitarist and vocalist Matt Fazzi of Taking Back Sunday, learning about his past concert experiences in Connecticut to challenges faced as the newest member of the band. Taking Back Sunday played a co-headlining show with All American Rejects on Nov. 6 at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Rachael Bentley: Where did the band name Taking Back Sunday originate from?
Matt Fazzi: The band name comes from a song title of a band that kind of existed in the Long Island scene. Back when Taking Back Sunday first started they had a song called “Taking Back Sunday” and the singer of this band, who I think [guitarist] Eddie Reyes was close friends with, passed away. So it’s kind of an homage to the band. I kind of think the bigger picture is just more or less an ode to that band, but it’s also about remembering your roots and your friends.
RB: What kind of genre do you consider your work to be, and what are some of your personal major influences?
MF: I would consider our band to be just a rock band. In simplest terms, we’re just a rock band, but I mean people want to call us an emo band. I think that emo kind of died a long time ago with bands in the ‘90s like Jimmy Eat World and Mineral and that sort of thing. So it’s not really something we identify with at all, but it kind of just gets attached to you. We’re just a rock band. For me, The Beatles are at the top of the list, no question. A cool second for me would be a band called Tears for Fears, believe it or not. There are just so many bands we all listen to, with very different and eclectic styles of music. I mean, I like a lot of R&B and jazz even, so we have a pretty diverse set of influences. But for me I’d have to say it’s The Beatles and Tears for Fears, hands down.
RB: You’ve been to Connecticut three times, playing at The Webster and also at the Comcast Theater with Blink 182. How was that?
MF: The last two shows have been fantastic and so much fun. The headliner we did, I’ll never forget that show for a few different reasons. It was a great show to begin with but that was also the day that Michael Jackson died, so I’ll totally remember that forever and ever.
And also that same night during our set one of the kids got up on stage in Hartford and the beefiest security guard ever, like 6’5’’, gotta be 250 pounds, just absolutely decked this kid. From all the way across the stage he just ran across the stage, jumped though the air and tackled him. He must have been half of the security guard’s size. It was the most punishing and brutal thing I’ve ever experienced while playing a show. He jumped up, got excited, and literally two second later, was manhandled by this huge football guy. I wasn’t very excited about that because our fans are always super mellow and even when he got on stage he wasn’t trying to rip our hair our or anything, but that was a little bit extreme. I will never forget that show, it was really great and being able to go back with Blink 182 and Weezer was really, really awesome.
RB: What has been your biggest challenge in getting to know the band and getting a connection with the guys?
MF: I’ve been friends with them for several years now. Maintaining and building a friendship was probably the easiest part of it. That had a really big impact on me joining the band. So that made it easier when they gave me the opportunity to join. Plus we get used to each other and play music. It just got natural. For me, coming in and being the new guy was the most intimidating thing. Just trying to bring something new to the table and bring something of my own style and my voice into the new record New Again.
RB: What do you think you’d want to contribute the most?
MF: For me, it’s all about the music. I like giving Adam [Lazzara] the freedom to stretch out the lyrics, because he’s a great lyricist and a melodic writer. I wanna give him the space. It also gives me the space to handle a lot of the music so it’s a cool relationship where I get to contribute to the musical base for songs and Adam kind of gets to work with it. We get to work together; it’s a good balance.
RB: What is one thing you would tell fans about living big life moments and performing under pressure?
MF: Well, I still get nervous for some shows. I don’t get nervous too much anymore, just because I’ve been touring and playing music for so long. I’ve always tried to be so prepared that even in the most extreme circumstances, even playing massive shows, that playing all the music is kind of second nature. In those times, where you tend to over think those things, it’s good to have it be second nature, and already know what you’re supposed to be doing. It’s easier to maintain your sanity and your calm and deliver your parts if you’re just so well rehearsed that you don’t even think about it. But luckily we’ve had so much experience touring and playing shows that were not too intimidated by big shows anymore. We just approach all the shows the same, even if it’s for 2,000 or 60,000. It’s truly a passion and we’re extremely fortunate to be able to do what we do every single day.
RB: With regard to your newest album, New Again, what is your favorite song to practice and record?
MF: There are two songs on the new record that I really, really enjoy playing. One of the songs is called “Carpathia.” It’s got some really nice three-part harmonies and some cool instrumental stuff going on. Then I enjoy a song called “Lonely, Lonely,” which is one of the shorter tracks on the album. It’s like a freight train song of 120 percent the entire time. It’s got a really cool kind of sassy energy to it, that I really like. It’s super, super fun to play.
