Glassjaw: Their Name Is BOOM!
Post-hardcore hardliners had plenty to celebrate this past December when the mighty Glassjaw decided to hit the road for a round of shows in the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard. The “alumni lineup”-singer Daryl Palumbo, guitarist Justin Beck, bassist Manny Carrero (Saves The Day) and drummer Durijah Lang (Classic Case)-played 13 shows to rabid crowds who had been waiting since 2003 for them to return to the road.
In between studio sessions (with Hatebreed’s Sean Martin for their House Of Blow project and with Thursday’s Geoff Rickly in the grind aggregate United Nations) and heading off on tour with Head Automatica, Palumbo briefly chatted with AP about Glassjaw’s reconvening, the overwhelming response to the shows and what their future holds. Rest assured Palumbo is just as stoked about the prospect of new ’jaw music as his fans. “This is the fourth phase of Glassjaw, and I’m excited about it,” he says, enthusiastically. “It’s the best-sounding band we’ve had in 14 years.”
The response to the tour has been amazing. What do you chalk up Glassjaw’s legendary status to?
DARYL PALUMBO: “Legendary?” [Laughs.] That’s hilarious!
Okay, so you’re not Black Flag. But you can’t deny that in many circles, Glassjaw is considered this mythic thing.
These shows were the biggest headlining tour the band had ever done. Why is it that when we decided to play some shows, more people wanted to see it now than they had originally? Seriously.
I don’t know: That’s why I’m asking you.
The last tour we did was Warped Tour in 2003. [On that tour,] there were people who wanted to see us, but some days I felt like only 60 people knew who we were. We stepped back to do other things in our lives, and to have this response now is amazing. I’m so honored that anyone really remembers what we set out to do. There are so many bands these days. If we were 16-years-old and just starting a metal band now, we would be drowned. We’re lucky that we took some years off and more people come out now.
On this outing, you played three unreleased tunes: “Natural Born Farmer”-which dates back to 2003-“(You Think You’re) John Fucking Lennon” and “Jesus Glue.” Will there be a new Glassjaw disc this year? Where is Glassjaw activity on your day planner, anyway?
Head A has touring and recording commitments for the beginning of the year. After that, I hope Justin, Manny and I can set aside some time to record. We’d like to do the record ourselves, so we can do it at our own leisure, rather than at gunpoint by some fucking producer. We decided to tour instead of record, and I think that this tour was the first step in making it all happen.
We heard that Crime In Stereo got completely booed offstage in Chicago. Is there still a big mook contingent surrounding Glassjaw?
They did? I had no idea, I didn’t see their set. That sucks. Crime In Stereo are real-deal New York hardcore. Them and This Is Hell rock their fucking asses off. [Both bands were openers for the tour.-ed.]
Beck and I have said our fans are fucking bonkers. A lot of them are to the point where it seems they don’t want to listen to any other band but Glassjaw. If they’re going to see a Glassjaw show, they don’t want to see an opening band. C’mon: Some of them don’t want to hear my other band, let alone an opener! [Laughs.]
That was my next question: Did you get any Head-A-sucks backlash from anyone?
No. [Laughs.] There were some kids who were like [imitates scowling tough guy.] “Yeah. Head Automatica. Cool. But what the fuck took so long?” [Laughs.] Nobody had the balls to call me “pussy” for Head Automatica. I never forget a face, and I saw a lot of familiar faces of kids I know who were too young to see Glassjaw at the time. I was very happy.
Sum up the tour: What were the highlights for you?
The best thing about the tour was just having it happen. The next best thing was the crowds were fucking berserk. I’m a hardcore kid at heart, and this was full-contact art. [Laughs.] Oh, and I was able to see every episode of Lost while on tour. -Jason Pettigrew
