Mainstream Militants

There are always predecessors in music. For innovation - or even plagiarism - to ensue, there must be a stepping-stone to lead the way. In the last five years, we’ve heard the term “new school” used as a prefix for roughly 80 percent of fledgling rock bands, with little or no explanation for the phrase. And with the surly advent of new school punk rock bands sprouting up left and right at a pace that an Olympic timer could not calculate, we are posed with the question, who are these group’s paying homage to? But, perhaps we should be asking, do they have to pay homage to anyone? Do they have to follow a strict punk rock code of ethics in order to be a punk rock band? Do they have to hate MTV? In the unique case of Coral Springs, Florida’s own New Found Glory, following their dreams remains the catalyst behind their rise to stardom and, perhaps more significantly, their newfound stature as forbearers of that marketing tool we hastily refer to as new school punk.
“To me, punk rock music is just rock music,” states NFG’s bassist Ian Grushka. While Grushka concedes the fact that bands like Green Day and Blink-182 influenced NFG heavily, their music, though faintly disguised as pop-punk heartbreak, incorporates facets of hardcore and metal, ingredients that have provoked their fans into proclaiming them the latest innovators in a genre desperate for heroes. Ostensibly, the band’s latest release, Catalyst, marks their latest shift in musical direction.
“When we picked the title of the record, it just kind of made sense. It’s something that causes a reaction, something that brings on change. I think as a band we’re at a level right now where the stuff that we’re doing is exactly what we wanted from the beginning, it just took us a while to get to this level,” summates Grushka.
Indeed, it is the level that NFG has risen to that has many punk purists up in arms about the validity of the group’s roots. Not only is NFG consistently featured on MTV’s Total Request Live, but the band also seems to relish in the reality of their fame, instead of condemning it. It doesn’t take a brash journalist to see that this must contend with everything that punk music is supposed to be about, but then again, NFG maintains that it was never their intention to try in vain to fool their fans into respecting them for their punk roots only to betray them and embrace the mainstream; this is what they’ve wanted all along.
“For us, MTV is amazing. I always wanted to be like [the bands on MTV]. I started playing guitar from day one because I wanted to be on MTV. I wanted to be in a metal band and be on Headbanger’s Ball, you know?” asserts Grushka quite matter-of-factly. “I think we’ve worked so hard as band to get to a level where your dream finally comes true and your parents are so proud of you and then you have people saying ‘oh, you’re a sellout’. We don’t think about fame, it’s just we had goals since we were younger. If people understood where we were coming from, then they might understand more [why we chose to be on MTV].”
New Found Glory, in all their measure and way has never come across as a group waiting for an opportune time to address any political views to their fans’ eager ears. In fact, they seem content with articulating the hills and valley’s of relationships rather than even touching on any prevalent assumptions of modern day ills. Nevertheless, they are one of many featured bands on the revered Rock Against Bush Vol. 1 compilation, recently released by Fat Wreck Chords’ founder Fat Mike. The compilation project was launched to promote speculation and to inform would-be voters of the current US administration’s more devious aspects. In turn, most of the songs on the compilation induce political ideas. So what is New Found Glory doing on this assemblage of works? “All the political stuff aside, one of my goals was to be on a Fat Wreck Chords comp,” begins Grushka, “When we got asked to be on the comp, it was like ‘hey, we’re gonna be on a Fat comp’, it wasn’t like ‘we’re gonna be on a Rock Against Bush comp’. That’s the main reason we did it. We don’t like to preach, but I think that people should just be aware of voting in general,” reasons Grushka.
Though New Found Glory’s resounding ethos in regards to their everyday operations may lie in stark contrast to most of the public’s ideas of what a mainstream punk bands responsibilities include, there is no denying the fact that this talented group has struck a loud chord in a relatively new arena of listeners and are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Should you support them in their quest for world domination? Check out TRL any day of the week and decide for yourself.

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