Backstage Pass

     The next chapter in the ever-evolving saga of Taking Back Sunday started with a bang Friday night, as the band made its Madison Square Garden debut.
    Though the Rockville Centre-based band's 45-minute set was shorter than usual and the sound was a bit muddy, it did offer some clues about TBS’ next move, especially since the addition of guitarist/singer Matt Fazzi who replaced Fred Mascherino in February.
    Opening with “Error Operator” and “Liar,” which showcase the heavy-hitting guitarwork of Ed Reyes and Fazzi, the band is concentrating on the hard rock end of their catalog and making those songs sound more aggressive than their original versions. (They even look more aggressive as bassist Matt Rubano bounded around  the stage and Mark O'Connell pounded the drums.) Even the one still-untitled new song they unveiled, with lines like “I’m ready to begin again,” has more in common with Queens of the Stone Age than the emo-pioneering sounds of their debut “Tell All Your Friends.”
    That doesn’t mean the band is ready to abandon its past, though, giving the early hit “Cute Without the ‘E’” a prime spot in the set and featuring singer Adam Lazzara scream, “Louder!” as the crowd sang along. But they do seem set on changing it, as a smiling Fazzi gave the backing vocals a poppier sound than the original, or as Lazzara busted out Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” in the middle of “A Decade Under the Influence.”
    Though TBS is currently working on a new album in Brooklyn, they jumped at the chance to play The Garden, even unveiling a new backdrop (and t-shirt) that uses graffiti to change the iconic “I” in the “I (Heart) NY” logo to “TBS.”
    “[My Chemical Romance] gave us a call and said, 'Hey, do you guys wanna play Madison Square Garden?'  Lazzara told the crowd.  And we said, 'That's not funny, man. That's a mean joke.' But they were serious.
    The night also closed a chapter for My Chemical Romance, whose two-year tour supporting the great album “The Black Parade” ended Friday in grand style, headlining the venue where the band’s brothers Gerard and Mikey Way first developed their arena rock dreams at a Smashing Pumpkins concert.
    In front of family and friends, as well as a capacity crowd, My Chem made the most of the memory with powerful versions of “Welcome to the Black Parade” and “I Don’t Love You” and a dramatic take on “Helena” that left the crowd wanting more.

SETLIST : Error Operator / Liar / Set Phasers to Stun / One-Eighty by Summer / (untitled new song) / Cute Without the ‘E’ / Spin / A Decade Under the Influence / What It Feels Like To Be A Ghost / MakeDamnSure

PHOTO: Matt Fazzi at Madison Square Garden by Charles Eckert for Newsday. 

Taking Back Sunday introduced its new guitarist/singer Matt Fazzi, formerly of the band Facing New York, to its hometown crowd at a “secret” show last night at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale.
    “We told him if you guys didn’t like him he was out of the band,” joked singer Adam Lazzara onstage, as Fazzi received a huge ovation from the capacity crowd that even included the band Metro Station, featuring Trace Cyrus, Miley’s brother, who plays the club tonight.
    Fazzi replaces guitarist/singer Fred Mascherino, who left the band late last year to head his own band The Color Fred. “It’s a trip because it automatically puts me in a place where I’ve been trying to go by myself for a long time – playing music for a living, as my livelihood,” Fazzi said after making his public debut. “I’m just trying to soak it all up and have a good time.”
     The Rockville Centre-based band picked Fazzi in February, after a series of auditions with several indie rockers. “When [TBS guitarist Ed Reyes] texted me, I hadn’t even realized that Fred had left the band,” Fazzi said. “I went and we just vibed really well and played a lot of songs.”
    Reyes said when Mascherino left, Fazzi was the first person he thought of to bring in. “He was in this amazing band called Facing New York, which was one of my favorite bands that nobody knew about,” Reyes said. “He’s such a talented guy and he became one of my best friends over the years... We’ve always talked about starting another band and jamming together.I called him up and said, ‘Fazz, you wanna try?’ and he said, ‘Give me a week.’”
    Fazzi, who turns 23 on Saturday, will certainly get a trial by fire. His first official show in the band is Friday night’s show at Madison Square Garden, with high-profile festivals following later this summer. Immediately after joining the band, they began work on the follow-up to the album “Louder Now,” which hit No. 2 in 2006.
    “He’s got his own spice,” Reyes said. “Kid’s got a groove like you wouldn’t believe and everyone will hear when the new record comes out. He’s a big part of it.”
    So how are they going to deal with having two Matts in the band? Well, bassist Matt Rubano said last names are going to become very important. "His last name is cool," Rubano said. "So he's been going by Fazz and I'm answering to 'Bano. But whenever someone says Matt, there's going to be a bunch of guys going, 'Huh?'"

SETLIST: You Know How I Do / Error Operator / Liar / Set Phasers To Stun / One-Eighty by Summer / (untitled new song) / Cute Without the ‘E’ / Miami / Spin / Up Against / Bonus Mosh Part Two / (untitled new song) / A Decade Under the Influence / What It Feels Like To Be A Ghost / MakeDamnSure 

PHOTO: Matt Fazzi by Wayne Herrschaft for Newsday.

So Taking Back Sunday is still planning to officially reveal their new guitarist-singer to the world at Madison Square Garden on May 9, but they plan to give their Long Island fans a sneak preview.

There's an unusual show on Monday at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale featuring Envy on the Coast and some band called Lance Striker and the Rockoholics, who apparently sound a lot like TBS. Hmm. Coincidence? Guess we'll have to find out.

The band is more direct with its festival schedule. They're on the amazing bill on Day 2 of the Virgin Mobile Festival on Aug. 10 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. They'll be taking back that Sunday on the main stage with Bob Dylan, Kanye West, Iggy Pop & The Stooges and Stone Temple Pilots. Tickets for that festival go on sale Saturday through Ticketmaster.

They're also set for Day 1 of the Reading Festival on Aug. 22 and Day 2 of the Leeds Festival on Aug. 23, which is being headlined both days by Rage Against the Machine and Queens of the Stone Age.

Taking Back Sunday will take a break from recording the follow-up to "Louder Now" to open for My Chemical Romance at Madison Square Garden on May 9.

Pre-sale starts Thursday and tickets go on sale to the public at noon Saturday through Ticketmaster. Of course, this one-off show generates a whole lot of questions. Who (if anyone) is replacing guitarist/singer Fred Mascherino? Will they be playing any new stuff? Will they reveal a release date? Will the My Chem guys appear during their set or vice versa? Will there be more shows?

Guess we'll wait for answers.

PHOTO: Warner Bros. 

Taking Back Sunday drummer Mark O’Connell still isn’t sure exactly what went wrong.
    After a show in Phoenix in August, he simply stopped being able to walk.
    “I got off the bus and it just hit me and I fell to the ground,” O’Connell recalled. “The guys were like, ‘What are you doing? That’s not funny.’ And I was like, ‘I can’t move.’ They kept saying, ‘Get up, you’re fine’ and they got me into the hotel lobby and I sat on the couch. I thought I would be better after a while, but I couldn’t move. I crawled on the floor through the lobby and onto the elevator to my room. I thought in the morning it would be fine. I got up the next day and I just fell in the bathroom. I was sitting on the bathroom floor in tears.”
    That’s when O’Connell was taken to the emergency room and learned he had a herniated disc in his back. Doctors ordered him off the tour and confined him to bed rest.
    Aside from his appearance for TBS’ set at the Jones Beach stop of the Projekt Revolution tour, which O’Connell was only able to make after doctors injected steroids directly into his spine, he was able to do nothing but rest at his Long Beach home for weeks.
     “It was a lot of just sitting around,” O’Connell said. “It definitely sucked. I was on painkillers for a long time and I was so worried I might get addicted.”
   

As the trailer says, the new Taking Back Sunday CD/DVD "Louder Now: Parttwo" (Warner Bros.) hits stores Tuesday.

Former Taking Back Sunday guitarist/singer Fred Mascherino is teaming up with -- guess who? -- former Taking Back Sunday guitarist/singer John Nolan and his new band Straylight Run for the first tour of his new band The Color Fred. The tour starts Nov. 19 and hits New York on Dec. 14 at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza. That will have to be The Color Fred's first New York area show after the release of its debut "Bend to Break" on Tuesday, now that the Nov. 1 show at Vintage Lounge in Levittown has been canceled.

Mascherino has plenty to say about his new band and his previous band in our interview here.

Hear "Bend to Break" here. 

Guitarist/singer Fred Mascherino confirmed last night that he has left Taking Back Sunday to pursue his solo project The Color Fred. On his mySpace blog, Mascherino said the decision "had been waiting for some time," and that it was "a hard day for a lot of us." His new album "Bend to Break," a bit more pop oriented than the Taking Back Sunday sound, is due out Oct. 30 on Equal Vision Records.

In a statement on its mySpace blog, Taking Back Sunday said they wish him well and will continue work on its new album. "No drama, just riffs," the band wrote.

Mascherino joined the band in 2003, along with bassist Matt Rubano, after guitarist/singer John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper left, amid a bit of personal turmoil, to form Straylight Run.

PHOTO: Mascherino (showing off his snazzy "Synchronicity" satin jacket), with Rubano and singer Adam Lazzara at Live Earth in July. 

The Color Fred’s debut “Bend to Break,” which is a bit poppier than TBS, comes out on Equal Vision on Oct. 30, and Mascherino is set to do a short run of shows to promote it, including a headlining date at The Vintage Lounge in Levittown on Nov. 1. (He’s also set to play Knitting Factory on Oct. 20 as part of a CMJ showcase with Saves the Day and the New Amsterdams.)

The Color Fred [mySpace]

Though Taking Back Sunday is holed up working on the follow-up to "Louder Now," there is a new single out this week featuring Adam Lazzara.

Lazzara adds his vocals to New Found Glory's version of the Cardigans' '90s classic "Lovefool" for their entertaining new covers album "From the Screen to Your Stereo Part 2," which hit stores Tuesday.

It's a follow-up of sorts to his equally unexpected contribution to Cyndi Lauper's "Money Changes Everything" a few years back.

In other Taking Back Sunday news, the band will release the "Parttwo" DVD (a follow-up to "Partone") in mid-November, featuring video footage from the band's "Louder Now" tour. It will also include a CD of B-sides and previously unreleased live tracks.

Hear "Lovefool" here 

Taking Back Sunday's Fred Mascherino is no newcomer to Live Earth's environmentally-friendly message. He drives a 1982 VW Rabbit that runs on vegetable oil. (He picks it up the used oil from a local Thai restaurant; the oil he got from the nearby Chinese restaurant proved too chunky, he said.) He and his family hang dry their clothes instead of using an electric dryer. And he's always giving back plastic bags when he buys stuff at the store -- no matter how much they want him to take one.

"Maybe the store clerks will see [Live Earth] and understand now why I don't want the bags," Mascherino said.

Madcherino, who TBS bassist Matt Rubano calls a "Superman for the environment," said  he hopes people who tune into the Live Earth concerts will see how just changing a few habits can make a big difference.

 "I've always been passionate about this issue, but before it was just seen as a hippie thing," Mascherino said. "Now it's gone mainstream. It's awesome to see."

And how do we know Adam Lazzara is still alive? Well word came out today that he and the rest of Taking Back Sunday will, oddly enough, appear on The N's "Degrassi: The Next Generation" on Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. Alert your tweens.

On the jump, see TBS' combine New Year's greeting with My Chemical Romance, where Lazzara discusses possible death "in a big fluffy cloud of ow!"

The animated version of Taking Back Sunday's "12 Days of Christmas" is kinda hilarious.

Watch the non-animated version here

The new Taking Back Sunday video for "Liar" is the band's most experimental to date, filled with nifty "Take on Me"-styled animation. "I think this could be our coolest video," singer Adam Lazzara told me, though he said when they were filming it he wasn't sure if it was just an elaborate hoax on him. "They would say, 'Act like a spider is chasing you' and I would be alone in front of a green screen going, 'Um, OK," Lazzara said.

Click on pic to watch video or go here

The band also took time out recently to do a AOL Music Sessions taping, which features live performances of "MakeDamnSure," "Liar," "My Blue Heaven" and "A Decade Under the Influence," as well as behind-the-scenes stuff. Watch it here

Britpop sensation Arctic Monkeys and electronica siren Imogen Heap lead the slate of mtvU nominees announced yesterday, with three Woodie nominations apiece.

Both will compete with rappers Chamillionaire and Lupe Fiasco and rockers Plain White T’s for best new artist, while artist of the year nominees are rapper Atmosphere, rock-rap hybrid Gym Class Heroes and emo-leaning rockers Angels & Airwaves, Panic! At the Disco and The Academy Is… Rockville Centre-based Taking Back Sunday is up for two awards, best tour and most downloaded. Long Island's Nightmare of You is also up for most downloaded.

mtvU viewers will choose the winners on the channel’s website and the winners will perform at Roseland Ballroom on Oct. 25 for a special to be shown on Nov. 2. The show will also run on MTV on Nov. 4.

Full list of nominations on the jump

So I’m standing on the MTV Video Music Awards red carpet, minding my own business as I try to keep the casts of “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills” straight, when a giant panda bear approaches from behind and puts me in a headlock. (Yes, Stephen Colbert, I know. I watch the “Threatdown.”)

It turns out it’s some VJ from MTV Chi in a panda suit trying to interview god-knows-who from Nickelodeon. He’s using my shoulder for leverage to move his microphone close enough to the “celebrity,” who he chats with live on air with his big paw around my neck. Oh yeah, Backstage Pass is all about the glamour.

Yes, I know red carpet veterans are saying, “Elbow to the ribs.” But do I really want to be known as the guy who assaulted the panda? No. See the dilemma?

After the interview, Mr. Panda backs off and gives me a thankful thump on the shoulder. (Tyrese had the best interview with him, starting off with, “I love Panda Express.”)

As for my interviews, the Taking Back Sunday guys said they were a bit starstruck by the whole experience. Nevertheless, singer Adam Lazzara did still kid around, saying that bassist Matt Rubano ironed all the clothes. And everyone pointed to drummer Mark O’Connell’s hot new Dolce & Gabbana suit. (To the girls I met at the LIFEbeat benefit, Lazzara had to dye his hair back to his natural color for the new video for “Liar.” The platinum blond color he had been rocking all summer was too close to his skin tone to use on the video. You ask. I get answers.)

(More red carpet with Avenged Sevenfold, New Found Glory and Susan Cagle...)

Photo of Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, two of way too many stars who posed for pictures but avoided reporters on the red carpet, by Evan Agostini/Getty Images.

Other VMA stories:
Shockingly normal VMAs: With a return to NYC after two years in Miami, MTV brought out the stars and spread the prizes
The winners
Taking Back Sunday’s stroll on the red carpet
Newsday.com's VMA photo gallery

Taking Back Sunday turned what could have been a run-of-the-mill benefit performance Wednesday night at Webster Hall into a special event, playing its “Louder Now” (Warner Bros.) album in its entirety from start to finish.

“Welcome to ‘Louder Now,’ ladies and gentlemen,” singer Adam Lazzara said, after the Rockville Centre-based band ripped through the album’s first six songs. “This is something very special for us.”

It’s a move that traditionally doesn’t work for most bands – especially in these days where filler tracks are a way of life. However, “Louder Now,” one of 2006’s best albums, is solid from top to bottom, and the crowd reaction proved it, singing along the entire time. By the time Taking Back Sunday hit the final songs “Error: Operator,” with raucous guitarwork from Fred Mascherino and Ed Reyes, and “I’ll Let You Live,” the crowd was in a frenzy, realizing that they were part of something special.

Lazzara added yet another surprise in “Divine Intervention,” opening the song with part of “Turnpike Gates” from the band Lifetime, the New Jersey emo-core pioneers he idolizes so much that he has their lyrics tattooed on his arm. (More..)

SETLIST: What's It Feel Like To Be A Ghost? / Liar (It Takes One To Know One) / MakeDamnSure / Up Against (Blackout) / My Blue Heaven / Twenty-Twenty Surgery / Spin / Divine Intervention / Miami / Error: Operator / I’ll Let You Live / ENCORES: Cute Without the ‘E’ / One-Eighty by Summer / A Decade Under the Influence

Photo by Derrick Santini / Warner Bros. Records
Vote for MTV2 award here

So here's what you need to know to crash some of MTV's "secret" shows tied to the Video Music Awards next week:

8.29, 5 p.m., Battery Park: Concert with All-American Rejects, Rihanna, New Found Glory, Chamillionaire, and Cartel. Show is all-ages and free, but you need tickets to get in. Pick them up at noon tomorrow (Thursday) at Tower Records (1961 Broadway), Tower Records (692 Broadway), and the MTV Store (Corner of 44th/Broadway).

8.30, 7 p.m., Webster Hall: Concert with Taking Back Sunday and 30 Seconds to Mars. It's a benefit for LIFEbeat, 16 and over show. Tickets are $40 and go on sale TODAY at noon through Ticketweb or 866.468.7619.

Taking Back Sunday is taking its nomination for the MTV2 award at next week's Video Music Awards seriously. Today, it released a video message, asking its fans to vote for them at the MTV site. "I'm just voting for who I think should win," says bassist Matt Rubano, as he clicks the box for the band's "MakeDamnSure" clip.

Watch the Window Media version here
Watch the Quicktime version here

Taking Back Sunday landed an MTV Video Music Awards nomination yesterday for its "MakeDamnSure" clip, as the channel announced the nominees for its MTV2 award. The winner will be announced during the MTV2 broadcast of the ceremonies on Aug. 31 at Radio City Music Hall. This year marks the first time that MTV2 will show its own version of the awards show, as well as the first time winners will all be determined by Internet voting.

Taking Back Sunday's "MakeDamnSure" is up against 30 Seconds to Mars' "The Kill," Three 6 Mafia's "Stay Fly," Lil Wayne's "Fireman" and Yung Joc featuring Nitty's "It's Goin' Down."

Vote for the MTV2 Award here

Watch "MakeDamnSure" here.

Lots of Long Island scenesters on TV this week. Taking Back Sunday will be on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" tonight and "Last Call with Carson Daly" on Friday. Ashanti will be repping her new movie "John Tucker Must Die" on "Live with Regis and Kelly" tomorrow. Of course, there's Ryan Star and Jill Gioia still hanging tough on "Rock Star: Supernova" on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. And, maybe my favorite, because I end up seeing it a bunch of times a day,1-800-OK-CABLE has started running that catchy Early Edison jingle again in its campaign -- this time with a new video.

Taking Back Sunday's new single in England is "Twenty-Twenty Surgery," out in August. What's the next single in the U.S.? Good question. It looks like Warner will wait to see if "MakeDamnSure" catches on with the help of all those Verizon commercials before unleashing single No. 2. Anyway, in "Surgery," the band gets its Folsom County Prison on, channeling a bit of The Man in Black via "Walk the Line." Adam Lazzarra could be mistaken for a young Joaquin Phoenix, I suppose -- well, not really. The video looks pretty great, but the highlight for me is drummer Mark O'Connell's new shades. Sweet.

The video's high-quality version is at the band's UK site here.

With Taking Back Sunday's first tour as arena headliners now under way, the second wave of promotion for the Rockville Centre-based band has launched.

The band's video for "MakeDamnSure" is now in MTV's Big 10 rotation, making it one of the channel's most-played clips. That single is already being used in the new Verizon Wireless ad campaign, the same one that helped build the buzz around Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" and Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous." The campaign will run through July.

"Spin," which is expected to be the band's next single, will get a boost this summer as part of Electronic Arts' campaign for Madden NFL '07, as well as the video game's soundtrack along with AFI, Dashboard Confessional and Rise Against. "Spin" will be the soundtrack for the "Madden" trailer that will be shown in movie theaters for the next few months.

"Year after year, the music selected for inclusion in EA's smash hit football series invariably becomes the soundtrack of the football season, moving beyond the game to turn up in football stadiums and on live TV broadcasts," Steve Schnur, EA's worldwide executive of music and music marketing, said in a statement. "The Madden NFL Football franchise is recognized across North America as a driving force behind breakout bands ... this year, EA does it again."

This week's The Buzz

Taking Back Sunday's debut as an arena headliner couldn't have gone better and the Rockville Centre-based band seemed almost giddy about it. "We're from right here, right here where you're standing," singer Adam Lazzara told the crowd, many of whom had all just jumped the barricades so they could mosh together on the Nassau Coliseum floor. "Well, OK, not right here. I never lived at Nassau Coliseum before, but the accomodations are quite nice."

Full review here.

See them perform "MakeDamnSure" and "Liar" on Amazon Fishbowl here.

SETLIST: What It Feels Like To Be a Ghost / Bonus Mosh Part 2 / Bike Scene / The Union / MakeDamnSure / Set Phasers To Stun / 20/20 Surgery / You’re So Last Summer / Spin / Timberwolves vs. New Jersey / Liar / My Blue Heaven / Cute Without the ‘E’ / This Photograph Is Proof // Encores: Divine Intervention / A Decade Under the Influence.