Benny interviewed by Herald.ie

http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/music/the-courage-to-roll-your-own-american-dream-2236240.html

the courage to roll your own american dream

The success of The Gaslight Anthem is all about four ordinary guys with a yearning to live life on their own terms, drummer Benny Horowitz tells Chris Wasser

By Chris Wasser

Saturday June 26 2010

THAT the listening public would ever consider The Gaslight Anthem as VIP rock stars is something that makes drummer Benny Horowitz a little uncomfortable.
"I barely even know what the f**k that means," he confesses, sitting beside the window of his freshly painted New Jersey apartment. "We wanted to no longer work real jobs and we wanted to be able to write music for a living, and yeah, what comes with that is, like, a little bit of money -- you know, you need some to pay rent and perhaps maybe start a family one day. But I don't think our goal ever really stretched far beyond that."
Oh really? So he never dreamt of sharing the same stage as Bruce Springsteen? Of course, there is a lot more to this band than just a couple of career-changing collaborations with The Boss -- take their 2008 breakthrough sophomore effort The '59 Sound, a rip-roaring, punk-tinged adventure through the rich, storytelling minds of one of America's more interesting young bands.
Yet with every great album comes the pressure for a decent follow-up. Just as well American Slang is another fine addition.
"We were definitely anxious going into writing the record," says Benny.
"We always feel a lot of pressure to step up to record, and write something that we think is better. So, it was on our minds, but once we finished the songs and got into the studio and realised how much we liked them, then a lot of the nerves wore off."
That these four hard-working dudes came together at a time when each was searching for a new route in life is something Benny very much credits for their success. "We all happened to be in pretty similar positions," he says, "mid-20s, no education, very little skills, and we were at that point where we were like, 'cool, this is good. This is our chance'. We all really didn't want to do normal stuff anymore -- it wasn't going well for any of us.
"Our goals were so clear. For a couple of years, we were definitely willing to stop at nothing to try and get it. I just didn't want to die with that s**t on my conscience, you know? I didn't want to, like, be on my death bed, like, 'f**k, I should have tried really hard with the band!'"
Despite having read that frontman Brian Fallon is getting tired with people quizzing the band about last year's Hyde Park and Glastonbury performances with good old Bruce, I remind Benny that it's difficult to dodge. Springsteen joined them for the title track from The '59 Sound, prompting a huge surge in sales.
"I get it," says Benny. "I worked for a newspaper, I understand that you're a journalist, and it's something people are curious about, and you're not a good journalist if you don't ask about it. But that being said -- and to stand up with Brian a little bit -- answering the same question for over a year, it gets harder and harder to have any kind of credible, unique answer.
"But again, too, it was a f**king incredible experience, and it's something I'm obviously proud of, so, you know, f**k it, there are worse questions," he says.
"Maybe people just need to think of a more clever way to bring it up."

- Chris Wasser