There's an atricle in June's edition of HOTLINE (virgin train's magazine). I've typed out the interview below:
Thanks to my mum for spotting it & tearing it out!
When The Gaslight Anthem were approached by Bruce Springsteen early last year & asked to tour with him in Europe, it was the start of a ride that would culminate in sharing a stage with their hero at Glastonbury. As far as celebrity endorsements go, it couldn’t be better, & suddenly their critically acclaimed 2008 album
The ’59 Sound was enjoying a 200% increase in sales. But as they release their third album, it’s not surprising that the band are ready to step out from Springsteen’s shadow.
‘You know, it was really exciting,’ frontman Brian Fallon says thoughtfully, ‘but after that we thought it was time for moving on in a new direction. So, we’ve made the seal of approval, now let’s figure out why we belong here. It was more of a challenge after that – you better really step it up because now people are watching you.’
When The Gaslight Anthem formed in 2005, they set about recreating the sound of the rock ‘n’ roll & punk-rock bands they had admired as they grew up, in particular their favourite, The Clash. Also high on the agenda was their ambition to write engaging, thought-provoking lyrics. ‘A lot of the music we listened to, especially rhythm & blues, & soul, was never thinking man’s music, it was emotional. Until Marvin Gaye came round they didn’t really talk about anything that was political or deeply poetic,’ says Fallon. ‘We would mix Bob Dylan’s lyrics with a Wilson Pickett song. We wanted to make big music that moved your mind & your body at the same time.’
But it’s similarities between the New Jersey quartet & their legendary neighbour that lace their earlier albums. They take on the Springsteen template for working man’s rock ‘n’ roll, songs bursting with a desperate optimism, echoing the plight of the hard-working everyman, while Fallon’s vocals embody that Boss-esque gruffness.
‘There are definite influences in the first two records,’ concedes Fallon, who’d rather put the similarities down to their common roots. ‘Especially when you come from that area of the New Jersey shore, it’s like an accent you have. It was kind of inside of us, like the way we walk & the way we talk. And I think the key is who can grow past that,’ he intones, with the steady confidence of a man who knows where he’s going. ‘It’s a great thing to be influenced by someone & carry on a tradition, but it’s honourable to your influences, yourself & the people that listen to you to find your own thing. It’s like when you’re young you try to be like your dad & then at a certain point you realise you’re your own person.’
That point certainly came post-Glastonbury. Their need to find their own voice inspired a move to downtown New York, where three of the band members, aged 24 to 30, now live. It was also an opportunity to broaden their musical palette. They went back to the 1960s & 1970s blues-rock of the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton & Fleetwood Mac.
Fallon hopes the move from New Jersey will bring a welcome shift in the comparisons between their new album
American Slang & its predecessor. ‘A lot has to do with New Jersey. This came from a different spot. It didn’t come from looking into influences & trying to use that as a road map. It came from seeing what we had to say on our own. Alex (Rosamilia) the guitar player said he wanted to make the record that was missing in his collection. And I thought: Yeah, that’s what we want to do.’
That the move marked a changing point for Fallon is reflected in the newly personal slant to the new lyrics. ‘It was a big thing for me to leave. It felt like the time was right to think about where I came from & what I was.’
For a band that spent much of the past five years on the road, the six-month break to record the album & move home left them ‘itching’ to get back on tour, which this month takes them back to Hard Rock Calling in London’s Hyde Park. ‘We’re a touring band – it’s what we’re bred to do,’ he says.
If consistency is their aim , they have achieved it with
American Slang, full of driving punk-rock melodies. The Gaslight Anthem’s hard work seems to have paid off. ‘We’re one of those fortunate cases where someone takes a shine to you up there in the stars,’ says Fallon, who grew up ‘very old school religious.’ ‘To blow it completely out of proportion, it’s like God gives Moses the Ten Commandments & God makes Bob Dylan huge & all of a sudden, maybe us. There are tons of bands that are better than us. It’s just one of those things that you’ve got to be grateful for.’
Subject: HOTLINE magazine 
Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:37 am
