Brian Fallon: "But, I'm not Bruce Springsteen."

THE Gaslight Anthem and frontman Brian Fallon have been riding a wave of success since 2008's The '59 Sound and become the darlings of modern rock.


Two albums on, after world tours and good reviews Fallon reveals what might be in store next for The Gaslight Anthem.

"We're going to take a break and see what comes next - we want to give it some time," he says. "I don't think we can rush into the next thing any more like we have been doing.

"It's definitely a time for us to take a breath and see what we want to do next."

It seems Fallon has a little something up his sleeve in the form of a solo record.

"I've been working on something," he says. "I've always wanted to do Americana music - like what Wilco and Billy Bragg did or like Ryan Adams.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/music/fallon-is-boss-of-his-own-destiny/story-fn7oonq8-1226638491520

Such an intense shift of gears. "I love Bruce, man, he's great. HEADBANDS?! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THAT!"

Haha. I don't blame him, I would get tired of being compared to someone else constantly.

I think the most interesting quote form the interview is definitely:

Quote :

"The real trick now is - can we find a new side of The Gaslight Anthem that is worth putting out? Because if we can't, I don't think we have anything else to say and that's a scary crossroads to be at.

He said that he didn't know if he had any Gaslight songs before he wrote 45, though. It is still interesting, but I'm pretty sure we'll get more Gaslight.

It's not even new songs he seems to be talking about here, but new ideas. Frankly, four albums and one EP of pretty much standard lyrical content would suggest new ideas might be thing on the ground.

Obviously this is all wild speculation though and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Daire wrote:

It's not even new songs he seems to be talking about here, but new ideas. Frankly, four albums and one EP of pretty much standard lyrical content would suggest new ideas might be thing on the ground.

Obviously this is all wild speculation though and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Exactly, he can't continue to rehash the same ideas. From a creative stand point Handwritten falls completely flat and in all honesty makes them sort of look like one trick ponies right now. I'm sure Brian could write another 10 more albums about heart break, romance, the past, his heros, etc.. but it's time for him to find a different niche.

I think the problem is that Brian is so narrowminded in his vision of what "The Gaslight Anthem" sound is...

He always talks abotu staying true to their sound, etc. "You can't have harmonicas and a girl" in the Gaslight Anthem, but I think that just keeps the band from staying true to its natural evolution....

Why not add an organ and some strings? Why not diversify the sound and let it grow naturally?

I don't understand this need to limit the Gaslight Anthem sound to Drums, bass, guitars... I think it stunts the natural growth of the band

Daire wrote:

I think the most interesting quote form the interview is definitely:

Quote :

"The real trick now is - can we find a new side of The Gaslight Anthem that is worth putting out? Because if we can't, I don't think we have anything else to say and that's a scary crossroads to be at.

i agree. I also picjked that quote out as most surprising. Does this hint at the end of the band? Of course Brain will always be writing music so we perhaps won't be short of his stuff but longlive The Gaslight Anthem!!

rkirkpatrick25 wrote:

I think the problem is that Brian is so narrowminded in his vision of what "The Gaslight Anthem" sound is...

He always talks abotu staying true to their sound, etc. "You can't have harmonicas and a girl" in the Gaslight Anthem, but I think that just keeps the band from staying true to its natural evolution....

Why not add an organ and some strings? Why not diversify the sound and let it grow naturally?

I don't understand this need to limit the Gaslight Anthem sound to Drums, bass, guitars... I think it stunts the natural growth of the band

Could not agree more.

Maybe they shouldn't rush the new album out if he's that worried.

rkirkpatrick25 wrote:

I think the problem is that Brian is so narrowminded in his vision of what "The Gaslight Anthem" sound is...

He always talks abotu staying true to their sound, etc. "You can't have harmonicas and a girl" in the Gaslight Anthem, but I think that just keeps the band from staying true to its natural evolution....

Why not add an organ and some strings? Why not diversify the sound and let it grow naturally?

I don't understand this need to limit the Gaslight Anthem sound to Drums, bass, guitars... I think it stunts the natural growth of the band

Exactly. If he keeps separating Gaslight songs from The Horrible Crowes or solo songs, it's going to prevent those influences from seeping into the band fully.

I think that Gaslight needs to take more risks. Like, in my opinion Brian should have gotten all the guys involved in the Horrible Crowes album and just said boom this is the next Gaslight album, yeah it's completely (well, not completely...) different but hey it's what I felt like doing. It's not like he's branching off and making pop records or something. Elsie could have easily been the next Gaslight record, I'd commend them for taking the risk of putting out a dark moody quieter album. Worst case scenario, everyone goes "What the fuck, this is too different" and then Handwritten comes out as their fifth album and is a more straightforward rock album.

I don't like the idea of Brian going "this is what Gaslight is" and then writing songs he wants to write and thinking "hmm...this doesn't fit that definition of Gaslight." He is the frontman of Gaslight Anthem. If he wants to write a moody dark Tom Waits-y album or a Americana quieter album, why not just take Gaslight in those directions? It's not like they can't return to making rock anthems whenever they want, and they put out albums so frequently that it wouldn't do much damage if their new direction didn't go over well.

I don't think they should box themselves into any kind of "definition" of what Gaslight is. Even if they fail, just try something different after that. Not everything their heroes did was so great, but they're still around, touring, having a life. Of course Mercury might have something else to say about taking risks with their sound. But look at Green Day. Love it or hate it, they went from "Basket Case" to "Jesus of Suburbia" and are bigger than ever.

BELIEVE IN YOUR BAND, BRIAN!

/ramble

Look at another one, Mellencamp. He went from Pop singer, to homeland rock singer,to folk singer, to country singer, and back to a combo of all of this in his career...With mostly the same band (Minus Kenny aarnof). Bands need to grow and experiment to find out what their "niche" is.

Jack wrote:

rkirkpatrick25 wrote:

I think the problem is that Brian is so narrowminded in his vision of what "The Gaslight Anthem" sound is...

He always talks abotu staying true to their sound, etc. "You can't have harmonicas and a girl" in the Gaslight Anthem, but I think that just keeps the band from staying true to its natural evolution....

Why not add an organ and some strings? Why not diversify the sound and let it grow naturally?

I don't understand this need to limit the Gaslight Anthem sound to Drums, bass, guitars... I think it stunts the natural growth of the band

Exactly. If he keeps separating Gaslight songs from The Horrible Crowes or solo songs, it's going to prevent those influences from seeping into the band fully.

Agreed. I mean every good band that has lasted a long time has evolved a lot, and like with most, you cant take a couple albums and compare them and they'll sound similar, but take two others and they'll sound like they're from entirely different bands, and there's nothing wrong with that, as long as it's an evolution not an overnight jump.

Brian is clearly just a guy full of dualities. He wants to be like Pearl Jam and Neil Young and go in crazy directions, but his traditionalist nature keeps him from doing that. He wants to be huge but doesn't want the fame and scrutiny that goes along with it. He sometimes says "I'm just the guitar player" while playing live less and less and focusing on his singing. He's an intriguing character.

Jack wrote:

Brian is clearly just a guy full of dualities. He wants to be like Pearl Jam and Neil Young and go in crazy directions, but his traditionalist nature keeps him from doing that. He wants to be huge but doesn't want the fame and scrutiny that goes along with it. He sometimes says "I'm just the guitar player" while playing live less and less and focusing on his singing. He's an intriguing character.

+1

WingsForWheels wrote:

Jack wrote:

Brian is clearly just a guy full of dualities. He wants to be like Pearl Jam and Neil Young and go in crazy directions, but his traditionalist nature keeps him from doing that. He wants to be huge but doesn't want the fame and scrutiny that goes along with it. He sometimes says "I'm just the guitar player" while playing live less and less and focusing on his singing. He's an intriguing character.

+1

that's a good ass point. well expressed, that thought's always been in my head but didn't know how to say it

Wouldn't going on hiatus be a strange career move one album into a major label deal?

Takes some guts but if it's needed then so be it.

On the issue of evolution, I think U2 showed just where you can go when it's time for a change.

Steve70s wrote:

Wouldn't going on hiatus be a strange career move one album into a major label deal?

Takes some guts but if it's needed then so be it.

On the issue of evolution, I think U2 showed just where you can go when it's time for a change.

Bruce did...okay it was 3 albums in and it was "court ordered"....

JimmyB wrote:

Steve70s wrote:

Wouldn't going on hiatus be a strange career move one album into a major label deal?

Takes some guts but if it's needed then so be it.

On the issue of evolution, I think U2 showed just where you can go when it's time for a change.

Bruce did...okay it was 3 albums in and it was "court ordered"....

Tell me more...I am intrigued!

Steve70s wrote:

JimmyB wrote:

Steve70s wrote:

Wouldn't going on hiatus be a strange career move one album into a major label deal?

Takes some guts but if it's needed then so be it.

On the issue of evolution, I think U2 showed just where you can go when it's time for a change.

Bruce did...okay it was 3 albums in and it was "court ordered"....

Tell me more...I am intrigued!

He's talking about the legal battle Bruce got in with Mike Appel, his former manager. Basically while that was going on, Bruce wasn't legally allowed to enter a recording studio and make another record.

And yeah I'm not sure that situation really compares at all.

I don't think this will be a big deal to the label unless they let like 3 years go by with no talk of making a record, in which case, who cares about the label, I'd be more concerned about the band. I'm wondering though if the solo record will be with Mercury, Side one dummy, or somebody else?

I hope it's Side One Dummy.... I love that label

Heard an interview with Joe Sib the other day. He says they're in the process of rebuilding their roster.