New Interview with Brian (Feb. 2, 2018)

Until a few weeks ago, The Gaslight Anthem weren’t a band anymore, and hearing Fallon talk about how the purity of the band was corrupted by success begs an irresistible question: is that success what eventually lead to the breakup of the band?

“Right from the beginning,” explains Fallon, “we always said that if it stopped being fun, or if our hearts weren’t in it, we wouldn’t do it anymore. We weren’t ever planning to be one of those bands who dies ugly or one of those bands that start putting out half-hearted records then just fall off the planet. Sometimes, you just have to put it down. That’s just the most humane thing to do after a while. If you don’t, you can’t keep up and it all becomes really bloated and gross.

“I don’t think we had gotten there, but we all felt like it was going there. We felt like a disappointment to everyone. It was always like, ‘Well, you guys never became the Foo Fighters or sold out Wembley Arena so whatever.’ If we were playing an 8,000 capacity room, but only sold 7,000 tickets, people were bummed. Then we realised that those weren’t our goals, those were other people’s goals for us. It became so critical and we just realised that it wasn’t fun. So we hit the brakes and got off the train.”

THE REST AT:

https://trackseven.net/2018/02/02/brian-fallon-great-expectations/

I'm glad to hear him say that because if they became a stadium band it would lose something for me. As I mentioned in the other thread, I've gotten accustomed to small shows now and it's gonna take some adjusting if 2000+ venues go back to being the norm.

(still reading)

It's surprising to hear Painkillers described almost as a contrived sidestep that he made under some external pressure.

shiftynj wrote:

It's surprising to hear Painkillers described almost as a contrived sidestep that he made under some external pressure.

It really is, because that’s pretty much the opposite of what he said when it was realised as I remember it. Didn’t he say he went back to making music how he started out and stopped worrying about people wanted and expected of him?


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cowgirlwiththeblues wrote:

It really is, because that’s pretty much the opposite of what he said when it was realised as I remember it. Didn’t he say he went back to making music how he started out and stopped worrying about people wanted and expected of him?

I'm still not 100% sure if he was saying Painkillers was a reaction/resistance to that pressure or giving in to it. I asked the same question on Reddit because the interviewer is the one who posted it; I'm hoping he replies.

The way I took the Painkillers comment was similar to what he said in the Steven Hyden interview. Like he had just left the Gaslight stuff behind so he was super conscious about doing something that didn't sound like Gaslight. So he boxed himself into the "Americana singer-songwriter" route because he was worried about distinguishing himself from the band's work.

Whereas with Sleepwalkers he seems to have the confidence to make any kind of record he wants without worrying about "It sounds like Gaslight" comments. So far the record sounds like he's coming from a very clear-headed, confident place.

eagles1139 wrote:

The way I took the Painkillers comment was similar to what he said in the Steven Hyden interview. Like he had just left the Gaslight stuff behind so he was super conscious about doing something that didn't sound like Gaslight. So he boxed himself into the "Americana singer-songwriter" route because he was worried about distinguishing himself from the band's work.

Whereas with Sleepwalkers he seems to have the confidence to make any kind of record he wants without worrying about "It sounds like Gaslight" comments. So far the record sounds like he's coming from a very clear-headed, confident place.

Cool that makes sense, thank you. I do feel from the songs we've heard so far that Sleepwalkers is somewhere in between Painkillers and his earlier stuff.

Quote :

"If we were playing an 8,000 capacity room, but only sold 7,000 tickets, people were bummed."

Well, I wasn't bummed and I'm sure none of you Dimestore Saints were bummed.  Sounds like tour promoters, the big label, and management might have been bummed.

So maybe moving to a big label wasn't the best move.  Interesting to see that post-Painkillers both the Gaslight Anthem and Brian have changed to the same new management.

When did the band have its most critical success and made more magazine covers than ever? 2010, when they were with SideOneDummy.  Sure, you didn't hear them on the radio and in the supermarket, and they didn't have two successive top 5 albums, but they seemed to have control over what they were doing.  No misconceived fan club, no weird pre-shows.

I hope this tour will show them what a blast that band can be, and if they really have to do one more album for their current label, then I am sure they can put something together that's worthy.

And Brian, you're old enough to say "fuck the critics!"  They're not the ones that buy your stuff and sing along to it in their cars, kitchens, workshops, and offices.  We are.  

steady now steady now wrote:

Quote :

"If we were playing an 8,000 capacity room, but only sold 7,000 tickets, people were bummed."

Well, I wasn't bummed and I'm sure none of you Dimestore Saints were bummed.  Sounds like tour promoters, the big label, and management might have been bummed.

So maybe moving to a big label wasn't the best move.  Interesting to see that post-Painkillers both the Gaslight Anthem and Brian have changed to the same new management.

When did the band have its most critical success and made more magazine covers than ever? 2010, when they were with SideOneDummy.  Sure, you didn't hear them on the radio and in the supermarket, and they didn't have two successive top 5 albums, but they seemed to have control over what they were doing.  No misconceived fan club, no weird pre-shows.

I hope this tour will show them what a blast that band can be, and if they really have to do one more album for their current label, then I am sure they can put something together that's worthy.

And Brian, you're old enough to say "fuck the critics!"  They're not the ones that buy your stuff and sing along to it in their cars, kitchens, workshops, and offices.  We are.  

Well-stated

steady now steady now wrote:

Sure, you didn't hear them on the radio and in the supermarket, and they didn't have two successive top 5 albums

All of what you said is very true. And when I listen to most of what IS in top 5, on the radio and in the supermarket, I am pretty sure I hope that's not what they're aspiring towards.

steady now steady now wrote:

Quote :

"If we were playing an 8,000 capacity room, but only sold 7,000 tickets, people were bummed."

Well, I wasn't bummed and I'm sure none of you Dimestore Saints were bummed.  Sounds like tour promoters, the big label, and management might have been bummed.

So maybe moving to a big label wasn't the best move.  Interesting to see that post-Painkillers both the Gaslight Anthem and Brian have changed to the same new management.

When did the band have its most critical success and made more magazine covers than ever? 2010, when they were with SideOneDummy.  Sure, you didn't hear them on the radio and in the supermarket, and they didn't have two successive top 5 albums, but they seemed to have control over what they were doing.  No misconceived fan club, no weird pre-shows.

I hope this tour will show them what a blast that band can be, and if they really have to do one more album for their current label, then I am sure they can put something together that's worthy.

And Brian, you're old enough to say "fuck the critics!"  They're not the ones that buy your stuff and sing along to it in their cars, kitchens, workshops, and offices.  We are.  

I think you're right. Honestly, I'm guessing that when they switched labels, the new label had very hight hopes for them and probably threw EVERYTHING at them so it's understandable that they'd have felt overwhelmed. It's management's job to help an artist through that and recognize if it's too much, weed out some of the unnecessary stuff, and deal with the overzealous label people. Buy, ya know, management companies want to have the next big artist too so the artists well being can go out the window. Not really surprising that TGA and Fallon would've switched together though. It would be a logistical and probably legal nightmare to have him and the band have separate management. Also, I STILL don't hear them or Brian on the radio. I've been a fan for 8 years and caught them twice.

I am sure, also, that the Springsteen comparison sent the label execs foaming at the mouth. It's enough to live up to from an actual talent perspective but could only be made worse by suits seeing dollar signs.