Taking Back Sunday has been through a lot of ups and downs in its career. Now comprised of Adam Lazzara (vocals), John Nolan (vocals, lead guitar), Eddie Reyes (rhythm guitar), Shaun Cooper (bass) and Mark O’Connell (drums), it is set to release its first album with this lineup since 2002 on June 28. The band will headline the Bamboozle Festival in New Jersey this weekend — and play a warm-up show at the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg Thursday, April 28.

Cooper checked in with the Weekender to catch up about the new record and how the band has been able to evolve into what it is today.

WEEKENDER: Tell me about the new, self-titled record and how you feel now that it’s completed.

COOPER: Well, we started writing songs a little over a year ago. We met in El Paso, Texas, for the first time in seven years. We just started talking and feeling each other out; we wanted to make sure this whole process would work. … At the end of the first day, we had about three new songs. Within a week, we had about nine new songs. To have that much productivity in that amount of time was something none of us experienced before.

WEEKENDER: How does its sound compare to previous Taking Back Sunday records?

COOPER: Well, it has definitely evolved. John and Adam are such amazing songwriters in their own right; separately they’re phenomenal, but together it’s even better. Their voices bring such an energy that hasn’t really been heard on a Taking Back Sunday record in a long time. You can hear it on “Where You Want to Be.” “Louder Now” is starts to get less and less, then “New Again” it wasn’t there at all. So this record is bringing that back to a level that hasn’t been topped before.

WEEKENER: Why did you decide to depart the band in 2003?

COOPER: To me personally, it was way too much success way too soon. My ideal goal was to have a record out somewhere. So after we did that, we were kind of thrown out on tour for two years, and I wasn’t expecting that. I was a young kid — when I left the band I was only 23 years old, and now I’m 30. All of us handled our success in different ways, but for the most part, we were drinking too much because we could. The access was just there backstage all time, there was always liquor or beer.

And, of course, there was the fact you were living in a van for two years with four other guys. Of course later, we able to get to a bus, but it still doesn’t matter. It was still dealing with those same personalities and seeing where we all fit. I had no idea how to deal with that shit.

WEEKENDER: What made this lineup want to get back together?

COOPER: John and I were doing a band called Straylight Run, and that was ending. We didn’t know what we were going to do. I thought I would have to get a job outside of the music industry. We knew it would be a struggle for both of us. Then Mark, who was still drumming for TBS and kept in close contact with me since I left, was hanging out with me during a Long Island snowstorm. He asked if I ever thought John and I would come back. My response was maybe for a 10 year anniversary thing. His was a simple, “No. I want my band back.”

Immediately I thought that would be cool, but I wasn’t sure if John could/would be up for it or if the five of us could even work together again. At this time “New Again” was out, and it wasn’t doing much. Creatively, the band wasn’t on the same page, and everyone was unhappy with where the band was going, and they needed to shake things up. Soon enough, we all ended up in that room in Texas, and here we are.

WEEKENDER: What goals do you have this time around with Taking Back Sunday?

COOPER: It’s almost all of the same. I still can’t believe the five of us are working together. There is some sort of weird energy with the five of us combined. We’re better from working together. This record showcases that so much. We are all likeminded with success — we want as many people to hear our band as possible. And this time around, we all really like each other.

Source: theweekender.com