11 years of touring - The Scandals in interview

By Sam Steen

The Scandals are a punk rock band from New Jersey who are set to support The Gaslight Anthem when they play at den Atelier on June 12. Jared Hart, the founder and frontman of the band took some time to talk to Sam Steen all about the band, working with the Gaslights and their next EP.

Hi Jared, thanks for taking the time to talk today, first off, can you tell us a little bit about the band and how you guys got together? I gather you’ve been a band since you were in school right?

Yeah a very long time I started the band in 2004, I was 14 in my freshman year in high school and obviously we weren’t the best band then. Since then we’ve kind of been figuring it out and learning things the hard way or the easy way depending on which way you look at it. It’s been an interesting last 11 years for this band.

We were just bunch of friends from high school but then when we started touring really heavily we had a couple of line-up changes because it interfered with other priorities and we’ve had the same line-up for around three years and we just like hitting the road as hard as we can. It’s kind of our M.O. 

Given that you started such a long time ago, did you sound different then or were you always going to be a punk rock band?

The idea was always for a punk rock band. Our first full length came out in 2010. Before that it was just a couple of EPs and demos and that kind of thing and our first record was the one that defined what we could do and that was more on the heavier side.

Everything when I was younger with all of us was played as fast and as hard as possible to kind of compensate the knowledge of song writing but as time went on we found our own little place and I think we’re pretty comfortable in our skin with our writing at the moment.

When was the moment that you knew you were going to do this full-time and that you were going to be a musician in a band and take it beyond the garage and beyond the bars?

I think that in my head since I started I always wanted to do that but it was never really visualised you know? I could never really see the big picture until I graduated college.

That’s when I figured out how to book my own stuff. Every tour we’ve done in the states I’ve pretty much booked myself and I started to think, 'you know what? I’m going to put all my time into this'. So, I graduated, bought a van and the rest is history I haven’t looked at my degree in quite a long time. 

It’s impressive that you guys have managed to stay together for such a long time, I know you said there have been changes to the line-up but as a project, what do you attribute that longevity to? Umm, stubbornness?

A big part of it was when things started to change over and there were so many people on our side who had put time and effort and some people even money you know? We pressed our own records, I couldn’t fold it and let them down at that moment.

It would have been very easy to say 'it’s done, everyone, thanks a lot'. But, I think we kept pushing through and that’s when everything started going our way and it was proven that it was smart to not ever slow down. I think the support of other people along with a kind of obsession in my own head has helped keep the band together.

So this is your second European tour. If at all, is there a difference between touring here and in the states?

I think it’s the fact that people actually care. You know you can tour out in the U.S. and, I say this all the time, Sunday through Thursday is hit or miss. It’s really a gamble as to whether you’re going to get people out on a week night or if there’s even people there that are going to give a sh*t about it. Here even on a Monday night in a very small village you’ll get a ton of people who are genuinely interested in hearing you play your music and that’s a part that we all really appreciate and are humbled by.

This time you’re touring in support of The Gaslight Anthem and Brian Fallon worked with you on your new EP. Was that how this collaboration came about?

We did a U.S. run with them in March and April before Europe and that was a blast. We really had a good time with them and they just kind of rolled right into each other. We got in touch and said we were going to be over here at the same time and it kind of just worked out between festival dates that we could hop on for their club shows. They’ve really become some great friends of ours. We can’t thank them enough for all the help they’ve given us over the last year. 

And finally what can you tell us about the EP?

The EP is finished. It’s mastered and the art work is ready to go,we’re just looking for the right home for it at the moment and that’s kind of been an interesting search. But, I'm the most excited I’ve ever been about a recording or a piece of material that I’ve ever been a part of and I really can’t wait for everyone to hear it. I think it’s going to be an interesting thing to see what people think.

Take the opportunity to hear some of those new tracks early when the Scandals play at den Atelier on June 12 in support of The Gaslight Anthem and find out more about the band on their website www.thescandalsnj.com 

Hear the interview in full, including a story about getting lost in Luxembourg here:

Get your tickets at www.atelier.lu

Sam's Scene!

Read Sam's other articles in his very own dossier on wort.lu : Sam's Scene!

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Sam Steen on ARA City Radio

You can catch Sam in his "Freshly Squeezed Breakfast Show" on ARA City Radio every weekday morning from 6-9:30am. For more info visit the website: www.aracityradio.com

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