BITE ME! Glassjaw Interview

Glassjaw -By Nikki Neil

Larry Gorman (drums) is the oldest member of Glassjaw, even though he looks younger than the others. “Do you really want to know how old I am?” he says while flashing his boyish smile. “How old do you think I am?” “Um, maybe 25,” I reply. “I’m 25,” chimes Dave Allen, the group’s bass player. “I’m 5 years older than he is,” states Larry. “No Way…you are not 30,” I say in disbelief.

Larry and Dave are the most recent additions to Glassjaw’s line-up; however, their enthusiasm and dedication to the band, its music, and their fans would make you believe they were founding members. Before joining the artfully brutal post-hardcore outfit, Larry pounded skins for the funk metal group Orange 9mm, and Dave was a part-time Glassjaw roadie as well as a diehard fan. “Glassjaw had just gone through two bass players. I knew that whoever they got would be the guy, so I practiced the songs at home and tried out for the spot,” Dave recalls. “At first I didn’t want to do it because I basically had a career and the band was going through all that bullshit with RoadRunner so it was like, ‘Do I give up my job?’ But I really wanted to be a part of the band so I went for it and I have no regrets.”

July 9^th was a hot summer day and the members of Glassjaw—Larry, Dave, Daryl Palumbo (vocals), Justin Beck (guitar), and Todd Weinstock (guitar)—spent most of it in the air-conditioned offices at Warner Brothers Records doing interviews for their new album Worship And Tribute (I AM/Warner). Later that night the boys would celebrate the record’s release at Sushi Roku. I recommended the shrimp jalapeno roll because it is my favorite. “I’ll probably have eight of them because Warner is paying for it,” Dave professed.

Glassjaw is often cited as an influence by many of their peers; therefore, it seems ironic that the band would title their latest release Worship and Tribute. In retrospect it works, but the moniker was not intended to be a vanity statement. Larry pulled the title from a line in Daryl’s lyric book. “Daryl keeps this lyric book that he writes all his ideas in. I was looking though it one day and one of the lines he had in there was ‘Worship and Tribute’. I thought it was an appropriate title for this album because Daryl pays tribute to other bands when we are on stage, and it’s also a nod to those bands who have paved the way before us.”

Choosing a producer was as easy as naming the album. Basically, the guys decided that if it isn’t broke don’t mess with it, so they asked Ross Robinson to man the board once again. “It was a no brainier,” Larry deadpans. “He’s such a great guy to work with,” Dave adds. “Once you work with Ross there is no question about working with anyone else. He really makes a band feel comfortable. He is more concerned about the vision as opposed to putting out an album just to sell a million copies. “

With the album out and the recording process behind them Glassjaw’s next adventure is the road. The band spent the remainder of their summer on the Warped Tour and Ozzfest. In the end, Ozzfest proved to be a little more up their alley. “Warped Tour really isn’t a place for a band like Glassjaw,” admits Larry. “We are a little more doomy than that. It’s best to experience us in a dark club.”

For more on Glassjaw visit: www.glassjaw.com