We’re big fans of The Front Bottoms, so we couldn’t be more happy to have caught up with the band when they played in New York City just a few weeks ago with Emperor X. Brian, Matt, and I discussed live shows for the band, signing to Bar/None Records, their new EP, and the future. Read up and enjoy!

The band is playing a small show tonight in New York City with Emperor X. What should we expect your set to look like?
Brian: A lot of craziness and dancing.
Matt: A few new songs.
Brian: We’re going to play a good mix of songs and a longer set than we normally play.

How many new songs have you guys worked into the set?
Brian: I think we’ve got one really solid new one. Then two oldies and then the standards, the hits. It’ll be the same energy.

Are there plans to work in new songs in the next few months?
Matt: Definitely. That’s going to happen pretty soon. We’d like to play all the new ones eventually.

The Front Bottoms are being pushed heavily by the New Jersey underground scene, but how has reception from crowds outside of Jersey been to you guys?
Brian: Everyone seems to be picking up on it. Lots of times we show up and no one really knows who we are, but when we leave they’re super into it, which is good. That’s always nice.

Your sound is certainly more indie than punk, but you guys have that punk mentality and often play with more pop-punk kinds of bands in New Jersey like Washington Square Park. Is it ever tough to find a spot in a show that best suits the band because your music sounds different, but your mentality is the same?
Brian: it definitely is. Our style has been to get on crazy shows with crazy genres. We’ve played hardcore shows that have made no sense. As long as it’s good energy and everybody’s having a good time, we usually pick up on that.

Last time we spoke news that the band was recording a new EP called Grip ‘N Tie got out. Is the recording process for that done now?
Brian: It is all finished. We’re going to release it in late-August.
Matt: And that’s not a lie this time.
Brian: [Laughs] Before we were telling everybody that it was going to be out in a few weeks. It’s going to be released with our last EP. So it’ll have twelve songs; six new ones and six old ones.

How would you compare it to the first EP?
Brian: I guess the recording quality is a little bit better. There’s a more solid quality. The songs are a little different and longer. That’s the simplest way to put it, but they’re the same style. It’s not super different. I feel like it slows.
Matt: It’s in the style of The Front Bottoms.

Were there extra songs to choose from?
Brian: No, not really. The ones that we recorded were the ones we were pretty set on to have on the album. We knew we needed six, so we went in and recorded six. Those were them.

An original spring release was expected for the EP, but you guys have now signed to a label. When did talks between The Front Bottoms and Bar/None Records start?
Brian: Last time we had talked we were talking to them. It’s a long process. It went very well and it was solid. We’re super pumped and very happy with it.

Would you have been fine putting it out on your own?
Brian: We talked about that and we debated it, but if somebody who is totally supportive of you is willing to help you, it was like why put it out ourselves? It didn’t make sense.

The band is early in your career, so what does signing with Bar/None do for you?
Brian: Hopefully it’ll give us a lot of connections and credit.
Matt: It’s the next step.
Brian: The Front Bottoms take small steps, and this is the next step for us.

They have bands like Of Montreal that don’t totally seem like a perfect fit for you guys. Where exactly do you want to go from here in terms of the music scene you play to?
Brian: We want to expand to new markets. They’re also pretty good at selling artists like They Might Be Giants. I’m confident in what they’re going to do for us.

Will you guys be touring all summer to build additional press for the EP?
Brian: We’re going to be playing as many shows as possible just leading up to it. Even once it drops we’ll try to jump on a few tours and get as many people to see us live as possible.

Has anything been worked out yet?
Matt: Nothing solid. Just weekend stuff. Everything’s up in the air. We’ll always go on tour even if nothing goes through. We’ll just book it ourselves for a week or two. We’ll always play weekends in New England.

When should we expect to hear a first song off of the EP?
Brian: I think we’re going to release a single in mid-summer. It’s hard to say. We’ll see what happens. You can come see us play a new one live as well.

Has the band written more since the EP?
Brian: Yeah, I’m kind of always in the writing process if I’m not busy. I’ve written a few ones. But that’s far away at this point. We might release things in between. I don’t think it’ll be super long between releases, but we’ll see. There will be stuff to get out.