Eighth bassist a charm for Every Time I Die

Every Time I Die

With Four Year Strong, Polar Bear Club, and Trapped Under Ice
Monday, March 22 at 7 p.m.
Starlite Room (10030–102 St.)
$20 at Blackbyrd

The exploits of Every Time I Die's Jordan and Keith Buckley have been widely published. They're known to be notoriously difficult with journalists, rarely giving serious interviews. ETID has been around since 1998, but before their current bassist joined in 2007, they went through seven of them. Add to that the recent departure of their longtime drummer Mike Novak, and it seems reasonable to believe that the Buckley brothers may be the common denominators. Their well-known affinity for light-hearted jokes and crazy antics argues against such a harsh condemnation, but it still breeds curiosity. Bassist Josh Newton quickly dismisses any notions of Oasis-level sibling rivalry or massive egos.

"Joining the band was completely effortless. Literally from the day I got in the van, it was like I had always been in the band [...] I haven't played on all the records, but personality-wise with the band, it was never, ever an effort. It's completely natural, so I don't really understand what the problem was with everybody else," Newton explains.

"[Keith and Jordan] are such different people that it's not like that at all. Plus, they've been brothers for so long, obviously, and they have been doing the band for so long that everyone is so comfortable within their roles that it's never really an issue. Sometimes I actually forget that they're brothers," Newton explains.

That pressing issue settled, we begin to discuss the latest record New Junk Aesthetic and its guests. Newton is quick to discuss how Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan) and Matt Caughthran (The Bronx) made their way onto the record. But when I start to ask about pop-culture mainstay Pete Wentz, Newton begins laughing before I finish mentioning his name. Apparently this isn't the first time someone has expressed confusion over his presence on the album highlight "Wanderlust."

"The band has known him forever, from his Chicago days and being in hardcore bands that he was in. He and Keith [Buckley] had been trading lyrics back and forth for a different project, and I think the line he sings he actually wrote. It was just the last day of mixing and they asked, 'Pete wants to sing a line on the record, do you care?' I was fine having things not making sense," Newton says.

The courage of the band's decision, considering the potential backlash from their fans, is commendable. ETID is known for their fun-loving antics and high-energy live shows, but like any underground band, they suffer their share of controversy, too. While the inclusion of Ashlee Simpson's baby daddy may seem like an outrageous idea initially, the song he collaborated on stands as one of the groups' best singles. Their love of experimentation mixed with their southern-fried metal has helped them to stand out from the metal masses. Members of the band have diverse tastes in music, from pretty-boy hipsters Vampire Weekend to death metallers Entombed. This diversity helps to create the band's unique sound.

"You can't help but bring [your influences] in," Newton says. "Obviously, if something isn't going to make sense in the band, we're not going to use it. At the same time, we really have no rules, nothing we can't do."

Often in these far northern landscapes, music fans have to wait extended periods between live shows from their favourite bands. Every Time I Die has been absent from western Canada for a long time, so their upcoming show is building a lot of excitement. The Warped Tour vets are once again joining the touring summer camp this year, which is coming to Edmonton for the first time. That means that fans not only get to see the group in an intimate show next week at the Starlite, but they'll also have an opportunity to see them play at an outdoor festival.

Pop-punkers Four Year Strong and gritty indie punks Polar Bear Club are also both on the Warped Tour bill, so Edmonton fans will get a rare double shot of these three bands this year, but don't expect to see the same show twice.

"[Warped is] the most fun tour I've ever done. It's such a good time; it's like summer camp that you happen to play a show at [...] With Warped, we have so many friends involved in running the tour, it's really effortless. But if I was going to pick shows that we would play, I definitely prefer a small-room, intimate environment kind of thing. Those shows, for me, are always a lot more memorable and a lot more fun. If I was going to a show, I would rather go to a show like that, personally," Newton says.

Their place on what was once dubbed "punk rock summer camp" seems even more fitting this year, with their latest album being released by renowned punk label Epitaph Records. The move to a new label has helped to increase the band's profile with their new release — momentum that they hope to capitalize upon with a heavy presence on the touring circuit over the next year.

"As someone who basically only did the touring when the band was on Ferret [Music], I think that there's a lot of difference between how the promotion is handled [...] I feel like there's a lot more attention being paid to the band by the label. It's great. I have nothing but good things to say about Epitaph [...] They've been around longer and they've dealt with bigger bands. Brett [Gurewitz, owner of Epitaph] being in Bad Religion, he knows what a band needs to function. It's been nothing but a positive change," Newton emphasizes.

While some bands are keen to sit back and whine about the changing state of music, Every Time I Die seem poised to take on the world with their dirty rock 'n' roll sound. I'm just content to have caught the band on a good day.