Hearingthevoice.com

The Gaslight Anthem is a band from New Jersey which every year is getting bigger and bigger with their great sound and not just because they played with Bruce Springsteen. This time we talked with Ben Horowitz drummer of the band which explains the long and windy road that the band went through to be in the place where they are now, he talks about the new release of the band "American Slang", he told us why he thinks that Kim Kardashian is hot and personally he explained to us what he thinks about the situation of the world on these days.


By: Miguel Guinness.





Is there anything about Bruce Springsteen that you havent being asked yet?


Ben: (Laughs) I guess there are a lot of weird questions that people can ask, but it´s something that comes up in probably 9 out of 10 interviews is like that and is something that honestly I don´t care, I mean if you are referred to a big artist like he is and I understand how journalism works and if you have in an the title of an article the name Bruce Springsteen of course you will sell more copies compared to an article that just says The Gaslight Anthem, so it is what it is. but to really answer to your question there is not too much that we haven´t been asked.



Has The Gaslight Anthem music changed through the years?

Ben: I think lirycally Brian took like an approach on the new record that I think is more personal like showing as himself now that he ever had like I think, because in the older records he wrote more like metaphores different peoples names and stuff like that to tell stories and I think in the new record he is a little more straight, I think he is just saying something like he is saying to another person, so I think the lyrics got a bit more personal in that regard and musically most of the songs are like in sink or swim really the fact that we all hear different kind of music we came from different kinds of place musically ut the bands we all love mutually are bands like Avail, Against me and for example the bigger ones The Clash, The Replacements or stuff like this so those are the kind of universal kind of music we all love and so that´s the kind of music we wrote and I think now we are starting to take different influences from different schools like soul or blues and in TGLA we have been figuring out how to put that music into punk and actually make it work and not just sound like 2 different kinds of music so that´s been our goal for a long time trying to work that out, but I have no idea where is going to go from here.



Why the name Senor and the Queen? Do you have any Latino influence too?


Ben: Again is just that from the places we come from is just like that, is part of our culture where we are from we were raised with kids who are bilingual english and spanish and most of the kids that I knew were born in the states but their parents weren´t, and then for us, we are the generation before I mean almost everybody in the area of New York or New Jersey comes from an inmigrant family and we just happened to be from 2 generations ago for example Brian´s family is Irish/English, I am Polish/Russian, Alex is Irish/Italian and all of our families came to New York the same way so it´s just part of the culture of where we are from and you know Spanish sounds cool, it´s a beautiful language, there is like a mystique around it and specially as in Europe you might be the first mexican person I ever met in Europe and honestly I´m always hunting for mexican food which is something we are really attached to in the states.



How was it to work with Ted Hutt and explain something about the support that Sideone Dummy is giving you?


Ben: It´s been great, really no complaints, you know most of the time it takes a little time to get used to work with anyone, TGLA always worked in a self produced regime in eveything we did, so now we are taking advice from someone else is a little weird at first but then we learned to trust them and follow their ideas and then yeah the relationship with Sideone has been nothing but hard working and very supportive since day 1really no complaints there neither all has been really positive, and everyone who is envolved deserves a credit of what´s happening is not just us and we realize that.



The Gaslight Anthem is playing sell out shows all around the world, So how was it for you? Like a snowball effect or the result of sacrifices and hard job?

Ben: Is both, I think when you are doing stuff like this you have to allow yourself to grow because things can change so much that if you get stuck in the past you will live frustrated but well in a way it was a snowball effect , once I looked around and I noticed that there are at least 50 people involved in the release of our new record and you know publicity and all that stuff where you lose something that is yours when so mny people is doing the work that you used to do but then at the same time is the goal with the band that we always had, I mean I dont want to work anymore, I want to... for example buy a house and raise a family and stuff like that by playing music and hopefully by being in TGLA and honestly in order to do that like just the way that industry is set up and stuff like that if it come as a punk or a hardcore thing like you need to let some stuff go in order to be able to do that. I mean Brian and me had crazy misconceptions at the beginning of the band we thought than selling 10,000 we were gonna be good forever, you know what I mean? That´s what we thought at the beginning so we realized that that there some sacrifices like in all ethic but then you realize you can be in this world with a different ethic trying new things positively into do it the right way, which a lot of people don´t do so you can find ways to make what is right, but at the same time now everything is so corporate run, for example each time we play we find this big redbull or coca cola vending machine or an ad here an ad there but then you realize that there is so many people involved in what you do that make this happen.



How has it been the acceptance of “American slang” compared to the acceptance of “The 59 sound”?

Ben: It has been good, I was really surprised because people were really passionate with the 59 sound and the things they said about it, you know all the time you have to expect different comments or point of views from the people some goes like wooow some others like naaaaah or something like that but now we had comments that American slang is better than the 59 Sound and honestly all I know is that reactions had been really positive and we couldn’t ask for more actually, I´m surprised that we didn´t get any bad critic yet so I´m happy about that.



Any plans to go to Latin America?

Ben: Well we have being thinking about it since day one, But there are so many facts you know for example getting across the border and you know all the dangerous cities at the border right now, like safety is an issue you know what I mean? But we will start to talk about it and maybe going to Brazil which will be awesome. My parents spent 2 years in Brazil when they were in college and they speak Portuguese, I´m dying to go there so I cantmake any promises yet, but we are thinking about it for me I hope it happens as soon as possible, I went to Costa Rica in summer so that´s the closest I´ve been to Latin America.



Lindsay Lohan or Kim Kardashian?

Ben: KIM KARDASHIAN!! Hands down, big time oh my god! That’s fucking easy(laughs) I even told my girlfriend that I love that round ass of her(laughs) That’s what is cool of living in New Jersey there are so many different ethnicities because I don’t like the skinny type of American women it doesn’t do anything for me, I like girls like with curves.



Anything you would like to add?

Ben: Now I´m feeling like finding myself in an unique position being in a band like this when people actually want to hear to your music and actually want to hear what you say really stressing people telling them that fucking have to live their lives peacefully and positively like stop all the bullshit that is going around the whole world like hate or intolerance, that honestly keeps me really awake thinking about the state of the world and the fact that people hears what we say so we have to take advantage that TGLA is a platform where we can say those things and make people think and take a step back and live out for yourself and being good with people what goes around comes around that’s something that I hope people take!! When I was a kid all the time I had all this ideas about utopian and things that maybe will never happen there are so many disgusting things about human beings, we have a terrible nature sometimes you know and people are scared and people are selfish, I wish it stops man and I wish people can one day live peacefully and not just live for themselves but for everyone like John Lennon said -IMAGINE- and why not to give it a chance? is not so crazy as people think and I have the idea of cool out a person on the street simply to say hi to an stranger on the street, or being in a gas station or a convenience store and take some time just to look someone in the eye and cheer him as a human being like the next time they will do it to somebody else, I´m not a religious man but the only way to live in a good world is to make the world a better place than I found it and that´s all that you can really do like. So I hope everyone think about it.