Earlier this year, a Long Island studio saw the unexpected formation of a new group built on mutual respect and a true love of rock n’ roll. The group consists of drummer Mark O’Connell and guitarist Eddie Reyes: two former members of the wildly popular group Taking Back Sunday. They are now joined by vocalist Mike Jansen and bassist Neal Amiruddin to form ME.
The band’s first album, All Good Things, celebrated its release on July 24th, following singles “Special,” “Grown Man,” and “Sun Poison” throughout May and June. We sat down with the band to talk about all that led up to this first album and the band’s heartfelt approach to this new chapter.
Introduce us to the album a bit. What can people expect?
Mark: This album is Eddie and I coming together and fulfilling a creative hole that we had not been capable of when we were in Taking Back Sunday together. I knew that I wanted to talk to him. Eddie’s a brother, [and] you lose contact with family members sometimes, and that’s what happened. We made this happen along with Casey [Neal Carter]. This album: there’s so much to it. I was so down. When you end up in those predicaments in life, as I know now, you really find out who’s there and who’s not who loves you, and that’s part of the album too.
This album is beautiful. It sums up a lot of pain, a lot of beauty. You’ve got to let it go sometimes, and you’ve got to move forward. I feel like the best man in the world right now because of it.
Introduce me to this lineup. How did you all start working together?
Mike: Originally, it was just a project for Mark and Eddie to write and get back to what they remember liking about music, and I’m lucky enough to be a part of it by adding something that doesn’t fight the instrumentals that they were working with; it complements it and doesn’t try to change it. That makes it fresh for them and fun for me. Neal is a lifelong best friend of the guys. [He’s] new to my world, but an amazing dude. It’s just an easy pairing with the lineup.
How was it decided that there was even going to be an album?
Mark: The plan was to kind of just hang out and talk, and then go right into the studio. We were in a basement studio on Long Island, and we just got a click track and laid down two tracks. Those two tracks ended up being the first two songs after the introduction. It was clear right then and there in those two days, even with all of the issues that popped up, through all of that, it didn’t matter; we got those two down, and they were so good, and we were so excited, and so was everyone else around us. So why wouldn’t we go to a studio and see what else we can get out of it? That’s how we ended up going to Applehead and working with Chris [Bittner]. Chris let us into his world. I’ll never forget that.
I really loved the singles you have out. Why did you think those would be a good introduction to this new band?
Mike: When I came to sing the first song that we had together, “Special,” at that point, I wasn’t in the band; I was just going to be singing one song with these guys for fun. I’d known them five, ten minutes tops before I was in the vocal booth trying out ideas, and we came up with little alterations to make it sound more of what they were thinking mixed with what I was thinking. That was our introduction to me playing with them and eventually becoming the singer of the project. So why not introduce the world to what we have in that way as well?
“Grown Man” was the second song I’d shown them that I had written vocals for, and it really resonated with the guys. While we figure out what the band sounds like, why don’t the listeners do the same thing?
“Special” seems so cathartic. What’s the story behind that one?
Mike: I think because I was in a really good mental space, I had just gotten married like that month, I was able to look at parts of my past that I never really wrote about that were uncomfortable for me and finally write it down. I think that all of my writing is like a journal entry, so I’ll talk specifically about moments, then I’ll talk about the panic inside of myself. Most of it’s just self-reflection. When something bad happens to you, it’s easy to point at everybody around you, like “what makes you so special?” It becomes a part of the story of the record, of reflection and figuring out why things happen to you without it specifically being someone else’s fault. When I wrote it, I didn’t have that all in mind, but after I looked back at what I wrote, I was like “that’s what this is.”
That’s why I like writing without knowing what I’m writing. The second single is more of a love song, in a sense. That’s what Ed was feeling when he wrote it. I was kind of just on the same page as the guys without them needing to explain things to me.
What can you tell us about what the rest of the album entails?
Mark: It’s got energy. It’s got that energy that you would never know that I’m 45 and Ed is 53. You know what I mean? It’s got that first album energy. The whole thing is a banger, 1-10. The introduction is a banger. In all of the songs, you can just hear creative freedom. One thing that Eddie and I did in the beginning of Taking Back Sunday, co-writing, we ended up right back there again. It’s really weird because we’ll find ways to make whatever ideas we have work, even if there are key changes we don’t know about.
It just perfectly explains Eddie and my creative partnership that we have and making music together, back then and now. I’m just so proud of this album, and I know how special it is. You can make good songs, but if it doesn’t make anybody feel anything, if there’s no way to put yourself in the song, it doesn’t really affect a person. I think that we nailed it with every single one of the songs on this album.
What makes this album different from the projects you’ve worked on before?
Mark: I mean for one, we have Mike Jansen singing. His abilities musically and creatively are top level. I’m not just saying that. [He’s] a very talented guy, so working with him was so easy. Really, it could not have been any easier. Neal is playing bass in this band. While we were making the album, we decided Neal is going to learn how to play bass. He never even played bass guitar for one day before, but I know him so well. We’ve known each other since we were five. Growing up and watching him skateboard, the way he was able to do that. I knew he could do that without a problem, and I know in a year from now, he’s going to be the best bass player around. Nobody does that. I think that’s pretty cool.
Do you have any future plans for what you want to do after this album?
Mark: We’re just going to do it differently as the band we are now. Get in a room together with a drum set and amps and microphones, like a real rock n’ roll band would. Rock is a real thing, and it felt like it was dying for a while, but I really believe that this album will make people more aware of rock again, because it’s a beautiful thing. Rock music is amazing. And that’s why we’re here: it becomes part of your identity.
Did you go into this project with any idea of what you wanted to accomplish?
Mike: I didn’t expect to be a part of it, and then once I was, I was just trying to figure out how to do it. There was no room or time to think about anything other than the next step in front of me: the next song that I was working on; the time that we had to finish it in the studio. I’m assuming there’s going to be more of how the first record happened: Mark and Ed have an idea, and I’m just going to figure out how to write over it. That’s a lot of fun for me. I don’t mind the challenge of it.
Mark: We had to do a crash course in learning each other personally and musically. You can figure that into the kind of music you make, so doing that with Mike was pretty awesome. I do believe that everyone in the band coming up with songs for another album is not going to be a problem.
Has there been a high point or best moment?
Neal: I don’t think any of us have even had a chance to think about the next thing. We have to play a show in a couple of weeks; that’s the next step. Every next step is that high point. It’s just “what’s tomorrow bringing?” and then “What’s next week bringing?” I can’t wait to see myself.
Mike: There wasn’t a song on the record that when we finished it, we went “Okay, what’s next?” Every song was like “We really like this! This is the direction we want to go. Let’s move on [and] see what we do with the next one.” There wasn’t any “this one’s okay.” It adds a level of pressure and nerves, but the whole journey so far has been really exciting.
Mark: When Eddie and I are writing music, if an idea’s just not working, put it in the back pocket, save it for later, let’s move on to something else instead of wasting time trying to polish something that isn’t really there.
Do you have anything else coming up for people who want to support you?
Mike: We have a show July 23rd at Amityville Music Hall on Long Island. That place is very important for the guys; I’m excited to go play there for the first time.
Stream All Good Things here:
