The Gaslight Anthem

Mon 13th Dec, 2010 in Features

If someone compiled a list of bands that recently jumped out of obscurity then The Gaslight Anthem would have to be near the top. Since the success of The ‘59 Sound, Gaslight have gone from playing small club shows to filling arena-sized venues with ease.

Drummer and all round nice guy, Benny Horowitz took time out before a show to discuss the juggernaut that has become The Gaslight Anthem after a few early stumbles. “When we first got together we were recording for one label. Things didn’t go well and it ended up falling through,” he explains, “We had to restart again, right at the beginning of our career. We did a three-song demo that we just burned ourselves and self-released and that’s what lead into Sink or Swim.” He adds that even 2007’s Sink Or Swim took a while to finish. “We recorded in a bunch of different places. It was a little haphazard, not like it’s done now.”

Since that release the band has moved from strength-to-strength, and gained fans with everything they’ve done. ‘The new songs [on American Slang ] have gone over really well. This record grabbed a lot of new fans, people we hadn’t had in the past. There are a lot more kids at shows who just know American Slang and are getting acquainted with the older stuff rather than the opposite.”

The mass appeal of American Slang, a deal breaker for some old fans, is evident to the band themselves with an extensive demographic showing up to their gigs all across the globe. “That has been happening a lot recently. I think it’s cool, I’m into it. There have been a number of times where I’ve seen 15 year olds with their parents, and their parents are actually into the music too not just there out of obligation or parental duty. They’re both enjoying it together and that’s cool. I think that’s a testament to doing something right if you can connect people from all types of age groups. I’m glad that a lot of different types of people can get into the music.”

While the final result has been grabbed by both new and old fans, commercial and alternative radio stations, Horowitz admits to never knowing the end result when walking into the studio. “I don’t think you can ever have the final thing planned out. I don’t know ever what it is going to sound like. In my experience of recording records, there has always been songs that nobody expected to be really good that are ones that just slipped through the cracks and once you record them certain things happen and they end up being the best songs. A lot of songs you’re super excited about when you go into the studio are the ones that fall into the middle a bit more. It’s just impossible to really tell what’s going to happen but you try to be as ready as possible because shit is really expensive. If you’ve got a song and it’s a certain way, you’ve got to try and get it down really quick.”