New Found Glory Celebrates 10th Anniversary
By: Bear Frazer
Last updated December 3rd , 2009

"I never imagined we would get to the point of releasing a 10 Year Anniversary edition…When we were recording this record, we were still all pretty much living at home with our parents," vocalist Jordan Pundik explains. "We were just five kids from the suburbs that knew some power chords, had a love for playing music, and a love for playing live shows."
 
For pop-punk, New Found Glory's self-titled album from 2000 helped define the genre, inspire the formation of bands everywhere, and pave the way for the success of groups such as Fall Out Boy.  Now, a decade later, the CD+DVD New Found Glory (10th Anniversary Edition) (Geffen/UMe), released January 26, 2010, brings together that original album, seven previously unreleased or rare bonus tracks, and the 2002 DVD documentary The Story So Far, which featured all of the band's music videos to that date plus concert footage, interviews, and more.  The package also includes revealing new liner notes from each band member and the album's producer Neal Avron (Fall Out Boy, Everclear, Good Charlotte, Yellowcard).

One of the first bands to fuse the sensibility of emo, vocal production of pop and heavy riffs of hardcore, and bring it to the mainstream, New Found Glory formed in Coral Springs, Florida in 1997.  After an indie EP and debut album, singer Jordan Pundik, lead guitarist Chad Gilbert, guitarist Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka, and drummer Cyrus Bolooki made their major label debut with the self-titled album in 2000.  With its Top 20 Modern Rock hit "Hit Or Miss," the album was boosted by a tour with blink-182, sold-out headlining tours, and a spot on the Warped Tour, and eventually was certified gold.  

New Found Glory (10th Anniversary Edition) adds three previously unreleased demos (the album's "Better Off Dead" and "All About Her" and the never-issued "The Radio Song"), as well as the unreleased Jerry Finn mix of "Hit Or Miss," which marked the band's first time in a major studio with a name producer.  The other extras are "So Many Ways" (a bonus on the album's Japanese version), "The Minute I Met You" (from the 2002 Clockstoppers soundtrack), and "Ex-Miss" (recorded for a KROQ/Los Angeles Christmas CD and heard on the Japanese version of 2002's follow-up album, Sticks And Stones, which charted #4 Pop and also went gold).

The DVD portion of New Found Glory (10th Anniversary Edition) offers the aptly-titled documentary The Story So Far, with its band history, live performances, and videos for the album's "Dressed To Kill" and "Hit Or Miss" (two versions), and for the Sticks And Stones hits "Head On Collision" and "My Friends Over You."

In 2004, Catalyst would become the band's highest charter, at #3 Pop, and New Found Glory's third gold album.  After 2006's Top 20 Coming Home, the band has continued with Epitaph Records, most recently with 2009's Top 15 charting Not Without A Fight, and continued to gain new fans.

"When I look back on this record," writes guitarist Gilbert in the liner notes, "I still wouldn't change a thing.  Not even the really corny boy band looking pictures of us on the inside."

In conjunction with the release of the 10th Anniversary Edition, the band will be embarking on a 42 date tour playing the album in its entirety starting January 29th in San Diego. Supporting New Found Glory on this tour will be Saves the Day, Hellogoodbye, and Fireworks. Presale tickets will be available Monday at http://newfoundglory.frontgatetickets.com/ on December 14 with general onsale December 18th. 

[Tags] In-The-News, POP, Punk