They've been a band since 1999. Not many bands have had this kind longevity and success. Yes, there have been changes, but it seems that every change has brought something new to the table and has benefited their music. They have come full circle and are currently comprised of all original members.

With the upcoming release of their self titled album "Taking Back Sunday" on June 28th , a new buzz has been generated by their fans, eager to find new songs to fall in love with. The band had a special limited edition pre-order package that sold out very quickly. It included artwork by band members and friends, for all 11 songs on the album. Each piece being an interpretation of the song it accompanies.

On the day of the show in Seattle, a certain group was supposed to show up and protest. I shall not name them, as no one wishes to give them any publicity. The protest never happened, but something pretty incredible did. Atticus Clothing of Seattle, brought T-shirts for the band to hand out to crew members, the other bands, and staff at the Showbox Market. Everyone wore them, including myself. A counter protest to the one that didn't happen. A non-threatening way of coming together, by wearing a simple T-shirt. There were no words on it, just a simple square shaped rainbow. So if you happen to see any of them wearing one at a future show, you know the meaning behind it now.

(Adama Lazzara with the Seattle Police Department)

As always , Taking Back Sunday delivered an amazing show. Adam Lazzara is an incredible performer, as are all the other band members. They seemed incredibly tight and genuinely happy to be onstage with each other. The fans had the floor literally bouncing so hard , it was difficult to keep my camera still. Although I enjoy seeing them play in any venue, the smaller ones like The Showbox at the Market, makes the experience far more intimate and intense.

Their current tour takes them throughout the US, ending July 31st in Chicago. Then they are off To Europe. Make sure you catch a show, you won't be disappointed!

I sat down with Adam Lazzara and Shaun Cooper on the day of their performance to talk about their new album.

Your new self titled album gets released on June 28th, do you have any special plans for the release?
Adam-We'll be playing in Anaheim, so we'll play the show and have a party. It's a long time coming, so we're pretty excited.

You released a special limited edition pre-order package for the album, what inspired you to do this?
Adam- There's this magazine I read, and I was flipping through it and it basically inspired us to have a visual representation of the album. At first we were just going to have posters, and then we decided to do this. It comes in a vinyl sleeve and there's different artwork for each of the songs. We did some and our friends did some. We really wanted to put something together that was cool. I also hand wrote all the lyrics on the back of each poster. I actually didn't realize how bad my handwriting has got , I'm so used to being on the computer. It probably could have been a bit better.

Shaun- I think it's very personal.

You also signed each and every one right? How long did that take?
Adam- It took about 4 hours, we just kept going. We did it at the Warner Bros. office and they said most bands take all day , but we powered through it.

Did anyone get a cramp?
Shaun-No, but we had to take a little break between every couple of boxes. If you don't hold the marker too tight , it goes pretty quick.

What was the inspiration behind this album?

Adam- Well it's cool because it was about the 5 of us getting back together. We really didn't set out to write an album with any particular theme. It was about getting together and seeing what came out, and this record is a product of that.

Shaun- The songs just sorta kept pouring out of us, I think Mark and Eddie had so much music over the years that it just kept coming. Eddie or Adam would play something on the guitar and then someone would say "I have the perfect lyrics for that" , so it was really fun.

Do you have a favorite song from the album?
Adam- It changes for me, lately it's been "Sad Savior" but when we first got done recording, it was "Call Me In The Morning" . So it just changes every week or 2.

Shaun- Yeah "Call Me In The Morning" is a favorite of mine too, "Sad Savior" was always there for me , it's this great ballad, Adam and John nailed it.

How many videos do you plan on making from songs from the album?
Adam- As many as they'll let us. In a perfect world 5 or 6 would be great. But it's harder and harder to get that done now cuz there's a lot more reluctance from the companies to dish the money out.

Shaun- Yeah, especially because videos don't always translate into record sales. It's kind of weird how everything has changed, there's not as much TV time, especially with youtube.

Adam- To me youtube is still really important, I know I check bands new stuff on there all the time. We just finished doing a video for "Faith (When I let you down)".

Shaun- I think it's gonna be real crazy...

Adam- Yeah totally, it's so awesome, really bizarre story

Shaun- We don't even want to talk about the concept yet, until people see it. It's nuts.

What do you hope your fans get out of this album?
Adam- I've always said I want to give back like all my favorite bands did to me, and so hopefully they'll find something on the album that they can relate to and it will help in one way or another.

How is Taking Back Sunday different from 5 years ago and where do you hope to be 5 years from now?
Adam- I think we're more mature in how we handle ourselves and we're definitely more efficient. Five years from now? Hopefully we'll have another record out.

Shaun- To still be around and touring would just be awesome. We all got band tattoos of the panther logo and I think that just shows how unified we are now. I think we were just like hey, this tattoo is for life, that's how important the band is to all of us. We've bonded so much over this past year or so .

You're touring pretty extensively throughout the summer, what are your plans after that?
Adam- After we get back from the UK the plan is to try and schedule another tour to get to the cities we're not going to on this tour...and that should go until Christmas.

Shaun- We're just so excited to play shows,we're really looking forward to it!

Adam- It's been over 2 years since we did a proper tour.

Shaun- Yeah, well, we will tour until the wheels fall off and then we can rest and write, to put the wheels back on.

Random question time, if you could excel at any extreme sport what would it be?
Shaun- Mixed martial arts, I'm a huge fan!

Adam- Hmmm... yeah I'll stick with Shaun's.

Shaun- That's the thing, we're not big sports fans, but I love the fights! It's so animalistic and that's our human nature. I started out loving professional wrestling and then learned it was fake. I don't give a crap if someone can throw a ball through a hoop or run down a field with a ball, but being able to punch someone in the face? That's just awesome!

Adam- That's a great quote!

Favorite game to play on the tour bus?
Shaun- I play the game "Drink the beer everyday".

Adam- You're really good at it too!

Shaun- I practice real hard! We haven't played a lot of games, however I did run up and down the bus a bunch of times the other day.

Adam- I think "Scattergories" is game that we have played, playing that game with Eddie Reyes is so much fun!

What would you do for a Klondike bar?
Shaun- Nothing , I'm lactose intolerant , it would wreck my stomach, so I'd appreciate if you didn't give me one.

Don't worry, I didn't actually have one to give you.

*Look for the new self titled Album out on June 28th!*