The New York hardcore band H20 once declared to the world, “Don’t forget your roots!” in their song “Family Tree.” For emo icons Saves the Day, the spirit of this lyric is the mantra of their brand new album, 9. The album, which dropped earlier this year, find singer/frontman Chris Conley going back to his own personal roots, as well as the roots, and the 20+ year history of Saves the Day to pen a very personal yet intrinsically Saves the Day record.
We caught up with Conley to talk about the new record, performing in New Jersey, the resurgence of emo, and what he loves about his band.
9 is your first album in five years. How did this time away from releasing a record influence the creation of this album?
It didn’t feel like five years at all! We were busy touring and playing festivals and having the time of our lives. It’s bizarre how fast the years go by as you get older. We certainly apologize to anyone who felt like those five years were longer than they were for us, but we’re glad to be back with a new album and to be touring with amazing bands and playing shows all over the world. But to answer your question more directly, we grow as musicians every day, let alone every year, so after all this time we are more accomplished at our instruments and more confident as performers and writers, so it’s a pleasure to get to put all of that accumulated knowledge into our recordings and live shows.
How do you feel 9 stands out from the rest of your catalog?
9 has a classic Saves sound but it’s a bit more mature and both the music and the lyrics reflect that. The riffs are big and loud and the lyrics are introspective and insightful. Over the years there have been quite a few self-aware Saves The Day songs, but this entire album is a meta-meditation on the incredible journey over the last 20 plus years getting to make music and traveling the world playing shows with our friends. It’s been a blast and it keeps getting better.
9 has been described as an “autobiographical” record for you. Can you talk about the reason you went with such a personal story for this record? And how did it feel weaving your life so deeply into your album?
It was a lot of fun writing this record, as it always is. I tend to follow the inspiration where it leads, and right away the momentum was leaning into conscious lyrics of nostalgia and reflection. The first song that was written for the album is the opening track “Saves The Day” and I remember hearing the melody in my head, picking up a guitar to find the chords, and following the song along as I heard it unfold, and when it got to the hook leading into the chorus and the words were, “So turn it up we’re Saves The Day” I knew I was writing the Saves The Day theme song. It happened just like that!
Afterward, I thought, “That’s pretty cool!” and it felt fun to me because I immediately thought of one of my favorite songs of all-time, “Wilco” by the band Wilco off their record Wilco. I knew right away that it would be the first track on the album, and I never stop to second-guess the inspiration since that would be presumptions and dare I say offensive — I feel grateful to be struck by inspiration when it comes so I consider it to be sacred and strange and I’m only trying to facilitate the process of bringing it to life through music and words.
The next song that was written, “Suzuki,” completely wrote itself in as much time as it takes to listen to the song. All of a sudden it was in my head and it was the coolest melody I had ever heard and I was driving home from downtown in Chico and I floored it so I could get back in time to record it in a voice memo before it disappeared forever, and then I ran inside and grabbed a guitar and the words and chords flowed out all at once as I was watching and singing. It was so much fun!
There I was on a black and red couch playing a burgundy Les Paul I played on Can’t Slow Down so many years ago writing album number 9… what a trip. If you’ve heard the album you know that’s the first line of the song, and once that was written I knew for sure that the theme of the album would be “Saves The Day” — The history of Saves, the experience of Saves, and the future of Saves.
By the time the third song came around, it happened first as a riff and a melody with one line of lyrics attached, “side by side,” so I thought to myself, “How can I make that line work in the burgeoning theme which is being born in these songs?” and I thought about the only other original member of the band, Bryan Newman, who asked me to come jam at his parents’ house at the end of the summer in 1993 after he found out that I learned to play guitar over that summer, and if Bryan had never called me up, I never would have joined a band and Saves The Day never would have existed. So without Bryan I wouldn’t be here a thousand years in the future and to me it’s as if we’re still side by side after all these years. So that’s how the theme of the album began to evolve and then the rest of it took shape from there.
You guys are on the road with Joyce Manor — how’s it been touring with these guys?
Oh my God, I love Joyce Manor so much. To me, they write perfect punk rock songs which are both artful and simple yet beautiful and fun. Barry [Johnson]’s lyrics are incredible, and the songs are original and familiar at the same time. They push the art form into new territory with their creativity and they remind me of Jawbreaker and The Wedding Present but somehow if both bands came back from the future to change the underground forever. Their fans are fantastic and their live shows are energetic and exciting. I can’t stop smiling watching them play, and I’m honored to get to know them as friends.
In the past 3-5 fives years there’s been a real, honest resurgence of love from fans of late 90s/early 00s punk, and emo — whether it be bands performing and selling out anniversary tours of records, or trends like Emo Nights bringing in big crowds to concert venues. Why do you feel people are falling in love with this sound, of which you guys were at the forefront of, all over again?
Because it’s such good music! To me, the coolest and most incredible thing about this music is that there are so many good bands and so many good songwriters. If you think of any other genre of music you’d be lucky to count a dozen genuinely solid acts with deep catalogues of catchy and infectious music. In emo and punk it seems like there are 50 amazing bands with incredible albums, 7 inches, and B-sides. There are just so many good bands and so much good music. It’s mind-boggling, in my humble opinion. I feel lucky to be a part of this world of music and to get to count so many of these incredible musicians among my best lifelong friends. What a wild ride!
The band was born out of New Jersey, so how much sweeter/more satisfying is it to play a show in your home state like you will when you play The Stone Pony in Asbury Park?
There is nothing like playing a show in New Jersey. Our hometown fans are absolutely the best in the world, and when we walk onstage and feel their love and start to play and hear them sing along it’s as if we were in heaven on Earth. It feels like floating, like all two-thousand of us are literally levitating. To sing along with so many loving fans and play loud rock and roll is a dream come true, and we are forever grateful to our fans in New Jersey and to our families and friends who helped us along the way.
What is that you love about being in Saves the Day?
I love getting to write the music and the lyrics the most. It is a gift to get to spend my life creating art and sharing it with friends and fans. I love getting to travel the world playing music with such incredible musicians — Rodrigo [Palma], Arun [Bali], Dennis [Wilson], and Chris are phenomenal performers and wonderful friends, and they have made me a better person and a better singer and songwriter. I feel entirely and eternally grateful to get to feel the love from our fans and to connect in this crazy world through the music and the words and to know that I’m not alone in this life, that we are all together as one, and we are lucky to be alive.
What is a definitive goal you have for Saves the Day this year?
I’m not a very goal-oriented person. In my eyes, I’m already living a dream and I only hope that it can continue as long as there is still music to be made. So it’s good to be alive and it’s good to be in Saves The Day.
What are you most excited about for this band in 2019?
We’re playing some super fun shows this fall that I’m not sure I’m allowed to talk about yet … but … I’m extremely excited about that! Keep your eyes peeled and come hang with us and sing along!!
