Written by Maitland Pontelandolfo
Plain White T’s will always be remembered for their classic 2005 ballad, “Hey There Delilah.” Since the 14 years post “Delilah” the band has continued creating catchy love songs, mixed with their original rock style. Their latest album, Parallel Universe, which came out in August, features 19 tracks, including acoustic versions of some of their greatest hits. Plain White T’s continue to share their sound with live audiences and are currently on their 3 Dimensional Tour along with New Politics and The Mowglis.
Recently Plain White T’s lead singer, Tom Higgenson talked to Pop Break about the tour, their new album and shared what is next for the band, including a feature of the new Spongebob the Musical Live.
Your new album Parallel Universe came out in August, I really like it! Is there one track that really encapsulates the message you were trying to portray in the album?
That’s a good question. It’s funny because I frickin’ love the whole album. I feel like it’s one that you can put on from the beginning and just rock the whole way through. I don’t know that there is one specific track. If I had to have someone listen to one song what would it be? Maybe “Light Up The Room,” or maybe “Bury Me.”
“Bury Me” was actually the very first song written for the album so that one kind of paved the way. Believe it or not the first two songs were some of the first ones and those paved the way for the feel of the album. “Your Body” is a great one. “Lying About Me and You” is one of my personal favorites because it’s more ’80s and cool and vibe-y. I feel like you put it on and you are just vibing with it the whole time.
That’s awesome that it has a general fun theme around it to keep people excited. I definitely want to talk about your tour with the The Mowglis and New Politics. What differentiates this tour from all your past tours?
We divided it up, it’s called The 3 Dimensional Tour and it has The Mowglis, New Politics and The Plain White T’s. It’s a triple headlining bill. We are switching off times slots to keep it fresh. It’s almost like every band is equally as important as the other band rather than going out and doing our same thing every night. It’s a fun camaraderie with the other bands.
There are a few slots of our set that we are putting some old songs in and trying to do a couple different new songs off the album. Our set is changing every day so it’s a little bit different from the [previous show] which is always fun for the audience if they go to a couple shows in a row they will see a different show. For us, it’s always fun to be able to play a little bit different material and spread it out like that. I made these sampler CDs because I started a record label called Humans Were Here and in between bands and after the shows I go out and take a few pictures with people and pass out these sampler CDs to spread the word on all of these new artists I’m working with. Everybody is walking home with a lot of new music.
The tour is coming to New Jersey on December 14 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Do you have any fond memories of playing in New Jersey?
We have played there before. I’m a huge Bruce Springsteen fan and I know that venue is one that he came up playing. I remember when we played there I was trying to soak up all of the Springsteen energy and all the vibes that I could. That is one of the few venues in the country that just stands out. We just played the Fillmore in San Francisco and that is one of those legendary venues that has been around since the ’60s where The Grateful Dead and The Doors and all that scene started at the Fillmore. Playing at a venue like that just builds onto the history and the vibes. It’s in the walls, all the history and great music.
I obviously have to ask about “Hey There Delilah.” It’s one of everyone’s favorite songs. How do you think the band has changed in your personal music style from that hit single to the music you are currently making?
It’s always been a hard thing to figure out because we have always been a little bit more of a rock band. All of my favorite bands growing up, like Nirvana or Pearl Jam, were rock bands, but they always have a couple ballads on the album to change it up and have some dynamics. That’s how we’ve always been, a rock band, but we’ve had a couple slower songs on every album. For us, it turns out that those slower songs are the ones that really connect with the fans.
Obviously, “Delilah” is the biggest example of that. We’ve got “1234,” “Rhythm of Love,” those are mellow as well. It’s been an interesting thing since we’ve had these hits to navigate. Well, shit, are we supposed to be an acoustic chill band now, or do we keep doing our thing? It’s been a weird thing but we have always kept going from the heart rather than trying to do what people want from us. We love the music that we play so we don’t want to try to cater to anybody or do things because it’s just going to feel fake.
I love doing those slow songs as well. On the new album, I think “Your Body” and “Bury Me” both go right along with “Delilah” and “1234.” They have that same vibe for sure. We always make sure that we include songs like that because they always connect. So, maybe we’re just stupid and we should try to focus on making an album with just acoustic love songs. Maybe that’s the next album. As long as we are making music and enjoying ourselves, that’s the most important thing.
So, Spongebob The Musical just aired on Nickelodeon on December 7 and your song, “BFF,” is in the show. Have you seen this musical before and are you a fan of it? How does it feel to have a song featured in it?
Oh my god, I’ve seen it a few times. I saw it when it premiered in Chicago. They did a premiere to get it ready for Broadway and that’s where the band is from. It was amazing. I got to take my son there. It was a beautiful performance, unbelievable. Then, I saw the performance on Broadway a few months later and somehow it was 10 times better. They used Chicago to work out the kinks and stuff so when they got to Broadway it was like “Oh my God … it was so beautiful.”
It got nominated for 11 Tony Awards or something like that. The theater that it was in decided that they were going to renovate so they had to put the show on hold. Now, it’s a touring show and they are doing this live thing on Nickelodeon. It’s so cool to see even though they can’t do the show right now [on Broadway], the show must go on. It’s super cool to see the life of this beautiful show. “BFF” is definitely one of the fun moments in the show. I’m just excited it keeps having these new life with the touring show. From Chicago to Broadway, it’s fun to be part of something like that and to watch it exist in all these different ways.
What is one of the most wild moments that you’ve had at a Plain White T’s show?
We’ve toured with all types of bands, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Jason Mraz. We’ve had some great tours over the years and a lot of really great times.
There was one time we were opening for Fall Out Boy and they pranked us in the middle of “Delilah” they had this big “boom” go off. It scared the shit out of all of us — we thought a bomb had gone off or something. That was one of those stupid memorable little tour pranks.
We just played in L.A. a few nights ago, we were closing and I was going to do “Delilah” last. I don’t know how this happened but right before the song, my acoustic guitar was just not working. It was this weird awkward moment and we were just going to swap it out but the backup guitar was not working either, something with the cable or something. I’m then working on the guitar and I knocked the mic off the mic stand. It was this comedy of errors. I put the mic back on and all the sudden the guitar is working, it’s coming through! But then, the mic isn’t working. It was the stupidest moment. I ended up unplugging the guitar and standing at the end of the stage and telling everyone “OK be quiet we are just going to do this together, just a capella!”
I just started playing the acoustic without it even being plugged in, in this big theater. It turned out to be this really magical moment where everyone was just singing with me and it was not plugged in at all and it was just all us singing together. It was funny because it could’ve been super embarrassing and awkward but I turned it into this really cool moment that made it way more memorable.
That’s the beauty of live shows! You handled it really well and made it a cool experience for everyone. One last question, with the new year that is coming up soon, what is something that you are excited about for the band?
Interestingly, next year, 2020, is the 10-year anniversary of our album Wonders of the Younger, which is one of my favorite albums. And, it 15-year anniversary of All That We Needed, which is the album that first had “Hey There Delilah.” It’s a cool anniversary for both of those albums. Neither of those albums have ever been out on vinyl. So, we are working on putting out those albums on vinyl and doing special editions of them online including some B-sides or demos or things like that. We are putting together some cool packages and commemorating some classic albums that we’ve done. That’s something I’m looking forward to the most.
