Taking Back Sunday Vs. Brand New (Emo-Drama from back in the day!!)

Wanna know how TBS and Brand New became the hot goss of 2001/2? Well keep on reading!

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The Prelude

Jesse Lacey (lead singer of brand new) used to be in Taking Back Sunday!! Jesse n John (Nolan) were childhood best friends since the third grade and one day in ye olde high school, John convinced Jesse to play bass for his new band! (TBS)

So there is the original lineup - Antonio Longo on vocals (later kicked the hell out), Jesse Lacey on bass, Eddie Reyes on lead geet, John Nolan doin the rhythm, n this dude Steven DeJoseph (who was later replaced w Mark O'Connell and is unimportant to this story). They make a kind of shitty demo and start gaining some scenepoints around long island.

THE EVENTS

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The drama started when Jessey Lacey and his then-girlfriend attended a house party hosted by none other than John Nolan himself. While Jesse was getting hammered in the kitchen, John kisses Jesse's girlfriend (with rumours that it was more than just kissing...) 

Jesse finds out (because obviously) so he freaks the fuck out and breaks up with the girlfriend (and john) on the spot, with john and jesse allegedly having a fist-fight outside the house.

After a failed apology from John over the phone that inspired the lyrics

" You're as subtle as a brick in the small of my back,

So let's end this call 

And end this conversation "

Jesse leaves taking back sunday and starts a new band called the rookie lot. 

Thus, another scenester comes in to take Jesse's empty spot on bass, someone we all know and love - adam lazzara himself ladies and gentlemen (and footage of that can be found here - wowz)

The rookie lot disband after a year or so and thus comes Brand New, officially forming in the year 2000.

THE SONGS

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Dropping Your Favorite Weapon in 2001, the song Seventy Times 7 sparks up some heavy controversy, with the song being written blatantly about a certain ex-best-friend. The sense of betrayal is heavy in this one my friends and oh it couldn't be more '18 year old emo gets heart broken for the first time'.

" 'Cause I've seen more spine in jellyfish

I've seen more guts in 11-year-old kids

Have another drink and drive yourself home

I hope there's ice on all the roads

And you can think of me when you forget your seatbelt

And again when your head goes through the windshield "

I mean, this shit is pretty brutal....

Meanwhile, on the other side John Nolan was writing something himself, something we'd come to know as "There's No 'I' in Team"

" And I've got a twenty-dollar bill

That says you're up late night starting

Fist fights vs. the fences in your backyard

Wearing your black eye like a badge of honor

Soaking in sympathy

From friends who never loved you

Nearly half as much as me "

(And let's just say, theres some truth in this) ↓↓

And in making this banger, with John Nolan getting a little scandalous by STEALING the lyrics from seventy over 7 ("is this what you call tact?/I swear, you're as subtle as a brick in the small of my back so let's end this call, and end this conversation") and other songs ("I've got a 20 dollar bill") to throw back in his face, thus sparked the "huge" drama between Brand New and Taking Back Sunday.

This drama was short-lived however, as we later found out it was resolved even before their albums dropped lol. However, the first public sign of reconciliation came from Brand New supporting TBS in live shows, with Jesse Lacey even coming in to sing on 'No I in Team'.

Nolan also makes some appearances durin Brand New's set to play guitar and sing during seventy times 7

Drama #2

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In the Summer of '03, after dating Nolan's sister for some time, it comes out that lead singer Adam Lazzara cheated on her.... causing John to leave TBS and take Shaun Cooper with him, leavin the band without a backup singer, rhythm guitarist or bassist in the midst of warped tour (eek). However, heaven-sent, they find new ones in short time (guitarist Fred Mascherino and bassist Matt Rubano!)

John and Shaun run off to form straylight run and write sad songs.

Jesse, finding out about this, decides to side with his childhood bestie, releasing Brand New merch targetting Adam, the notorious swinger of mics, online and at shows

Adam decides to retaliate, releasing a shirt proudly declaring themselves swingers [;)]

Meanwhile, straylight run are writing songs bashing adam for his whoreish ways and attention seeking, and adam's writing songs about them on Where You Want to Be (allegedly of course)

2015

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There was radio-silence for quite a while after this, until in 2015 when AP asked Adam about the drama again, 

“I think Jesse Lacey is just a dick,” he says. “He just sucks. He's not a good person.”

Eek. Well wasn't he too right.

My take!

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My take is that the OG drama was water under the bridge for the actual members, but they kept the flame going to try and spark up some talk about them for both of their bands popularity hehe.

THEN, the thing with adam cheating happened and the drama became real....

Then the nail in the coffin for both john n shaun and adam against Jesse Lacey was all of the allegations shit, which i hypothesise they knew about before they actually became allegations, hence the adam comment...

Anyways, I've been team TBS since day #1 lol, however that Brand New shirt DOES go hard and i feel guilty for wanting it.

P.S fuck Jesse Lacey, cuz minors are for ducking, not fucking.