Courtesy of Wikipedia

Back when Taking Back Sunday released its first album, “Tell All Your Friends” in 2002, one would relish a trip to the record store to buy that antique item called a CD. Since those dark ages, Taking Back Sunday has released two more albums, with one more due out on June 2. Listening to its songs off each album not only brings a nod of your head to a unique beat, but also a nostalgia that won’t ever get old. The Daily Aztec had the opportunity to chat with Matt Rubano, bassist of the New York-based alternative rock band about music festivals, new technology, record labels and its latest unreleased album “New Again.”

The Daily Aztec: So, your fourth album, “New Again” is due out on June 2. Are you excited? Restless?

Matt Rubano: Yes, extremely. There’s been a big gap in between “Louder Now” and the release of “New Again.” It’s been a big year for us. We added a new member, a guy named Matt Fazzi, a guitarist. It’s been a long drive of writing and recording this record. All the while taking little breaks here and there to play some really special shows. We played with My Chemical Romance in Madison Square Garden last May. We went overseas to do a summer festival. This record took a lot of time to work on. But we were all really ready to record. There’s been a lot of anticipation surrounding it.

DA: Yes, it seems that you spend a couple years in between each album.

MR: It’s never intentional that way. From this moment forward we’re gonna be a lot more prolific in terms of writing style and the approach. The band’s been turning out music like crazy. So I doubt there will be another year lag in between albums again.

DA: What should fans expect in this record that may be different than any or all of your previous three albums?

MR: First of all, we’re constantly pushing the envelope as far as what it means to be Taking Back Sunday. We’re always willing to take big steps forward to develop our sound. Certainly with the addition of Matt in the band, there was a really cool reaction out of the rest of us, because Matt brings a real fearlessness when it comes to writing. There was no preconceived notion as to what we could and couldn’t get away with and Matt had a lot to do with that. He’s also a real atypical guitar player. He’s got a very unique style of playing and writing.

DA: I was in high school when “Tell All Your Friends” was released and listened to it constantly. That album resonated with me the most. Do you have a favorite collective album or song by TBS?

MR: It’s always the newest stuff, because I always feel like it defines us at the moment. One of the songs that I really like is “Lonely Lonely.” I also think the first single coming off “New Again,” called “Sink Into Me,” is probably one of the coolest things we’ve written. I’m definitely all about the new record right now because I feel like that’s what identifies us right now.

DA: I saw on your Web site that you “gave into Twitter.” What do you think of all the newfangled technology today? Does it improve your musical cause?

MR: I think there are pros and cons to all of it. If all of these things were around when I was discovering the bands that I really loved when I was younger, it would have blown my mind. The fact that it establishes a real connection between fans and an artist is a pretty heavy thing. Certainly it can be ridiculous at times, but for the most part I think it’s cool.

DA: Your Tom Petty cover of “You Wreck Me” was pretty good! You guys had the vocal twang down pretty well. Is he an influence for you as a band, or was that just for fun?

MR: Yeah, I think the five of us have unique, distinctive specialty areas as far as our taste in music goes. And then there’s a Venn diagram and in the middle are the things that we all like, and Tom Petty is certainly one of them. To be able to actually record a Tom Petty song on a Warner Bros. tribute album is really cool.

DA: You released your first and second albums, “Tell All Your Friends” and “Where You Want To Be” on independent record label Victory Records. And now you’ve had success on Warner Bros. Records. What are your thoughts on independent labels vs. major record labels?

MR: I think there stopped being a difference about 20 years ago. Independent labels don’t have to answer to a mega corporate upper structure, but I think a lot of independent labels are just major labels that haven’t become major labels yet. I think it matters what team you’re working with. It really comes down to the individuals working on a project. Going to a major label, things have been much more easygoing. I have found that the stereotype has been kind of the opposite.

DA: It’s been 10 years since the formation of Taking Back Sunday. Any industry or life lessons you’d like to share?

MR: Oh sure, only a few thousand. I really want to write a book someday. You know, I think that if I could boil it down to one thing, it’s that we’ve always done exactly what we want to do. We’re just lucky enough that it has resonated with people and we’ve been able to keep doing it. I think that speaks to how important it is to not go along with trends. The influences really need to come from the people doing it. But yeah, I’ll definitely write a book one day about my Taking Back Sunday experience. It’ll be very funny.