New Found Glory

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=582683" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=125 BGCOLOR="#AAAAAA" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03c467d1euxmic.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Kristi Singer</b></FONT><B>     </b><B>|     </b><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kristi Singer"><U><B>home</b></U></A></div> <div> <B>New Found Glory</b>   |   <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nickel Slots"><U>Nickel Slots</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nikki Talley"><U>Nikki Talley</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id99.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nine Days"><U>Nine Days</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id189.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="No More Mr. Nice Guy"><U>No More Mr. Nice Guy</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#111111" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writing Samples"><U><B>Back to Articles</b></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=355 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> New Found Glory</div> <div> <B>New Found Glory still amazed by rapid rise to fame</b></div> <div> By Kristi Singer</div> <div> <I>Star-News Correspondent</I></div> <div> November 8, 2002</div> <div>  </div> <div> When New Found Glory found out it would be signed to MCA Records two years ago, the punk-pop band was in a Carrboro mall, killing time before a show that night at Cat's Cradle.</div> <bR> <div> Drummer Cyrus Bolooki remembers sitting next to guitarist Chad Gilbert, who was speaking with the label on the phone about recording an album.</div> <bR> <div> "I figured out what he was talking about from what he was saying, and I found out that MCA wanted us to record a record for them. I ran to the pay phone to call my mom. She's like, 'That's great,' not really realizing what that meant," Mr. Bolooki said.</div> <bR> <div> New Found Glory achieved gold status with its self-titled MCA/ Drive-Thru album in 2000, which included the heavily rotated rock single Hit Or Miss.</div> <bR> <div> And if achieving gold status isn't enough, the Coral Springs, Fla.-based band's latest release, Sticks and Stones, debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at No. 4 and sold more than 90,000 copies in its first week.</div> <bR> <div> When Mr. Bolooki found out, "I totally pinched my elbow, even though that's a cliche thing to do; I wanted to make sure I was still there. We knew that we had fans out there because we've been touring a lot. But, I think especially when you're on the road so much, it's hard to tell exactly what you're doing on the big scale of things. And something like a debut like that just shows you how far we've come," he said.</div> <bR> <div> New Found Glory's success continues to grow. Its current tour has sold out nearly every show (including its Saturday gig at the House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach). Mr. Bolooki remembers when New Found Glory was an opening act, not the headliner. Those memories were especially vivid during this tour's second show, a concert in San Diego to a crowd of 7,000 - at the same venue where the band once opened for Blink-182.</div> <bR> <div> "It was really weird for us to step out and play our show. I expected another band to play after us because that's the only way that this many people would ever show up to a place. It's been happening and it's surreal at times," Mr. Bolooki said.</div> <bR> <div> Although they're selling out seat after seat, vocalist Jordan Pundik, 23; guitarist Chad Gilbert, 21; guitarist Steve Klein, 23; bassist Ian Grushka, 25; Mr. Gilbert, 21; and Mr. Bolooki, 22, remain down to earth and easily accessible to their fans. With a membership so young, the band and its fans find they can easily relate.</div> <bR> <div> "I'm sure it's a lot easier to approach us and relate in general, being that we kind of look like our fans and we are the same age. It's cool because kids can walk up to us because we just seem easier to approach, and I think that most people find that we're just normal people," Mr. Bolooki said.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>