The Menzingers had a lightbulb moment over beers. Why chase legendary studios in Los Angeles when they've called South Philadelphia home for two decades?
For their ninth studio album Everything I Ever Saw, Greg Barnett, Tom May, Eric Keen, and Joe Godino stayed put. They recorded at producer Will Yip's newly built studio in their neighborhood — the same streets that produced hits like On the Impossible Past and After the Party.
"It was cool to be in our neighborhood. We were going out to lunch at all our local places," Barnett tells Rolling Stone. Triangle Tavern, New Wave — the usual spots. May nods in agreement: "All the same places we've been going to for almost 20 years."
The result is a band that sounds happy. "The music sounds as fun as the recording process was," Barnett says. "When I listen back to the record, it sounds like we were just having a really great time together." The album tackles life-changing moments: divorce, becoming a parent, all the messy stuff that comes with existing in your 40s as a working musician.
Being at home in their adopted city — the Scranton natives moved to Philly in 2008 — gave them permission to get vulnerable. "We felt more like we were allowed to be vulnerable because we felt so at home and at peace creating there," Barnett explains. No fancy hotel, no pressure, just a band and their city.
Everything I Ever Saw drops July 17.
