Good Riddance: The King of Wishful Thinking

One of my favorite band today. The "New Found Glory". A New Found Glory formed in mid-1997 in Coral Springs, Florida. Chad Gilbert, former singer of hardcore punk outfit Shai Hulud became the guitarist, recruiting Jordan Pundik as a singer, Ian Grushka on bass, Steve Klein on guitar and Joe Moreno on drums.

The band’s first release was 1997’s It’s All About the Girls EP on Fiddler Records. Soon after the recording of the EP, Moreno was replaced by current drummer Cyrus Bolooki and the band was picked up by Eulogy Records. They released their debut full-length Nothing Gold Can Stay; the album’s release coupled with a rigorous touring schedule soon earned the band a significant following.

2000 - 2006

Independent label Drive-Thru Records took notice of the band’s growing fanbase and signed them to a deal. In 2000, NFG released an EP of cover songs entitled ‘’From the Screen to Your Stereo’’ in 2000. Drive-Thru’s relationship with MCA Records ensured that the smaller label’s more popular bands would be picked up by the major; subsequently, their self-titled record was released by MCA. Their third studio album, ‘’Sticks and Stones’’, was released in 2002, coinciding with an appearance on the Vans Warped Tour [2].

After a period of relative quiet and a stint on the Honda Civic Tour with Good Charlotte, New Found Glory released ‘’Catalyst’’ in May of 2004. It debuted at number three on the Billboard album chart, selling 146,000 copies in its first week [3] [4].

The heavier sound of the record, according to Gilbert, was due to the comparisons magazines and other media outlets would make between NFG and other bands: “When Sticks and Stones came out and we were doing that Honda Civic Tour, we were getting compared to bands like Simple Plan and Good Charlotte and we were angry with that […] At that point, we were getting compared to more pop bands and we aren’t a pop band.” ^[1]

After the release and tour in support of Catalyst, the band took an extended break before beginning preproduction for another album in 2005. On June 14, 2006, Gilbert announced to MTV.com that their fifth album would be titled Coming Home and that it was scheduled to be released on September 19, 2006. He also stated that first single, "It's Not Your Fault" would be released sometime in July 2006.[5]

2007 - Present

From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II, the band's follow up to From the Screen to Your Stereo, was released on September 18, 2007. Unlike the earlier EP, Part II is a full-length album, containing 11 songs plus one bonus track for the Japanese edition and iTunes. The first single from the album was "Kiss Me"^[2] and the video can be viewed on MySpaceTV.

The band toured the UK and Ireland (headline show) in early 2008 with Paramore, Kids In Glass Houses and Conditions.

On March 18, 2008, a compilation named Hits was released. Two previously unreleased songs, "Situations" (which had been accessible through their myspace site and their performance at Warped Tour before being released on the CD) and "Constant Static" are also featured on the album.

In April 2008 a compilation from the "Punk Goes..." series, called Punk Goes Crunk, was released, and features New Found Glory covering "Tennessee", originally by Arrested Development. New Found Glory already had another cover song, "Heaven", released on Punk Goes Metal.

The band released, in April 29th, an EP with 6 tracks on Bridge 9 Records containing both new material and covers of classic hardcore punk songs. The EP, entitled Tip of the Iceberg, is currently being sold on CD, 7" and digitally, through the Internet. The CD also comes with an extra disc of the band International Superheroes of Hardcore, named Takin' It Ova!. ISHC, a "side project" of all members of the band, features Gilbert on vocals and Pundik on guitar. ISHC plays hardcore punk in the vein of bands such as Mental, Outbreak & Righteous Jams. The band also recorded an internet-only music video for "Dig My Own Grave" with director Joseph Pattisall.^[3]

New Found Glory has announced a UK tour to take place in November. Special guests have been announced as Set Your Goals, Four Year Strong and Crime In Stereo.

Current members