By snoadmin
As rhythm guitarist and one of the vocalists for the up-and-coming rock band Taking Back Sunday, Fred Mascherino had it made. His band landed a big record deal with Warner Bros. Records, toured with some of the hottest acts in music like Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Jimmy Eat World, and played to an estimated two billion people as part of Live Earth. It seemed like every musician’s dream.
But on Oct. 4, as if out of nowhere, Taking Back Sunday posted a bulletin on its MySpace stating that “[a]fter four great years and two successful gold albums together, Fred has decided to leave Taking Back Sunday to pursue his solo career. We wish him well and we are working on the next Taking Back Sunday album as we speak.”
The Internet world went abuzz with pissed and heartbroken TBS fans. Message boards filled up with remarks like “Damn…that sucks for TBS,” “This is the worst news I’ve heard all week” and “They’ve lost their most talented member.”
But the biggest question was simply just “Why?” Why would somebody leave a band that is on the cusp of worldwide success? And why would the band reveal the departure to its fans via an extremely impersonal MySpace bulletin?
Mascherino was happy to clarify when he sat down with the Daily Forty-Niner a few weeks ago before a show at the Glass House in Pomona. He is on tour with his new solo project, The Color Fred.
“I know that it comes down on me,” Mascherino said. “I wish it didn’t. It was ultimately my decision, but I wish it didn’t seem like my fault. [The MySpace bulletin] was weird. It was kind of cold and not even from the band members. It’s hard because I’m the only one speaking about it, so it’s kind of all on me, and I don’t know what other people want to be said as far as how much of the truth they want to come out.”
The visually concerned Mascherino did his best to explain the departure without badmouthing the band. He cited writing problems, bickering and proposed changes that couldn’t be agreed upon as reasons for leaving. The one thing he did not say, however, was that he was leaving to pursue his solo career, the one explanation given by the band’s management.
“The idea that I left Taking Back Sunday strictly to do The Color Fred is incorrect,” Mascherino clarified. “I had been planning to release this record at this time. It was already set up. I was going to release it and do a tour, which I’m on now, and then go back and write the next record with them and record it. But along the line of a few months before and then on the Projekt Revolution tour, things were getting sour. I said, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’ It was making me miserable. I felt like I was changing who I was.”
So Mascherino told the band at the end of the tour that he wanted out, and it was announced about a month later. Taking Back Sunday has refused interviews to several major media outlets, including The New York Times and MTV. The band did announce, however, that Fred would be replaced.
The Color Fred, a band name coined by a fan and voted on in a fan poll, is on its first tour. Mascherino is managing himself on the tour, helping to set up his own equipment and driving in a small van. In a way he is starting over, but he claims it’s a very exciting time.
“The fact that I’m going back to singing like I used to and going back to doing all the writing like I used to and touring with my friends is exciting,” Mascherino said. “The guys that are in the band are all old friends of mine who I’ve never gotten to tour with, but I’ve always admired their playing. We’re having the best time out on the road and just hanging out. Instead of staying in the four-star hotels, we stay at our friend’s apartment and sleep on the couch. We stay up late telling stories instead of me being in my own hotel room by myself.”
The Color Fred’s debut album, “Bend to Break,” was released last month by the powerhouse indie label Equal Vision Records. It’s a powerful, honest record that Mascherino said “counseled” him during his tough times with his old band. And while he acknowledges that some of the lyrics may be “harsh,” he felt like if he changed them the record wouldn’t be honest.
To fuel the fire for the message boards, The Color Fred is on tour supporting Straylight Run, a band that features John Nolan and Shaun Cooper, two original members of Taking Back Sunday that left in 2003 due to conflicting interests. Mascherino was Nolan’s replacement.
“I’m glad that whole scenario happened,” Mascherino said. “All these years I’ve been kind of compared to the old guy in the band. What’s better? The old TBS or the new TBS? Why does music have to be a competition? It’s an art form. It’s not football. I kind of wanted to put that to rest once and for all. We’re friends, and both of us are grown up enough to be around each other and have a good time.”
Mascherino also brought his “eco-friendly” attitude to this project. The album packaging for “Bend to Break” is 100 percent biodegradable, and used 90 percent recycled materials. He also purchases carbon offsets for his whole tour.
The Color Fred finishes its tour with Straylight Run later this month, and will go on tour with Angels and Airwaves and Meg and Dia early next year. Mascherino plans on being on the road most of the year, and is looking forward to it wholeheartedly.
“I recently got to see the country for the first time in five years.” Mascherino said. “When you’re in a bus you drive at night and you don’t see anything, but I’m at the wheel now and I’m looking out at wheat fields and the Rocky Mountains, and it’s been really fulfilling to my heart. I love it.”
