New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert Talks ‘Radiosurgery’ and Their Legacy

Anyone who has played the classic board game 'Operation' has to love the way that pop-punk favorites New Found Glory are debuting parts of their inspired new album, 'Radiosurgery.' To hear snippets of the record, fans must navigate though an updated, and appropriately electrifying, online tribute to the board game. After hearing some of the new tracks, it is more than worth the effort. The band is in peak form as it delivers all the high-energy hooks and raw power riffing that they've become famous for.

Lead guitarist Chad Gilbert spoke with Noisecreep about the album, their legacy and some of the essentials he just bought for the tour.

The Operation game is a very clever way to unveil the album. Did you play the game as a kid?

Absolutely! We all did. And in fact, on this tour we've actually got a t-shirt at the merch booth based on the game. It's a fun connection to the 'Radiosurgery' album.

What's the feedback been like so far on the new music?

Very strong. Our fans are right on top of everything, listening, talking about it; it's fun to get the early feedback. I actually enjoy reading the boards and posts and things to see what they are all saying. That said, I love it when they say good things, and I want to break he computer when I read bad things! [laughs]. You know, you work hard on something, you pour your heart into the music so it's hard no to take comments personally. It's out emotions and our feelings in this music, and I think our fans know that. We can't wait to hang out with fans on this tour and get their comments firsthand.

You're obviously happy with how 'Radiosurgery' turned out.

Very. We've never felt better about where we are as a band, we've never felt stronger - this is really us at our best.

Punk is a strange term. It goes back to Iggy Pop, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Green Day - it covers many bands and era - how does New Found Glory fit into all of that history?

Growing up in South Florida, we were surrounded by metal bands, hardcore bands, ska bands - everything. We lived in he suburbs. My older brother got me into punk originally and my first show was seeing Fugazi in 1993, and it blew me away. We were always into Green Day, Rancid - I think punk as we knew it was really about not fitting in with everything else that was going on. In high school, sat at a lunch table with two kids - but I was friends with metal heads dorks, freaks cheerleaders - I got along with everyone just by being myself and not worrying about fitting in.

Punk, or pop punk as our genre gets called is still for me about keeping things simple, real and honest. Lost of raw guitar, aggressive lyrics - we fit into in just by being ourselves and staying truthful to our music. Another thing is, whether bands like it or not, you sort of are what your fans are. You reflect each other. Our fans are people we've always been able to relate to - they get us and we get them - so they're sort of punks too, I guess [laughs].

Watch 'Radiosurgery' From New Found Glory

You guys created a really entertaining new video for the first single, 'Radiosurgery.' It was obviously inspired by the Ramones video, 'I Wanna Be Sedated.'

Absolutely, we wanted to pay homage to that video, which is just great. It was an amazing video to make in that it's not about different shots and angles but rather the choreography. Most of the time we spent making it was just working out timings and things and we're really happy with the results.

How do prepare for a tour like the upcoming one; all the loose ends that have to be tied up?

I clean my house one last time, I see my friends before I go and I always hit a Target store to get the tour essentials. So I've got my new video games, including 'Dead Island' and 'Gears of War 3,' I've got the new toothbrush, toothpaste and new bedding for the bus. This time, it's 'Star Wars' sheets for the bus. I've always been a big 'Star Wars' fan.

Next week New Found Glory will kick off the Pop Punk's Not Dead tour. Confirmed openers include This Time Next Year and Man Overboard. Dates can be found below. 'Radiosurgery' will be out on Oct. 4th via Epitaph Records.

Oct. 6 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst

Oct. 7 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues

Oct. 8 Tempe, AZ The Marquee

Oct. 10 Dallas, TX Trees

Oct. 11 Austin, TX Emo's

Oct. 12 Houston, TX Fitzgerald's

Oct. 14 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade

Oct. 15 Orlando, FL House of Blues

Oct. 16 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution

Oct. 17 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Live

Oct. 19 Charleston, SC The Music Farm

Oct. 20 Charlotte, NC Amos' Southend Music Hall

Oct. 21 Richmond, VA The National

Oct. 22 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory

Oct. 23 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live

Oct. 25 Buffalo, NY Town Ballroom

Oct. 26 Syracuse, NY Lost Horizon

Oct. 27 Boston, MA House of Blues

Oct. 28 New York Best Buy Theatre Times Square

Oct. 29 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom

Oct. 31 Pittsburgh, PA Club Zoo

Nov. 1 Cleveland, OH House of Blues Cleveland

Nov. 3 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre

Nov. 4 Chicago, IL House of Blues

Nov. 5 St. Paul, MN Station 4

Nov. 6 Iowa City, IA The Blue Moose Tap House

Nov. 8 St. Louis, MO The Pageant

Nov. 9 Kansas City, MO Midland Theatre

Nov. 10 Denver, CO Odgen Theatre

Nov. 11 Salt Lake City, UT The Grand @ The Complex

Nov. 13 Seattle, WA The Showbox @ The Market

Nov. 14 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom

Nov. 16 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom

Nov. 17 Anaheim, CA House of Blues

Nov. 18 Anaheim, CA House of Blues

Nov. 19 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Cafe

Nov. 20 San Diego, CA House of Blues San Diego