Jimmy Eat World comes to The National on Tuesday, Sept. 20. (Photo by Lupe Bustos)
Jimmy Eat World’s guitar rock sound became a soundtrack for ’90s teen angst. Hit songs including “The Middle,” “Pain,” “Big Casino” and “Sure and Certain” are part of the reason the band continues to play gigs 30 years later, but their journey hasn’t been without detours. The band went on hiatus back in the fall of 2005, returning to the industry in 2007 with stories of mental health struggles, alcoholism and substance abuse. They put their experiences into the music, releasing an album called “Chase This Light,” serving as encouragement to their fans facing similar struggles.
We spoke with lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Jim Adkins from his home in Mesa, Arizona, about the band’s history, their iconic sound and what to expect next.
Richmond magazine: What has been the band’s trick for staying together and avoiding the drama?
Jim Adkins: We knew each other as kids, even before the band got going. There’s an extra kind of connection that way. And I think early on we just sort of realized that it’s supposed to be enjoyable. You can’t take this as seriously as you might want to. Like, I mean, you’re in a band. That’s ridiculous when you really think about it. This also extends to the choices you make on a musical level. People are passionate about their ideas and their vision for them, but there’s also something really worthwhile in exploring stuff that’s beyond your vision, or your idea.
RM: As you all continue to perform, how do you feel the audience has changed?
Adkins: It changes all the time. People that might have seen us play tours in the late ’90s, and some people that maybe discovered us just now. Maybe some people brought their kids, it’s just all over the place. We try to do things for our hardcore fans, though. And then we also try to do things for new people, people just outside of the Venn diagram, and see if we can pull them in.
RM: Some of the older songs are very personal and dive into some very deep topics such as pill and alcohol use. What made you want to share your feelings and what kind of feedback did you receive on these songs?
Adkins: Unfortunately, there is a sort of crossover between the alcoholism and entertainment worlds a lot. I don’t drink anymore. Maybe some of those earlier songs are kind of like my subconscious trying to tell me something. But people relate to it in different ways. I guess people that might have been through it and they’re done with it look at it one way, and people who are on their way into it and think it’s like this romantic idea.
RM: What can fans expect next?
Adkins: Whenever we set out to do a specific kind of thing, it usually sucks. It doesn’t get anywhere near the thing we were aiming for, and what we normally discover is where we want it to go is pretty far away from the place we were forcing it to. So we don’t even try anymore. It’s just about where the idea goes. But we do have a couple of things in the works right now that we’re almost done with.
RM: What song do you feel immediately resonated with fans and continues to resonate with fans?
Adkins: I’m actually surprised at how well “Something Loud” is resonating with fans. When we started playing it, you could just see the response we got from the crowd. Of course, there’s always some person in the audience that really goes out of their way to make sure everybody knows that they know the song. They’re gonna let you know they know the new song. God bless those people. But for the most part, there might be heads bobbing along because they’re into it.
RM: On July 24, the band performed in Alaska, which was the last state needed to meet the band’s goal to perform in all 50 states. Did you think that you were going to achieve this, and what is the band’s next goal?
Adkins: When we were starting out, we would be like, “Oh, man, it’d be so rad if we could go play in California or something.” And now it’s like I played everywhere. It’s pretty awesome. We definitely need to figure out what our next goal is. I think our goals are even smaller now. They’re just like finishing this song. Goals are about what we’re doing at the moment, and what we’ve set up for ourselves. We’ll be thinking about that. Maybe like different stage lighting ideas, or whatever it might be that we want to do with that tour. Actually, maybe we could play on every continent. We gotta get the Antarctic and arctic continents down.
Jimmy Eat World performs at The National on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $32. thenationalva.com
