PZO: What aspect of the music business would you like to change?
Rob: If it were possible, I wish there was a way to give bands that have been working for years or working really hard, the opportunity to get seen by some of the bigger labels as opposed to a label just spotting a band out of nowhere and being like, “Oh, ok, let’s sign that band. They’re the next big thing!” I think it’d be great to see bands that deserve to get the recognition actually get the recognition, you know?

PZO: You were recently in Europe doing a couple of shows; what would you say were the highlights of that part of the tour?
Rob: Easily it was probably the first night. A.F.I. was going over to Europe just to do one show, and we were there at the same time, so they were like, you can hop on the show. So we played in front of 2,000 kids in London and it was just insane. They were so good. It was just so much fun! It was our first time in the U.K. and the kids were amazing; we were all shocked. We didn’t think it would be that good. Since we had never been there before, we had no idea what to expect. It’s one of those happy endings.

PZO: What’s the best prank you’ve pulled?
Rob: Well, it’s easier to remember the pranks that were done on you ‘cause I think those are the times that you feel it most.
<laughter>
Rob: It was our last time with H20, almost a year ago, and we were starting to play and suddenly the guy singing up front was like, “This is really odd; it smells like fish onstage. It smells like tuna.” Then the H20 guys started laughing and we were like, what’s going on? They get closer to the mike and they unscrew the mike; they had put tuna all in the mikes the whole time!
<laughter>
Rob: Then while we were playing they were just throwing, I have never seen this much food; it was insane, they were throwing grapes at us. Throwing every kind of food. It was real funny.

PZO: Are there any fairly unknown bands from New Jersey that you think other people should check out?
Rob: Yeah, there’s Welcome Home Travis who are awesome, they’re from New Jersey. I want to see them go on tour soon; that would be really great. There’s a band I like a lot called Run Away Orange from New Jersey. A great band, they just moved to California from New Jersey, called Days Away. You’ll definitely hear from them soon; if they start touring like crazy they’ll be the ‘next big thing.’

<Gabe walks up to us, talks for a bit, then leaves to get ready for their set>

PZO: Is there something people couldn’t pay you to do?
Rob: You can pay me to do a lot of things, I guess...take out your garbage...what are you asking?! I don’t understand!
<laughter>
PZO: Let me rephrase it...is there something you wouldn’t do no matter how much money they offered you?
Rob: No way! If someone offered you like a billion dollars you’d do it. Except killing! I would not kill anybody, how about that? Is that fair?
PZO: Yeah, that’s fair.
Rob: Ok. That’s fair. Good.

<By this time a couple of people had gathered to watch the interview; we had to do it right outside of Emo’s>

PZO: What’s your best childhood memory?
Rob: <to random onlooker> What’s your best childhood memory?
Random Onlooker: Riding bikes.
Rob: Um, definitely not riding bikes.
<laughter>
Rob: ‘Cause I remember...I was the kid that had to go up on the curb to get on the two-wheeler bike and you’d go about a quarter mile down the street and you’d fall and scrape your elbows and the side of your shoulder. Yeah. So my favorite childhood memory...well, I remember my one friend, Mike Ward. I was about 5 years old, no 6 years old, and he was probably 8, and we thought it would be really funny to...well, there was this table full of holes and I was like, “Dude, put your finger in it. Just do it!” So his finger got caught in the table and we tried to get it out with Vaseline and everything and there was nothing we could do; we had to call the cops!
<laughter>
Rob: The cops came over, I’m 6 years old, and my 8 year old friend is like getting cut out of this table and there’s 2 cop cars in my driveway. It’s not really a good thing, though. So I don’t know where my mind’s at.

PZO: How did you guys get involved with the making of the Weezer tribute album?
Rob: Um, Dread Records. They just gave us a call, they might have seen us at a show and came up to us and asked us, so we did it. We recorded [Susanne] like a long time ago, but it just took forever to get out. It’s a really good compilation; I’ve heard a few Weezer compilations, and that’s one of the better ones, I think.
PZO: I’m gonna have to go out and get it then.
Rob: Yeah, it’s a good deal.

PZO: Your next album, "Living Well Is The Best Revenge", is going to be coming out in April...
Rob: The 16th!
PZO: Yeah, I saw that on the site! What can your fans expect not to hear?
Rob: Well, I can tell you what they are going to hear. Um, it’s definitely Midtown. You know, you’re gonna know it’s Midtown when you hear it. It’s definitely the same vain, we’re not just gonna play one punk song, or one pop song, or one rock song. It’s all over the place again. Which is good! I mean, I like diversity ‘cause then you don’t get as bored, you know? So, but I think we’re growing and we’re starting to get our own sound. I think you can kind of hear it evolve into that.

PZO: So in April you’re also going to be starting another tour with The Movielife and Thrice and Face to Face...
Rob: Yeah, we actually leave March 20th to April 3rd and we’re gonna do a whole bunch of smaller markets in the U.S. with Piebald, and I think, Brand New is one some shows. Armor For Sleep is one some shows too; that’s another band from New Jersey. Armor For Sleep: I think they’re gonna blow up too. Um, and then after that we meet up with Movielife, Face to Face, and Thrice and I think that’s April 4th all the way to May 18th that we’re going to be on that tour. And then we go straight...I don’t know if I should say it so early if it’s definite, but I think we’re gonna go to Europe again with The Movielife. I’m very excited for that.
PZO: And then you’re also gonna be doing part of the Warped Tour, right?
Rob: Yeah, I think we got West Coast Warped Tour dates this year. So, yeah, that’s all I know so far.

PZO: Is there a certain tour or tours that stand out from the rest?
Rob: I mean, like, I don’t think you can deny that the Blink tour was just like...it’s just one of those things... when you’re a little kid, even if you don’t play music, you can just imagine like playing in an arena. It’s almost a joke to think that I played a show in an arena, you know? ‘Cause Bon Jovi’s supposed to do that stuff, not me! <laughs> That was definitely one of the highlights of life, if you can imagine. It’s hard to make sure not to fuck up in front of like, 15,000 people!

PZO: How do you deal with putting on a show even if you’re feeling like total crap?
Rob: Well, it’s usually not so bad. The hardest part is not even mentally, but physically when you’re really sick. Playing on a stage, and the lights are like 110 degrees on the stage, and you just almost want to pass out. It’s just one of those things where you keep on driving to do more and see how far you can go with it. I mean, there have been times where I’ve almost passed out. But I haven’t passed out yet! But if I do, at least...I guess that’s kind of cool, right? ‘Cause you’re rocking out so hard you pass out.
<laughter>

PZO: Save The World, Lost The Girl was sort of centered on bad relationships...
Rob: Yeah, bad relationships, friendships...
PZO: Does your next album also have a specific “theme”?
Rob: Life definitely, I think for all of us, life probably got a little better since Save The World. But you still have the songs about a lot of the same issues, ‘cause you still go through a lot of the same things, you know? We’re still not at the point where we can be all happy and sing about oh, girls, and I’m so happy, and you know, beer...I don’t know, that’s not us, and that’s not really...it’s not really our live either.

PZO: Would you ever go back to high school if you could?
Rob: Absolutely not because I’m 24 and graduated high school about 8 years ago. <laughs> No, wait, that was 6 years ago.
<laughter>
Rob: See, see how good I am with that...am I sure I graduated? Nah, but actually, I went through 4 years of college and I was very close to finishing. So I’ll go back one day. Do I have spinach in my teeth, right here? <points to teeth>
PZO: <laughs> No, you don’t.
Rob: Okay, good.

PZO: What’s the weirdest place someone has recognized you?
Rob: Um, malls are definitely not weird...and uh...damn, I should know this. Oh! Probably...well, this is kinda weird. We were at a gas station in Europe in England and some kids came up to us and said hey, you guys are Midtown! I’m like, Europe?! What the hell is this all about?! So that was really cool. That’s definitely been the weirdest place so far.

PZO: So how do you guys know Rachel from the Real World?
Rob: We played a show a long time ago, before any of that Real World stuff or anything, in Columbia, Missouri where she was going to school. It was us, Reel Big Fish, and Catch 22, and she was just, she was the one person at the show, this was like a while ago, that knew who we were and liked our stuff. So we were just hanging out with her. Then about 4 or 6 months later we were talking, ‘cause we kept in touch or whatever and we were talking to her, and she was like I got on the Real World. We were like, wow, really? So it was just like that. It’s one of those random things where you don’t expect it and it just happens.

PZO: What event in your life has had the greatest impact on you?
Rob: Probably leaving college and doing this full time. Like, just to drop everything in your life, absolutely everything, like your family, basically relationships that you have. ‘Cause you don’t get to see anyone in your life anymore, just leave and travel the country nonstop and play shows every night. So that’s probably what’s had the biggest impact on my life so far.

PZO: Who came up with the concept for the ‘Just Rock N Roll’ video?
Rob: I think Richard or Stephanie at Drive-Thru did; they were all about the Bar Mitzvah.
PZO: <laughs> Yeah! I saw the video a while ago; it’s pretty funny.
Rob: Exactly. Hopefully people know what Bar Mitzvahs are in the first place. <laughs> Then they can understand the concept.

PZO: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
Rob: Um, this year has been awesome. So thank you! Everybody. Hopefully everyone will get the new album so we can see everyone at the shows singing along. That would be rad; that would be great! Did I say rad?
PZO: <laughs> Yeah, you did.
Rob: <laughs> I said rad. You can put that in there, too.