While many of the 2000s biggest rock bands are back for the first time in a while to celebrate 20- or 25-year anniversaries for their iconic albums, Senses Fail never really went away.
Having released an album every few years since 2004’s breakthrough Let It Enfold You, vocalist Buddy Nielsen and his bandmates have remained remarkably consistent over the last 20+ years. And with tour dates and festivals on several continents each and every year, the veteran post-hardcore act shows no signs of slowing down.
Hit Parader spoke with Nielsen backstage to chat about the past, present, and future of Senses Fail.
Hit Parader: What’s kept Senses Fail consistently going for decades as other bands have taken some pretty extensive breaks?
Buddy Nielsen: I think at the end of the day, it’s really what I like doing. There were some times where we might have slowed down behind the scenes after the mid-2000s, but I just really enjoy music and the act of touring. I love traveling, and I think the main thing that really buries a lot of bands — aside from money — is that they don’t like traveling. So if you’re not making money and you don’t like traveling, it’s really hard to keep the band going. And the money comes and goes, everybody goes through that, it doesn’t matter. I think Neil Young said, “Sometimes you’re playing clubs, sometimes you’re playing stadiums,” and that’s coming from someone as iconic as Neil Young. There have been times I’ve seen Bob Dylan playing 1,000-capacity theaters, and you’re like, “Really?!” But that’s the reality, it’s not always the big fest or the big show. When that’s OK, and you still love doing it, you can ride the wave of whatever your career is going to be — because it’s not going to be linear. I think that freaks most bands out, because they expect their career to just be this linear rise. There’s always going to be some ebb and flow to it, but if you still love traveling and playing, then generally you can make it all work.
HP: How different is that traveling and playing now as opposed to when you were doing it early on?
BN: It’s difficult sometimes. I got food poisoning two nights ago, and sometimes I show up sick because I’ve got two kids at home. It’s a lot more like we’re here to do business instead of the extracurricular activities. Those happen, and they’re fun, but that’s few and far between. I went to bed at 9 last night and slept for 12 hours, because I just can’t do all of it anymore. The people that never stop are the ones who are no longer with us, unfortunately. It’s more like showing up to do a job now. We look at it like it’s our job to go out there and be consistent and represent the memory of what the band is to our fans. We’re there to give people a chance to have some sort of escapism from this shithole we live in. (5:41) There you go.
HP: What’s it like to play a festival where half of the bands were inspired by Senses Fail and the other half inspired you?
BN: It’s cool because I’ll get to hear records I grew up on, and it feels like it’s just passing the torch from one generation to the next. We’re right in the middle right now, and that’s a testament to the festivals. We love playing festivals. I know some bands hate them, but it’s always been amazing to come out and see everyone. I’m just excited to be able to continue having fans come out, because that’s one thing I don’t take for granted. I think a lot of people just assume once you have a fan, you’re always going to have a fan, but I don’t think that’s the case. You’ve got to really continue not to bum them out, and that’s our goal.
HP: Speaking of festival sets, how do you balance wanting to play more recent music with the nostalgia side of your catalog?
BN: For a festival, we’re going to play mostly the hits, but if you come see a headline show, we’ll mix it up. We have shows where more than half the set is from our more recent, heavier records, but we find a place and time to do it. At a festival, you’re playing to people who only know one song from your band, so you should play that one song.
HP: How does it feel to be celebrating big 20-year album anniversaries with a lot of bands you’re friends with these days?
BN: I still keep in touch with Mikey [Way] from My Chem[ical Romance], and we’re always talking about stuff like that. Like when they played MetLife Stadium was just so crazy, because that was their dream for as long as I’ve known them. I’ll post some flyers from old shows where the bill was like Senses Fail, My Chem, and some random band that isn’t around anymore. It’s just nuts to look at that and reflect on it, even as the members of the bands who are doing it. It’s crazy to be allowed to do this for so long, because it was a completely different world we started in. To have started in that world and exist in that for so long, and then end up in this one, navigating all the bullshit — it’s been a wild ride for a lot of the bands.
HP: After all this time, what’s left for you to do with Senses Fail?
BN: There are a lot of places we haven’t gone yet. We just went to South America for the first time, and I’d love to go to Southeast Asia and China. I want to do more of that and more festivals — bigger festivals too, like Coachella. I want to do everything for the rest of my life, so someone’s going to have to tell me when it’s time to stop.
