Their tour bus caught on fire, they were dropped from a record deal, and two of the three original members of the band are out. While this might have spelled the end for many bands, The Pink Spiders pushed on. With their latest album, "Sweat It Out," hitting stores Sept. 23, The Pink Spiders will continue to roll with the punches.
Originally formed in 2003 by Matt Friction on guitar and vocals, Bob Ferrari on drums and Jon Decious on bass, the Nashville trio made its name by touring relentlessly.
They hit mainstream in 2005 when their video for "Little Razorblade" aired on MTV's "Total Request Live." The video ranked No. 12 for the most requested videos, and the song was also featured on "The Hills."
"Sweat It Out" will be released on Friction's own independent label, Mean Buzz, which is in partnership with Adrenaline Music. The first single, "Gimme Chemicals," which includes catchy guitar riffs and drug metaphors, is a little darker than the Spiders' first single off their last record, "Teenage Graffiti," though it's more representative of the band.
"The last record, with 'Little Razorblade' being the first single, it was a song we didn't want to record, much less have as a single just 'cause it was a straight pop song with rainbows and roller skating in the video," Friction said. "We just want to have a rock song that's more true to the band as the first single."
Their previous album was recorded under the management of Geffen Records. The band and company disagreed on many issues, and when album sales were disappointing, Geffen Records dropped The Pink Spiders.
Since then, the band has been traveling with Warped Tour this summer promoting the album. They previously played one show in 2005 and most of the tour in 2006. This year the band faced limited food, long hours on the road and unfavorable sleeping conditions.
"It's a matter of driving 10 hours a night and not having showers or beds or shelter of any kind," he said. "That's kind of a bummer, but there are other things that make it tough too. It's character building I suppose."
The band endured even more tough times during the tour. The long hours of driving from city to city eventually caught up with them.
"On Warped Tour we hit a guard rail on the interstate at about 70 miles an hour just because we get tired from driving so much," Friction said. "A bunch of the guys had to go to the emergency room and were pretty screwed up for a couple of days."
But the band didn't miss a show.
"We got out of the ER around 6 in the morning and then went straight to play our next show," Friction said.
Aside from transportation and business woes, the band also saw financial hardships while on the road. Decious and Ferrari decided to leave the band after a show in Charlotte, N.C., to pursue other careers. Even though they played shows nearly every night, the money wasn't enough to hold the band together.
Despite its division, Friction is still optimistic about the band's future.
"Well you know, we have a record that I'm really proud of and a lot of people believe in," he said. "You just kind of have to hope things turn for the better, but that's kind of been the story of this band as long as there's been a band - is to roll with the punches and make the best of things," he said.
Barely missing a beat, keyboardist Raf Cevallos took on the guitar, and second guitarist Joe Reilly moved to the drums. A friend of The Pink Spiders, Ben Young, flew to town to play bass. The band only missed one show before regrouping and finishing the tour.
In between tours and shows, Friction still focuses on the band.
"I spend a lot of time writing, and then there's a lot of business," he said "There's not really any off time."
Rolling Stone and Spin might hail The Pink Spiders as catchy, but Friction tries not to notice.
"I don't really read anything about us because a lot of the time it's not true," he said. "And if it's good, it goes to your head, and that's not good. But if it's bad, you don't need that kind of distraction."
Friction and the band will continue promoting "Sweat It Out" and working on material for their next album.
Friction said he believes the new album is the best so far, and the band has 20 songs written for its next album, which he believes will be even better.
"It's kind of the point of being in a band," he said. "You don't want to take a step backwards."
