Just Left feels just right on tour

Tom Nunes, bass player of rock band Just Left, talked to the Northern Star about the band, a full-length album and touring.

Northern Star: How did you guys get together?

Tom Nunes: Just Left started about two and a half years ago with Aaron Hill on vocals/guitar, Bobby Weglarz on drums, Jake Joyce on bass, and Chris Regalado on guitar. They played a lot of shows around the area with this lineup, but decided to add Joey Fernandez on second guitar so Aaron could just focus on singing. After playing around the area and putting out the “Driving You” EP, both Jake and Chris quit. Timmy is Bob’s brother, so he was an obvious choice to fill the open guitar spot. Me and Aaron had kept in contact because my old band had played with Just Left a few times. One day he came into my work and asked me if I wanted to try out. And then a week later I was in the band.

NS: How would you describe your music?

TM: Energetic, groovy, and catchy. The way I describe it is pop-rock emo because there’s elements of all those genre’s in each of our songs.

NS: What are your influences?

TM: A lot of the music we write is influenced by bands like Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, Further Seems Forever, Saves the Day, and The Early November. There’s also a pop-rock influence in our music that’s along the same lines as Third Eye Blind or the Goo Goo Dolls. I think we all have a lot of really diverse influences, and that shows through in the songs.

NS: Have you guys recorded anything?

TM: We have an EP and a CD out. The EP, “Driving You,” was made before me and Tim were in the band. It’s all the band’s earlier material. We just put out our first full-length CD called “Keep this in Mind” on March 24. The response that we’ve gotten has just been incredible. You can really see how much the band has matured since “Driving You.”

NS: Do you think there’s anything about your band that’s different from other rock groups out there?

TM: I think right now so much of music is focused on labels and bands being labeled a certain genre. With Just Left, I feel like we don’t fit into one particular genre. Instead of blending in as the no-name emo band, we’ve created a sound that stands out and is unique in a way.

NS: Are you on a tour right now?

TM: Right now, no, we’re not on a tour. We just came back from a week and a half tour of Wisconsin and Indiana. As for right now, we’re just playing anywhere around Illinois. We plan on going back on tour sometime in the early middle of summer.

NS: As far as the band goes, what are your future plans?

TM: We would love to get back on tour and I believe we’re heading back out sometime in summer. As far as recording, we just came out with our album, so at the moment we’re focusing all of our attention on playing shows, making fans, and spreading the word. I know that we plan on going back into the studio possibly in the fall to work on a five-song EP.

NS: What are some of the major acts you’ve played with?

TM: We’ve been very lucky to be from Chicago, because the scene here is amazing. So many bands that we’ve played shows along side have gotten signed, and that’s an incredible thing to see. We’ve had a chance to play with June, The Audition, The Junior Varsity, The Hush Sound, October Fall, My American Heart, Just Surrender, The Fold, Lorene Drive, and Valencia. We also just got added to a show with Vaux in June which we’re pretty excited about. It’s the last show they’re playing before they get on the Warped Tour, so it should be a sweet show.

NS: What CD’s do you have in your CD player right now?

TM: Right now I’m personally listening to “In Motion” by Copeland and “Soundtrack to a Headrush” by Emanuel. As a band though, I know we’re all digging the new Punchline CD, and the new Hit the Lights CD

NS: Does your band have any rituals you do before going on stage?

TM: No, actually we don’t. The funny thing about the band is that we’ll all completely scatter before we go on stage. I’ll be one place, and Joey will be another, and Aaron will be outside somewhere, and Bob will be on the phone somewhere. We all manage to find each other and get set to go about a minute or two before we actually go on stage.

NS: Any last words?

TM: We’re just five kids who love playing music, and hope everyone enjoys it as much as we do.