Tom Higgenson asks all the right questions.
“What if nobody likes me/What if I don’t succeed/What if I give it all that I got but I still don’t got what they need/What if I don’t get anywhere at all/Will I consider myself a failure/Will I be that small?” sings Plain White T’s singer Tom Higgenson.
Plain White T’s members do not consider themselves failures. They played their hearts out Tuesday night at the Spanish Moon alongside Louisiana locals As Cities Burn, Walk Through Walls and New Jersey natives Don’t Look Down. The band also signed and released its album, “Stop,” on Fearless Records in August 2002.
Hailing from Chicago, Tom Higgenson, vocals and guitar, Steve Mast, lead guitar and backup vocals, Dave Tirio, drums, formed the band in 1997. Ken Fletcher, bassist, was a founding member of the band, but he resigned from the Plain White T’s in December. The band asked longtime friend Mike Retondo to fill in.
In Baton Rouge for the first time, the guys didn’t know what to expect from the city. But they love it and plan to return in April or May on their second tour. They will be visiting the South again with the start of Warped Tour, playing all the southern dates on the tour.
“This tour’s been amazing, playing with Unsung Zeroes and Don’t Look Down. Soon we’ll meet up with Hot Rod Circuit,” Tirio said. “It’s absolutely been one of our best ever. We’re so glad to be getting our music out there and heard.”
This is the band’s main purpose in creating its music. The members want to create music to which everyone can relate. Their lyrics are direct, personal and honest.
“By being so personal in our lyrics, we let listeners in all the way,” Tirio said. “This way they understand what’s going on in our heads, and hopefully they won’t feel so alone.”
The band cites Bruce Springsteen as one of its major influences. Higgenson said Springsteen’s songs tell a stories about ordinary occurrences to which people can relate.
“We’d like to think that we’re romanticizing everyday life,” said Higgenson. “Our lyrics are what we think and what we feel, sort of like a diary.”
The members hope to put some of the magic an audience feels after seeing a great movie into their performance onstage and their album, Higgenson said.
“I’m gonna keep trying/getting denied just makes me want it more/I’ll keep trying/and each time push harder than before/I can’t live my life always worried about what if/’Cause what if I die tomorrow/Then I never even lived,” sings Higgenson in conclusion to his song “What If.”
The band will keep trying no matter how many obstacles get in its way, he said.
Plain White T’s will tour through the summer and begin recording its new album in August 2003. For more information about tour plans or contacting Plain White T’s, visit www.plainwhitets.com.