Reuniting with Algernon Cadwallader
End of September, my phone buzzed with a notification of the return of Algernon Cadwallader to San Diego. One more time they said! Hitting up the North American cities they missed on their reunion tour in 2022, San Diego can expect a full house for the progressively Midwest emo bands’ last, last hurrah.
I tuned in (a little late) to our Zoom meeting, with high hopes of discussing the final return of Algernon, getting behind-the-scenes on their lives for the past ten years, and on looking towards the future. The Pennsylvania band—composed of Peter Helmis, guitarists Joe Reinhart and Colin Mahony, along with drummer Nick Tazza, greeted me with soft hellos and enlivened energy as we delved into the basics.
Helmis: We started back in 2004, not far from where we are now actually in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, jamming and getting ready for our show in Philly next week. I guess you could trace the start of the band back to the Summer in 2004, with music coming together in the Fall/Winter and [we were] getting ready to play our first show on Christmas day. We lived in this house in Philly, and we used to have shows on Christmas night in the basement. The first Algernon show.
Helmis went on to talk about the short run of their band for the next seven years, ultimately disbanding at the height of their careers in 2012.
Helmis: We kind of decided to end it while we were on top; not so much call it a day on making music, but kind of saying this is a good place to branch off into different projects. Sort of like, this is the end of Algernon, for now.
Some of the seemingly most influential emo bands dissolve as they approach the precipice of greater recognition–their legacy is often intertwined with a sense of incompletion, and encapsulated by their criminally small discography (the people want and need more)! It’s only fitting that the trio felt similarly, and took a few years from the demanding DIY aspects of Algernon, to focus on other projects, and life as it happened.
This limited “silence” from the band amidst their absent years, was overall beneficial for the promising musicians. Helmis, Tazza, and Nate Dionne formed the band Dogs on Acid, and other projects surrounding the members emerged. Tazza mentioned that, “eclectically here, there is just such a strong passion for playing music and being friends,” that in any way throughout this gap, they were involved with one another (both musically and personally). Mahony embarked on the journey of fatherhood with his two kids, saying, “I think I took the bigger break out of all of us. I mean especially playing live shows… When I was playing it was strictly basements you know. I didn’t even own an electric guitar. I had to go out to get one before we started playing again [referencing the 2022 tour].” Helmis took to moving to Portland, Tazza to Seattle, and Reinhart is a major working producer/musician. Having been friends since high school, experiencing the shifts with revolving band members, the original crew that comprises the band has been bonded from coast to coast, and fans can expect music in some form, from the likes of these musicians. Evidently this break allowed the members to appreciate playing with each other (as it became more intentional to plan meetups and practices etc.), and also witness the DIY scene coming back full circle, with open arms and open ears as Algernon returns for the last time.
Our conversation naturally gravitated toward music, a common passion binding these musicians. They eagerly shared their favorite bands and the influences that led them into their respective genre… The band touched on Philadelphia and the greater New Jersey area being home to a big Pop-Punk and Hardcore scene; Algernon was later introduced to 90s emo bands like American Football, and grew to become a medley of what they were surrounded by, and the sound they had already established. Helmis talked heroes like Braid, or Cap n’ Jazz, and the list of local Philly recs are endless– shoutout to Sun Organ. In listening to Fun from 2009, or self-titled in 2018 (being a conglomeration of covers, previous re-mixed songs etc.), it’s clear that Algernon bears the unmistakable imprint of all the classic yet heavy, “midwest emo with hardcore sensibilities,” influences that have shaped their sound, while still not being fully branded or forced to cater to a certain genre's expectations.
Discussing the start of Algernon and the break that led to this revival of the band, demands thoughts and feelings on their released music. Recording independently, almost everything being unplanned, and still producing a catalog of stripped-down sounding songs (not an aesthetic decision), all contribute to their accomplished creation of art out of necessity. Parrot Flies album is a prime example of the raw and imperfect production catered to Algernon’s pure and authentic style. Go stream, or catch them on tour and hear the tracks live!
(Interviewer): Is this really the end for Algernon, and if so, what seems to be on the horizon for everyone in the future?
Helmis: “I’m not going to say we’re never going to play again, but we don’t want to overdo the whole reunion thing. We already toured the whole U.S, Japan, [and] some of Europe. We [just] did the first tour and we had a shit-load of fun, we were like– let’s do it again!”
Reinhart: “We’re always playing music in some way, shape, or form. It’s great when we’re together, but we don’t live blocks away like how we did when we were kids.”
Tazza: “Pete will come down to Seattle sometimes, and we’ll make songs and whether they’re for nothing or for some Dogs on Acid stuff, they’re really fun to play so I think we’ll always in some way [make music together]. Like if Pete needs a drummer, I’m always down no questions asked.”
Covering all the basics I gathered that with no expectations for the upcoming tour other than playing songs and having fun, fans can take assurance in knowing that Algernon feels overwhelmingly stoked that they have kept their band alive this long, for the last of the reunion shows to be on the horizon. Catch them at a city near you– don’t sleep on tickets, they’re bound to be sold out!
Written By: Allison Payne (@allieepayne)
Published: 10/25/2023