You probably haven't thought much about emo over the last decade. But the crowds outside of the Echoplex on Tuesday nights certainly have. Emo Night—interchangeably known as Taking Back Tuesday and now typically styled as Emo Nite—cakes on the early aughts nostalgia with monthly DJ sets heavy on the often mislabeled musical genre and "sad AF" attitude.
While Blink 182's Mark Hoppus and Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba have embraced the evening with guest appearances, Taking Back Sunday—who just announced a show at the Fonda—hasn't shared the same affection. Adam Lazzara, lead singer of the pop-punk stalwarts, blasted the emo event in an interview with Billboard.
“Those motherf---ers owe me some money. They're using our name, they didn't ask," he told Billboard, in reference to the "Taking Back Tuesday" tagline. "They need to understand that they've got to take care with that sh--. You don't make shirts that say, 'Sad as f---.' Like you're making a f---ing joke out of it? F--- you."
Photograph: Courtesy Emo Nite
In a response published by Alternative Press, Lazzara downplays much of the Billboard interview and additionally insists that a supposed altercation with the Emo Night organizers during the Taste of Chaos tour in San Bernardino was just a joke taken out of context. While he finds Emo Night flattering, Lazzara says he's ultimately worried about the event turning his band into a joke.
"What worries me is that with such an eye on the nostalgic quality of these nights it runs the risk of pushing something that is very dear to me into that of a parody," he said in a statement. "The flyers for their DJ nights have used our bands art/record titles and to say using the name 'Taking Back Tuesday' isn't using our name is a stretch."
For their part, Emo Night's founders insist the event was born out of love and admiration, and was never intended as a joke. What started as a one-off evening at the Short Stop in Echo Park quickly grew into a regularly at-capacity fixture at the Echoplex, and now a nationally touring night.
takeaway from all of this? Don't use Taking Back Sunday's name—unless it involves delicious donuts. Adam Lazzara is A-OK with Donut Friend's "Taking Back Sundae," according to Billboard. "That’s fine, they’re buddies, they’re not making fun of us."