Brian Lane said he began playing drums because he wasn't good at the guitar.
"It's true," Lane said during a phone interview from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "My main man was Metallica's Lars Ulrich. I bought all his drumming videos. He was the dude for me. However, I look back at him now and say, 'He's not a good influence.' "
Lane and his band Brand New — featuring guitarist Vin Accardi, vocalist Jesse Lacey and bassist Garrett Tierney — got together when they were in high school in New York back in the late 1990s.
Lane said the guys didn't have any particular plan for the band. "We just wanted to play music. We were content with playing weekend gigs. There was a time after high school that I went away to college but came back because once you play live, it's like a disease. It stays with you for a while, and I missed being in the band."
So Lane put his college courses on hold and rejoined Brand New. A few months later, the band had signed to Razor & Tie Records and released its first album, "Your Favorite Weapon."
"We didn't have any aspirations to really do an album," Lane said. "We had some songs that we had written throughout the years and recorded them."
Big breaks came soon after. Brand New caught the ear of the likes of Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday. Both asked Brand New to open their tours.
"We were in a different league after those tours," said Lane. "We started playing bigger venues and playing to different people."
Then came time to record a new album.
"That was an experience," Lane said. "We had all those years to write songs for the first album, but only had about two months to come up with new songs for the new album."
As it turned out, the band procrastinated and didn't write a single lyric or note before heading into the studio. That didn't sit well with veteran producer Steven Haigler.
Haigler made a name for himself by working with bands such as the Pixies, Quicksand and Local H.
"We're a lazy band," Lane said. "We showed up and the producer was already to work. But we didn't have anything to give him. We had bits and ideas for songs, but nothing concrete. He wasn't happy. But it was kind of funny.
"Anyway, we thrive on panic, and once we got into the studio, we began writing."
The result is a solid little album called "Deja Entendu."
"Everything worked out," Lane said. "I mean, we're in a band, and that is our job. I get paid to write songs and perform them. And making an album was just a part of our job description. So we had to do it or we'd get fired."
If you go
What: Brand New
Where: Bricks, 579 W. 200 South
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $11 and $13
Phone: 467-8499 and 1-800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com