Everything is about balance. That's what singer/songwriter Nate Ruess, of the band The Format, says he has discovered over the past three years.
"I was trying to get my life in order and put the band on the back burner," Ruess said by phone from a stop in Miami, Fla. "Once I got my life in order, I turned to the band — and it has been doing the best it has in a long time.
"And we still change the set list every night, but we keep in mind our fans and the new fans. We play some of our own favorites as a band. And then we play some obscure stuff for the old fans and some new stuff for the new fans."
The Format's core is composed of songwriters Ruess and Sam Means, and even when they were recording the new album "Dog Problems," it was a balancing act. "The last album we did (2003's "Interventions & Lullabies") was kind of a letdown," said Ruess. "So we decided to do an album that we wanted to do."
The title "Dog Problems" came from a big part of Ruess's life. "I was in a relationship for five years. Every time we had a problem and it looked like we were going to break up, my then-girlfriend and I would go buy a dog."
Ruess ended up with three dogs and no girlfriend. Fittingly, "two (of the canines) ran away while the band was recording the new album."
Some of the new songs date back to the moment The Format emerged from the studio after "Interventions... ," said Ruess. "I had so many ideas that I wanted to do, but we couldn't. So I continued to write. Some of the other songs that are on the album were written seven months ago."
While preparing the new album, The Format's label Elektra was folded into the Warner Bros. Records conglomerate, and the band was shifted to Elektra's sister company, Atlantic Records. "We had some problems with our demos then. We submitted the demos and they didn't understand what we were doing. They didn't like the title 'Dog Problems,' and didn't know what to do."
So, Ruess and Means released the album on their own label, Vanity. "It felt better doing that," said Ruess. "And we finally made an album that we wanted to make."
If you go
What: All American Rejects, Motion City Soundtrack, The Format, Gym Class Heroes
Where: The Great Saltair, 1 Salt Air Drive, Magna
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
How much: $27.50
Phone: 467-8499 or 800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com or www.ktix.net
E-mail: scott@desnews.com