Taking Back Sunday formed in Amityville, New York, in late 1999, when guitarist Eddie Reyes, who had formed and played in the Movielife, Mind Over Matter and Inside, and guitarist Jesse Lacey of the Rookie Lot founded Taking Back Sunday in Amityville, New York, in November 1999 . The original lineup rounded out with vocalist Antonio Longo, lead guitarist John Nolan, and drummer Steven DeJoseph , and the band's name came from a song by a fellow Long Island act. The lineup shifted quickly in its earliest days: the band's first lineup change came in 2001, with the departure of bassist Jesse Lacey and drummer Steven DeJoseph, who were replaced by current members Adam Lazzara and Mark O'Connell, and not long after, original lead vocalist Antonio Longo also departed, leaving Lazzara on lead vocals duty , with Shaun Cooper soon brought in on bass. This classic five piece, rooted in the raw, emotionally charged post-hardcore and emo sound of the early 2000s Long Island scene, would go on to define the band's signature style.
That lineup, Adam Lazzara, John Nolan, Eddie Reyes, Shaun Cooper, and Mark O'Connell, recorded the band's breakthrough debut, Tell All Your Friends, released March 26, 2002 through Victory Records. The album became an emo landmark, and by 2004 the band had already sold over 200,000 copies while touring nationally and earning press features. In spring 2003, Taking Back Sunday embarked on the Takeover Tour, their first national headlining tour, playing to sold-out crowds across the US and Canada, which helped the press take notice with features in Rolling Stone, Spin, Alternative Press, and Revolver. The band's true mainstream crossover came with their major label debut, and as the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame notes, Louder Now (2006) was the band's breakout mainstream release, following the commercial success of 2004's Where You Want to Be, which went on to debut at the #3 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with around 163,000 copies sold .
The band's history has been marked by significant lineup turbulence alongside its commercial highs. In 2003, at the height of their early success, John Nolan and Shaun Cooper left the band and formed a new band, Straylight Run, with John's sister Michelle and Breaking Pangaea drummer Will Noon , while Breaking Pangaea frontman Fred Mascherino took over for John in Taking Back Sunday, and Matt Rubano became TBS' new bassist . This new configuration carried the band through Louder Now and 2006's continued Top Ten chart success. A major reunion came years later when John and Shaun ultimately rejoined the band in 2010, reuniting the classic lineup and releasing three more albums together throughout the 2010s , beginning with the acclaimed 2011 self-titled record. The band toured extensively throughout its career, including opening for Blink-182 and co-headlining the Vans Warped Tour in 2004, and later celebrating the tenth anniversary of Tell All Your Friends with a full-album tour in 2012. Their influence on the emo and post-hardcore genre has been widely recognized, with the band referred to as one of the more visible groups of the early-2000s emo boom, with Consequence ranking them at number 38 on their list of "The 100 Best Pop Punk Bands" in 2019 .
Taking Back Sunday remains active today, continuing to tour and record more than two decades after their formation, a longevity matched by relatively few of their peers from the early emo era. Their legacy has resulted in emo nights around the globe named after them, as well as having sold more than two million records worldwide . Though the band has weathered numerous lineup changes over the years, their reputation as pioneers of a defining early-2000s sound, and as one of the era's most enduring live acts, has only grown with time.
This lasting live legacy is part of what makes Taking Back Sunday's presence in this archive so fitting. Wayne Dennon photographed the band during a single show back in 2007, right in the thick of their major label years, and that night lives on through 41 photographs preserved here. Those images have since been viewed 30,971 times by visitors to this archive, a testament to how much the band's energy on stage still resonates with fans looking back on the era Wayne so carefully documented.
