Give us a short summary of The Take’s history. Who is in it right now, and how did you start doing this?

Scott: It was in 2016. I quit BIOHAZARD not long before, around Christmas 2015. Will called me and said, “I’ve been talking with Craig from SICK OF IT ALL about starting a new side project, a hardcore power trio. Would you be interested?” I said, “Fuck yeah.” That was the start of it.

I began writing music and brought in riffs right away with that idea in mind: a hardcore power trio. Because it was Will and Craig, and they used to be in Agnostic Front together, I was writing in that 1984 style, fast material. Then I had a conversation with Craig and asked what kind of music he wanted to do. He said, “Whatever we feel.” I thought, “That’s right, just do that.” The direction changed. I think that may have been when I wrote “Elitist” and some of those other songs, which were a different kind of song. We gave up trying to be one specific kind of hardcore power trio and just did whatever we liked. If they liked it and I liked it, we did it.

Craig was never actually in the band. He was supposed to be the bass player, but he was always on tour. SICK OF IT ALL was doing its 30th- or 35th-anniversary tour, so he was always gone. Finally he said, “You should try somebody else. I don’t have the time.” It was a relief because we were wondering how we were going to do this with him gone all the time.

The two of us practiced. I think “King Of The World” was the first complete song at that practice. I had a couple of incomplete songs that became other songs. Then we got my friend Carlos to play bass. The two of us had already done most of the work on the record, and Carlos came in when it was nearly finished.

We did it slowly. Will ended up moving to Florida halfway through, which put things on hold until we figured out how to work through the internet. I would record riffs and send them to him; he would record electronic drums and send them back; then we would make a demo and sing over it.

We got a deal with Demons Run Amok Entertainment in Germany and released the first record in 2019. We toured with The Last Resort and played Rebellion and several other good shows. We had built a lot of momentum going into 2020, and then we all know what happened. That put us on hiatus for a while.

We did put out a cover of a Devo song on a Pirates Press Records compilation called “Oi! This Is Streetpunk!”. In 2021, we started playing shows again, ss soon as we really could. If you were vaccinated and had your card, you could play. We just wanted to play.

We had been working on this EP before the pandemic, but didn’t finish it for a while. There wasn’t much motivation during that time. Eventually we got it together. We’ve been doing a lot of shows. We did a couple of weeks with Madball earlier this year, and we have a new LP coming out in August. We’re ramping up again and doing some shows this summer. That’s what we have going on now.

We also have a new bass player.

Eric Klinger is your new bass player and you have a long history with him. You played with him in SPUDMONSTERS and BLOODCLOT. How did he end up playing bass in THE TAKE?

Scott: Carlos, our other bass player, is from Colombia. He is a Brooklyn resident, but he doesn’t have a green card and wasn’t allowed to leave the United States, which made things difficult. We had a couple of guys fill in when we came over here. It became a real pain because we had to keep teaching people all the songs. Originally, Eric was only going to fill in over here. Eventually I said, “Just be the bass player.”

He is a great addition. He fits perfectly with the band, and he’s also a producer.

Scott: He is a very talented guy, and I’ve known him for a long time. Will and Eric are my two best friends. For me, it’s amazing. It’s so much better than being in a band with maniacs who drive me crazy. It seemed to make sense.

It’s tough for Eric to get to the States, too, but we’ll figure it out. Carlos has actually filled in for Eric now, so the roles are reversed. There are no bad feelings with Carlos. He plays in about three other bands anyway. It wasn’t really a serious position for him; he wanted to have fun, hang out, and party. Eric is more serious about seeing where it can go.

Your new record, “Live For Tonight”, comes out on August 11. How do the new album and songs compare with what you’ve done before?

Will: For me, it is a natural progression from the first album and a little more finely tuned musically. I would say the songs have more attitude. It’s a little different, but in a good way, a natural direction. The songs are diverse, too.

Scott: It’s more hardcore-sounding in places and more rock-and-roll-sounding in others. To me, it’s more of the same. A big difference is that I like my singing better now. Coming from BIOHAZARD on the first record, I thought I had to sing as hard as I could. I tried to rein that in a little with this band. Now I’ve figured out where I should be. To me, the vocals sound better.

Will: The drums are a little different, too.

What is your favorite track from the new album? Were there other songs that didn’t make the cut but could be released elsewhere?

Will: I’ll say, “Live for Tonight.” It has everything: a lot of good parts, a soaring sing-along chorus, and a good breakdown in the middle. It has all the right elements of songwriting.

Scott: Mine might be “Comfort Crisis”. We have material we haven’t finished yet. If I weren’t so lazy and very old, I would finish it and put out a full-length record. We have a bunch of songs that are almost done.

We’re toying with the idea of releasing singles on Spotify: write and record something, release it, and when we have enough for an LP, put it on that. We’re being told that’s probably the new way to do it, because things have changed in the music industry.

Do you have color variants for the new release? Will there be a special European edition or picture disc this time?

Scott: As of now, no, but it’s definitely possible. We have new colors of the first record now. We have red marble and blue marble. We don’t have it with us right now, but there is also one that’s red, black, and gray.

Will you bring the glow-in-the-dark version to Europe?

Scott: I’ll probably bring some the next time when I have it. They’re only available in the U.S.

You are one of the bands that tour Europe a lot. What makes Europe a prime touring destination for you?

Will: The beer is much better. Europe has always been good to us. We’ve been coming here for 30 years with all the other bands. It’s awesome, with great audiences.

Scott: For a long time, the scene here was much better than in the States. The States are pretty good now too.

Will: Touring Europe is easier in a way because the cities are much closer together. You aren’t driving ten hours across Texas to get to one show. In that time, you could do three or four shows here. It’s easier to tour. I love experiencing all the different cultures. I’ve met a lot of people over the years, too.

You are playing Scandinavia on this tour as well. A lot of bands skip that part of Europe because of the costs.

Scott: It’s expensive and hard to get to. There’s the ferry and all that. There are only a couple of cities you can play, and Norway really has only one major city, Oslo. We used to go there in the ’90s, and the shows were very big. I would love to play there. My wife is Norwegian, and my family is in Oslo.

Thinking of the other places you’ve visited on tour, is there anywhere you’d like to spend more time on vacation?

Will: Italy. I love Italy; it’s one of my favorite countries.

Scott: I like England a lot. I’m a cool-weather guy. There are also a lot of countries I haven’t been to that I’d like to tour. I’d rather go on tour. I’m not really a vacation guy. If I sit down for a while, I get bored and start thinking about all the things I could be doing.

Have you thought about doing a tour in Australia?

Scott: That would be cool, but it’s expensive and hard to get there. I was there once, around February or March 2012. It was the second tour I did as the singer in BIOHAZARD. It was a huge festival tour with about 90 bands, flying every day. There were several flights: if you played before a certain time, you flew that day; if you played after that time, you flew the next morning. It was crazy how they organized it. It was a good experience.

What are your plans for the rest of the year and next year?

Scott: In August we have a record release and a few shows over here. We have some shows at home throughout the rest of the year. We’ll try to get some more shows over here and in the UK. I’ll definitely try to finish more of these songs and put them on Spotify. We’ll try to keep going.

Final question for Will, how is the shoulder after the injury?

Will: The shoulder is great. That’s another part of the story. We were supposed to do a number of tours. We had Germany and Greece set up. We were going to do the Greece run a few months after my shoulder surgery, but then COVID happened and everything was locked down.

My shoulder still wouldn’t have been ready. I wouldn’t have been able to do the shows or play. They told me recovery would take about two months, but it was more like six or eight months before I recovered. I wouldn’t have been able to play at all, so we got lucky in that sense. It’s great now.

How is your foot?

Will: My foot isn’t so good. I broke my toe years ago, a couple of times, playing soccer. Arthritis has built up over the years. There is nothing left in the joint; it’s bone on bone and really painful. It was hurting badly on my last run. I got a steroid shot in my foot before this tour. It’s okay now, but that usually lasts only a few months. I may need joint-reconstruction surgery at some point, but I’m going to put that off as long as possible.