The Menzingers release ‘Everything I Ever Saw,’ celebrating the Philly band’s past while embracing the future

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Coinciding with 20 years together as a band, The Menzingers are marking the occasion with their brand new studio album, “Everything I Ever Saw.”

Ahead of the release on Friday, the band wrapped up a series of international shows on both sides of the pond, with performances across Europe and even their first show in Mexico. While the band tends to look toward the future, co-vocalist and guitarist Greg Barnett said it’s hard not to look back on two decades of making music together.

“You learn a lot and you understand where you’re at and also what you want the next 20 years of this band to look like,” Barnett said.

Tom May, who also plays guitar and sings in the band, said 20 years is a milestone for anything, whether it be a band, organization or relationship.

“We play in a punk band and it’s something you associate so closely with youth culture, or something that we were involved in when we were first getting started,” May said. “And it’s not really a reconciliation, but it’s kind of a realization of how far we’ve actually come, what we’re doing and what we want to do in the future.”

Moving from Scranton to Philly ‘at the exact right time’

Originally hailing from Scranton, the band migrated to Philadelphia around the same time the housing market crashed in 2008. Coming from the same music scene as Tigers Jaw, the band looks back quite fondly on the “Electric City,” with the city’s influence having a big impact on the band’s early records.

“We didn’t have a whole separate, big hardcore scene and a separate, like, ‘Alright, these were the punk shows and this was the ska show.’ They were all one show and everyone liked all of it and went to all of it,” bassist Eric Keen said. “We liked all of it and tried to play all of it and we’re influenced by all of it.”

The move to Philly was mainly out of necessity with there being “only so many clubs to play” in Scranton. Drummer Joe Godino said the move seemed like a “logical step.”

“Growing up in Scranton, a lot of people that go off to college, that leave the area, a lot of them go to Philly,” Godino said. “I’d come down for shows and stuff with some of my older friends that could drive and start to see the venues like the Troc and when it was the Electric Factory … It really felt like we just moved at the exact right time. I’m glad we did it.”

Staying together for more than 2 decades

The bandmates lived together in the band’s early days, crafting records together and touring relentlessly. The core group of four members has never changed, which Keen attributes to being “super democratic about what we do.”

“Even if one person is really against an idea, we’ll try to flesh it out to make sure that all four of us are happy,” Keen said. “When it comes to all of our decision making, when it comes to finances, like all four of us are involved, same with the songwriting.”

May said the main thing that’s kept everyone on the same page is pretty simple — they wanted to be musicians and they wanted to make a living off of it.

“I often like to make the joke that we very well could have been as four guys from a Scranton roofing company or something, and it would have worked in a similar way,” May said. “We were on the same page when we started. I think that’s a big one. Everyone wanted the same thing.”

Will Yip and embracing the future together

The band’s eighth studio album, produced by Grammy award–winner Will Yip, was recorded at Memory Music Studios in South Philadelphia, the first front-to-back project in the new space.

Commuting to the studio was a breeze, with some of the members saying it only took them five minutes to get there from their homes. The group last worked with Yip in 2019, when they recorded “Hello Exile,” and said it was a blast to reignite their “creative relationship.”

“In a way, it was kind of picking up where you left off, ideas flowing so fast and being able to anticipate who’s going to make the next call in such a unique and amazing way,” Barnett said.

The new environment also added to the creative flow, with Barnett saying every day was fun to be there.

“There’s a pool table, there’s a bar, there’s 700 Les Pauls,” Barnett joked. “It’s a really fun place to record an album … Will [Yip] is, like, our best friend, so to be able to hang out with your best friend every day, it’s a good job to have.”

After several weeks together, the band emerged with 11 tracks, tackling a shared desire to embrace the future and explore how the past made them into what they are today.

The album’s title track sums up the project with just one line: “I don’t want to relive, I just want to remember everything I ever saw.”

Barnett said the line reflects on the band wanting to look to the future while having “such a long history,” but also “how we want to carry through with all of this.”

“It sums up how I feel about being a touring musician, about everything,” Barnett said. “I don’t want to relive these things anymore. I want to continue to make these memories and continue to do this. I don’t want to live in a punk house again, but I’m really happy I did. I’m happy that the van blew up in Wyoming and I have those stories, but it’s not something I want to happen again.”

The album is available now on vinyl, CD and streaming services through Epitaph Records. On Nov. 20, The Menzingers will perform at The Fillmore, alongside Hot Water Music and Weakened Friends.