By Emerald Green
This year marks the 20th anniversary of when the Plain White T’s created their band during high school in Lombard, Illinois. The world famous rock band showed their love for fans here at Coronado by headlining the High School Nation concert with their hit singles “Our Time Now,” “1, 2, 3, 4,” “Rhythm of Love,” and “Hey There Delilah” on Friday, April 28. Tom Higgenson (lead acoustic guitar) and Tim Lopez (lead guitar) were kind enough to answer a few questions for “The Roar” directly after their performance and devote time to to take pictures with fans and sign their shoes.
The Roar: What’s it like being back at a high school?
Higgenson: I loved high school. It’s funny because I look around at the kids and feel like I’m still one of them because with music we’re always around young people. It’s like we never really had to grow up. I feel like I would get along better with you guys than the teachers.
TR: Who were your favorite bands in high school?
Higgenson: Weezer, Blink-182, Green Day, and The Smoking Popes
TR: What is your favorite part about performing?
Lopez: When a crowd sings back at the top of their lungs
TR: What’s the most inspiring thing a fan can do?
Lopez: When they use our songs at their weddings or for big moments
TR: How do you think you’ve impacted music?
Higgenson: Did you hear that Niall Horan song? Every time I hear that strumming acoustic, I always feel like it’s because they liked ‘Hey There Delilah.’ It was just one of those songs that I feel like people love and go ‘I want to write a song like that’ just like how I wanted to write a song like The Beatles. ‘Delilah’ was big around the same time Rihanna was breaking, so it was cool to have an acoustic guitar and a vocal to just cut through all the other music.
TR: What advice would you give us about being successful in our futures?
Higgenson: If you want to do something, you have to just do it. I know it sounds so cliché, but that’s literally all you gotta do. Do it, and don’t stop doing it. I think something that’s been resonating with a lot of kids on this tour is that this band started in high school, and it’s not really different from anybody here. We put in the time; we put in a lot of time. We always believed that we could make something out of it, and we just worked until we did. We’re still working. We put out a new single today [Fri, April 28]. We’re always writing new songs, trying to connect.
