The Format's lead singer heads back to Arizona
By KELLY WILSON
GET OUT

Nate Ruess, the lead singer of The Format, is kicking back with a cigarette in his dressing room at the Tweeter Center in Camden, N.J. He's attired in a dark blazer and tattered jeans, and a lock of shoulder-length brown hair hangs over one eye.

The frontman performed twice tonight — once with his Valley pop-rock band, then with indie screamsters Taking Back Sunday on their song “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team).”

Ruess makes himself comfortable on a plush sofa and takes a drag from his cigarette.

Suddenly, Taking Back Sunday's manager barrels through the door.

“Dude, you have to do that every night,” she tells Ruess of his stint with her band. “When all three of you were singing, it was ridiculous!”

“Tell the dudes I'll be their vocal whore,” deadpans Ruess.

Fellow Valley musicians Jimmy Eat World may have been the headliners of the night's sold-out concert, but it didn't stop The Format from captivating those who arrived early.

The group, which also features drummer Adam Boyd, guitarist Marko Buzard, bassist Don Raymond, guitarist Mike Schey and guitarist/keyboardist Sam Means, ripped its way through a short but sweet set, including a couple of new numbers for the mostly teenage audience.

After a month on the road with Jimmy Eat World and Taking Back Sunday, The Format returns to the East Valley this week for a pair of performances.

“You start to really want to get home,’’ Ruess says, ‘‘and then you're back for three days and you're bored. I don't like being at home.’’
Ruess says it's easier opening for bands than headlining a show.

“It's a lot easier — meaning that you only have to play seven songs as opposed to, like, 14 — but it's a lot funner in Arizona because we know that everyone that's there is there to see us,’’ he says. “I can usually see people mouthing the words and whatnot on this tour, which is cool.’’

Considering they're Valley rock stars, one would think the group would be fending off the advances of young women every night, but Ruess says that isn't the case.

“We’ve started to gain more weight, so we probably get less attention now,’’ he says, laughing.

The band is sure to gain attention when they release the follow-up to 2003’s “Interventions + Lullabies.” “We're hoping to get it out in January,’’ Ruess says of the sophomore album. “We've been selling a five-song EP on this tour that has two new songs (“Janet” and “Snails”) and three old acoustic songs.’’

The EP is available at the band's shows and at Hoodlums in ASU's Memorial Union. In the meantime, Ruess says the group has been incorporating a couple of new tracks into its set.

“I think we're just going to work our way into it and by the end just start playing a lot more new stuff,’’ he says.

The Format
With: Steel Train, Ticker Tape Parade
When: 8 p.m. Sunday
Where: Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe
Cost: $15, all ages
Information:

Second Show
With: Limbeck, Let Go
When: 8 p.m. Monday
Where: The Clubhouse, 1320 E. Broadway Road, Tempe
Cost: $15, all ages
Information: