Nothing More Discusses the Band’s Album ‘Spirits,’ Current Tour, and Memorable Career Moments

It’s hard to believe, but 2023 marks the 20th anniversary since Nothing More formed. The hard rock giants are keeping busy to mark the occasion, with loads of tour dates lined up for this year on the Spirits 2023 tour (check out our live coverage from Worcester, Massachusetts and Edmonton), which recently included several Canadian stops. The tour will continue through June, with some killer festival stops along the way, including Hellfest in France, Download Germany, and Knotfest Italy. There’s such a massiveness to this band that is always best appreciated and experienced in a live setting, and they are raring to go after the five-year gap between the release of The Stories We Tell Ourselves, and their latest record, Spirits, which came out last October, via Better Noise Music.

Like what many artists have been doing with their recent releases, Nothing More used Spirits as a platform to get introspective about how the Covid pandemic and its various associated lockdowns affected us psychologically. The writing process got going right around the time of the first lockdown, which made the band have to recalibrate, record, and write all remotely. They estimate that this slowed them down by nearly a year. Fortunately, the hard rockers are back and making up for lost time.

To catch up with Nothing More, we recently spoke with guitarist Mark Vollelunga about Spirits, their recent and upcoming tours, and memorable career moments.

For those who need a refresher on Nothing More, can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?

Mark Vollelunga: “Nothing More is a roller coaster. A little bit of metal… a little bit of singer/songwriter serendipity… we love long walks on the beach discussing philosophy… it’s like biting into a perfectly cooked steak where you have so many different flavours, and you savour them all in a slightly different way… We like all the flavour, and we try to create that experience sonically for all to hear. We let the song take us where it wants to.”

Tell us more about Spirits. What was your experience of making it? What went on behind the scenes? Any notable moments that stand out?

“Rough… COVID was shit to us all, and we created just about all of it separately in different states, so it was all file shared. It was hard to find the ‘magic’ in the room from the synergy that births when you’re all together doing it together. So, it was five cooks in the kitchen (our manager, Will Hoffman, is like a fifth band member) all trying to get everyone on the same page over email or Zoom calls for two years, but we got to where we all wanted, and we’re all very proud of the record. It was just very frustrating to create because it took so long.”

Nothing More @ Midway Music Hall, photo by Dana Zuk

How would you describe the band’s creative process?

“A little bit of this, and a little bit of that, and then you follow the spark. We try to not always start the process the same way because every little difference can yield a different result, and that’s what keeps it fresh and exciting.”

Which do you enjoy the most: writing, recording, practicing, or playing live?

“I personally enjoy every aspect. They’re all amazing and a joy to me. However, once I get in a groove, I tend to want to stay there in that groove and continue honing those skills.”

Nothing More ‘Spirits’ album artwork

Tell us more about your touring plans behind Spirits…

“We’ve already been going for a few weeks in the U.S. and Canada, and then we’ll take three weeks off, do four more shows, Sonic Temple Festival with Foo Fighters and Deftones, then it’s off to Europe to play some more fests with Muse and Slipknot for a month. And I’m not supposed to say, but we’ll be doing an awesome second leg of the Spirits tour in the U.S. in the fall to hit cities we haven’t yet. Our lineup is sick! I can’t wait to announce!”

What was the highlight of your last tour, and what are you most looking forward to on this upcoming tour?

“The highlight of the last tour was touring with our buds in Sleep Token and getting to know them well, and share stories. Love those guys and am very excited to see their journey.

“I’m most looking forward to playing long drawn-out artistic anthemic sets since it’s our headline album tour. We have some goodies planned for everyone, and we can’t wait to showcase them live!”

If you had to pick the most memorable moment of your career so far, what would it be?

“Well, I’d say getting nominated for three Grammys is pretty awesome, along with playing in Barcelona with Guns N’ Roses. The downside of that show was that I found out my brother-in-law passed away after we played that show, the same day, they were his favourite band, it felt like he was there with me in Spirit…”

What’s next for you?

“This tour is next! We just released a version of ‘Best Times’ featuring Lacey Sturm… love her voice and everything she did to the song. She’s amazing and has a voice that beckons to be listened to.

“Thanks for having me!”

Nothing More @ Worcester Palladium, photo by Christina Altamirano