New Found Glory opens for Jimmy Eat World and The Offspring at Isleta

Pop punk fans have three reasons to get excited Tuesday, Aug. 26, when New Found Glory and Jimmy Eat World open for The Offspring at Isleta Amphitheater.

“We’ve known the Jimmy Eat World guys since we were kids,” Jordan Pundik, New Found Glory frontman, said. “We would drive up and down the coast of Florida and go see them play in front of, like, 10 people.”

Nearly three decades and innumerable concerts later, the bands are touring together for the first time.

“The Offspring guys, we met here and there. We used to know their old drummer (Pete Parada). And then Todd (Morse), their bass player, used to be in H2O, who, of course, we toured with many times,” Pundik said. “And Noodles (Kevin John Wasserman, The Offspring’s lead guitarist), we met a couple times, playing beer pong at random festivals.”

The bands haven’t been playing beer pong on this tour, though. With age, Pundik said he’s acquired healthier habits.

“We’re kind of on a health kick this tour,” Pundik said. “It’s great when you’re on these kind of tours, because there’s good catering. So, it’s a lot easier to eat better.”

New Found Glory toured as headliners last summer to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their album “Catalyst,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart when it was released in 2004.

Pundik said he’s enjoying the relatively lower pressure of being an opening band this time around.

“We have so much less responsibility on this tour,” he said. “It’s so fun. The bands are great overall, and it’s just a good hang.”

Although many people associate punk with teenage rebellion, Pundik said he was a fairly well-behaved teenager.

“I was a responsible mama’s boy,” he said. “If my mom wanted me home by midnight, I would be sure to be home by midnight. My friends would get so mad, because they’d have to leave early to drop me off.”

But as long as he obeyed his parents’ curfews, they would let him see the bands he liked.

“I have kids now, too, and I try to instill that same sort of mentality in them,” Pundik said. “Like, if you’re just truthful, and you go by the rules and what our values are, then you’ll have more freedom to do what you want.”

The 45-year-old singer has two sons.

“My younger one, my 11-year-old, is super into music and super into my band,” Pundik said.

His other son is 14 and doesn’t always think his dad’s music is cool.

“He’s like half and half,” Pundik said. “But my younger one is super enthralled with what I do.”

Pundik attended his first big concert with his own dad when he was 14. It was Nirvana.

“Remember the multi-level marketing company, Amway? My dad worked for them, and his boss had tickets,” Pundik said. “My dad didn’t know anything about them (Nirvana), but we went.”

Pundik never thought he would become a father himself.

“Not in the slightest,” he said. “I just wasn’t super into thinking that I would have kids, or — doing what I do — that I would have time to have kids.”

“But when I met my then-girlfriend, now wife, she had always wanted kids. So then, it was one of those conversations of, like, we want to make this work,” Pundik said. “So, I was like, you know what, let’s just try. So, we did. And it’s been a challenge, and it’s been up and down, but I love having them around. It’s been good.”

Having children has given the singer a different perspective on life.

“It comes down to gratitude,” Pundik said.

Still, it hasn’t always been easy to balance fatherhood with the demands of New Found Glory’s often hectic touring schedule.

“My 14-year-old has some neurological stuff. He’s on the spectrum, and he’s got Tourette’s and (obsessive-compulsive disorder), but he’s really high-masking,” he said. “It’s always been hard, because I’ve been on tour and missing out on a lot of things.”

But in recent years, Pundik has prioritized spending time with his sons, even bringing the 14-year-old along for a few days of the current tour.

“It’s been really fun just to have that one-on-one time with him,” Pundik said, “because he’s starting his first day of high school next week.”

Many of New Found Glory’s earliest fans are parents now, too.

“It’s been crazy to see over the years, people who grew up with us, they’re having their own kids. So now, we have intergenerational fans,” Pundik said. “While all the older people — the millennials — are chilling in the back with their beers, all their kids are down in the (mosh) pit.”

New Found Glory recorded a new album earlier this year, which they plan to release on the indie label Pure Noise Records in the coming months. Fellow founding member Chad Gilbert (lead guitar, backing vocals) was heavily involved in the album, despite the ongoing health challenges he has faced since being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2021.

“He’s doing alright. I mean, it’s up and down,” Pundik said. “Every day is different. There’s some days when he’s tired and everything hurts.”

Other days, Gilbert feels well enough to perform onstage with the band.

“He’s trying to get to a couple shows on this tour,” Pundik said. “He played in Cincinnati with us, which was great. And we had a Nashville headlining show on one of the days off, and he played that. And that was great.”

“He can’t really jump around much, but he’s still out there, getting in people’s faces, pointing at everybody and yelling into the mic,” Pundik said. “He’s a beast.”

Gilbert’s fighting spirit is reflected in the lyrics of “100%,” the band’s first single from the forthcoming album.

“Whether I’m at the top, or whether I’m broken down, my word is cement,” they sing. “I’m gonna give you 100%.”

“We wanted to put that out first, because it was one of the first songs we wrote (for the album),” Pundik said. “But there’s definitely songs on there that I love way, way more.”

“It’s got some of the cooler songs we’ve written in a long time,” he continued. “I think people are going to be hyped on it.”

In the meantime, Pundik said he’s excited to visit New Mexico. As it turns out, he has a personal connection to the state.

“I love the desert states,” he said. “And my auntie has an Earthship in Taos. So, it’s always really cool to go see that area. It’s super fun.”