Growing Up

Daniel Corrigan

Come aboard, we're expecting you: Love-Cars (left to right) Alex Gaddis, James Diers, Matt Foust, and Dave King

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More About

• James Diers
• Dave King
• Matt Foust
• Tool (Musical Group)
• Kim Randall

The fact that Diers, Gaddis, and Foust knew each other as teens might also have something to do with the album's thematic thread. "Call Me Sometime, Best Friends Forever" is a poignant sequel to Hüsker Dü's "These Important Years," lifting its lyrics right off the pages of a high school yearbook ("Stay Sweet this summer, kay?/ Don't party too har-day"). Meanwhile, "24" features lines such as "Smells like teen forgiveness/And at 23 we'll still be good friends."

When asked if it seems odd that a band given to covering Springsteen--Diers staged a recent local-music tribute to the Boss--would find an audience among Promise Ring fans, the musicians shrug. "Our support at venues like the Foxfire has always been pretty organic," Diers says. "None of us are complete grown-ups anyway."