E: Jon, the band Waking Ashland's new album, Composure, has just been released on Tooth and Nail Records. The CD features several tracks from your self-produced debut EP I Am For You... does this mean you are still just as proud of the songs written in the earlier days of the band?
Jonathan: We used two tracks on Composure--"Longshot" and "I Am For You"--and both tracks were modified. Like, "Longshot" has different arrangements, and then "I Am For You" has some more harmonies, and that's basically all that changed on that. And then there's the quality--like, we really liked "I Am For You," and we just needed to re-record it because the quality jumped a lot.
E: The band's first release was a very noteworthy success even before the band attained label support and distribution. Is it your belief that bands will almost always be more successful on a record label only after having had a strong independent career?
Jonathan: Absolutely, in my opinion. You learn that you can almost operate as your own label. Like, that's what we basically did for a good year. We ordered the CDs ourselves, we did our own merch. Where we did get lucky, though, is we had a booking agent, and that enabled us to tour. So actually, once we got the booking agent, we kind of realized that we wanted to hold out as long as possible, to increase our worth as a band, because we had offers from other indie labels, but none of them seemed like the right deal for us. So we figured, you know... we were big fans of doing it the old-fashioned way. Like, we really care about our fans, and we have good work ethic--we believe that putting in a lot of time and effort pays off in the end, one person at a time. So that's basically what we set out to do. We played really small shows--we'd play anywhere for anyone, and now I think we're kind of seeing the rewards for that. Now that we're on a label, though, we haven't stopped working. It just begins. Now that we're on Tooth and Nail Records, it's like we even work harder, you know? because there are so many more avenues.
E: Is the most essential element of a band's success its impressive touring habits, or can most everything be attained simply through a very strong album release?
Jonathan: I think good tours definitely help, but actually I think it comes down to how good your record is. I think that's the majority of it. You can be a band that gets hooked up with the sweetest tours... you know how everyone always says, "Oh, I know this person, I know that person"? You can be one of those people that know every cool band, and get taken out on amazing tours, but if at the end of the day you don't have good melodies that kids like or lyrics that appeal to people, then I don't think you have much. You might have short term success, but I don't know how much long term success. That's another reason why we toured so hard and why we are into taking it a day at a time and getting fans show by show, because that sets the stone for a long term career, and the way to get a long term career is to write good records. You know, you have to tour, too--it all goes. But you can't rely on good tours. You have to write a good record.
E: If a certain band possesses instruments somewhat unique for its scene--for example, Waking Ashland's music includes a lot of piano additions--do you think that's enough to truly set a band apart from the crowd?
Jonathan: I guess so. I know a lot of bands are using pianos... I actually did another interview the other night, and they asked a question similar to that. They asked how I felt about bands such as Copeland, Mae, Something Corporate, and Straylight Run--if I found it hard to compete with all these bands playing piano. And I would ask, how do other bands compete that have guitars? You know? Because every band seems to have guitar, and yet you get very unique sounds. You had bands like At The Drive-In, then you have a band like the Police. Both have guitar, but very differently used. The piano is the same way. All those bands I just listed... Copeland and all them... they all use the piano in a different way, just like us. We have a piano that's definitely awesome because it's very visual. I play the piano and we stick it in the front of the stage. It enhances our show, because kids just don't see that very often. Not too many bands do that. So that's cool how that works out. But as far as having piano in your music, I think it just depends on how you use it, you know? We have a unique sound--maybe not necessarily just because of the piano, but because of the way we arrange our instruments and the way we write our melodies and just the people who make up this band--you know, our personalities.
E: Do you think you're the kind of band that will be consistently improving upon its already developed sound with each new release? Or do you expect to follow the pattern of those bands who have experimented with their style and branched out on new records?
Jonathan: Well, when I sit down and write a song, I don't try to be, like... "I want to write a song like this." I just kind of write whatever comes out, and then I take it to the group and we arrange it as a group, and it becomes a Waking Ashland song. I just think the songwriting will just improve, you know? As you can see from the I Am For You EP to Composure... we were a band that was two months old when we recorded I Am For You, and then we toured together for like a year, and then a year later you got Composure. So I think you can expect the same kind of jump for the next record. But it'll still rock. I don't think we're going to pull of those... "we all mellow out" yet. *Laughs* Maybe in a couple more records, but... it'll still be something for kids who like Weezer and Jimmy Eat World. They will definitely relate to our music.
E: Hey, I just saw Jimmy Eat World last night.
Jonathan: Oh, you saw Jimmy last night? How was it?
E: It was a decent show... seeing Taking Back Sunday perform with strobe lights was weird, but Jimmy Eat World played a good set.
Jonathan: Cool!
E: So where exactly are you playing tonight in Las Vegas?
Jonathan: You know, I think we're playing at some sort of arcade. It's like an arcade and bowling alley, because Las Vegas doesn't have many venues to play. It's supposed to be pretty good--capacity is 900. Right now we're on tour with Jack's Mannequin, which is Andrew's side project from Something Corporate, and the tour's going really well. Kids have been great, and it's nice meeting Andrew. He's a nice person and a really good piano player. Actually, like I was talking about earlier, the way he approaches the piano is way different from the way I would approach the piano, so every night I've been kind of watching him, just noticing what he does. It's cool. I enjoy it. But I'm looking forward to playing Pac Man tonight. I guess it's at an arcade, and Pac Man's probably my favorite game. Hopefully they will have Pac Man. Ms. Pac Man is cool too, but, you know.
E: We've actually got a staff member at that show tonight.
Jonathan: Oh really? Well make sure whoever that is comes up and says hi to me.
E: You got it--her name's Andrea.
Jonathan: Well cool. Thanks for the time and interest in Waking Ashland, man. We appreciate it.
E: No problem. Thank you.
Jonathan: You take care. |
