By Supergina
Photo by Julia Barber
On March 1, I showed up to the Hard Rock Cafe in Sacramento to find the place closed, getting ready for the show. They allowed me in since I was “press” and then I proceeded to wait for the tour manager to get onto Jon’s bus. Contrary to my belief, he didn’t start with a bus. During their last U.S. tour, he toured with his band (the same one he is with now), Dylan, Lucas, Chad and Bobby, in a van and trailer. Living in a van and trailer, you really get to see the longevity of a band. Jon says, “The bigger you get, the more sort of disconnected everyone gets, not that you have to, you just have more opportunity to separate. On a bus you can do whatever you want. You’re in the town, it’s your day, but in the van, everyone is in it together. You’re stopping at truck stops together, you’re doing all this stuff together. As far as the progress of success, it’s sort of bittersweet.” Despite their having a bus, they mostly still maintain the duties of unloading and setting up their gear, as well as loading everything back up. Jon enjoys the humbling act, but won’t mind when he gets to the point that someone else can help out on a permanent basis.
On the bus, I briefly met Bobby, one of their guitarists, before he retreated to the back of the bus for Jon and I to do the interview. I am never a fan of awkward question-and-answer interviews. In that setting, the artists usually seem to have a preconceived notion of what is going to happen, what questions are going to be asked, etc. I set the recorder down and we just talked. Throughout the conversation, I learned that not only does Jon have an infallable sense of purpose and drive, he is one of the most laidback genuine people I have had the privilege to interview. One thing that I was very interested in knowing about Jon was his collaboration efforts with various songwriters on his latest album, “Ok Now.” Here’s what he had to say about that: “Songwriting is such an odd thing. It’s hard to be objective and it’s hard to even know if you are supposed to be objective about it, ya know. I didn’t want any help with it. I just wanted to do my own thing but I had all these great opportunities to write with these people. I could definitely see myself looking back and being like, why didn’t I take advantage of writing with these guys who are so established that I can definitely learn something from. Writing with them has definitely helped me. All of the co-writing that I have done I felt like I have learned for sure, from just writing with people. I have learned what I don’t like and what they do that I liked, all that kind of stuff. My goal is kind of to get to the point where I just want good music to go and be put out. I want good music that I am a part of, I don’t want to just take other people’s songs that someone has written for me, not that there is anything wrong with that, it’s just not what I want to do.” Hearing this from Jon was so refreshing. I was relieved to hear that he is an artist who values his musical integrity and doesn’t want to fall into the singer/songwriter pack of some of the top 40 artists.
Photo by Julia Barber
In talking about music, he mentioned that he is really into Bright Eyes lately. He just recently discovered their sound a few weeks ago and he says it has been inspiring him ever since. In his past interviews he has divulged his ’80s fandom, but this time however, he didn’t seem to focus on it very much. It seems that he is really trying to expand his sphere of influence when it comes to songwriting, and is looking forward to new things that may inspire him to write.
After the interview, I went back into the Hard Rock and had a chit-chat with the sound guy. He told me that Jon’s band was one of the tightest soundchecks he has ever done. The guys all wear in ears on stage and have a separate stage mix that they have dialed in for every show, so it’s fast. He just has to get the levels out to the crowd and then they’re basically done. He said they only ran through one song or so and that was it.
There were some radio station listeners waiting outside to get into the show. Shortly after opening doors, the opening band, The 88’s, started. I was so tired and the free drink I received from the Hard Rock actually made me even more sleepy, instead of perking me up as I had hoped. The 88’s kept me awake for the most part. They had an interesting retro type sound. A little dancy, a little weezerish. I am glad that I stayed to see Jon and his band play, even though I was exhausted. I asked Jon about the whole him and his band thing, and he said, “Over the past two years it has definitely become a band more than just me playing with some hired guys, not that it ever was that. They’re my band, I love ‘em. They do contribute a lot of ideas live and stuff, we all contribute. I have two guitar players and we have started some songs together as of late.”
Jon’s live show was much better than I expected. Not only are the musicians in his band talented (can you say, five-part harmonies?!), they’ve got stage presence too. It really was like seeing a band and not at all like a singer/songwriter show. If it wasn’t for Jon’s energy, I could have almost been more mesmerized by Bobby, the guitarist in his tight pants and boots wailing on guitar solos left and right. It could have been because I was sitting on his side of the stage and he kept making eye contact with me so it was distracting me from watching Jon. Either way, Jon definitely has his own style. He vaguely reminded me of Jonathan Jones - ex waking ashland frontman turned singer/songwriter. Jon doesn’t sit much on stage, he more hovers over the stool in front of his piano. He does a sort of “stand, lean, lunge” into the keys. He licks his fingers quickly (perhaps for entertainment value?) before taking on the keys. He uses very quick movements and raises his hands higher when playing than I am used to, so it almost looks as if he is slapping the keys - sometimes his hands were just a blur.
On the one song where Jon was front and center (a Beatles cover of “Come Together”), I watched and remembered what he had told me on the bus: “It’s different because I am always used to having something, even if it is just a guitar. It’s kind of a security thing so it’s been really good to just for a couple minutes on this song it’s just me. It’s just you, which is a really naked feeling; you either go one way or the other, and if you go the right way it’s very liberating, it’s cool.” Remembering that and watching him made me giggle and hope that he was up there not feeling naked. He is definitely more comfortable behind the piano.
I was very entertained by the show, and from the looks of the extremely varied crowd, they were too. I had done a quick demographic sweep while I was there, and there were anywhere from 16-year-old fans, to middle-aged women, as well as men of all ages and types. If there was no show going on, there was no way – from the looks of the crowd – that I would have been able to tell what type of musician was playing that night. I was sitting next to two hardcore fans who had met Jon in Santa Cruz. They were both 18 and had driven from Auburn to see him. They were really excited and knew almost all the songs.
I am thankful that I did the interview with Jon. It really changed my opinions on this singer/songwriter, and will hopefully allow me to be more open-minded next time I hear a top 40 hit, instead of scoffing, “sell out.” Jon’s career is very important to him, but so is his wife (he has her name tattooed on his arm) and his potential family. Eyes glimmering, he says that he is hoping there will be kids in the future, and that he can work that into a touring schedule. He has a very realistic view of the future that actually inspired me. He says, “I feel like you just have to keep a completely clean slate and just see, especially with the life that we lead, it’s like, just see what happens. I am trying to just be a little more ya know, stonerish without being a stoner, just kind of go with the flow. What else are you going to do?” I’d like to just leave it at that.
Posted: April 15, 2009Original source:
http://fringemag.com/features/jon-mclaughlin-deeper-than-you-think
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