Interviews

Jacob Bannon

Interview with Jacob Bannon on Sep 17, 2008 by

By: Jamie Arthurs

Originally, this interview was supposed to take place in Baltimore, MD when Converge played the Otto Bar on May 1. Upon arriva at the Otto Bar, I was told that Jake was working on trying to find a place for their show in Philadelphia on Saturday that had been canceled. So I said, let's do the interview after the set. Then during the set, Jake was accidentally kicked in the face by a more than loving fan. So the set ended a bit early and Jake was not in the mood to talk about much of anything. So, 220 miles and twenty-four hours later, in Pittsburgh, we finally got to sit down and talk.

Jacob Bannon: So let's chat.

This interview is supposed to be about the solo record, so let's start there.

JB: We can talk about whatever you want.

When is the record due out?

JB: I haven't really decided yet, to tell you the truth. I finished the record with Kurt (Ballou, guitarist for Converge) over the winter. I just need to decide on an appropriate time to release it. Deathwish is a vehicle for a whole lot of things including me releasing my own music, which is great. But I also want to give attention to the things that we have already committed to and the bands that have already committed to us, so I intend to put my own things on the back burner to get other things released.

The label seems to be going pretty strong.

JB: Yea, it's been going well. We work exceptionally hard seven days a week. We are not a massive operation by any standard. It's good. We have our own floor of a building. We rent two offices to the Kenmore Agency (who book Converge, The Red Chord, etc), which is nice, it gives them a place. It's just a good vibe. There are six of us that are there now at Deathwish.

Is Tre still there?

JB: Yes. Tre (McCarthy, co-founder) and I share an office. We are there all day, every day. We have one mail order person, one publicity person and one person who helps with accounting and works as my production assistant. We recently just hired an in house booking agent that works with Deathwish affiliated bands and some outside bands as well, but mainly Deathwish and Malfunction affiliated artists.

I heard you where starting clothing line?

JB: I haven't really started anything.

I thought you were hooked up with what Jamey Jasta is doing?

JB: No, I don't have anything to do with that. He hired me to do some designs, just like any client. I have had many offers to do clothing oriented lines, higher end things that had nothing to do with the hardcore/punk rock world. But at that time, that market kind of became flooded with a lot of things and as artistically interesting as some of it is, there is so much garbage out there; I don't want to contribute to anything. It's not something I have a passion for; I have an interest in it, but not a passion.

So are you one to watch shows on E? I know my wife loves us to watch Project Runway?

JB: I don't really have any interest in that. I follow some random clothing lines, just like anybody who has an interest in something. But I am not in the world to emulate those things or do a fake version of those things. I just want to be involved in the music community that I am in and use what I have as resources to better that community.

What can people expect from the solo record?

JB: I really don't know, to tell you the truth. It's all personal songs that I wrote for me by me. Musically, people will draw their own conclusions, regardless of what I say.

Do you think the fan base Converge has now will like it?

JB: I don't know and or care. I don't mean that in a negative way. I just want to release honest, pure music that is emotionally satisfying to me, that is sonically satisfying to me, that's my main goal. So if people dig what we do artistically as a band, I think there is a human element to what we are and what we do that carry's through almost everything our collective body of people do. Whether it be efforts of mine, efforts of Kurt's, effort's of Nate's, or effort's of Ben's, we all bring something to the table in the collective effort of our band Converge, and if people are supportive of that, they will probably find something the relate to or something that is interesting to them in anything else we are a part of.

Musically, do you think it will be more like the 7"?

JB: The 7" was just a standoff song. It really didn't fit with anything else that I wrote. It was much darker and much more repetitive than a lot of the stuff I was writing. It was a bit of a funeral style song; I never intended for that to be an album song. I just wanted to release it somehow, in some form on its own or with a variety of variations on that song. A version I felt that was the definitive home recorded version of that. I liked it. I could have taken it to God City and redone it at God City but I think it captured the emotional place I was in when I wrote the original lyrics and music for the song; it encompassed everything in that raw critical accordance, so I just chose to do it that way.

What are the influences behind the record?

JB: Musically, I don't really have any, to tell you the truth. I am not a big giant fan of any specific band. I enjoy qualities from a wide variety of artists that are out there. I have been involved in music and making it for a very long time. With that said, I think I am kind of past the point of where I am being influenced by really anything directly. It doesn't really happen that way. When I sit and write at home playing guitar or writing lyrics, I am writing for me. I am not writing to sound like something else. I am not writing to be derivative of another artist at this point or to pay homage to something. I am just writing to get the song in my head out. It's really intricate in that respect. It's sort of the same song writing process that Converge does to. Converge is not looking to outside influences nearly as much as we did in 1994. In 1994 we were doing things that were around us, interesting to us but also emulating things around us or interested us. But after awhile, when you have created a body, eventually you just become a creative body. You stop looking to outside places and outside things, aside from life. You are not looking to rep artistically or musical influences. So I think I am in that similar place with this too.

What do you think has shaped you the most in the last 15 years?

JB: Shaped me?

Yes, shaped you.

JB: I have lived a lot of life. I have been fortunate to be able to play music and be involved in this community in a positive way, which has been great. It doesn't keep you from experiencing negativity in your life. But I have always used my artistic ability whether it is visual or my limited musical ability to get it out there, to get my emotions my feelings out there, to communicate in some sort of possible way, so I am not carrying around this huge amount of baggage in my life. And I am not spreading a whole lot more negativity out in this world that I see a lot bands and other people doing. It's just like people in daily life, we all have people in our family and friends who spend more time down then they do up. I am certainly a person who experiences life but I don't want to be defined by those negative things, I want to overcome them and try to do something that is positive. That living process has been the most important thing to me the last 15 years. It's almost like sharpening that and realizing that I can do something positive. I can do something that is artistically fulfilling and be a positive in people's lives and in my own life, make my own path and for lack of better words, destiny. Just try to do something that is real.

In the last 15 years, with the scene changing and evolving, do you think it has been in a good way?

JB: The heart of punk rock imagery has changed dramatically. The size of bands has changed dramatically. The substance of bands has changed dramatically. There are so many bands out there now that just don't have substance, that are just decoration, and I want no part of that. I didn't want part of that in pop music, that's why I turned to heavy metal. When heavy metal started subscribing to a pop influence, I turned to the harder world of thrash metal when I was a kid. When that world started to take cues from the popular music formula, I moved onto hardcore, skate rock, and punk. It's continually evolving, I just feel like there is this giant bolder always chasing independent thought and music and just crushing it down. I think a lot of it has to do with economic limitations of punk rock and free artistic expression. It's really difficult - you are poor and you are physically, emotionally drained. You are psychologically exhausted. Some people just turn to music to crank it out, to sell quickly and to make a ton of money. That's what they want to do. I don't want to do that. I just want to write honest music and be an honest person. I am definitely a different kind of animal that what exists now in most of punk rock, hardcore, and metal. Sadly, my mindset used to be so much more dominant than what exists today. It's a rare thing.

Are you going to tour on the solo record?

JB: Possibly, there has been talk. I have talked to a few people that want to play with me on it in a live setting, so we will see. It might happen. It really depends on how active we are with Converge at that point in time. We want to write and record an album in the next six months to a year. No real time frame, a casual goal we have set for ourselves. Nate wants to write a Doomriders record, Ben has a few projects that he is involved in, and so we all have a lot of things going on. I might have some time to get out there and share this in a live setting with people. But you never know, we will see.

Is the next Converge record coming out on Epitaph?

JB: Yes. We have two more records with our agreement with Epitaph. And at that point we will see where we are at, how we feel as a band, how we feel creatively as a band with Epitaph. I mean, they have been really great with us so far. All we ask of them is to put out our records and get them in stores. Aside from that, we are an extremely self- sufficient band. Since we ask so little from them, that relationship has only been positive and can never be negative. We are not demanding a lot from them and they are not demanding a lot from us, we just coexist to work together, to appreciate what we each bring to the table. They have been great so far.

What are your thoughts on the election and general politics?

JB: We are definitely in a very difficult place politically, culturally right now. It's definitely a difficult place to be. I know there needs to be a great deal of social change made, but when has there not been. Over twenty-five years, we have been doing or going over the same things. I am a little nervous about Ralph Nader getting involved as he said he was a few months ago. I think it's great, I support a third party candidate but I really don't think at this point any liberal thinking person needs a third choice. I fear that having a third choice right now may be a bit difficult for our society; it does a lot of damage to the liberal people who are trying to get someone in office who will make a minute change. That's my only strong opinion. He's an amazing individual and he's done an immense amount for society. I would love to see him have an actual shot at a presidency, I just don't see it happening culturally. Traveling this country, meeting a wide variety of people, seeing the economic situation in most major cities and even small towns we pass through. You know we travel the entire country, what we really have is more of an intuitive relationship with the actual grass roots people of the world - spending time at fucking truck stops, etc. Unfortunately, America seems only to be able to deal with a certain amount of liberal thought, so it's already going to be an uphill battle. I am just excited that there is going to be a change.

Hopefully there will be a change.

JB: Well, yeah. We have had one of the worst presidents of all time. I think I read this today, that George W. Bush is considered the most unpopular president in all of American history. That sort of speaks for itself.

Out of Clinton, Obama, or McCain, who are you leaning towards? (Keep in mind, this interview was done early May, way before the presumptive candidates where selected)

JB: I am a bit indecisive right now. I have done a lot of reading, and I consider myself a fairly informed voter and American citizen, but I don't see myself yet having the knowledge to make a clear decision.

McCain is in a very unique position as well with a good majority of his party not wanting him to be the candidate. There is so much internal fighting back and forth. I think it's a huge mistake that Clinton and Obama won't run on a joint ticket. I think they are doing more harm than good culturally, historically, by refusing to do that; I think they could do some amazing things together.

We travel a lot internationally. It's really interesting how many people, especially in main land Europe, are acutely aware of the American political situation. People will come to us at a show, knowing we are Americans, talk to us about why George W. Bush is president. Why did we vote for him, why does he exist? They don't understand how little control we actually have. I didn't vote for him. The majority of Americans didn't vote for him.

We were talking on the way up to the show that Justice Scelally did an interview on 60 minutes last Sunday and he was asked about the election in 2000. His response was it was years ago, get over it. The Supreme Court decided the election; I actually lost friends over that. The UN wanted to come in and investigate the election results, but they were told no. What other country has the power to do that? Any other country had an election like the one we had in 2000, we would or the UN would force the issue and we would investigate.

JB: It was an absolute disaster. The rest of the world looks at America as a giant joke, because it is. Are we a third world county? No, but we are really damn close. Whether we like it or not, we have to be intensely aware of that situation that is in front of us right now.

The divide in the country is so great. The middle class went from a large prosperous community to a small number now; there is really no middle class anymore.

JB: We are a country of consumers. That's it. What else do we have? What else are we offering?

Nothing.

JB: No

We do not make products that really get sold anywhere. We have the ability to make food to feed most of the world, but we don't. The farmers get subsidies to not grow food.

JB: We are profiteers and consumers. That is all we are. Make the biggest buck in the shortest amount of time, only to spend it again. It's like an animal eating itself. Eventually it's going to run out of skin, flesh, and only be bone and just die. That's what's happening now. With all that said, I hope that a great deal of change starts now.

I hope a great change starts now and creates something greater in the future.

You and I are aging hardcore kids, so everybody that we know that has families, children, who are taking care of their families every day, what kind of world are we leaving them? That's the age-old question. I don't fear anything in this world, but I am definitely concerned with that.

My wife and I have an 18 month old. I am scared shitless for him at times. What's going to happen in five years when he starts school or in 20 when he is graduating? How are we going to be able afford to pay for college? It's really insane to think about.

JB: The amounts of hurdles are immense. The problem solving to deal with those hurdles does not exist. Everyone is waiting on the next generation to figure those out. Yet everything seems to snowball and the problems grow in complexity and nothing ever goes away. Other things take precedence. We still have all the problems of forty years ago.

Those problems are either masked by something else or they are just not talked about, not cared about.

JB: It's incredibly sad. I think it's ironic and strange that I have seen more in an attitude change in a generation or two towards animal rights than I have human rights. Hey that's a success. People treat their dogs and cats like people now. Before they treated them like animals. It's amazing that society has taken that leap, but yet human rights are still a fucking disaster. Why is that? Is it national geographic and other media outlets adding more of a human element? Is that what is really influencing society? If that's the case, it's really sad, that in meeting a person face to face, we can't do the same thing. There are so many double standards, there are so many horrible, horrible problems socially and just talking about it I feel like I am getting lost. We could go on 2000 different tangents right now.

There are so many different problems with the country right now; there is really no clear starting point. Who ever the next president is - Obama, Clinton, or McCain - they are not going to be able to do anything of real change the first four years they are in office. They are going to be fixing all the problems that have happened the last eight years.

JB: They are going to spend the first two to three years fixing the last administrations eight years. They will hopefully have an actual plan in place that will be affective in some manner. We won't be at the exact same point. We will have more casualties, less casualties. Oil will still be what it is, out of stubbornness, greed. I don't see anyone changing that. I don't see Obama, Hillary or Nader issuing everyone bicycles, putting grocery stores every two miles so people can actually travel a small distance to feed their families. Suburban sprawl is one of the first keys to all this nonsense. Over the last thirty years, we have forced everyone to buy some sort of vehicle and we have abandoned every major urban city that is not Boston, New York, or Philadelphia. Everything else is a disaster area. It's just filled with poverty. I dare anyone to walk around Detroit and say we are not a third world country.

Shit, just walk around parts of Washington DC, Baltimore, it's just sad.

JB: Back at home, Roxbury, Dorchester.

Even here in Pittsburgh, this is a blue-collar town, and there is nothing left.

JB: The blue-collar town. It's a ghost town. When we were driving in, we were looking at what were once these amazing brick and mortar homes that have just disintegrated until there is nothing left. Everyone has just abandoned these neighborhoods because they are economically starved. Now they can't even be rehabbed. Neighborhoods have to be bulldozed or left for the world to claim them back.

I grew up in this area. There is nothing left. PA about a year ago legalized slots. It's going to be like Detroit. All the casinos are going to come into town and the two-block radius around the hotel will be nice, but everything else will be shit.

JB: It's not an economic solution. It's just a quick economic jump shot.

I grew up about forty-five minutes from here in a small steel mill town. It went from a prosperous town when the mill was doing well, to now not doing anything. It went from employing 13,00 people to 500. Now it has little cafés (slot places) that have gotten people addicted to gambling or addicted to drugs. People who own the little casino's / café's are making money, but everyone else is poor. It's going to do the same thing here in PA.

JB: It's horrible.

Ok, let's change to a lighter topic. What are you looking forward to seeing at the movies this summer?

JB: Nothing.

Really?

JB: I am unaware of movies right now. There Will Be Blood was the last movie I paid attention to. We have been traveling for almost a month. I haven't seen any press on anything.

The new Indian Jones comes out in a few weeks.

JB: I am not an Indian Jones fan. I know Nate [bass player] is a fan. I never really cared. When I was a little kid, I tried to care, and I couldn't...if they could just keep re-releasing Jaws, not remaking it, just re-releasing it...or The Shining. I am excited about the next Wes Anderson film, outside of that, there is really nothing. I am not really in that kind of place in my life anymore where I get a chance to go see films.

When you devote so much of your time to running a business the way you do, there is really no time.

JB: Here's the thing. I wake up about 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning, take my dogs for a walk, make coffee, and go to Deathwish about 9 AM. Then I am there until about 9 or 10 PM or a little later. Then I go home, make dinner, walk the dogs and pass out. My only real thing I consider a hobby is that I am a fight fan. I watch a lot of MMA (mixed martial arts) and K-1 Kick boxing. That's the only thing I do to escape the music world in some capacity.

Jess Morgan (a friend along for the evening): What do you think of the fight they are running on CBS in about two weeks?

JB: It's an interesting card. It's a sensational card. What I mean by that is that they are trying to get as much press on Kevin Ferguson and take his You Tube notoriety and internet celebrity and turn it into viewers for ad revenue. It's CBS, that is what they are going to do. The fight itself shouldn't be that competitive. He is fighting Josh Thompson, who is an actual slugger. He is about the same size as Kevin in the heavy weight division, but all he does is get knocked out. He looks like a professional wrestler, he has that sort of appeal about him. A lot of people who have never watched fights before will go "Wow, that guy is huge and scary." He has a glass jaw and gets knocked out frequently. It's a fight to build Kimball.

JM: I noticed that at the Tank Abbott fight a few months back.

JB: Tank has been a wreck for years. He hasn't won a fight against a game opponent, an actual real opponent in about eight years. There are a couple of fights on that card that are really interesting. There is a female fight on that card which is Chenna Corono fighting Kat Lyn Young. It's the first nationally broadcast Female Mixed Martial Arts fight. That will be the fight that will make some waves in America. People haven't seen females be aggressive like that. They think the female comparative is the WNBA, woman's soccer, and figure skating. That is what America thinks. So when America sees a combat sport with two very serious fighters as females. Kat Lyn young is no joke she's serious.

There is another fight on that card that is good, Scott Smith vs. Robbie Lawler. Robbie is an amazing fighter. Scott Smith is a good fighter too. People classify him as a "B" level fighter. He is an exciting fighter at times. He has a pretty impressive record and is fun to watch. Robbie Lawler is extremely fun to watch and he hits like a beast. That fight should be pretty interesting. Both of those guys are pretty well known from their UFC days. The fight world is what I follow, I enjoy it a lot more.

What kind of dogs do you own?

JB: I have a retired greyhound I rescued a number of years ago and I have a Stafford shire terrier - a big blue pit. They are both amazing dogs.

Do they get along well?

JB: Exceptionally well.

JM: I have two French bulldogs. My wife and I are taking a look at a French / Boston mix.

JB: They are great dogs, good luck with that.

JM: It's the first male we are bringing into the house.

JB: So you have two females?

JM: Yes.

JB: They will do fine. If you have two same-sex dogs doing fine, introducing a different sex should be fine. At the least, they will dominate him. My Stafford Shire is male. My greyhound runs the house. He is terrified of her. She is my dog-aggressive dog; she goes after dogs. She still has a pretty massive prey drive. It's common with retired greyhounds. He is a doughboy.

How old is the greyhound?

JB: She is twelve now. I have had her since 2000.

Who takes care of them when you are on tour?

JB: My girlfriend has them. I used to board them previously. They do well. They definitely get separation anxiety. They are used to me going by now. As soon as they see my bag come out, they get upset. They know I am leaving for an undisclosed amount of time. They do well. It's a good little family. I would like to bring another dog in at some point, another rescue of some kind. It has to be the right kind of dog. It really needs to be a dog that would work well with the existing pack. It's definitely difficult, but I am up for the challenge. I have this idea that I want to adopt this dog that has had the worst luck. Three legs, one eye, that's deaf you know that has all the life in the world still left in it. Someone who has seen it all.

Nate Newton (bass player): Hey Jamie.

What's up Nate?

NN: Oh sorry.

No man, it's ok. We are just talking.

JB: Did we cover everything?

I think we did. I think we are good. Are you all excited to go home and relax?

JB: I am excited to go home and heal a little bit. I am pretty beat up right now. We go to Europe and Russia for the first time in about 7 to 8 weeks. It should be really cool. We are going with Coliseum and Integrity. It should be a really fun tour, we are all really excited about it. I want to go home, get healthy. It's been a positive tour. It's been a good experience for the most part, aside from a couple cuts and bruises. We lost a trailer in Atlanta.

Nate was telling me about that last night. You guys just dumped it outside of Atlanta?

JB: We just dumped it. We had it for a long time. It had seen better days. On this tour the sheet metal actually ripped off in a windstorm in Idaho on one side. We duct taped it on, then Kurt put new sheet metal screws through it to hold it down. It has blown a million tires. In one of the blowouts, it actually ripped off one of our fenders. It has served us well. We bought it in 2004. We have taken it out, Doomriders has taken it out, and it has seen a lot of mileage. Sometime you just have to retire the battles.

Well Jake, thank you.

JB: No problem man, thank you.

A big thank you to Nicole over at Deathwish for helping us set everything up and thanks to Jake for his honesty and time.

www.jacobbannon.com

www.epitaph.com

www.convergecult.com

www.myspace.com/converge