The first time I heard Jettared was during an episode of Roswell. The song was playing on the radio in the background, but something about it intrigued me enough to find out just who it was that sang it. I discovered that the song was titled "A Conversation With The Past (Unsaid)."
Jettared lasted several years, releasing a total of three albums. Songs from theirrelease Nowhere EP were later included on Lovehatelifedreamswork in addition to three new songs. The Forever Collection was their final release in 2005. Vocalist Chris Konkle isn't afraid to let loose. Melodic verses are marred with emotion and screams of dignity. There's a brutal honesty in his voice. And the evolution from earlier songs to their last release shows. Incorporated into Jettared's later work, Konkle's screams become low growls, more defined, as heard on "Closer." The only band I can find that might describe what Jettared strived for is the more recent Deftones, though that's a stretch. Some flairs in their songs could be construed as Deftones influence,
With a metal edge, overdriven guitars power riffs to propel the music. The drums are solid, defying the standards for 4/4 time signatures, popping snares where appropriate. But don't be confused; Jettared isn't overly upbeat.
Why haven't you heard about them? It's probably because they were mostly known locally in Michigan before disbanding in May of 2006. I was lucky enough to find some downloads online from some really obscure websites to listen to their albums, seeing as they are currently out of print. (Believe me, Jettared's so good, I searched high and low to try to find a physical copy.)
My personal favorites include the inspirational "A Conversation With The Past (Unsaid)," "May," and "Empty Apology." Though, those are just the ones that pick my brain at the moment. Both of their major releases are well worth your time. And since they no longer exist and there's virtually no other way to obtain their songs, I will provide links to one of their albums. (Sneaky, I know. But let's face it, if a band dies, their music should live on.) If you like it, send me an email at Seether.Freak@yahoo.com, and I'll upload the second one.
Hurt began as a creation of vocalist J. Loren Wince in 2000. After self-releasing two albums, Hurt was picked up by Capitol Records, releasing Vol. 1 and Volume II before being dropped by the label for "strictly financial reasons." One of the most recognized of Hurt's repertoire, "Ten Ton Brick," was actually intended for another album, but was forced to be included on the tracklisting by pressure from the label. After being manipulated by record labels, replacing every single member of the band except Loren himself, Hurt continues to thrive on. Self-producing Goodbye To The Machine in 2009, their sound changed slightly, giving every one of their records an identity. Their latest work is due for release on March 27, titled The Crux. This highly anticipated album has already garnered great reviews on its first single "How We End Up Alone" with one critic raving, "This is undoubtedly the most underrated band in rock today. Do not miss The Crux... and if they come anywhere near your town, drive over your own grandma for tickets if you have to!"
The band that sets to defy industry standards today might be taking a backseat to more trendy pop-oriented music, but their loyal fan base keeps pushing. In a symbiotic relationship, the band relies on the fans just as much as the fans depend on their music. And the band never forgets it. I was lucky enough to have the pleasure of interviewing Hurt's newest addition, Victor Ribas.
Hey, Victor, I appreciate you taking the time for doing the interview. You're Hurt's new drummer on the forthcoming release "The Crux." Most of the guys are from the eastern U.S. but you're from Seattle. How did you land the gig to play with the band?
First, you're welcome. It's my pleasure to chat. Hmmmm. Joining HURT. That seems so long ago. I believe I was in San Diego for a few days attending a Buddhist Convention when I got a call from an old guitar player friend of mine back in Saint Louis. He asked me if I'd ever heard of the band HURT. At the time, I had only heard of the band's radio songs like "Rapture," "Ten Ton Brick," and "Falls Apart." So, my buddy mentioned meeting Michael at a show and caught wind that the band was quietly seeking a new drummer. Michael got my number and he called me a few days later. The band flew me to Sickhouse Studios in Saint Louis for the audition. They had me learn a whole list of songs from all of the records, which proved to be much more challenging than I had originally expected. But honestly the story that sticks out from the audition the most is what happened in between playing HURT songs. For the audition, I was playing on someone else's drum kit and was just messing around to get comfortable. I started playing one of my favorite drum grooves ever, the breakdown from Tool's "Eulogy" ("You claimed all this time that you would die for me.....") I've always been a huge fan of Danny Carey from Tool, and that groove is just really fun to play. I stopped and it was obvious the guys knew what I was playing. Michael flipped out, Rek had this grin on his face, and J. said something straight forward like, "Man that's pretty good." I could tell that it had made an impression. After the audition we all stepped outside and sat down for a chat. They asked me questions that you'd expect; "Where did you come from?, Do you have any serious commitments that would prevent you from touring? Do you have any serious financial debts?" Stuff like that. After about 20 minutes of railing me, the guys said another drummer would be showing up at any minute for another audition. As I walked out the front door, another guy was walking in. That was a little awkward. The next day I got a call from all the guys on speakerphone telling me to get my ass to Saint Louis. Five days after that I played my first show with HURT in Saint Louis at a festival called Pointfest in front of around 15,000 people.
What is your favorite part of playing with Hurt so far?
It would have to be that we all challenge each other to better ourselves as musicians and artists. All of us have very high expectations for each other because we all realize just how talented we all are. I am EXTREMELY lucky to be playing with some of the most amazing musicians I've ever met. I could tell during my first rehearsal with the band that they would challenge me no matter how good or bad I was. On top of that I enjoy the brotherhood that we've become. All of us are in this for the same reasons, aiming for the same goal. Not one of us is unappreciative of the other and that lays a foundation of respect that fosters great musicianship. Also, since joining the band I've learned a great deal about the business side of things from our manager, Tom. I'm grateful for that.
Going from Vol. 1 & II to Goodbye To The Machine, there were two different drummers. You replaced Louie Sciancalepore in 2010 and had a hand in the writing of The Crux. How does your style of playing complement Hurt's compositions on this next album?
Really tough question to answer. When joining an already established band with an already established sound, it's important to find your role in the family because that role has probably already been defined by the previous drummers. Honestly, from the first rehearsals and first tour, I could tell that above all other things, the band needed a drummer who was open minded enough to try their ideas. My style of playing is one of open mindedness and collaboration. Two heads are better than one, three better than two, etc.... I think a lot of drummers get so caught up in the rhythms in their head that they forget that a song usually starts out as some words and a guitar riff. It's important not to get in the way of that. I wanted to see how the band would react to having a kind of freedom where they can come up with beats for the songs they had written. When working on THE CRUX, the guys would show me a song and, like always, a million ideas would come into my head. But I wanted to let them experiment with rhythms in their own heads before I laid down any foundation. It was all very collaborative. Also, the band really emphasized the fact that they were going big with this album. J. wanted this to be the best HURT record released to date, so I knew the drum sounds had to be huge but also diverse in sounds and dynamics. I definitely believe we achieved that goal.
When you were younger you had a rare hip disease that almost prevented you from being able to play the drums. When everything was said and done, how did that affect your ability to play and the life you had as a child? I assume growing up with that condition must have been difficult and probably changed the way you looked at life.
It didnt just almost prevent me from playing drums. At the age of 7 or so they almost had to amputate my leg. As a result of the illness, when i was a child I had a few years that were somewhat difficult. Not being able to do physically active things. But I believe that knowing I could have lost my leg gave me a very strong appreciation for life and what I do now. Although, I think I may have still ended up a musician regardless. Who knows?
What kindled your interest in playing music?
When I was five years old my mom forced me into piano lessons. I pretty much instantly fell in love with music. I can confidently say that I would not be the person I am today had I not become a musician. For me, drums have become a method of expressing myself when I feel as though I cannot. I think the rest of the band sees music in the same way and thats why we work so well as an ensemble. You can hear in J.'s voice he's singing something real, EVERY SINGLE TIME. I like to believe he does that because sometimes just saying the words doesn't communicate the point enough. I can relate to that.
Your boss gave you a week off to record the drum tracks. How easy is it to hold a job and pursue your passion?
Great question. I wouldn't know. I don't have a day job.
You will be continuing the acoustic tour until the end of February due to popular demand by fans. When stripping down the performance, what changes stylistically?
Very little changes stylistically. We could tell early on that most of the songs lended themselves to an acoustic setting naturally. However, what does change is the voicing of the instruments. We have a cello player on tour with us, J. plays guitar, banjo, and violin, and Rek has a few basses. I play a lot of odd ended things in the acoustic show: hand drums, chimes, singing bowls, tambourine, latin blocks, etc... And I also play my kit with a wide range of mallets, brushes, multi sticks, and drum sticks. From the beggining of rehearsals it was very challenging to hear how the drum parts would mold with acoustic instrumentation. But as time went on, the show grew and became something really intimate and magical. By the end of December, I felt very comfortable with the reconstructed drum parts. We also removed any sense of smoke and mirrors from the show. No big lights or smoke machines. Just four guys playing our hearts out in front of our fans. I can honestly say that some of my favorite shows I've ever performed have been from the acoustic tour.
Do you have any crazy stories from touring this last year?
Do you mean other than J. almost getting arrested, nearly dying on the highway, going three days without sleep, J. throwing his guitar on stage during a show, the power going out at another, playing backstage for fans, losing my phone, waking up in strange places.....next to strange people, and almost getting mugged next to the mexican border? Yes.................... No comment.
Alright man, thanks a lot for your time. Any last words you want to say to your fans?
Of course. To the fans I would like to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, for doing what you do for this band. It allows us to do what we do and that's such an amazing thing. You are our family and friends. Also, be ready. We have HUGE things planned for 2012.
Freak's Artist of the Week is featured exclusively by seether-online.com
The first artist to be featured is a well-deserving band from Baytown, TX. Their sound is so unique, I won't even try to classify them. SATURATE has been working hard to promote their name since their conception in 2005. Their last album, The Point Of No Return is a culmination of various influences that make their music what it is. Most importantly, they stress that the music should speak for itself.
The Point Of No Return yielded a strong arsenal of songs that further expands on Saturate's first record, Soul Element. They are currently working hard on their next release, with the lead single "In Our Own Way" being a strong start. I interviewed vocalist Jimmy Miller about what approach to music he and his fellow bandmates take when writing material.
Your songs are so different from what I'm used to hearing. What inspires you to write music with such a distinct sound that can be identified as Saturate?
We never set out to write anything other than what we felt inside of us. Each member of Saturate had been involved in a music scene for many years and had been through the trials and tribulations of being a young musician before ever having joined this band. Moving beyond that identity of youth and inexperience was the basic goal we set for ourselves and for our music upon Saturate's formation. We wanted to play the music we would be proud of for the years to come without current industry styles or trends getting in the way of what we felt was inside of us, and we felt that what we had to say and the music we had to write was worth it. As for our sound I think that our albums paint a vivid picture of the fact that what we 'feel' is what we put down... i.e. you can't sit listen to one track and fully grasp what we are about, each track reaches in its own direction and paints its own picture. The strange part about that though is where this question started about the "Saturate sound"....if you're listening to one of our tracks whether it's hard, soft, acoustic, rhythmic, reggae or whatever, you know instantly that it's Saturate. The reason behind that though is beyond me for sure, but the best reason I could probably give you is that we (the four of us) have always had a connection and been kindred spirits long before we ever met and will long after we've gone....that sound will always be ours and ours alone, whether it can be defined or not.
You recently parted ways with your keyboardist; how has this changed the way that the band writes now that you are a four-piece?
To be honest it didn't change a thing about the way we write. We started Saturate long before there was an official keyboard/synth player and while it was good and right for its time, that time has now passed and we're focused on the same goals and passion that have always driven the core of this band, the music.
My favorite track from your last release was "Hollow Eyes." The lyrics are captivating, and the song itself is powerful. It's one that you rarely play live, but I've seen a video where Jimmy introduces it saying, "If you know somebody who does too many pills... I just want you to know this song is about losing somebody." What is the message behind it?
Actually that song (along with every song we've put down on record) has been played countless (hundreds) of times live...the reason our songs seem to get lost in the live show is the amount of shows we play for one, the way we decide our setlists (based on crowd reaction on the fly), and also the fact that we debut our songs in their infantile stages. By the time we get the songs perfected, laid down in the studio, mixed, & then mastered, we are already focused on newer music that will be on the next album. I remember the quote you are talking about in introducing Hollow Eyes and that was more of a broken thought that I bit my tongue on. I started to say something and halfway through I decided to keep it inside and change my words, however I will say that in referring to 'losing someone' I was more speaking to the idea of losing someone as you knew them, or losing the idea of someone and the way they existed in your mind (their own changes that didn't mirror your expectations of them as a person or loved one). Some people just let you down, ya know. That embodies what Hollow Eyes is really about... about coming to terms with what a relationship has transformed into and what that other person has done to themselves (and I don't necessarily mean relationship in the traditional sense, any kind of human interaction is what I refer to in all of our songs).
Can you elaborate on the music video for "Keep Digging?" The lyrics alone have so much meaning behind them, and the video only amplifies that. It's not the typical verse-chorus-verse that everyone hears so often, and it seems to me more like a narrative with a story.
While all of our songs have many many different ways of looking at them and different stories hidden in the overall theme, Keep Digging is at its core a story. A story from the outside in of a boy digging his hole, much as the old saying about digging your own grave. The difference here is that he (the boy) knows it, he craves it, he wants it, and he wants to dig a grave/hole so deep that he breaks through to the other side of whatever ground he is on. The old man (narrator) standing on the edge of the hole is in fact his older, calmer self, who has long since forgotten why he would have ever put so much passion into what seems such a meaningless and self-destructive path, but the boy knows better, he feels it and so he acts upon that feeling digging deeper still with every bit of shouting that his passionless future screams at him. It's means many things really but in this instance it's about never giving up, never giving in, and never listening to words of doubt no matter what dirt they dig up on you...ask me on a different day and I may decide to let you in on a different aspect if what it all means to me but today that's where it is at.
The new single "In Our Own Way" was just released and I'm really digging it! I understand that you're currently in the studio working on your third major album. What can we expect from the next release?
Everyone can expect what they have always expected from Saturate....the unexpected. When it's time, you'll see what I mean. Expect it in mid-2012.
I also heard that your previous albums were produced solely by yourselves. What is that like?
It's the only way we would have it. I really can't say any more than that. If you let someone write your songs for you then you've lost your soul. Not to say that outside influence and assistance isn't necessary, but when someone comes along that shares our vision of art, music , and lyric for that moment, we instantly know it, and at that point both they and we know what the limits of suggestion are and aren't.
Your tour with Future Leaders of the World was cut short last year around this time due to lack of funding. With the advent of your next album coming out, are there any places you'd like to visit or bands you'd like to tour with?
We've always had a short list of bands we would like to tour with (some reasonable, some not-so-much lol). But that tour with F.L.O.T.W. was actually a tour with Flaw (one of many), who happen to be close friends of ours in the industry. Flaw is a band we will tour the country and/or the world with ANY day ANY time, because we understand each other, we know each other, and we love & respect each other on a level that many bands out there have forgotten about in this industry. There are others we think we would really gel with and would benefit us in huge ways but name-dropping is something we've come to not be so fond of, AND you never know who people really are until you peel away the stage and spend some time with them on a personal level. I think our fans know who we would do well with and we'll just hope for the best for the future. I will add that as a band we would like to get overseas to hit europe pretty badly at some point.
I feel like mainstream radio doesn't give you the credit you deserve. Is there anything the fans can do to help get you plays on the air or promote your music?
It's less about cramming us down their throats and more about letting the music speak for itself. Radio has been good to us but not as good as its been to the cookiecutter bands over-saturating the market these days (forgive the pun lol). Internet radio is a great start, BUT if people don't start really supporting FM ROCK RADIO and letting the bigwigs at these stations know what you really want, then it WILL die on us, and it will be sooner than later. I hope this doesn't happen in all honesty...I still love the radio, especially rock radio and it makes me sad to see it dying out. If anyone wants to really help though just do the simple act of playing our music whenever and wherever you can, and sharing us with those that you know will dig it.
Freak's Artist of the Week is featured exclusively by seether-online.com
