By Kreig Marks, August 2022

 

KM:  The music profession can be brutal.  What keeps you motivated every day to keep writing, recording and performing?   

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JJ:  The music profession can be brutal, you’re absolutely right. It’s changed drastically over the years with social media, etc. What keeps me motivated every day to keep writing, recording and performing is the recording process. Don’t get me wrong, I love to perform live, but there’s something about not letting music “in the moment” just pass by without laying it down on a trac.

 

KM:  I’ve interviewed a lot of bands and whenever I’ve asked this question I get some strange looks, some strange comments or some sarcasm.  But, I’m going to ask you the question.  What would make you give up music?  If you had to give it up, what would the reason be, other than a physical issue that wouldn’t allow you to keep recording or performing?

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JJ:  That’s a very interesting question indeed. Candidly, I’ve come close many times. Music can a bitch sometimes when you have the itch to play but nothing comes out. But then there’s that one riff that comes out of nowhere and your like, “What the fuck was that”!? Next thing you know a song is done with little work.  I can put my Instruments down for months but they never stay down.

 

KM:  OK.  So, if you had to give up the music, what would you do to support yourself or your family?  What’s the backup plan?

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JJ:  Well, I’ve been in the trades most of my life so I would have a stable fallback if that were to happen.

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KM:  How old were you when you realized you wanted to be on stage?

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JJ:  I Believe it was around 8 years old I knew I wanted to be on stage.

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KM:  How did you know at such a young age you wanted to be on stage?  How old were you when you first had the opportunity to actually do it?  

 

JJ:  Singing has always been my go- to but it's funny, I watched Star Search with my grandparents when I was very young, and I always wanted to be on stage to perform in front of lots of people.  I got my first drum set at the age of 9 and just practiced all the time until I could keep a bea,t and found some middle school friends, and I finally got to perform in front of our peers on stage at a school talent show.  

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KM:  Do you still play the drums?

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JJ:  I don't get to play drums that much anymore.  But when I see a kit just sitting there, I might hop on the throne and dabble a bit. 

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KM:  From your family, who’s the biggest supporter of your career choice? 

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JJ:  I’d say my mom was always my biggest supporter over the years. If it wasn’t for her I would’ve never acquired my first drum set at the age of 9.

 

KM:  Who’s your biggest critic besides yourself?

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JJ:  My biggest Critic would have to be my teenage son.  He is just a jokester.  We mess with each other all the time.  If he hears something in my music that's off, he'll tell me.  Always coming from a good place, though.  But the truth is we can all be critics of something.

 

KM:  Take us back to the most memorable performance you’ve been involved with so far.  It can be a great memory or a bad one.  Let’s hear it.

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JJ:  So far, the most memorable performance was when we played with Saving Abel in Western Massachusetts. I guess it was most memorable because it was just before the pandemic and the music scene was thriving.

 

KM:  Tell me a bit about Odds of Eden.  How did you all get together?

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JJ:  Odds Of Eden started a bit before I entered the band. I replaced the previous singer, and since then we’ve released lots of great songs over the years.  Thom founded the band over 12 years ago and has always stayed strong and true to his style of writing.  It’s really been a collaboration of great musicians and that’s what holds it together.

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KM:  The new song, "Cultured Chaos," is very cool.  Very nice vocals and musicianship.  Who gets credit for this one?

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JJ:  "Cultured Chaos" was a collaboration that started with Thom’s intro riff and it just took off!  It was one of those “in the moment” riffs. We all work together to arrange the different riffs and changes to make it what it is today.

 

KM:  Do you feel you guys are close to taking a big step forward as a band?

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JJ:   We’re always looking forward as a band. You can’t take baby steps for the rest of your life. Sometimes you have to go big or go home.

 

KM:  What’s on the calendar through the rest of the year?

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JJ:  Well we just put out the Ep cultured chaos, we’ll be announcing shows soon to come.