"Jonah"
Interview
Jonah is a 4-piece band from Oregon who won us over with their music.
Henry Curl (Lead singer/Guitar/Keys)
Chris Hayes (Lead Guitar/Backup vocals/Keys)
Jules Holbrook (Bass guitar/Back-up vocals)
Jake Endicott (Drums)
Alternative/Rock/Indie
Date Published: 6/9/2008
Date Edited: unedited
Interviewed By: Daryl Green
NSM
Let’s begin with a little background. How did “Jonah” start?
Henry- Jonah began in 2000 after the four original members moved to Portland and began playing/releasing music under that name. Henry Curl, Chris Hayes, Jake Endicott, and Matt Rogers have been playing music together since high school. Jules Holbrook took Matt Roger’s place on bass guitar in late 2007...Jules rocks! We took the name Jonah after it was clear how ridiculous our previous name was (Dizzyfish!). Tired of being thought of as a “jam band”, we chose an ambiguous name that rolled off the tongue and had some weight.
Chris- I was 15 when I met Henry Curl for the first time. We went to high school together, and back then he was known as Matt. I had heard that he was looking for me one day at school. I was stoked because I didn't really have any friends and he was popular. He knew that I HAD guitars but he didn't know that I couldn't play them yet. He asked me to join his "band" and I figured, "Why not? He can't play the guitar either, so at least I'll probably be better than him!"
Jules- I have no idea. But Hayes probably had long hair at the time.
Jake- Henry told Chris he had to play in his band, I joined later, Jules joined after me.
NSM
How did you learn to play your instruments? Are you self-taught or did you take lessons?
Henry- I took piano lessons for 8 years but never guitar, that was all just by watching others and making up chords and riffs.
Chris- I started playing the drums when I was 12. I joined my first band with my dad and friend of his from his childhood. His friend had a son my age that played in the band as well. Since he played the drums better than me, I moved over to keyboard. (we were called "Footsteps." get it? We were following in our fathers’ footsteps.) We played one gig. A fashion show at the mall and never played again. While learning to play the keyboard (and teasing my hair up as high as it would go) I decided that I wanted to learn the bass. While on that road I formed another band...with my dad again. This time we were called "Craze" Our slogan was, "good time rock and roll." So you can guess some of the titles we played. I was getting paid $100 a night to play drums at private parties and the Elks lodges all over central Oregon. From there I joined another rock band called "The Jive Bombers." I don't even want to go into that one.
My dad took me the rest of the way learning the guitar. (He is a professional teacher of music now.)
Jules- I learned Saxophone as a kid and took lessons until the sax became very un-cool in a rock band setting. I picked up the bass about the same time Clarence Clemmons picked up a tambourine.
Jake- Self-taught
NSM
What inspired you to be musicians?
Henry- I was inspired first by classical composers, then I discovered “U2” and “REM” and “Talking Heads” and it was all over. Although I still think the classics have an influence on me, in that I tend to enjoy listening to and writing songs that are anthemic and grand, tunes that feel larger than life; pop music holds a certain magic, like it only takes one song to change your life, or one lyric...I really am attracted to that idea.
Chris- I grew up with it. I was hanging out in studios in L.A. with my dad's bands since I was a little kid. Looking back I can remember wanting to be in a band while I was still playing with toys.
Jules- REO Speedwagon.
Jake- Music on the radio and MTV.
NSM
Tell us some things about yourselves. What do you do for a living, what do you do for fun outside of music, or anything you want to share with your fans?
Henry- I love to read and write, play with my son, whitewater and ocean kayak, hike and camp. My wife and I own a bakery in Portland, so that keeps us busy. I also work for a church as a music director, so I am pretty much doing something with music in some form every day.
Chris- I'm a wine steward by day. In my spare time I watch my 6-month-old twin boys. There is no spare time actually. Going to work is closer to being off now-a- days.
Jules- I’m a graphic designer. In my free time, I like to expend all of my energy on amateurish and potentially dangerous home improvement projects.
Jake- I teach tumbling to preschoolers. It doesn’t have anything to do with music.
NSM
Henry, what is the name of your bakery?
Henry- It’s called Saint Cupcake...that’s right, all cupcakes, all the time.
NSM
To all of you, how did you get into your professions?
Henry- Well, I’ve worked for the church I’m at now for about 6 years. I got hired there because they desperately needed someone to lead music there, which included writing original music for old texts. It’s been great getting paid to write and direct music, pretty satisfying. My wife and I started our bakery about two and a half years ago when she got tired of her marketing job and wanted to do something totally different.
Jake- I moved to Portland to play music, but needed to pay rent. I ended up working with my brother teaching tumbling to preschoolers and now own the company. Who knew life would be so easy?
Chris- Well I spent 10 years as a waiter so the wine knowledge just sort of happened on its own. When I decided that I had had enough of that, (because people that go out to eat seem to be the grumpiest people in the world) becoming a wine steward made sense. I could stay with my passion for alcohol while bettering the world by helping them decide what to drink with what they ate!
NSM
Who, in the band, writes the songs/lyrics?
Henry- The normal procedure is for me to bring in a tune, sometimes its structure is fleshed out and other times it is just a sketch, then the four of us jam around on it until it starts to resemble a cohesive song. We have been known to tinker with a song for months, but usually the best ones seem to materialize immediately. I write the lyrics, but am always open to what the other boys suggest...like if something reeks in the cheese factor, I’ll catch hell and find a way to change it.
Chris- I believe that's been covered pretty good by now.
Jules- I’ve been writing all of the songs for the last 15 years.
Jake- Henry comes in with melody, chords, lyrics…yep he pretty much writes the songs and we complicate them.
NSM
Can you describe the process from writing the songs to completing the final recording?
Henry- For our last record, we did a ton of demos ourselves, working in our studio and fleshing out ideas, then sent them down to our producer in LA for his input. By the time we got down there, we had a pretty good idea which ones were going on the record, it took about a week of pre-production (just playing through the tunes over and over, fine-tuning) and we were ready to record. I’d say from start to finish, Trust Everyone took about three years from the point we started writing the songs to the finished product, and there are still probably 15-20 tracks that didn’t make it on the record.
Chris- It's different every time it seems like. Sometimes it takes weeks and weeks to get a song nailed down and other times they seem to get written while being recorded. That's pretty cool actually. I feel like we've tried it every which way possible and have still never settled on a "perfect" way of doing it.
Jules- I’m new to this, but so far it seems like Curl brings in a song, then there is magic, beer, more magic and... I haven’t recorded with Jonah yet, but I’ll let you know how it goes. Probably magic.
Jake- Henry comes in with a melody, chords, lyrics, we complicate them and then we have an outsider record them and complicate them even further.
NSM
How did the audience react the first time you did a show as “Jonah?”
Henry- They passed out with excitement. No, they were probably even more happy than we were that we had killed the name that had haunted us for so long...although some were pissed off that we changed it, you know, the true die-hard fans. It was a couple months before the death threats subsided. Actually it was a great time, committing to a new name and feeling like anything was possible; a fresh start.
Chris- I don't remember really. Probably a little like, "It's about F...ing time!"
Jules- I remember the first time I was an audience member at a Jonah show. Actually, I don’t because I have been to a lot of “Jonah” shows. I always reacted favorably.
Jake- They really wanted to know if our name in any way referred to the whale story.
NSM
What do you guys do to kill time while you’re on the road?
Henry- I like to climb walls in my special spider-man shoes. And I also like to get my hair cut in strange and wonderful patterns as the drummer Jake pointed out. I guess we do what most bands do, try and kill time until the next show. This could involve getting lost in the ghetto on our way to the club or finding a cozy bar in the ghetto.
Chris- Drive around and try not to hit things. Drive around and try not to get lost. Run up our phone bills talking to our wives. Oh who am I kidding? We find a bar and that's it. Anyone in this band that tells you different is LYING!
Jules- Road?
Jake- The occasional cocktail is consumed.
NSM
Speaking of your wives, what are their views on your music and being musicians?
Henry- My wife couldn’t be more supportive. I couldn’t even begin to tally the number of times she has bent over backwards in order for me to do everything I needed to do with this band. Also, she is a huge fan of good music, so her opinion is hugely important to me whether it be on a song or a new band or virtually anything musical.
Jake- My wife loves Jonah, its members and songs. She's very supportive and knows that I need to create and play music in order be a happy member of the human race.
Chris- My wife has bent over backwards a thousand times over so that I could play music with these guys. And has never complained about it once in the 10 years we've been together. She knew what she was getting into when we met and has been nothing but supportive. She knew that we may not make a lot of money while we were trying to make Jonah successful, but she knew that it was about a long-term goal. Not having a nice house or a nice car right now. She's stood by my side when I tried to quit, and was the first one encouraging me to stay in the band when I reconsidered. I could have never done the things I've done in “Jonah” without her support.
NSM
What are some of your most memorable moments as a band…whether touring, studio, etc.?
Henry- Probably my favorite moment (although it is only fun to think about now) would have to be when the trailer door came open as we were doing 50 down Sunset Blvd. on our way to the studio for our first day of recording in LA. All of our gear, including around $15,000 worth of guitars and vintage drums were in that trailer. Nothing fell out, but it took a friendly truck driver and his big horn to alert us to the problem. We had been driving for about two miles that way.
Another fun story would be the time we were shooting a video for a song and the VW bus we were riding in had a blowout doing around 60mph on the freeway (more like 55, a VW bus doesn’t go 60). Made for some interesting footage. Basically if you see “Jonah” coming in a moving vehicle, get off the road.
Chris- The showcase we did at the Knitting Factory in L.A. in 2003. There was a representative from every label in town. It was the most nerve-racking thing I've ever done. I remember thinking, "This is it! We are going to have a record deal after today. My dream of the last 13 years is about to come true!" Well THAT certainly didn't happen. All we got that day was some crappy Chinese food.
Jules- I’ve only played a few shows so far, but I’ve known these guys for a long time so we’re having a lot of fun.
Jake- When Henry and Chris decided they needed to get hair cuts from a “Super Cuts” in LA while we were on a break from recording the last album.
NSM
While I write interviews I listen to the bands’/musician’s music. Every now and then one of their songs makes me stop everything I’m doing and just listen. It was your song “Joy of Drowning” that made me do this. What inspired the writing for this song?
Henry- Well, the general idea came from my time ocean kayak surfing off the Oregon coast. It was one of those really amazing days where the sun was shining and the waves were perfect. I just remember sitting out there thinking, man, I could die right now and I think I’d leave pretty happy. What’s funny is that my number one fear of going out would have to be drowning, and yet I am drawn to anything with water and being on it or in it, it’s where I feel most alive. Some of the words came to me sitting out in my boat, then the melody came at home almost as soon as I sat down with my guitar. That song wasn’t even in the running for the record until we got to LA and I played my little recording of it I had made at home. The guys liked it and our producer (Marshall Altman) really gave it a ton of power.
Chris- That's been covered pretty well. I will add though that that is a perfect example of one of those songs that wrote itself. I think we ran in twice in pre-production and that's the version that is on the record. We love those.
Jules- Ask Curl. It’s one of my favorites too.
Jake- Henry wrote the melody, lyrics, chords…he spends way too much time in the bathtub?
NSM
Describe your ideal music video for “Joy of Drowning.”
Henry- All four of us in a house that is filling up with water. We all have to climb up the chimney to escape. Once on top of the roof we construct a sail out of shirts and blankets and sail away into the storm. That video won’t cost anything to make!
Chris- I agree with Curl on this one.
Jules- Sunset Blvd – Night. A limo, champagne, scantily clad dancers, I got my gold fronts in.
Seriously though, it’s a beautiful song, so there are a lot of great ways you could go with it. Let’s have a fan submitted video contest.
Jake- One without me getting anywhere near water.
NSM
Out of the songs you have recorded, which is your favorite?
Henry- Probably "The Joy of Drowning." It was so last minute and recorded basically at its birth, so it feels a bit like we caught lightning in a bottle on that one, in that it sounds fresh and organic...we didn’t have time to screw it up!
Jake- A new favorite is one no one has heard yet, "No One Left to Blame". Off of Save the Swimmer it would be, "Newborn". Off of the EP it would be, "Tremor
#7". Off of Trust Everyone...it would be, "Intermission is Over".
Chris- I think it changes. “Anonymous” used to be my favorite. Right now I think it's "Intermission is Over." There is one that was never released called "Caribbean Princess." That has always brought a tear of joy to my eyes.
NSM
Where do you see “Jonah” in 5 years?
Henry- Sailing out to sea on a house.
Chris- It's really hard for me to look that far in advance. I don't think “Jonah” will ever have the commercial success we hoped for. Now all I hope is that we are still making music together in some form. I've been playing music with this band longer than I haven't at this point in my life. Five years in this band is nothing. I'd like to think that our best material is still in front of us. Hopefully it takes a lot longer than five years before we see it.
Jules- On top.
Jake- In a van down by the river!
NSM
Is there anything you would like to say to the fans reading this interview?
Henry- Thanks for caring enough about our music to keep supporting us over the years. It all boils down to the fans, they are the only ones that matter in the end, so thank you!
Chris- Thanks for listening.
Jules- Thanks for being fans. If you promise to continue coming to our shows, we promise to continue serving up heaping earfuls of delicious rock flavor.
Jake- I’m sorry, so very sorry!! No, really thanks for even caring enough to read this.
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