Jonah The Runner Interview

Jonah The Runner: Band Interview

05/27/2017 @ Walter's Downtown - Houston, Texas

Welcome to the written version of my interview with local Houston band, Jonah The Runner. I met up with these guys before their set this past Saturday at Walter's downtown in Houston, TX. And if you have read any of my past blogs you will see that Walter's is one of my favorite concert venues in the Houston area. My first impressions of these guys before the interview started was incredibly positive. Dennis, one of their guitarists/vocalists was the first one to meet with me and right off the bat he was super positive and ready for the night and the interview. Then the rest of the band came in and it was time for the interview. So check out the correspondence from the interview below and check out the video linked in below with their socials.

The Interview: Rundown

The question and answer list:

Names, Ages, and Instruments:

• Daniel Wilson - 25, Lead Vocals/Guitar
• Collin Riggs - 23, Bass
• Ean Tillett - 20, Guitar/Vocals
• Christopher Thompson - 28, Drums/Loops

How/When did you guys meet/start playing together?
Daniel "I started writing my own music. I've been in bands in the past and I wanted to do something for myself, and I called up Ean; we met through mutual friends." Ean "Mutual bands as well" Daniel "Yeah, mutual bands actually. So we got together and started writing our stuff, and then Chris hopped on, and then Collin hopped on later. So yeah, that's how we met." Ean "We have this baby now. Our collective band-child."

What does JTR mean?
Daniel  "well, uh. We knew you were gonna ask this. We were like 'Dude if he asks about the name...' like. Basically, we, just did what most bands do, and we were like 'That one sounds cool'. That's how we basically picked it. I mean that's the short story of it." Ean "There's a lot that goes behind that. We find out stuff about the name every day. People will come up to us and are like, 'Hey. I know why you guys are called JTR' so" Daniel  "My friend texted me that she thought our name was from the show 'Dexter' and I've never seen that show." Ean "And apparently in 'The Giver' there is also something about that name too.

Who/What are some of your biggest influences?
Collin "Thrice..." Daniel "Definitely Thrice." Ean "Definitely Thrice, and Brand New" Chris "Justin Beiber..." Ean "Alicia Keys" Daniel  "Thrice is definitely a big one for me, Collin, and Ean. And Chris. Ean and I, we listen to a lot of Brand New, some Taking Back Sunday." Ean "Reliant K for me as well" Daniel  "We're kinda like mutts when it comes to influences, so. It's like, we pick different bands that we like. You know, if they have a really good tone, you know, we'll try to mimic that, through the recording process. If we like the way something sounds, like rock or indie, or whatever, we'll try to pick it out and mimic that or something like that. So it's kinda like our own genre, I guess. I don;t know we've always had trouble putting a definition on the label. (looks at Collin) What would you say?" Collin "I guess, it's kinda like 'sad-boy' rock *laughs with Dennis* . It's just kind of a nice sort of Indie-Alternative. It's not, like, you know, any sort of radio rock. But we write a lot of catchy hooks, and grooves. We try to keep everything moving along, nothing should feel like its hard to bob your head to. That's one of the big things is keeping things moving, keeping people into the music." Ean and Chris "Agreed, yep"Daniel   "(pointing at Collin) He's good a defining genre's and stuff. He knows a lot of bands, and a lot of music. So I go to him when I have questions like that."

Where do you see JTR in 5 years?
Ean "On our second reunion tour..." Everyone starts laughing. Me commenting "You're like 'Its been a year, we've had enough, we've broke it of now it's time to get back together. Again" Daniel  "Yeah, that's how we found we're gonna make the most money, is if we break up and go on a reunion tour." Collin "I see two out of four of us on 'Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab'. Not me..." Ean "Not me either so..." Daniel  "Five years. I mean, we haven't.... we don't really talk about that much. I hop we have a couple of records out. You know, maybe a full length, definitely a full length. Just, I guess, playing shows. Maybe have done a couple of tours. If we could all get behind that. I thin we can..." Ean "I could definitely get behind that..." Daniel  "We're kind of just going with the flow right now. When we get there, we get there. Right now we just like playing music."

Are you currently working on any new music? If so, can you tell us about it?

Daniel  "Yeah! We have our, shameless plug... we have our EP out right now and that has five tracks on it. That's kinda like our go to when we tell people to check us out. Because that's all we have out  right now. But we have, like, four or five songs written down that are not on our EP and we are trying to get those recorded this year. We're still looking into that; we don't have specifics on who we're going to record with. But yeah, we're gonna play a couple of new ones tonight."

Any last words?
Ean "Bring your dogs to our shows" Chris "We got a dog sitter here." Ean "I will watch your dogs." Daniel  "He will pet your dog (a lot), he will love it (a lot)." Chris "You might not get your dog back" Daniel  "I guess, just keep going to shows. I guess pour biggest thing is, you know, no mater what band your listening to, whether they're a local band, or whatever, just try to branch out and appreciate music more. We're just doing what we love. Making the music that comes out, that's what we write. And, just open your mind and listen to lots of music, and keep up the support"

Final Impressions:

My final impressions of this band are still highly positive. The guys were completely genuine and honest in their answers and commentary. Their set was amazing and they put out a great deal of energy. Their music was solid and the crowd was in to their show. By the end they had a couple of people of people screaming for an encore. Something I don't think they were totally prepared for. So if you enjoyed this interview please check out the video of it linked below. Also check out the bands social media sites that are listed below. Also while you are on my YouTube channel please subscribe and hit the bell so you know when I upload a new video. Also check out my tour announcement video and the challenge I have to get that video, and my channel to 100 like/subscribers by August 1st. If I get the 100 like I will do the first challenge/dare that is commented, and if I get to 100 subs I will do the first 2.

The Social Butterfly Stuff:

Jonah The Runner:

Facebook: @Jonahtherunner
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4MhLrj2NnzW0af0eywBXno
Twitter: @JTR_TX
Interview Video: https://youtu.be/7255oqbMRJU

Me:

Facebook: Christopher McArdle Poetry
Music Blog: cmpmusicblog.blogspot.com 
Twitter: @CMcArdle49
Instagram: c.mcardlepoetry
Tumblr: www.tumblr.com/blog/c-mcardle-poetry
Patreon: www.patreon.com/cmcardlepoetry 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0GW1RvN2ug8DpXDEz59ewz