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10 Questions with ... Jason Hall
May 9, 2006
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NAME:Jason HallTITLE:Radio & RetailCOMPANY:Fat Wreck ChordsBORN:02-26-74RAISED:Paradise, CA (I promise, it's a real town.)
LAST NON-INDUSTRY JOB:
I worked at a bank as a teller. I worked at the Smokey Mountain Steak House before that.
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
DJ and Traffic Director for KCSC/Chico for four years. Street promotions for Live 105. I've worked at Fat for 9 years now.
FIRST RECORD EVER PURCHASED:
Crap, I don't remember. It was probably a Weird Al cassette or something.
FIRST CONCERT:
I think I went to see Mickey Gilley at some state fair with my cowboy cousins. I think the first big one I ever went to by myself was Guns N' Roses in Sacramento.
FAVORITE BAND OF ALL-TIME:
I like too many bands but here are some of my favorites new and old: Jawbreaker, Johnny Cash, The Bronx, Bright Eyes, Belle & Sebastian, the Clash, Direct Control, Mastodon, Misfits, Morrissey/Smiths, Progagandhi, Ramones, Social Distortion, and Willie Nelson. People that only like one band the best are weird and they aren't looking hard enough.
1. What got you interested in the record business?
I think I have always been interested in music and I liked a lot of super crappy music growing up until I hit college radio and started to figure things out a bit. I think that was when I discovered you could actually have a job doing something you liked and you actually got money, which was a bonus.
2. Who are your mentors?
I think I am not like most people who had some person that was a guiding light but I have met people that I have liked and respected in the music industry and I think I could actually be friends with them outside of being obligated to talk about music. You know you find a solid person when you can speak to them about other things than music. A few people I generally like and or respect are Moose from CMJ, Aaron at Live 105, Tim & Justin AT AAM, Pat at the Syndicate, Sue at Sub Pop, Robert and Matt at Cornerstone, Amy at Roadrunner, Tim at Jade Tree, Doug and Steve at Pirate, Nicole at Deathwish, and a ton of others. I guess I am more interested in meeting kind people than meeting people that I can shake down for our label's advancement.
3. What do you like best about your job?
I think I just like hearing new music all the time. I am constantly finding new bands, podcasts, genres of music that I am interested in and then telling other people about what I find. I have been locked in this genre of punk and rock for so long that I am starting to get into other things the same way I got into those genres. Right now I am listening to classical music and I have been trying to find good, positive indie hip hop bands. I guess I like that feeling you get in your gut when you know a band is ruling and my job lets me get paid to have that feeling, sometimes (laughing).
4. What is the toughest part of your job?
I guess the toughest part of my job is feeling like I am failing constantly because a great deal of my job is having people not respond to you at all and sometimes tell you no. I can deal with a "no." I know that all of our bands aren't home runs and that they aren't right for some stations but when someone can't be honest with me, I hate that. I get sick of the dishonesty in the music industry where you can't tell a station or a band what you really think when it might be in their best interest for them to know. Right now what is really frustrating is seeing all these bands that have left us for the majors (Anti-Flag, Rise Against, and now Against Me!) get commercial airplay. I don't mind that they got signed but the music hasn't changed one bit but for some magical reason (I know the reason) they get added at tons of commercial stations. The new Anti-Flag got added at something like 20 commercial stations and I know we had a better single. It is easier to get one of our bands on national television than on commercial radio and that's a fact. This isn't always the case but it bugs me. ok, I'll stop now.
5. Which artist on your label do you think has the best chance to have the biggest impact at Commercial Alternative radio in 2006 and why?
The one band that we have (had, they signed to SIRE) that actually has the steam, drive, commitment, etc. to actually "make it" would be Against Me! People trip out when they play live like I have never seen and I've seen a LOT of bands. We have bands that could really go for it and get a LOT of commercial airplay like Me First And The Gimme Gimmes and NOFX but these bands do so well on their own and they aren't young and new so they aren't flagship bands that commercial radio can build on for years to come. The new Gimmes record (it's Country this time) is coming out in Fall and they always do really well at radio but people are sometimes reluctant to add them because they feel they are a novelty act. And NOFX, they are the REAL, ACTUAL headliner of the Warped Tour and have been together 20 years and have sold 6 million records but I can't even get people to respond to me about them sometimes. Although to radio's defense the band has had a somewhat tumultuous, vocal relationship with commercial radio. We do have this new band called Dead To Me and they have this song called "Special Professional" that has the juice. You will crap in your pants sideways when you hear it. Yikes.
6. Give us the thumbnail history of Fat Wreck Chords?
My boss Fat Mike and his wife Erin started the label out of their house in San Francisco in 1990. Mike is also the lead singer of NOFX and the bassist of Me First And The Gimme Gimmes. The label has been around for over 16 years.
7. In addition to running the promotion department at the label, you also play in a band signed by Fat Wreck Chords. How did this all come about and how do you juggle the two gigs?
Yes, I play guitar and sing in a band called Western Addiction and three of the four members work at Fat. It came about actually by myself seeing bands play live for years and one night I was standing in the Bottom Of The Hill in SF and I was watching this band and I decided I was sick of being a "spectator" on someone else's dreams and ideas so I thought I would give it a try. I'm not very good but I just wanted to try it on my own so I asked some friends at work to play and it kind of worked out. It never occurred to me that our band would be on Fat and then Mike asked us a few different times if we wanted to do something and the next thing I know our record came out on my label. I thought he was pulling a joke on us at first. It is very difficult to juggle the two because we can't really tour and leave the office abandoned. We did get to go to Japan though and that was a special, awesome time for the band. I also have a family that is very important to me so I can't be gone that much because they need me.
8. What does it mean to you when a former band on your label such as Anti-Flag gets signed to a major label and then starts getting substantial airplay?
I don't mind when any of our bands sign to a major as long as they are honest about it. In general people get all pissy when bands sign because they feel betrayed but if a band from the start says, "We want to go for it and we won't stop until we do." I can respect that. Who wouldn't want to make some money doing something they love? It's when some bands shout from the hills that they would "never sign" and then they sign, I find that weird. I think in general bands should just say nothing about the topic and play music. I do however understand that as you get older things change and for the most part what a band says on stage and what they do in real life are two different things.
There are very few bands that actually stick to their guns though like Fugazi, Tragedy, etc. Also, being in a confined, bubbled office you kind of assume things about bands but you don't know the truth or what they are going through. I still like the guys in Anti-Flag and when they told us about what was going on they were upfront and stand up-guys. When Against Me! signed to Sire I thought about if for a while and a part of me was bummed that they left. But when I was out on tour in Florida and the bass player, Andrew, and all the members for that fact, came to our show, hung out, let us sleep at their house, fed us, and were just great human beings to us. It dawned on me that they are just regular guys trying to make it and they have shown me more respect than some of our bands ever have so I should just let my hang-ups go.
Getting to your actual question, sorry, I have to be honest and say it does make me upset when bands instantly get on the airwaves just because they now have a different label, but I'm not that much of a complete tool. I know how the game is played and that X station won't get the new Chili Peppers single unless they play the new Dongtown Massacre record or whatever. I don't want to complain too much about this because I know that we are a mid-level label with set budgets and the other labels are huge corporations. Its just frustrating when I have a band that can play to 2,000 kids any night in any town but they can't creep onto the radio but a brand new band who can't fill up 600 seat venue without a 99cent sponsored radio show can get regular airplay.
Look at it this way, of all the music in the whole entire world you are telling me that the absolute best songs, musicianship, etc. are on majors (which in turn gets on the radio)? It doesn't add up. Commercial playlists are comprised of like 95% major label bands and maybe 5% indie. I have a special respect for the indie juggernaut bands like Bright Eyes, Belle and Sebastian, NOFX, etc. because they made it on good songs and musicianship, etc. If Bright Eyes and say Alien Ant Farm both roll into SF, what show do you think more people will be at? Bright Eyes. I have come to accept that for the most part. Marketing, hype, and money will get you on the radio and big in the music industry in general. I know that a few gems slip their way into the system by being good bands with great musicianship but think of some of the HUGEST bands in the world, do you really think they write fantastic vocal melodies or their live shows are insane or they have that special something? I don't. Also, radio has this grandfather clause of just accepting any HUGE band's new single despite the quality. I say, you turn in a crap song, it shouldn't get played.
9. Of all the things you've done at Fat Wreck Chords, what are you most proud of?
I know it sounds stupid, but I was kind of proud when my own band's record came out. I've never been in a band before and I know I'm not that good of a singer, and I can barely play guitar but when other band's commented positively on our record it kind of gave me a sense of worth. When Propagandhi asked us to go on tour, that was a pretty cool moment. They are a real punk band. They even helped us load our gear out one night and I couldn't believe it. It's what it's all about and why people should be in a band.
10. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ________?
music.
I know that is ridiculous and cliche' but my wife always says, "Do we have to have a soundtrack just to drive to the store?" Or the other night we were watching that movie Fever Pitch where Jimmy Fallon is just bonkers for the Boston Red Sox where he has like towels, clothes, tooth brushes, etc. with the Red Sox logo on it and he is completely obsessed. My wife said, "I hate to say it but, that's you". I said "no way" and I crawled back into my Judas Priest sleeping bag. I'm kidding; it's an AC/DC sleeping bag, geesh!!! Life is just better with your headphones on. Crap, now I really do want an AC/DC sleeping bag. Do they have those?
Bonus Questions
What are your hobbies?
I hang out with my daughter. She can play "Iron Man" and "Highway to Hell" on my acoustic guitar. I play in a band. I also just joined my community's emergency preparedness group and I am going to get C.E.R.T trained. I figured I was being a pile and wasn't contributing enough so I should learn something. Plus, there have been these bad floods in my town and I thought maybe I could help out a bit more.
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