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10 Questions with ... Jackson Waters
March 12, 2007
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NAME:Jackson WatersTITLE:MusicianLABEL:Word/Curb/WB
Brief Career Synopsis:
Line-up:
David Leonard (lead vocals)
Brian Meek (bass)
Jesse LaFave (guitar)
Ryan Hawk (drums)
Toby Friesen (guitar)Label: Word/Curb/WB
Discography: Come Undone (2007)
1) Briefly introduce the band members.
David is the singer, songwriter, creates the basic melody and idea for most of the songs and then we work them up together. He began singing in church and later picked up the piano and guitar in his teens. He is the silent leader of the band and does a lot of driving when we are out playing shows. He is one of the original three members of JW. He idolizes Stevie Wonder and anyone that sings with soul.
Ryan began his drumming career playing in punk bands in Denver. He met David at John Brown University and they got the ball rolling for what is now JW. He works a lot in the area of booking shows and staying in contact with promoters and venues. He is a deep thinker and would love to talk theology with you, anytime, anywhere. He loves breadsticks and coffee. He was recently voted substitute teacher of the year for Nashville Public Schools.
Toby was born to missionary parents and raised in Japan. He moved to Kansas at 13. I think he has played guitar since he was 6. He played in bands all throughout high school and then met David and Ryan at JBU. He is rock 'n' roll: long, curly hair, tattoos, plays a Gibson Les Paul. Loves to eat. He is probably the most compassionate guy in the band. He loves sports and will compete with you at anything, I promise.
Jesse (that's me), a Small Town, Oklahoma kid. I started playing guitar at 10 and moved to Nashville after college to pursue music. My last show with my previous band ended up playing a show with JW and the rest is history. I provide the comic relief for the band in any situation and love to quote movies. Rock is my thing but I also like Country and Americana. I would love to meet Elvis and live in Memphis in the 1950's.
Brian is like the head coach of the entire operation. He handles all money matters and the logistics of our travel. He is an X's and O's type guy. He likes jazz. He is musically trained and attended the University of Arkansas for bass performance. He was recruited by David, Ryan and Toby to join JW, and was raised and went to school in the Siloam Springs, AR, where JBU is located. He loves Ben and Jerry's ice cream.
2) Can you offer a "brief" history on the band?
Most of the history begins at John Brown University (JBU) in Arkansas where three of the members attended school. Brian grew up there; that's how he later connected to the other three. In the beginning, it was kind of an experiment between guys who all loved music and hadn't really found a solid group of musicians to play with. After playing some acoustic shows, the band began getting gigs in Tulsa, OK at clubs and began mixing originals with cover material. After a 2004independent release, a connection through a family member got JW's latest demo into the hands of some A&R people at a few of the Christian labels in Nashville. After a few months of showcasing and submitting more demos, the band was offered a deal with Word Records and it has proven to be a great decision.
3) Explain your "life rock" genre. Do you see this self-proclaimed genre taking off?
Toby came up with that term and it really makes sense when you dig in to the lyrics of the songs. Each song is about a unique experience that one of us has gone through or something that everyone deals with. There are songs about hope, grace, redemption and letting go of the things that get in the way of you being a person who relies on faith to guide you through life. I hope this genre takes off because that would mean artists are beginning to sing about things that people are struggling with and that perhaps will provide them with encouragement and direction.
4) Any interesting or funny radio experiences/stories happen yet?
There hasn't been anything that was just absolutely hilarious, but we try to be ourselves when we do interviews and things of that nature. I think people are surprised how down-to-earth and approachable we all are as a whole. We treat every interview the same because these people are taking time to help get our name and music out there. We did manage to get a perfect score on the Top Five at Five on the HouseFM in Ponca City, OK. They asked us five random questions and we somehow nailed them all. That's about as good as it gets at this point.
5) What was your first thought, and then your second thought, when you found out that your song was going to be used on TV (One Tree Hill)?
I remember us thinking about the possibility of having a song placement on a show after we played a music conference. About six months later the call came in and my first thought was, "Hey, people might actually know who JW is after this show airs." I think my second thought was, "I wonder how much money we can recoup when they license the song." It worked out great for us and we made about 2500 fans with a three-minute spot on TV. I know the placement is helping us with album sales as well.
6) What's the story behind the single "Give Me Amazing Grace"?
David wrote that one and it's just a simple song about God's never-ending grace and how we all long for it. It's a song that is straight to the point and one that people seem to pick up on pretty quick and put their own lives into the lyrics.
7) What is the underlying message to COME UNDONE?
I would say that is actually about "coming undone" in your own skin. It's about being who you are and handling all the things that life throws at you. We write from a Christian perspective, which is obvious in all the songs on the album, and we are trying to point the listener in the direction we believe will help them discover their true identity in Christ.
8) The album released to mainstream outlets before it release to Christian outlets, not the norm for Christian bands/labels. How did that work out?
Honestly, the team at Word has blown us away with the things they have accomplished. They have put a huge push behind us and it is all starting to be seen now. The people at iTunes became fans of our music and gave us great mainstream placement with our EP in November '06 and then again with the full album. I think it just goes to show that the team at Word believes in JW and the music was accessible enough to get mainstream attention. I think it will help us down the road by having our music available to a wider audience because that means our positive message is reaching more people.
9) Does the band have an end purpose or a mission in mind at all?
Our purpose is to put some positive music out into the world full of negative messages. We all love to play and our goal is to sustain a living by traveling and playing. We are sitting where a million bands would love to be and we are just trying our hardest to capitalize on the opportunities. I think we will all be playing music in our 50s. Honestly, it's what really gets us all going.
10) You said a few members met at John Brown University. Did you all finish your degrees?
Ryan finished his degree at JBU in theology. Toby has one semester left towards a sports management degree and plans to finish. David has quite a few hours at JBU but will tell you he's had enough school to last him a while. I graduated from Oklahoma St. University with a journalism degree. Brian attended the University of Arkansas and holds an associate's degree and plans to finish.
Bonus Questions
1) Who would be a dream artist to record with (any genre)?
David - Justin Timberlake or Stevie Wonder
Jesse - Jakob Dylan or Tom Petty
Brian - U2 or Wilco
Ryan - Ryan Adams or Johnny Cash (any of the Highwaymen)
Toby - Steven Curtis Chapman2) What is your favorite city to visit?
Tulsa, Little Rock, all the fancy cities on the plains
3) What is your favorite road meal?
Anything that doesn't start with an "L" and end in "asagna'
4) Musical guilty pleasures?
Blackstreet, 70's funk, Hootie, anything from the 80's vault.
5) Any practical jokes on the road?
There is no time for jokes on the road when you're watching full seasons of "24."
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