Interview with Kenny Vasoli from The Starting Line @ Warped Tour 2003 (7.23.2003)

Interview with JamisonParker (From Out of Nowhere/Michael Mason)

JamisonParker (2003 - 2005)

FOON: So this is the third night of the tour?

Parker Chase: Yep, Third night.

FOON: How’s the tour going so far?

Parker: Good

Jamison Covington: its awesome, we’re a fan of Mae and known Days Away forever and did a tour with them in March.

FOON: Anything interesting happen on this tour so far?

Jamison: I stay in the van the whole time, I venture out just to play and don’t do anything very interesting.

Parker: We did a dance club last night, and I danced behind a sheet so my silhouette was projected up on it. That’s kind of exciting in itself. Nothing yet really though, it’s too early, but it’s coming… It’s to early yet to tell… I’m scared.

FOON: The EP came out a year ago?

Parker: 2003 or 2002?

Jamison: 2003.

Parker: So really it has been a few years.

FOON: Why so long between the CD and EP?

Jamison: Creative process.

Parker: We toured for a while after the EP, toured for about 6 months or something like that. After that we did a tour with Coheed and Cambria on the west coast. Then Jamison and I rented a house in Joshua tree out in the desert and wrote some songs that made it to the album. This is what we were doing during the break by the way. We did some shows like skate and surf, then did more of the writing process then went into the studio in august last year. We recorded the record from August until September. We brought our own studio in since then we’ve just been touring since then and didn’t have a studio to use. We just wanted to tour for the EP for a while because we didn’t have much time to tour as a band before then. We did the EP first thing, so for us; it hasn’t been that long, just a couple years…

Jamison: It has been almost a year since we recorded for the album, and a month or two since we got it finished.

Parker: That and, it takes a while for any label to put things out, it just takes time.

Jamison: The artwork is taking a while; the last big hump to get over then the album will be out.

FOON: The CD comes out in June?

Parker: July 12^th, originally June but…

Jamison: Artwork takes us a while…

Parker: July is good, you’re just starting to have pool parties and such, June you are just glad to be out of school, so July is good.

FOON: How’s the CD look and feel to you guys?

Parker: We’re excited, like you said it’s been a long time so we’re excited.

Jamison: I don’t know; I’m really happy it turned out great, the art reflects the feeling of the album, the title is Sleepwalker but, yea its more rock than the EP is yet in a way, it’s the same type of song writing. The style is the same, but it’s been awhile so we’ve moved to a different place now so there’s a big difference in subject matter; and probably at the same time, we can’t really write about the same thing. It’s a different time, a different place, we can’t really write about the same thing; it’s sort of a new chapter.

FOON: What’s your favorite song off the CD?

Jamison: Mine is “Tearing Through Me.”

Parker: The last song, “I Should Mean More,” or the first song, “Alcohol and Bandages” are my favorites.

FOON: Why did you pick those songs?

Jamison: Honestly, no clue. It’s just the one that I feel closest to for some reason, it feels more self explanatory of me than any other songs. I mean, obviously all the songs I feel I have a deep part in but that song in particular is the one I felt closest to.

Parker: I like everything about them, how they sound and they reach what we were going for. Power and energy projected on a CD.

FOON: Any hints or leakage on line?

Parker: I think it already has…

Jamison: I don’t know where you can find it but it’s out there.

Parker: Yeah, it’s out there. There are people coming up and saying “we’ll still buy the CD when it comes out, but we just want it now.” Which is fine I guess…?

Jamison: People are starting to sing along to songs they shouldn’t know technically, but as long as they enjoy it, who really cares…

Parker: Yeah, who gives a fuck?

FOON: You are on Punk Goes 80’s correct?

Parker: Yea, we covered Tears for Fears “Everyone Wants to Have Fun,” we did it all on the road while we were touring, it was fun and stressful all at once.

Jamison: All the vocals were done in a closet in a bathroom in a hotel. We did the whole song all on a laptop with just a little M box thing; everything on the song is real. Its more using what we had instead of using a studio and doing a bunch of processing on the vocals. The vocals are really natural sounding, there’s no processing, there’s no audio tune, which a lot of bands I won’t even get into use way too much. The song may be a piece of shit, but it’s a real piece of shit.

Parker: It was fun, I like it. It’s totally different than what we’ve done in the past, yet it makes sense, like if you’re a huge fan of the band, and heard that, you’d go “oh no way that’s cool!”

FOON: Which one of you two does the main writing for the lyrics and such?

Jamison: It bounces back and forth really. I write the lyrics, but other than it’s up in the air. We both have really different tastes in music, but then there is this common ground we share in a lot of things, just depends on the inspiration and where it comes from.

FOON: Where does the inspiration for the lyrics come from?

Jamison: There aren’t any real specifics, whatever hits me at the moment, and same goes with song structure, guitar tones, and drum tones. Whatever feels right at the moment, and somehow magically it comes together. There’s no real rhyme or reason to it, we just float through and; if it’s ok, its ok, if not we would probably try to put it out anyways. (Laughs)

FOON: Are you aware of the video on www.thisisnotemo.com of you guys?

Parker: Is that the outdoor acoustic one? Yea, we’re aware of it…

FOON: What do you think of it?

Parker: I think that’s our first show ever, yes?

Jamison: Yea I think so.

Parker: Our first show ever and This Is Not Emo covered it.

Jamison: I never watched it all the way through, I see clips and feel awkward watching myself. I make it through about ten seconds then I have to shut it off.

Parker: Daytime outdoor shows suck unless you’re the Grateful Dead. Period.

Jamison: True…

FOON: Any random thing about the band you want to get out for public eye to scrutinize?

Parker: I’m just excited that people who haven’t heard of us are going to hear about us, people who heard the EP recruiting other people.

Jamison: Nothing much, I just complain a lot. I hate most music, I despise 90 percent of the bands out there, and I despise most of the music more than the bands themselves.

Parker: I try to think positive…

Anything on the horizon for the band after Sleepwalker hits stores?

Parker: Touring.

Jamison: Lots of touring. We want to stay out and have as many people hear the record as possible. We’re really proud of it and are going to do what any band that’s really proud of what they did should do, promote the hell out of it. Hopefully other people find the same happiness in the songs I do.

FOON: Random shit time!

Parker: We did this once and it got crazy…

FOON: There’s just a few so it shouldn’t be too painful… Ok now that summers here, what’s your favorite thing to do in summer?

Jamison: (Pauses and laughs) Stay inside, away from everything; I hate the heat, the sun, everything to do with summer. I hate swimming pools, bathing suits, you name it and it has anything to do with summer or spring, I think it’s fucking ridiculous; I mostly stay inside until it gets dark out and cooler.

Parker: I would say doing what were doing traveling around in a van playing music with our friends.

FOON: Ever been skinny-dipping?

Parker: I have, but who hasn’t? I mean really.

Jamison: I did once when I was little…

Parker: Everyone does.

Jamison: I did it in a lake; and my cousin told me a fish would eat my dick off because it thought it was a worm; and I was terrified. I never got in a lake again, much less naked, I was scarred for life.

FOON: Blondes or brunettes?

Parker: I don’t know… any color really.

Jamison: I’m not a hair person really.

Parker: Same here.

FOON: Chevy or Ford?

Parker: What’s the deal with that rivalry?

Jamison: I’ll go with Ford. This vans a Ford and it hasn’t fucked us yet. We got in an accident and nobody got hurt so I’ll stick with this…

Parker: I agree. I hate cars though; everyone wants talk about them and wants to trick them out, so what. Who cares?

Jamison: I never really had a car worth talking about really, but I do like this van.

Parker: Yeah, the vans nice, lots of room, air-conditioning, everything we need.

Jamison: Its home.

Parker: Yea, its home.

FOON: Weirdest gift you’ve ever given or received as a gift?

Parker: We get some weird food…

Jamison: Weird as in ever?

FOON: The most shocking thing ever as a gift.

Jamison: (laughs) …

Parker: People bring cookies with lots of frosting, excessive amounts.

Jamison: Like there’s poison in it or something.

Parker: Yea, I mean, you never see cookies with that much frosting on them. Ever. And people bring em! It’s like what’s up with those cookies?

Jamison: I can tell you the meanest gift ever.

FOON: That works.

Jamison: I didn’t give it but I saw it so… I’ll share it. One year, for Christmas, at my cousins, the older brother is the meanest person ever, you have to understand he is the meanest person ever to his little brother, constantly beating him up, pushing him around, talking shit about him, he’d make him cry on a daily basis. Well, Christmas rolls around and the biggest gift under the tree is from the older brother to the younger brother; and the younger brother was glowing for weeks on end, because his older brother remembered him but, its also the biggest gift, he begs daily to open the gift, and his older brother is just telling him “trust me its worth, it its worth it.” Ok in my family, for Christmas, my entire family gets together. So this is like, four families together opening gifts on Christmas day and they make the brother wait until the end, because it’s the biggest gift, he has to go last you know? Well, he’s freaking out, tearing open all his other presents not even caring; throwing them to the side, all just to get to the big one and everyone’s so excited. But see, the older brother didn’t tell anyone what he got the younger one, so no one knows what’s in it. The young brother tears it open, and it’s just filled with rocks, dirt, sticks and dog shit that the brother scooped up, and the kids face just…

Parker: Were you there?

Jamison: Yea I died laughing; it was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

Parker: Were you the older brother?

Jamison: No no no, I would never do that to my brother, I love my brother… anyways the kids face just dropped and he burst into tears, and took off running out of the house and ran to the woods and no one saw him for like three hours. He’s completely scarred, every time we’ve went over there, and he hasn’t cared at all… Maybe that’s why he’s such an asshole now…

FOON: What’s the worst sin you’ve committed that you’ll admit to?

Parker: Oh, you really don’t want to go there… (Laughs)

Jamison: I immediately have one that pops into my head, but I’ll never live it down if I tell so I’m not sharing that. I’ll give you the second worst. Sin is just really dangerous… the worst sins, I might go to jail over in certain countries.

Parker: Yea, I don’t know about this one, can I take a pass?

Jamison: I do a lot of average sins on a daily basis. Thinking about killing people, a lot of sexual things, I drink and do drugs on a regular basis, but is hurting the body a sin? You name it I do it; except I haven’t killed anyone yet… I’m against anything sexual with anyone except my girlfriend; I’m not for sexually abusing a senior citizen. I think about doing horrible things to my girlfriend though. A lot of normal sins, I can’t give up a serious sin. That’d be a sin in itself, describing some of the serious shit I’ve done behind closed doors.

Parker: There’s some profanity that goes on in this van.

Jamison: A lot of filthy language, it’s basically like; we’re not in the middle of hell, but we’re on one of the outer rings in this van, we tend to dance around hell a lot with what we do.

Parker: That should be the name of the next album!

Jamison: Dancing around the rings of hell?

Parker: Yea, something similar to that…

Don't Think I've Forgotten (Cambodia's Lost Rock & Roll)

This is a documentary about Cambodia's rock & roll scene of the 1960's and 70's--before the take over by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. The sound was a blend of American psych, surf, and rock combined with the country's own distinctive flavor.

expected release: Fall 2010