(update: Jon’s last show of his residency was quite good. here are some pics from the show)




There is one criticism that is impossible to levy at Birmingham’s Jon Black- that you just don’t hear from him that often. Now in the middle of making 5 EPs, a podcast, and a series of free live shows, Jon is putting his music out there. It is jarringly different than clicking on a band’s myspace page and hearing some songs. Jon is doing interesting, innovative things, so after his first free show at Bottletree, I asked him about it:
CHRIS: You have some interesting ideas about how to create and distribute your music. Tell me about Up from the Ground…
JON: Last summer the label I was on shut down and I realized that was completely in charge of what happened next. So, I decided I wanted release a steady stream of content instead of just an album and I named it the Up From The Ground Project because I felt like I was really starting over with my career. The whole project will take over a year to complete (5-EPs) and by the time the next EP releases, the one prior to that will be free. My biggest fear is not having my music heard and I’m eliminating the biggest barrier (cost to the listener) in order to have it heard. The second barrier for listeners is time and that’s nothing I have control over. We’re sitting in a interesting point in the entertainment and art world because of the internet and I can now write a song, record it, and the distribute it across the world within 24 hours (and that’s being generous… you could do it in an hour if you wanted). This project could totally fail but I figure it’s better to try something different than to keep beating a dead horse.
CHRIS: You are about to play your last of 4 free shows at Bottletree. Discuss how you decided to try this, and how you structured the shows- did you have specific goals in mind for this, or was it more of a “let’s see what happens” attitude?
JON: I got the idea for the series of free shows from other artists and music scenes. It’s not uncommon for bigger music markets to have a summer residency with new and familiar artists (ex. Wilco did a 5-night residency in Chicago, Patterson Hood did a 3-night residency in Athens, etc.). It’s really a great thing for everyone when it’s executed right. The artist/band gets to play in front of people and the club gets to make money on alcohol/food sales. Some residencies aren’t free but when it’s someone in my place, still developing a live show and a fanbase in Birmingham, it’s not uncommon to see free residencies. Bottletree has been really cool about trying this experiment and I think it’s been successful. I’d love to see the idea live on in the future (whether it’s with me or another great local band).
CHRIS: I discovered, quite by surprise, that your song Gravity (Don’t Let Me Go) opens the Joystiq Podcast- a popular video game focused podcast. Talk about how you ended up on it, and in what ways has this helped or possibly hurt your music.
JON: The Joystiq guys are great! I’ve been a fan of their stuff for a while and Justin McElroy reached out to me when he found out I loved the site and was a musician. He asked if I had something they could use for the intro to the podcast and I happily gave them some music and it’s been really great for me and as a fan of the site and of video games it’s cool to somehow contribute. I’ve seen a lot of folks check out my songs and download them because of it. I wouldn’t say it’s hurt me or limited my audience at all. There are a lot of people out there that play games and love great music and I really want them hear my songs. If they don’t like it because it’s not “angry” or “gamer” enough then that’s fine. There are plenty of bands out there that appeal more to that niche market (DJ Chris, I Fight Dragons, and so on). Any help I can get I’m thankful for and the joystiq crew have been more than helpful. I think it’s pretty clear after hearing my music that I’m not trying to focus on that nerdcore audience and I think that some gamers might feel tricked or disappointed but that’s okay. That being said, if I WERE going after a nerdcore/geek rock audience then I would have struck gold with the Joystiq podcast Intro. There are other artists out there that would benefit more than me and I think that’s great. I don’t think my song will be the intro forever and I’m really happy and thankful they’ve used it for so long. It’s been great exposure.
CHRIS: A byproduct of being on a popular video game podcast is that Gravity is available to download in Rock Band. How did it end up there and have you tried playing your own song? In general terms, can you tell us how popular it is/if you’re now rich?
JON: The guys at Joystiq connected me with the RockBand folks and that was an amazing experience. The team at Harmonix are all in local and regional bands around Boston and they speak “musician” so it’s easy to work with them. It’s been a cool to be on RockBand and fun to see people play the game and then go check out my songs and as a result of the RockBand game I am now a millionaire… and by millionaire I mean: I haven’t seen a paycheck from it yet but I’m not expecting much. It’s more of a promotional thing in my mind.
CHRIS: After your 5 EP plan, are you even considering what’s next? Or are you focused solely on the present?
JON: I’m always trying to think of the next step and I have some ideas but nothing set in the stone. I do want the next project after the EP series to be a full length record but we’ll see… I really love the idea of interacting with other musicians and fans around the world and seeing if we could create something together.
CHRIS: Why the “Who is”? and what did you do to the Winter Hearts between EP1 and EP2?
JON: The “Who Is” came from my old label as a clever marketing thing we attempted. The marketing thing didn’t grow legs but we all really liked how “Who Is Jon Black” sounded and decided to use that as the website and such. We felt it sounded mysterious and invited people to discover who I am. Also, jonblack.com was taken. The Winter Hearts will make a return for the third EP and the fourth and fifth will just be Jon Black. The idea is that when you see “The Winter Hearts” on the art you’ll know it’s supposed to be a rock project. When it’s just my name it tends to lean more folky, acoustic, alt-country, whatever. The line between the “Jon Black” EPs and the “Jon Black & The Winter Hearts” EPs is blurry because I do all the writing and control all the details but I do think it’s different enough though. It all works really well in a live setting.
CHRIS: What are you listening to these days?
JON:I’m listening to some great mid-90′s stuff. I’ve been revisiting some of the stuff I listened to in high school and college to see if any of it stands the test of time. Some of it did not stand the test of time. However, these did: Sunny Day Real Estate: LP2, Robert Deeble: Earthside Down, Pavement: Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, Bad Religion: Stranger Than Fiction, Pixies: Doolittle. There are other’s that are still amazing but those are the ones that come to mind.
CHRIS: What’s a great local band you’ve heard that you think people should check out?
JON: One of my favorite local bands is The Great Book of John. I love them. Such a great band. I also think The Green Leaves and War Jacket have a really special thing happening. Birmingham has so many great bands and the world really needs to know what’s happening here. What I love about the local scene here in Birmingham is that we actually have a local scene unlike some of our large-city neighbors. Getting people to pay attention is a different battle…
CHRIS: Where are your favorite places to play? (besides Bottletree, of course…)

JON: My five favorite places I’ve played (in no specific order): Bottletree, Workplay, Schuba’s (Chicago), Eddie’s Attic (Atlanta), the Basement (Nashville). Each of those rooms offer something completely different for the artist and the listener. The one thing that sticks out to me for each of those room is that they’re all small(ish) and they create a great intimacy (yes, even for loud rock shows).
*****
After asking Jon these questions, I listened to 3 of his podcasts. If I had done that first, this interview would have been much shorter: “Should we listen to your podcast to learn everything that’s going on with you, and be entertained?” and Jon would have said “yes”. I highly suggest that you listen to a couple of them to find out more of Jon. Don’t forget you have one more chance to see Jon live at Bottletree Tuesday, August 10 for FREE. Do it!