MetalChaz
Metal novice
Number of posts : 96
Age : 49
 |  Subject: New JACOB'S DREAM Interview  Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:16 am | |
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– Hey Chaz, thanks for cooperating, it's a pleasure to be able to interview you guys. How are you doing? I hope all is well with the band in general?
Thank you. Yes we are doing well. We have just returned from our shows in Germany, so we are just relaxing now. We had been working on the new album for awhile now so it is nice to be able to take a time out from everything while we wait for this new album to be unleashed.
– It has been a year since the release of Dominion of Darkness, looking back, what do you think of it yourself. How has it been received by the general audience?
Well personally I have mixed feelings about it. I am very proud of most of the songs in general. We worked on that album for about two years before its release. I love most of the songs but there are a few production flaws that I'm not crazy about. Any time that a band operates in its own studio it is often a learning curve. Each time we go into recording a new record we try to improve on the one that came before it.
From what I have seen with “Dominion Of Darkness” it seems to be a case of 50/50 with the Internet reviewers. Most seem to either love it or don’t seem to like it much at all, but then again, I am only going by what I have seen on line. All in all in spite of a few production issues that were present, I see this as a highly under rated album and that disappoints me. I feel that it didn't get the attention that it deserves. Being an indie release also played a role in this issue as well. Without the push of a record label or a distro company this album just didn't get out nearly as much as it should have.
– Jacobs Dream is about to release the follow up to that album, what can we musically expect from this album, mainly compared to previous work, what will be the biggest difference?
I always say that Jacob’s Dream has never made the same album twice. That is something that makes me very proud to be a member of this band. “Beneath The Shadows” is no exception to the rule. I guess you could say that we always write from the heart. It is difficult to describe the sound. All I can tell you is that this album will be filled with emotion like none before it. I would have to say that overall this album will be dark and will tend to lean toward a somber feel due to it’s lyrical content. Musically there are no instrumentals this time around. The story concept and the emotion behind its content is the center piece on this album. On “Dominion Of Darkness” we didn't do much guitar synth which is seen by most as a staple of the band. “Beneath The Shadows” will see the return of the well loved guitar synth of John Berry.
– You signed with Retroactive for the new album while the previous album was released independently, was the latter a logical decision? If so, what made it interesting to sign with Retroactive this time around?
As Ive stated before it is very difficult to go independent in this business. Through “Metal Blade Records” we saw our first three albums go out to major retailers around the world, not to mention magazine articles and ads. When you don't have anyone doing those things for you it becomes a huge task to self release an album. After releasing one album ourselves we were approached by “Retroactive Records”. We felt that the deal we were offered was fair and decided to jump on board to see where it leads us. It is important to us for our fans to have easy access to our releases and so on. For me personally this was a huge factor in signing with a new label. Especially one that will be good to us and to our fans.
– Jacob's Dream is a christian band, which is pretty obvious after one glance at the band name. What kind of role plays faith in Jacob's Dream?
Well personally I think that the term “Christian band” is a very generic term that fails to properly convey the entire essence of Jacob’s Dream. You might as well call “Motley Crue:” a “sex and drugs” band. Many artist have openly expressed their spiritual views through their music but you never see anyone being called a “Buddhist” band or anything like that. We are indeed believers and we have no problem saying so. Naturally since our faith is a huge part of who we are as individuals as well as a band you will indeed see that coming out in our music. However, I see us as five guys in a Metal band who happen to be Christians. We do hope and even pray that our music will uplift our fans in a positive way no matter where they are or what they do or do not believe in.
When we write, we write about things that happen in real life. Things that we all as imperfect human beings have to face in this life. We want our fans to know that we are human. We know what many people are going through and we want people to know that we are not the finger pointers of the world. We write about things that happen in dark places and we write about all of it from the view point of a believer. If even one fan leaves a Jacob’s Dream show feeling uplifted or motivated in a positive way then we feel that all the hard work over the years was well worth the reward.
– Is there a general theme on the new release? What is it lyrically about?
Actually “Beneath The Shadows” is a full concept album. The story is based on a fictional character who becomes a drug dealer and addict. As a result, he loses his family, his best friend dies from a drug overdose and he ends up nearly taking his own life as a result of his own depression. To make a long story short he ends up deciding to change his ways and the story takes you through all the emotion that ensues along the way.
– You replaced David Taylor back in 2003, was it difficult to fit in the band or did it feel like a natural progression? Vocal wise, did you try to follow his style or did you really try to take another approach?
When I first joined the band back in 2003 I was familiar with the band. At first it was a bit of an odd position for me because I had never “replaced” a former vocalist before. I knew that no matter what, I would always be compared to someone else and I was not used to that. In the beginning I would always look at the guys during rehearsals trying to figure out if they liked what I was doing or not. The guys always told me to just be myself. During the “Drama Of The Ages” era I was always feeling like the new guy but after awhile I became more and more comfortable and began to feel more like the vocalist of Jacob’s Dream.
Vocal wise David and I are just two different sections of the choir. There are things that he does that I can’t do and there are things that I do that he can’t do. I never wanted to be Dave. Dave is an awesome vocalist and a good friend of mine. I have the utmost respect for him and the mark he left on the history of Jacob’s Dream. When I was asked to fill his shoes I considered it a huge honor. That being said, I tend to take a lot of pride in being myself and making my own mark on the scene. Like I said, the guys told me to be myself and that's exactly what Iv’e always done. It wasn't’t hard to sing for the band. The hard part was trying to fill the shoes of a well loved vocalist who sounded nothing like me. It doesn't matter how good you are. Replacing a front man is the hardest thing to accomplish in this scene. Fortunately for me it seems that the majority of our fans have embraced both era’s.
– I read on the website that you're a martial arts instructor, is this something professional or more of a hobby? Does this keep the other guys calm? 
I used to teach professionally years ago. Today I still teach a few of my closest students. As I got older my true love began to move more and more toward music. I signed my first record deal in 2000 with my first known band “Biogenesis” which eventually led me to joining Jacob’s Dream. I haven't looked back since. Ha ha yeah the guys know I'm a nice guy so they don't worry about that.
– Can you talk about some great live/band experiences before we call this interview an end?
Wow I could go on and on about that. Recently in Germany we were playing on an outdoor stage with a roof. It was pouring rain when we got on the stage. The fans refused to allow the rain to be an issue so I told the crowd that had we been playing the show in the U.S much of the crowd would have gone home. I loved the dedication that I saw in Germany.
We did a show in Puerto Rico in 2006. A beautiful Puerto Rican girl named Raquel joined us on stage. She was interpreting the lyrics to the song “Spinning Leaf” in sign language. Her and I kept in contact with each other and in January of 2008 she relocated to Ohio and became my wife. Now we have an eight month old daughter named Zariah. So you could say that this was one show that changed and truly blessed my life. I could go on as there were so many great shows. Mexico was really amazing. Our fans are great. No matter where they are.
As far as band experiences in general, I think that the traveling and the chance to bond and be brothers is always something that I look forward to. It makes you feel less like a business partner and more like a family.
– And last, but not least, feel free to shamelessly promote your music, rant about the quality of the interview or share anything your heart tells you.
OK, well I will take this moment to thank the fans for their undying support. We are nothing without you and we appreciate all of you no matter where you are and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. We hope that you all will enjoy the new album and God bless you all.
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