BiB: DIY Pop-Punk to LA Dreams: How Jonathon Fraser Kept Going When Others Gave Up

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Bring it backwards

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Bring it backwards Bringing it backwards

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Bringing it backwards Bringing it backwards

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Bringing it backwards. Why,

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hello, it is Adam. Welcome back to Bringing It Backwards, a podcast where both listen

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legendary and rising artists tell their own personal stories of

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how they achieve stardom. On this episode we had the

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opportunity to hang out with Jon, AKA

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Northbound or Northbound is Jon's solo project. We

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were able to chat with him over Zoom video. Jon, born

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and raised in South Florida, talks about how he got into music.

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He told us about a babysitter he once had that was a

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huge fan of Newfound Glory, Newfound Glory group of the same area and they were

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a local band at the time, so he was really raised on

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that pop punk emo sound. Jon talks about

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the first band he was in in high school, how he then ended up

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going solo or just starting this, the solo project Northbound.

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He talked about getting signed to Animal Style Records and then later on

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Smart Punk Records, which he's currently signed to for his

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most recent album and the new album. He also talks to us about

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touring with Simple Plan and State Champs

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and all about his big move, his recent move to Los Angeles.

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You can watch the interview with Northbound on our Facebook page and

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YouTube channel at bringing It Backwards. It would be amazing if you

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subscribe to our channel, like us on Facebook, follow us on

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Instagram, Twitter and Tick Tock at Bringing back pod. And if

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you're listening to this on Spotify, Apple Music, Google podcasts, it

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would be amazing if you follow us there as well and hook us up with

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a five star review. We'd appreciate your support if

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you follow and subscribe to our podcasts. Wherever you listen to

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podcasts, we're bringing. It Backwards with

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Northbound. What's going on? I'm Adam and this is about you and

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your journey in music and we can talk about the new album.

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Sweet. Hey, I'm Jon. Nice to meet you, Jon.

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Born in. I'm sorry, sorry, one sec. I'm just going to.

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Let me just. I'll do

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this. I don't know if Zoom is on the thing. No, no, no,

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no, it's not. Okay, good. I'll. We'll build our. A

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lower third for you. That's, you know, not just. Okay, cool,

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cool. Yeah. So first off,

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born and raised in Florida. Is that what I read? Yes,

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yes. Born in South Florida, like the Fort Lauderdale area

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and lived there for the first 29 years of my life.

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Wow. Are you there now? I recently moved to Los Angeles within

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the last year. Oh, okay. What took you to la?

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Music. Music friends needed to change

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all that sort of stuff. Interesting. You're one of the few people that went the

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opposite way. Yeah, I.

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Yeah. I don't know. Sometimes I'm like, why. Why did I go to la? But

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I like it a lot, honestly. It's. It's. It's a tougher city

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than people make it out to be, I think. Honestly. But. Oh, yeah,

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but I, like, I'm from San Diego. I moved to Nashville like, three years

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ago. But, yeah, dude, it's. Yeah, it's funny because

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everyone was moving east, right? Yeah.

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Florida, Tennessee, Texas. And

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you're one of the guys that went the auth. You went towards the. Everyone

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exiting. Yeah, that

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sounds like me. You said that it's a tougher city than people make it out

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to be. I think so.

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Just because it's, like, hard to find your footing. And I'm still working on finding

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my footing and finding where I fit and all that. And just the amount

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of wealth out here is, like, some days it's, like, really

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inspiring, and some days it's really discouraging and

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the money and the power and, like, all of that, like, there's a romanticism to

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it for me. But depending on the day, I might

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be, you know, having a hard time because of that

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also. Right. I mean, you go out depending on where you are in la,

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the scale of wealth is definitely massive there. Right.

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It's unlike anything I've ever seen. Especially, like, where I live

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in the Valley, like in Sherman Oaks. Like, oh, damn, you're on

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Sherman Oaks. Okay. Yeah, I'm living well above my means

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and struggling, but, like, on one

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side of the. Of Ventura Boulevard, it's like the most wealth

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you've ever seen. And then you go a couple blocks past Ventura Boulevard, it's like,

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yeah, total. This is kind of scary. Oh, yeah,

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man. Yeah. I live on. I live. I live on the scary side. That's

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good.

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Right on, dude. So originally from Florida, though. So you're in Florida,

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you said 29 years. What was it like growing up in the Fort

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Lauderdale area? There's some rad bands from out of there.

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Yeah, there's a lot of cool stuff. Especially, like, when I was coming up

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and, like, starting bands and stuff like that. There was a lot of cool

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music happening out there. And I don't know,

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I think overall it was cool. I really liked it. I was like,

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when I was young, like, Newfound Glory was like, a local

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band. Yeah. Area. So I think that I credit

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to, like, the. The thing that, like, really kickstarted

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everything for me with that.

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And, yeah, there's some cool artists like

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Dashboard Confessional also from Boca Raton, South Florida. Yeah, a lot of cool.

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He's a Nashville guy now. Yeah, that's what I hear

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and say. And I think Jordan from Newfound Glory is a San Diego guy.

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He's been living in San Diego forever. It's weird. Yeah, I think

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so. I don't know anyone in that

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band personally. Okay. But yeah, still, I mean, you grew

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up in the area and you'd see those people come up. Like, I mean, was.

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Were you seeing Newfound Gloria as a local band back then or.

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I don't, I don't think. I think I was too young to see them

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because I was like, they started

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in 97 and yeah, so I was

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just like, just old enough. I remember my babysitter like showed me them and

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was like, oh, this is my friend's brother's band. Oh,

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you know what I mean? Yeah, stuff like that. But no,

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I never saw them as like a child or anything, but just knowing that they

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were around and then watching them explode, I was like, oh, this

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is exactly what I want to do. You know what I mean? Yeah.

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No, 100%. And did you get into music? I mean, your

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babysitter shows you newfound glory, but like, were you raised in a

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musical household at all or were you in like

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band or how did you get into music originally? Aside from, you know,

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picking up bands you liked or hearing songs you like? Yeah,

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no, not, not from a musical family at all.

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My father, father is like an immigrant from

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South Africa. My mother is just like this very

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Italian, New Jersey Jew.

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And they're both just like never played an instrument ever.

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My dad was like, I didn't play an instrument. I had to go work. Like,

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what are you talking about? You know what I mean? They like

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music, I guess. But like, no, I, I didn't grow up in one of these

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homes where like my parents were showing me cool music and

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people were playing instruments around me. It just wasn't. I don't know what

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made me want to do it. It just kind of, I think it was kind

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of innate for me. My mom says that like when I was,

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you know, 2 years old and stuff, that there was, you know, at

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like birthday parties and stuff, those little blow up guitars and like little things

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like that. Like, I was always just like picking those up and picking up

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little drums and like doing things like that. So my, at least my

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parents, who are very biased, are convinced that it's like in my DNA, you know?

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Yeah. So at what age did you start, like, was Guitar.

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The first instrument you started playing? Yeah, I started with guitar. I think I was,

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like, maybe 9 or 10 years old,

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and my mom got me this guitar from Toys R Us. It's, like,

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really cheap, like, little thing, and. Yeah, I

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just started kind of teaching myself and buying, like,

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those little tab books. I remember I bought, like, a Blink 182 tab,

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like, book and. Yeah. Yeah. Learning how to play punk rock music

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and stuff like that. That's awesome. And then do you start a band or

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anything like that once you get a little older? Like, in high school or

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in, like. Eighth grade high school, Like, I definitely have, like, bands, but

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I was, like, such a shy kid. I was, like, really afraid to play

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in front of people, and I was really afraid. Afraid to, like, sing or like.

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I remember I got in a huge fight with my, like, high school band because

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they wanted to go record, and I was like, I don't want to record. That's

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too scary. Oh, wow.

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But, yeah, so it was, like, always something we did for fun and stuff like

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that. But it was really my senior year of high

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school. I started a band with some buddies, and

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that was, like, the first. Excuse me. My first

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experience, like, playing shows and stuff like that. We went on to, like,

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tour pretty consistently and all that and. Oh, wow. So you guys. Yeah. You were

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doing it then. We were doing it really young. Like, really young. Our Drummer was,

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like, 13 at the time. Oh, my. I was the oldest one at

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17. How are you touring? Were your parents driving

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you guys around? So at first.

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At first, we literally had to bring, like, our

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older friend Andre, who was, like our chaperone. He was, like, five or

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six years older than us, and he would. He would drive us around.

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Like that. Yeah. And, like, I was really lucky in the sense of my

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dad as a used car salesman and he had

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the. Deals on the vans or what. He hooked us up and just, like, would

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let us borrow, like, a Chevy Tahoe or a van or

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something like that, like, from his lot. Like, just do some highly illegal shit

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and, you know, make it look like I bought it on paper, like,

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you know. That's awesome. Yeah. Like, so we could get it insured for the.

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You know, for the month that we needed it. Yeah.

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Literally. Yeah. Oh, man, that's hilarious.

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We started young. Started young. And then how

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do you then. Because Northbound is just you, right? It's just

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a solo project. Yeah. So it. I mean, I

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play with people and I collaborate with the same people a lot, like, in the

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studio. But I.

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I started. I started Northbound because

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My old band, it was called Sleep Patterns. It was like a hardcore type

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band. Everyone started

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graduating high school eventually and I wanted to keep touring and they

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wanted to go to college. And our drummer, Connor was

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always like, he was so young. He was the youngest one and he was. He's

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the guy. This kid is 13. Yeah, he started.

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Yeah, yeah. He still has like so many years left of school.

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Yeah, yeah. But he actually like dropped out of high

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school because he. We toured with that band. I don't know if you remember this

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band being as an ocean. Oh, yeah, yeah. I've actually had them on

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one guy. He also has another project. I'm spacing on the

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name right now, but anyway.

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Yeah, maybe capsize one of those guys. I don't know.

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This was like 10 years ago. Look it up. But go ahead. But we, we

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toured with that band and then they kind of.

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They did a little bit of a poach on our drummer, Connor. They took him

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and he started touring full time with them and he actually

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stopped going to high school and then the other guys went to college

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and I was just like, I'm going to just start my own thing so I

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could keep touring. Oh, really? Wow.

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Yeah. Okay. So he, he actually got in the band and he

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played with them for a while. Yeah, he played with them for a while. He

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plays for Beartooth now. He's like, he's like a very,

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very sought after drummer in this world.

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That's amazing. That's. I mean. Yeah, that's amazing that he,

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you know, you were able to play with him and he kind of gained that,

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that thing. But so he leaves and then

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you're just like, okay, well, I should, you know,

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I just, I want to continue doing this and playing. So I'm going to tour

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on my own. Yeah, he leaves. Well, he doesn't like leave

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the band. He's just like much, much busier. And the other

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two guys wanted to go to college and they went to college and moved out

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of town and I was just like, all right, I

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got to do this on my own now. So was that difficult

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to like start just as, you know. Okay, were you writing the

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songs for the bands or you already had like experience with that or

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like the, the other. The band that we were in was like a totally different

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genre and it was like much more of. So Connor, the drummer and

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his brother Ryan, they were in the band and they wrote a lot of stuff

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together and then they would take it to us and whatever. I don't know why

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I'm talking about this. So Much because it's like ancient history. But, yeah, I

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did. I had some experience like. Like making shit with people or whatnot. And

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I kind of wrote songs for myself. But,

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yeah, when I started Northbound, I was like, oh, I'm going to.

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I'm just going to do this. And it was weird at first,

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but I think I liked the fact that, like, no matter what

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happened, like, I would be able to do it no matter what.

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Yeah, right. There's. You're the only one. You're right. There's no one that

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has to, like, you don't need to

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ask people if they need. If they have time to practice or do this. It's

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like. It's just. You have all the time that you're just go, yeah. That you

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can put into it. For sure. Yeah. So, I mean,

225
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this is going to be your fourth album, right? Yeah. Wow.

226
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Man, that's a lot of music and a lot of songs, like.

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So when you first go into it, like, to continue

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to do this for such a long time. Did you have

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validation early on with this project or kind of tell me the

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arc of the. Of the. Of the, you know, of your project or

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band. I guess. Yeah. I

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think, you know, our band, like the first band, Sleep

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Patterns, we. We made some connections and some friends

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touring and all that. So I think I was lucky.

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And it was, you know, it was pre TikTok. It was pre. The

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massive social media boom. So I don't know,

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I think I just, like, had a lot of word of mouth and,

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like, there were some people paying attention to what I was up to. So, like,

239
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I started Northbound and I mean,

240
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compared to, like, what is considered successful

241
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these days is it wasn't that successful,

242
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but I think I had a bit of a jump start, you know what I

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mean? Because I had some momentum going with touring and I had

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like, all these, like, heavier bands that I became friends

245
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with through touring with the hardcore bands. And

246
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like, my first ever Northbound tour was with a hardcore band like me, Social

247
00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:45,160
stick with a hardcore band. Just because, like, that's the connect that I had and

248
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we were all buddies and, like, they let me jump on, you know. So

249
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it's like it started

250
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in this, like, DIY kind of punk and hardcore thing and

251
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people were. People were cool, I guess.

252
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I don't know, it was just like, very diy, but I

253
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kind of just hit the ground running. And right after high school, I was just.

254
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I was on tour constantly and I was like, doing some

255
00:16:11,180 --> 00:16:14,380
weird too. Like, a tour would end and then I would just like, Go busk

256
00:16:14,380 --> 00:16:17,900
a little bit and like, just meet people and kind of float around.

257
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And, you know, a lot of people were like, why are you just driving

258
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around the country? Like, what are you doing? I was like, I don't fucking know.

259
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But I'm like, I'm gonna figure it out, you know, and then

260
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it's easier. I'm sure it's easier to get shows if it's just you. Right? Like,

261
00:16:31,420 --> 00:16:34,730
and you don't have to go with a bunch of people and coordinate

262
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schedules or tell a bunch of equipment. I mean, you said you just get up

263
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there with an acoustic guitar. Yeah. Like, literally, like, I.

264
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I remember I finished a tour in Savannah, Georgia, the first northbound

265
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tour. I finished the tour and then I, like, looked up venues

266
00:16:49,330 --> 00:16:52,850
in Savannah, Georgia, and I saw that there was a show happening. And I showed

267
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up to the show and I was like, can I play for 15 minutes

268
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before the show? You know, I don't want any money.

269
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Just. Just let me play. You know what I mean? It was like a lot

270
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of stuff that. Of just like stuff that feels kind of like you

271
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can't really do that anymore or like it might be laughed off now, but

272
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it was the right time and people were. I think people were more open

273
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and I don't know. So. Yeah, that's interesting because I was just

274
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trying to think about, you know, when I was growing up, you know,

275
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all those band, like, newfound glory and all those bands were just smaller and they

276
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were coming through and playing little clubs in San Diego. And

277
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there was a. There was a scene there of kids like that

278
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all they knew. There's a handful of bars and venues that you could

279
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play and, you know, friends book the shows and. And I don't know

280
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if that scene is really there anymore, but maybe it is. I'm just

281
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old, but, you know what I mean? Like, I feel like

282
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in. In that time period, at least when I was in San Diego, like,

283
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if you did that, if you were driving, you're like, hey, man, I'm from. I'm.

284
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I'm from Florida. Like, I've been playing up the coast. Like, can I just play

285
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a few songs? 90% of the people would just be like, yeah,

286
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man, you can open. Just get up there and start playing. But, you know, whatever.

287
00:18:06,690 --> 00:18:10,330
Like, it wasn't even, like a thing. You know what I mean? Yeah, two

288
00:18:10,330 --> 00:18:14,130
drink tickets, go ahead if you want. Exactly,

289
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like. And I. I don't even think I was. I don't even know if I

290
00:18:17,770 --> 00:18:20,330
could legally drink at the time, you know. But you know what? I Mean, like,

291
00:18:20,330 --> 00:18:24,050
it wasn't. It's not. It wasn't like, oh, man, you know, the promoter.

292
00:18:24,210 --> 00:18:27,950
It just was always like some local guy that book the venue.

293
00:18:28,590 --> 00:18:32,270
Yeah. Wednesday nights or whatever that day. And you just go,

294
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hey, man, like, can we play? Or it's changed. At

295
00:18:36,070 --> 00:18:39,790
least the places that I used to go to, not many of them exist

296
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anymore in San Diego. But at the time that

297
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was stuff people did. They just rolled up and like, hey, yeah,

298
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yeah. It feels like it's really different now.

299
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Maybe for better or for worse, you know, but it's just. I don't know which

300
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one, but it is just different. Sure. But

301
00:18:58,930 --> 00:19:01,730
so you're doing that and then you put out, what, your first album,

302
00:19:02,530 --> 00:19:06,330
how long after you've been touring around or did you have that before you started

303
00:19:06,330 --> 00:19:09,610
doing it so you had something to sell or. I. I started touring with one

304
00:19:09,610 --> 00:19:13,130
single that I like, recorded in my room and I burned a bunch of CDs

305
00:19:13,130 --> 00:19:15,010
of it. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

306
00:19:17,250 --> 00:19:20,970
But I think like within the next six months or

307
00:19:20,970 --> 00:19:24,360
something, I recorded like an lp. Wow.

308
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And it was all acoustic and

309
00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:32,120
it was fun. And my. My buddy Logan from Florida

310
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had like this little DIY label and he helped me, like, it was like

311
00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:40,200
so DIY. Like, he helped me like burn a bunch of CDs and like,

312
00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:44,120
you know, screen printing the covers on the thing and like using

313
00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:46,280
stamps and like, just like very diy,

314
00:19:48,850 --> 00:19:52,450
you know, I think I just kept. I generated some buzz in Florida and then.

315
00:19:56,130 --> 00:19:59,610
Yeah, I don't know, I think I just kept playing in

316
00:19:59,610 --> 00:20:03,410
Florida. And then eventually this label called

317
00:20:03,410 --> 00:20:06,690
Animal Style Records who's like, was based in la, like,

318
00:20:06,690 --> 00:20:10,410
approached me online or maybe we approached them. I

319
00:20:10,410 --> 00:20:14,090
had like a. A friendager situation. Like a, like a friend

320
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who was more connected than I was kind of quote unquote managing me. And

321
00:20:19,570 --> 00:20:23,330
I got this deal with Animal Style and then I went

322
00:20:23,330 --> 00:20:26,370
in and recorded like, things. Full band for the first time.

323
00:20:26,930 --> 00:20:30,530
Oh, wow. Animal Style Records. I've never heard of them, but I know that's a.

324
00:20:30,530 --> 00:20:33,290
That's a way to get your burger in and out, so it makes sense. They're

325
00:20:33,290 --> 00:20:36,770
from California. Yeah, they. And it was, it was cool.

326
00:20:37,330 --> 00:20:40,930
It was affirming because they had like Animal Style did

327
00:20:41,250 --> 00:20:45,060
like the first transit stuff. The first, like some early

328
00:20:45,060 --> 00:20:48,820
man overboard, some early story so far. Dagger mouth, like,

329
00:20:48,820 --> 00:20:52,580
like stuff like that. Like, bad. Yeah, I'm looking at their label.

330
00:20:52,740 --> 00:20:56,260
That. That's awesome. Yeah, I just never had heard of them before.

331
00:20:56,260 --> 00:20:59,300
That's cool. Yeah, I mean, it's like an indie label. Yeah,

332
00:20:59,860 --> 00:21:03,540
it's no longer, but I. I just had never heard of it.

333
00:21:03,540 --> 00:21:05,940
But when you said Animal Style, the first thing I thought it was in and

334
00:21:05,940 --> 00:21:08,820
out. And then it was like, yeah, they're out of la. I'm like, okay, that

335
00:21:08,820 --> 00:21:12,570
makes sense. But yeah, so you

336
00:21:12,570 --> 00:21:15,530
get signed to them and then what? They. They are able to fund an album

337
00:21:15,530 --> 00:21:19,050
and put, you know, at least pay for the recording process of it and everything?

338
00:21:19,770 --> 00:21:23,570
Yeah, yeah, they put some cash behind me. And that must have been a

339
00:21:23,570 --> 00:21:27,250
pretty validated moment, right, to be like, wow, like this. Yeah,

340
00:21:27,250 --> 00:21:31,090
we're gonna put money into what I'm doing. Yeah, it was really amazing and

341
00:21:31,090 --> 00:21:34,650
I really, like, fostered a really special relationship with the

342
00:21:34,810 --> 00:21:38,620
founder of the label. And like, I was literally texting him 0.2 seconds

343
00:21:38,620 --> 00:21:42,420
before I logged onto the Zoom, like, oh, really? No, really good

344
00:21:42,420 --> 00:21:46,140
friends. And it's cool we get to see

345
00:21:46,140 --> 00:21:48,580
each other now because we both live in la. But

346
00:21:49,860 --> 00:21:53,620
you're on it. You're on Smart Punk right now. I'm on Smart Punk now, yeah.

347
00:21:53,860 --> 00:21:57,700
Sorry. So, yeah. So how many albums you put out with.

348
00:21:57,700 --> 00:22:01,060
With Animals Out Records or all of them now?

349
00:22:01,540 --> 00:22:04,550
I did a. I did a full length and I did an episode

350
00:22:05,660 --> 00:22:09,300
and then that. I think that was my whole deal with. With Animal

351
00:22:09,300 --> 00:22:12,940
Style. It was. It was the full length and the ep and then

352
00:22:13,100 --> 00:22:16,820
he. I'm sure we would have kept going, but I think he was

353
00:22:16,820 --> 00:22:20,380
kind of overdoing the label. And then I.

354
00:22:20,619 --> 00:22:23,580
I was independent for a little bit, but I don't think I put anything out

355
00:22:23,580 --> 00:22:27,020
independent. And then I think I maybe did one single

356
00:22:27,340 --> 00:22:31,040
or so. And then, yeah, Smart Punk

357
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,880
approached me and I've been with them for this record and the

358
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,640
one before it as well. Oh, is that. I mean, did that change getting

359
00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:42,360
signed to them? I mean, Smart Punks a well respected

360
00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:45,040
label, obviously, and like getting sent to them,

361
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,600
did that. Was that different than the Animal Style records? Maybe

362
00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:52,920
they have a little bit bigger wallet, I don't know. Or like, are they putting

363
00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,680
you on tours with bigger bands or. Yeah, I

364
00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:00,510
think. I think the ethos and the energy is the same

365
00:23:02,430 --> 00:23:06,190
because it's just like, you know, with Animal Style and with smartpunk, it was just

366
00:23:06,190 --> 00:23:09,990
like dudes who care about music and are signing

367
00:23:09,990 --> 00:23:13,390
shit that they like and not necessarily shit that they think is gonna like,

368
00:23:14,110 --> 00:23:16,910
you. Know, be the next TikTok banger or something.

369
00:23:17,470 --> 00:23:21,310
Exactly. But yeah, I

370
00:23:21,310 --> 00:23:24,510
mean, I'd say just like, as the project has grown,

371
00:23:25,740 --> 00:23:29,500
you know, it's maybe a bit less of a risk to invest

372
00:23:29,500 --> 00:23:32,700
a little Bit more money and maybe the. You know what I mean, like stuff

373
00:23:32,700 --> 00:23:36,100
like that. So yeah, I mean, I think with smartpunk the budgets got bigger, but

374
00:23:36,100 --> 00:23:38,780
also like the band got bigger and

375
00:23:39,980 --> 00:23:42,460
like we were doing some cool tours and

376
00:23:44,060 --> 00:23:47,660
yeah, I have no complaints about either label I've been on. Oh yeah? Yeah. I'm

377
00:23:47,660 --> 00:23:50,780
not looking for you to smash them. I was just curious like. Yeah,

378
00:23:51,730 --> 00:23:55,330
like when you. Because a lot of bands, they are looking to be like, oh,

379
00:23:55,330 --> 00:23:59,130
I, like, are you? You know, if I get signed, like that's the pinnacle, right?

380
00:23:59,130 --> 00:24:02,810
Like that's what you're striving to do. Or maybe a little

381
00:24:02,810 --> 00:24:05,650
different now. When I was growing up, that was it. But.

382
00:24:06,690 --> 00:24:10,050
But you know, you do that, you succeed and then it's like

383
00:24:11,010 --> 00:24:14,690
are you able to as assigned artists? Like are they

384
00:24:14,770 --> 00:24:18,290
helping you book, you know, bigger tours and things like that?

385
00:24:19,260 --> 00:24:22,900
Yeah, I mean, I think it definitely helped with

386
00:24:22,900 --> 00:24:24,140
some stuff. Like,

387
00:24:26,540 --> 00:24:29,340
I don't know, I mean it's all kind of separate. Like

388
00:24:30,380 --> 00:24:33,460
any of the cooler tours that I have done. Like we did a tour with

389
00:24:33,460 --> 00:24:37,180
Simple Plan and with State Champs like that. That just comes from like

390
00:24:37,580 --> 00:24:41,220
having relationships with, with people. Like I did that tour without

391
00:24:41,220 --> 00:24:44,820
an agent, without a manager. But I've done other stuff like when I did have

392
00:24:44,820 --> 00:24:47,540
a manager and when I did have an agent, you know, and I.

393
00:24:49,140 --> 00:24:52,420
Yeah, I don't think we would have been able to do the, the

394
00:24:53,860 --> 00:24:57,100
Simple Plan thing without Smart Punk because they definitely

395
00:24:57,100 --> 00:25:00,900
helped because we were kind of eating shit on that tour, you know what

396
00:25:00,900 --> 00:25:04,580
I mean? Like, we weren't. We were on this bus routed tour

397
00:25:05,060 --> 00:25:08,660
in a van, like 12 hour drive every night. Like

398
00:25:10,190 --> 00:25:13,790
just like really brutal. Like with respect

399
00:25:13,950 --> 00:25:17,390
and love to Simple Plan not getting paid well, you know, and

400
00:25:17,550 --> 00:25:21,350
smartpunk really helped us out financially on that tour for

401
00:25:21,350 --> 00:25:25,030
sure. Awesome. Well, that's what's crazy is

402
00:25:25,030 --> 00:25:28,670
that. Well, the fact I heard this from another artist recently that like,

403
00:25:29,070 --> 00:25:32,910
I mean, the fact that you're getting paid is huge. I mean in any sense.

404
00:25:32,910 --> 00:25:36,270
Just because based off of what somebody told me that they were actually paying

405
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,760
bigger artists to get on their tour. That's the thing. I

406
00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,600
never heard of that. This is like a recent thing that I've heard. I was

407
00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:47,320
like, wait, what? Like, yeah, like I paid so and so to open up

408
00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:51,040
for him on this many dates. And then, you know, then

409
00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:53,960
I got asked to do another tour that I didn't have to pay for. But

410
00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:57,120
it's like for Simple Plan. I mean they're gonna sell out

411
00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,720
majority of shows, right? They're Huge. I've had

412
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,370
Pierre on here before, and State Champs are great guys. Had them on, and they're

413
00:26:05,370 --> 00:26:09,010
both big bands, and if you're trying to break through to that next level, and,

414
00:26:09,010 --> 00:26:12,490
I mean, being on Smart Punk, they're like, yeah, we'll kick you some money. I

415
00:26:12,490 --> 00:26:15,650
mean, that's pretty, pretty dope. But I had never heard of the Pay the Band

416
00:26:15,650 --> 00:26:19,370
thing recently. I was like, wait, what? Yeah, it's a thing. It's a thing,

417
00:26:19,370 --> 00:26:22,970
and it's pretty unfortunate. And it's just like, they

418
00:26:23,050 --> 00:26:26,890
have all the leverage, you know, like a big band has the leverage.

419
00:26:26,970 --> 00:26:30,610
Like, you're saying, like, whether or not a band like mine is on that

420
00:26:30,610 --> 00:26:34,390
tour, like, I mean, I might. There's probably no

421
00:26:34,390 --> 00:26:38,190
people who are going to come see Northbound and not

422
00:26:38,190 --> 00:26:41,910
also be interested in seeing State Champs in Simple Plan. So it's like, I'm not.

423
00:26:42,070 --> 00:26:45,830
Even if people are like, like, oh, they're coming.

424
00:26:45,830 --> 00:26:49,070
Yeah, they're coming for you. Right? But it's like. But I also really like Simple

425
00:26:49,070 --> 00:26:52,310
Planet Stage Champs. This is dope because I get to see three bands I like.

426
00:26:52,710 --> 00:26:56,550
Exactly. So it's like the overlap is like, you know,

427
00:26:56,550 --> 00:26:59,430
whether I'm on the tour or not, that tour is still selling the same way,

428
00:26:59,970 --> 00:27:03,250
you know, so, like, they have all this leverage. And,

429
00:27:04,130 --> 00:27:06,370
yeah, like, I, I, I do remember,

430
00:27:09,010 --> 00:27:12,170
I don't want to put anything on glass, but I've been in situations where it's

431
00:27:12,170 --> 00:27:15,410
like, oh, well, this band will do it for free. So, like,

432
00:27:15,890 --> 00:27:19,650
you know, we don't, you know, we can't pay you this much because

433
00:27:19,650 --> 00:27:23,370
it's, you know, whatever. Like, we're not gonna pay you because we

434
00:27:23,370 --> 00:27:26,790
can just get this other band that won't. We don't have to pay anything. Right?

435
00:27:26,790 --> 00:27:29,670
Exactly. And then you got to negotiate. You know what I mean? Like,

436
00:27:30,710 --> 00:27:34,230
oh, yeah, business. It's a business. And I understand,

437
00:27:34,550 --> 00:27:38,270
but it's. Yeah, you know, we didn't, you

438
00:27:38,270 --> 00:27:42,030
know, thankfully, we didn't. We didn't lose any money on the Simple Plan

439
00:27:42,030 --> 00:27:45,870
thing just because it was so long and. Yeah, that's just dope. I

440
00:27:45,870 --> 00:27:48,630
mean, to play all those shows. I mean, what an experience. I'm sure.

441
00:27:49,430 --> 00:27:52,390
Yeah, it was. It was amazing. And it was like, dude, we were putting out

442
00:27:52,730 --> 00:27:56,490
our, like, Smart Punk debut on that tour. Like, and

443
00:27:56,490 --> 00:28:00,210
then, like, immediately Covid happened, and it was like

444
00:28:00,210 --> 00:28:04,050
the. Oh, my God. It was like a huge momentum kill

445
00:28:04,050 --> 00:28:07,250
because it really kind of felt like things were. Because I've been doing this for

446
00:28:07,250 --> 00:28:11,010
a while, and it's like, I've had kind of ebbs and flows in

447
00:28:11,010 --> 00:28:14,850
my career and. But that was like. I was like, this is a pinnacle ass

448
00:28:14,850 --> 00:28:18,650
moment. Like, hell yeah. Biggest tour I've

449
00:28:18,650 --> 00:28:22,370
ever done. One of the longest tours I've ever done. I'm putting out an LP

450
00:28:22,370 --> 00:28:26,210
on the tour, like the stars are aligned. And then Covid happens and I'm just.

451
00:28:26,210 --> 00:28:30,010
Like, were you in the middle of the tour when that happened? Did you guys

452
00:28:30,010 --> 00:28:33,450
get shut down? No, we didn't get shut down, but the tour

453
00:28:33,530 --> 00:28:36,810
ended in December 29th. Okay.

454
00:28:38,010 --> 00:28:41,450
March. March 2020. So it was like,

455
00:28:41,930 --> 00:28:45,690
you know, the whole follow up year of touring that we had planned

456
00:28:45,690 --> 00:28:48,440
and majority of booked just

457
00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:52,840
disappeared and the momentum was kind of lost. Yeah,

458
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:56,600
you know, for sure. Because I think that was when they. When they

459
00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:00,240
put out like Simple Plan, put out that record with State Champs. I think

460
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,840
that they had like a song out with. Yeah, that was. That the

461
00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:07,640
Kings. I think it was that tour. Right? Huh? Yeah, I do remember that.

462
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:10,800
Yeah, it was really funny because they had like, they were like shooting a music

463
00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:14,610
video for it and on the tour at some of

464
00:29:14,610 --> 00:29:18,330
the shows and I don't know if we're

465
00:29:18,330 --> 00:29:21,250
in there a little bit in that music video for that song. You could see

466
00:29:21,250 --> 00:29:24,130
some of us at times, and stuff. But it was just so funny because it

467
00:29:24,130 --> 00:29:25,970
was like, we're just not

468
00:29:28,050 --> 00:29:31,890
included in this song. It's hilarious. That's awesome. I have to rewatch. We shouldn't

469
00:29:31,890 --> 00:29:34,690
be, but I want to see now. That's cool.

470
00:29:36,050 --> 00:29:39,830
Right on. So. So that happens, then Covid happens and then. And

471
00:29:39,830 --> 00:29:43,350
that's obviously the momentum slows down and are you like, okay,

472
00:29:43,830 --> 00:29:47,670
now what do I do? Yeah, when do you start working on this new album?

473
00:29:47,670 --> 00:29:51,470
And like, after everything opens up. Did

474
00:29:51,470 --> 00:29:55,030
you. Were you. Was it. Was it hard to kind of get

475
00:29:55,030 --> 00:29:58,670
that, you know, that. That momentum

476
00:29:58,670 --> 00:30:02,350
back? Yeah, it's been hard. And it's something I think

477
00:30:02,350 --> 00:30:05,990
I'm like, still actively like working on. Cause it's

478
00:30:05,990 --> 00:30:09,670
like done a couple tours and festivals and

479
00:30:09,670 --> 00:30:13,110
stuff like that since then. But I haven't been consistently on the road since pre

480
00:30:13,110 --> 00:30:16,870
Covid and so, yeah, it's been

481
00:30:16,870 --> 00:30:20,270
hard. And during COVID is when I started working on the record

482
00:30:20,430 --> 00:30:24,190
and I wasn't necessarily trying to make a record and I was kind of

483
00:30:24,190 --> 00:30:27,950
discouraged and I was kind of just like, ah, this. This might be

484
00:30:27,950 --> 00:30:31,630
the last one. Like it's. It's my last. My last one on the contract

485
00:30:31,870 --> 00:30:35,230
and maybe I'll just. Maybe I'll just

486
00:30:35,230 --> 00:30:39,030
cleanse. Maybe I'll just fuck off for a little bit after that. Oh, wow. But

487
00:30:39,030 --> 00:30:42,750
then, you know, I somehow made a record

488
00:30:43,150 --> 00:30:46,870
that I'm really happy with and then immediately moved to

489
00:30:46,870 --> 00:30:50,590
Los Angeles and like. Yeah. So you recorded that when you're still in

490
00:30:51,630 --> 00:30:55,470
Florida? Yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah. What a 180. You're like, actually,

491
00:30:55,710 --> 00:30:58,430
I'm gonna go fully into this and move to la.

492
00:31:00,350 --> 00:31:04,000
This is my, my kind of like throwing

493
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,800
everything at the wall and just being like, yeah, all

494
00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:11,040
right. Like, dude. Yeah.

495
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:15,200
Yeah. Well, I've heard, I've heard a handful of. I mean, I like the songs

496
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,720
because the full album isn't out yet, right? No, it's not. In July.

497
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,760
That's what I thought. Okay. So I've heard a handful of the songs on the

498
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:24,440
record. And I, Dude, I love, I love what you're doing because I love that

499
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,970
style of music and just, it,

500
00:31:27,970 --> 00:31:30,410
it's cool, it's, it's fresh. And

501
00:31:31,930 --> 00:31:35,130
I'm stoked that you're gonna keep going. I think moving to LA was a good,

502
00:31:35,130 --> 00:31:38,850
good move, if that's what you, you know, just to go all in. It's

503
00:31:38,850 --> 00:31:41,130
like, why not? I'm here, we'll see what happens. Yeah,

504
00:31:42,410 --> 00:31:46,170
thank you, by the way. And I, I, I don't know. I'm just like.

505
00:31:46,490 --> 00:31:49,730
I didn't necessarily move here with the intention of, like, okay, let's go to LA

506
00:31:49,730 --> 00:31:52,970
and try to be, like, a famous rocker. I'm gonna make it.

507
00:31:53,770 --> 00:31:56,740
No, it was more so, like, you know,

508
00:31:57,700 --> 00:32:01,340
it's time for something new. A lot of my friends moved here and

509
00:32:01,340 --> 00:32:05,140
like, one of my best friends who produced this record and the last

510
00:32:05,140 --> 00:32:08,860
one, he, like, made the jump to move to Los

511
00:32:08,860 --> 00:32:12,580
Angeles right after we did the album. And he kind of, he kind of

512
00:32:12,580 --> 00:32:16,420
imported me with him. He was like, just, just come out here. Like, we'll make

513
00:32:16,420 --> 00:32:20,060
music all the time. Like, we'll, we'll get, like, writing sessions

514
00:32:20,060 --> 00:32:23,900
going for you. Like, he, his name is Sam Guayana. He's

515
00:32:23,900 --> 00:32:27,740
been a bit of the closest thing I

516
00:32:27,740 --> 00:32:31,300
have to, like, a mentor or manager, you know what I mean? He's just

517
00:32:31,300 --> 00:32:35,020
like, he believes in the shit. And when we make the records,

518
00:32:35,020 --> 00:32:38,780
it's like it's him and I in a room and

519
00:32:38,780 --> 00:32:42,540
we're making songs together. So, yeah,

520
00:32:42,540 --> 00:32:46,380
he kind of imported me, as he says. Well, you said you didn't even

521
00:32:46,380 --> 00:32:48,890
know if you were going to write or not. Like, you were like, okay, I

522
00:32:48,890 --> 00:32:52,570
think I'm done. You're about to give up or stop for a while at

523
00:32:52,570 --> 00:32:55,370
least, right? And do you write a song or was one of the Songs on

524
00:32:55,370 --> 00:32:58,890
the album or something that sparked that. You're like, oh, wow, like,

525
00:32:59,450 --> 00:33:03,130
I love this. And then they just kept getting, you know, you kept

526
00:33:03,130 --> 00:33:06,890
putting them out or, like, how did it, how did you flip like that? Like,

527
00:33:06,890 --> 00:33:10,490
flip the, you know, switching your head to. I don't know.

528
00:33:10,490 --> 00:33:14,130
I think it's, like, less of a choice than it appears to be

529
00:33:14,130 --> 00:33:17,750
because it's like, I, I, I don't know that I'm really good

530
00:33:17,750 --> 00:33:21,390
at other stuff. And I listened to

531
00:33:21,390 --> 00:33:24,990
the record when we firstly, like, we also. I had, like, the

532
00:33:24,990 --> 00:33:28,790
easiest time I've ever had making an album. Making this one. Like, it just came

533
00:33:28,790 --> 00:33:31,750
right out of me. And then I was listening to it, and I was like,

534
00:33:32,070 --> 00:33:35,270
I think this is really good. I'm really happy with it. And,

535
00:33:36,070 --> 00:33:39,910
like, you know, who would I be if I stopped? You know what I

536
00:33:39,910 --> 00:33:43,580
mean? I didn't know that I was gonna, like, quit music. I think I'll always,

537
00:33:43,660 --> 00:33:47,460
like, write music or whatever, but I think it was more of, like. I

538
00:33:47,460 --> 00:33:51,140
just think, like, the dream is not necessarily dead, but maybe the

539
00:33:51,140 --> 00:33:54,980
dream is changing, and maybe I've already accomplished a lot of

540
00:33:54,980 --> 00:33:58,380
things I never thought I'd be able to do. You know, when I was younger,

541
00:33:58,380 --> 00:34:02,180
I used to think, like, oh, if I get signed to a

542
00:34:02,180 --> 00:34:05,740
label, I'll have made it. Or, like, oh, if I tore overseas,

543
00:34:05,820 --> 00:34:09,170
I'll have made it. Or, oh, if I get to make a record in a

544
00:34:09,170 --> 00:34:12,290
real studio, I'll have made it. And it's like, those are all things that

545
00:34:13,010 --> 00:34:15,810
I'm fortunate enough to have done. And maybe that's just.

546
00:34:17,730 --> 00:34:20,930
Maybe the young version of me can just be happy with what I've done already

547
00:34:21,090 --> 00:34:24,850
and then just like, stop putting so much pressure on it to,

548
00:34:24,850 --> 00:34:27,570
like, you know, break in some huge way.

549
00:34:29,250 --> 00:34:32,850
I don't know. No, I 100% agree with you. But then as like, a

550
00:34:32,850 --> 00:34:36,690
creative, I'm sure the bull. All that happens is the goalposts just keep getting

551
00:34:36,690 --> 00:34:40,219
pushed further back. Right. The Tarzan Method. Yeah.

552
00:34:40,939 --> 00:34:44,659
Next one. I heard Anthony. I had

553
00:34:44,659 --> 00:34:48,499
Anthony on from Bayside, and he told me the thing was,

554
00:34:48,499 --> 00:34:52,179
you know, when you. The bigger the band gets in, the more he just said,

555
00:34:52,179 --> 00:34:55,819
you never arrive. I was like, that's you.

556
00:34:55,819 --> 00:34:59,019
And I asked him about getting signed to a label, and he's like, basically, like,

557
00:34:59,019 --> 00:35:02,779
you know, you went from, you're the kid at the

558
00:35:03,259 --> 00:35:06,870
little kid's table at Thanksgiving

559
00:35:06,870 --> 00:35:09,310
dinner, now you're at the big table, and it's like, what are you gonna do?

560
00:35:09,870 --> 00:35:13,670
Show it? And I felt that interesting. And then he just

561
00:35:13,670 --> 00:35:17,390
Kind of said, you never arrive, which is. I feel like that myself.

562
00:35:17,710 --> 00:35:20,989
I was on terrestrial radio for 15 years and I was doing this. And it's

563
00:35:20,989 --> 00:35:24,630
like, you always want to get bigger and better and more and you achieve

564
00:35:24,630 --> 00:35:27,310
the one thing that you thought you'd never have and you're like, okay, well that's

565
00:35:27,310 --> 00:35:29,550
great, but look at now, I need to get to this point.

566
00:35:31,090 --> 00:35:34,450
Yeah. And it always looks different once you get there too. Like, right,

567
00:35:34,610 --> 00:35:38,130
right. Like, I don't know,

568
00:35:38,210 --> 00:35:41,490
it's. The goalpost does keep moving. And

569
00:35:43,970 --> 00:35:47,650
yeah, I like that you don't ever arrive because it's like, unless

570
00:35:47,650 --> 00:35:51,330
you're like literally post Malone or something. Like, but he's probably like,

571
00:35:51,330 --> 00:35:54,130
I haven't arrived. Like, I've done all this stuff, but, like,

572
00:35:55,250 --> 00:35:58,770
there's got to be something now and is. It's like, how much

573
00:35:58,770 --> 00:36:02,610
bigger can you. I mean, I. Maybe Taylor Swift never has

574
00:36:02,610 --> 00:36:05,770
arrived. I mean, I don't know, like, if you're selling out, like five nights at

575
00:36:05,770 --> 00:36:09,610
a stadium. I don't know, but maybe that. She's like, no, but I need

576
00:36:09,610 --> 00:36:13,290
to play to. I don't know, like, it

577
00:36:13,290 --> 00:36:16,890
just keeps going. It's like endless. Yeah, it's

578
00:36:16,890 --> 00:36:20,610
futile in that way, like, having those types of goals. And I think,

579
00:36:20,610 --> 00:36:24,370
like, for me, especially coming out here,

580
00:36:24,370 --> 00:36:27,900
like, my number one goal is to just live a

581
00:36:27,900 --> 00:36:31,500
comfortable life, like financially through music.

582
00:36:31,500 --> 00:36:35,260
Like, I. I've realized now, like, I don't need a big

583
00:36:35,260 --> 00:36:38,900
house, I don't need a fancy car. I don't need, like, I don't need any

584
00:36:38,900 --> 00:36:42,220
of that to be happy. But if I can just like sustain

585
00:36:42,700 --> 00:36:46,420
a happy and comfortable lifestyle through music, that's like my

586
00:36:46,420 --> 00:36:49,300
next goal. You know what I mean? Like, I don't want to work other jobs.

587
00:36:49,300 --> 00:36:52,830
Like, I don't want to do other shit. And luckily in la, I.

588
00:36:52,830 --> 00:36:56,590
I do get to like do some co writing stuff and some

589
00:36:56,590 --> 00:37:00,070
production stuff with people and like, that's cool to make money that way through music,

590
00:37:00,310 --> 00:37:03,670
but I want to supplement my entire life

591
00:37:03,910 --> 00:37:07,510
through creating shit. And that's like the

592
00:37:07,510 --> 00:37:11,310
goal. You know what I mean? Oh, 100%. So, like, the goal,

593
00:37:11,310 --> 00:37:15,030
like, just changes, I think. Like, I don't need to be

594
00:37:15,030 --> 00:37:18,670
like, in the Foo Fighters, even though that would be incredibly

595
00:37:18,670 --> 00:37:21,830
dope. You know what I mean? Right, right. But then Dave Grohl is probably like,

596
00:37:21,830 --> 00:37:24,590
yeah, but I still need it, you know? I mean, like, even all those people

597
00:37:24,590 --> 00:37:28,430
are still shooting even further. Yeah, but no, that's

598
00:37:28,430 --> 00:37:31,270
awesome. Animal. And I can't wait to hear. Hear the album. I Know, I just

599
00:37:31,270 --> 00:37:34,710
looking at your website, you know how many shows but you hoping to tour, the

600
00:37:34,710 --> 00:37:38,390
album comes out. I'm hoping to, but like you know, on

601
00:37:38,390 --> 00:37:41,910
topic financially, like I, you know, just

602
00:37:41,910 --> 00:37:44,220
being a 30 year old guy,

603
00:37:45,740 --> 00:37:49,580
I need to, it needs to make sense financially. Like

604
00:37:49,580 --> 00:37:53,020
I don't need to make money, I just need to not lose money. Right,

605
00:37:53,100 --> 00:37:56,900
right. You know what I mean? Like this, this era cost

606
00:37:56,900 --> 00:38:00,700
me money. This era of like living at my parents house and like not

607
00:38:00,700 --> 00:38:03,820
caring if I lose money and you know what I mean, like that is kind

608
00:38:03,820 --> 00:38:07,620
of over in my life. So I'm just, you know, I, I

609
00:38:07,620 --> 00:38:11,210
am looking for an agent right now and management.

610
00:38:11,290 --> 00:38:14,610
I'd like to get like that sort of thing going and I would love to

611
00:38:14,610 --> 00:38:17,370
get on the road. I don't have any tours right now, but I have some

612
00:38:17,610 --> 00:38:21,450
stuff like locally in Southern California and in la,

613
00:38:21,450 --> 00:38:25,050
like for the album release, like set up and all that and that.

614
00:38:25,130 --> 00:38:28,610
Cool. But yeah, I just like I did DIY

615
00:38:28,610 --> 00:38:31,850
touring for like 10 years. Like I simply,

616
00:38:32,730 --> 00:38:36,450
in the year of our good Lord 2024, I don't think that I

617
00:38:36,450 --> 00:38:39,830
can DIY tour anymore. Right. No,

618
00:38:40,870 --> 00:38:44,670
I, I feel you on that, dude. Well, I appreciate

619
00:38:44,670 --> 00:38:47,990
your time. Thank you so much, Jon, for doing this, man. I have one more

620
00:38:47,990 --> 00:38:51,110
quick question for you. I want to know if you have any advice to

621
00:38:51,190 --> 00:38:52,870
aspiring artists.

622
00:38:57,350 --> 00:39:01,030
I would say when you're making stuff, if it's not

623
00:39:01,030 --> 00:39:04,150
coming out naturally, put the guitar down

624
00:39:04,950 --> 00:39:08,790
and try again another time. Like you cannot

625
00:39:08,790 --> 00:39:12,470
force it when you're creating stuff or else you are

626
00:39:12,470 --> 00:39:15,470
just gonna hate it. And you have to like it, you have to believe in

627
00:39:15,470 --> 00:39:19,230
it to push it. And also just like, I don't know,

628
00:39:19,230 --> 00:39:22,790
maybe I'm saying this out loud for my own affirmation, but don't stop. You know

629
00:39:22,790 --> 00:39:25,910
what I mean? If you have a dream, like you have to keep going and

630
00:39:27,110 --> 00:39:30,310
you know they say it takes like 10 years to become an overnight success,

631
00:39:30,950 --> 00:39:31,350
so.

632
00:39:39,890 --> 00:39:41,250
Bringing it backward,

633
00:39:45,090 --> 00:39:48,610
bringing it backward, bringing it backward,

634
00:39:48,770 --> 00:39:52,290
bringing it backward, bringing it backward,

635
00:39:52,450 --> 00:39:54,210
bringing it backward.