The Phoenix, Arizona based indie folk band Jared & The Mill are gearing up for a country wide Fall Tour. In anticipation of the tour Jared & The Mill took time out of their schedule to answer a few questions for Casablanca Sunset. Topics spanning current music, influences and life on the road.
CBS – How have you guys learned to manage and handle your recent success and life on the road?
Jared – I think that we do a really great job staying humble around each other. Being that we’re primarily good friends and secondarily band members, we’re more in tune to each other than many other bands we encounter and it’s really great to have that, it’s invaluable. I think the recent success doesn’t really phase us because we work so hard, and it’s been such a gradual change that nothing really seems different – which again is attributed to the fact that we’re such good buddies. We all tend to have such a good time on our adventures that the success is just kind of a bonus. When you do what you love, success doesn’t alter your mindset.
What styles of music and bands influence your music and the creative process?
Michael – Listing the bands that influence us would be a rather long list. We all listen to a ton of music, and all of those bands and genres I’m sure influence our music and creative process strongly. We listen to Jazz, Country, Classic Country, Classic Rock, Sabar Music, Folk, Americana, Rock, loads of Indie bands, lots and lots of stuff. I think something that also has a strong influence on our creative process is what we are going through as a band or as individuals. Our personal lives and all the experiences that come with life on the road find their way into our tunes as much as the music we listen to.
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How long have you been playing music?
Larry – I am pretty sure I have been playing music my entire life. My dad was a gigging musician (one who played frequently with Chuck’s dad, believe it or not) and my mother was a pianist so there was always music in the house between my two older sisters and myself. I started out playing many other instruments including piano, saxophone, drums and bass before I found my current instrument which I think is the story for many of us in the band. Jared started playing violin and cello in orchestra, Mike played guitar, Chuck like myself played saxophone in the marching band and Gabe played guitar and piano. I think Josh was having too much fun to stray from his original instrument although he has been teaching himself guitar lately.
What new music have you discovered in 2014 that you are currently listening to?
Josh – Touring the country gives us an opportunity to hear and experience new music all the time. We fell in Love with bands like Run River North and Y La Bamba when we played at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. What I find most interesting is when we are introduced to older bands and immerse ourselves in their music; this often happens through one member of the band recalling something they listened to during the formative years, such as Larry reintroducing everyone to Crosby, Stills, and Nash. When we had the pleasure of touring with Barry Gibb it suddenly opened up an entire discography for us to listen to and we had a huge Bee Gees kick while on tour (personal favorite: “Nights on Broadway”).
Early picks for album of the year?
Jared: Delta Spirit – Into the Wide
Chuck: Mac DeMarco – Salad Days
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Larry: Blake Mills – Heigh Ho
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Josh: St. Paul and The Broken Bones – Half the City
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Favorite music to listen to before playing a live show?
Chuck – As the mix-master of the band, I’ve learned to cater the pre-show jams to fit the mood. Sometimes we need a little pep up, so I’ll put on some tunes that go hard like some Danny Brown, Death Grips, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye, etc. If the boys are a little too turned up, I might kick it back with some laid back jams such as Fleet Foxes, Alt-J, Saint Paul and the Broken Bones, or Allen Stone. Some other common vibes include classic country, old school punk, mo-town, and anything with a banging baseline. There was also the “stuck in Los Angeles traffic progressive and doom metal” incident of 2013, but that’s a story for another time.
Catch Jared & The Mill on one of their upcoming tour dates.