Jaben, you started as a bass guitarist and only recently began singing. What was it like stepping into the role of a vocalist, and how has it shaped your music?
Liberating. I never knew how I loved just grabbing the mic and screaming my guys out until I tried and now I don’t wanna stop. I sing at least a half hour a day somewhere ever since I started. Shaped the music by being more vocal melody driven then anything else
How did the current lineup of JBNG come together, and what has the collaborative process been like with the band members?
Got extremely lucky with the band. Al the lead guitarist has been a friend for 30 years and we’ve played together before in bands but he sang on those. I meet Matt the drummer in the studio when recording Run and asked him if he wanted join and come play some shows. Then I met Tim and Jonathon online shortly after that and they fit in perfect. First rehearsal was amazing. All very professional
Your debut album, Meh, resonated with fans, and now you’ve followed it up with the excellent Run. How does this new album differ from the first in terms of sound and themes?
I wanted to do an unplugged of run cause that’s more like how the songs originated and to give a basic raw feeling with them all and for anyone who might not like heavy music but could still enjoy the songs.
“Barely Know You” is amongst my favorites on the release, capturing a stellar sound in its tonal evolution. What inspired the song, and how did it come together in the studio?
Thanks, Barely know you was written about a very close relationship I had with my with for 22 years, love of my life, and she just Ran out the door one day. Why the album is called Run as well. Al and I made some pretty solid demo tapes that weren’t too far off where it ended up. Al played the drums and I did all the other parts so we tried to come prepared.
With such a range of influences, from Nirvana to Tom Waits, how do you decide what direction each song takes? Is it an organic process, or do you plan the stylistic shifts?
I think it’s 100% organic. If I think about what to do then I can tell I’m forcing it. For all 10 songs I started off by just hitting a note or two. And then work on them everyday for about 30 min adding a couple more the same way and then start to arrange. Just keep adding notes and melodies like that. After the melodies I’d work in lyrics. Until the 30 min was all full of completed songs. And since then I sing and practice those. It’s therapeutic.
What’s your favorite venue to perform at?
From Vancouver, love playing at The Roxy. We played Nov 21, 2024 and they invited us back so we are there Feb 25 2025.
Do you have a specific process or ritual when creating new music?
I don’t know if it’s a ritual, but similar to answer 5. Even I want to write a song. If it’s no happening I do even bother to force it. If I want to write and it comes easy and natural then that’s the process. Seems to be an emotional outlet so it is easier to write when feeling things.
If you could collaborate with any artist, alive or dead, who would it be?
I would love to collaborate with Jimi Hendrix as he was pretty open to improvising and trying new things.
What is the biggest challenge you find in today’s music industry?
I think it’s pretty hard for a musician to make any money at it when the big companies like Spotify and Apple charge subscriptions for people to pay but the money doesn’t really get to the artists like it would have when it was all vinyl or CDs.
