Groupe:

Jared James Nichols

Date:

01 Juin 2016

Interviewer:

Blaster Of Muppets

Interview Jared James Nichols (face to face)

For the past couple of years, you’ve made a name for yourself but not everybody knows you yet… Could you briefly inform our reader about you and your band?

Absolutely. Actually, the first time we came to Europe was in spring 2014 so it’s been two years since we’ve started touring Europe… it’s our fourth time over here. We came once with Lynyrd Skynyrd, once with Glenn Hughes, we also had gigs in clubs the first time we played. We played in front of 20 people, you know, just trying to get over… I met these guys (Erik and Dennis) in L.A. about five years ago and it was real organic! I was like “Hey man, you wanna jam? Let’s jam some covers” and it just started like that. And then, I got us a gig, and then another one… and everything happened very naturally. Honestly, at that time, I didn’t have a lot of songs, I didn’t feel very confident as a singer yet, I was really just trying to get the sound together… and it all started to come together about two and a half years ago and I was like “Ok, I’m ready to roll, let’s get some dirt under our fingernails”, and it doesn’t surprise me that people come to me and say “Who the hell are you??”. We’ve just been started but it’s great we had the opportunity to support great bands and get this tour with Zakk Wylde…

Yes, exactly, I wanted to ask you about that. It looks like, right from the beginning of your career, you were offered incredible opportunities, I mean, it’s not everybody who gets to tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Glenn Hughes or Zakk Wylde so early in their career… How did you get these gigs?

Yeah, I know (laughs). The first gig we got was the Doobie Brothers and Kid Rock. What happened is that I was playing in a motorcycle convention, for Sturgis, you know, a big motorcycle rally and I had no idea what I was walking into. I ended hanging out and talking to the owner of a huge venue called the Buffalo Chip and he offered me to come and play to his venue and told me I would open for the Doobie Brothers! I was like “Holy Shit!!!”… Amazing, right?! So we did it, and one thing led to another and before I know it, I’m opening, like you said, for ZZ Top, and then we opened up for Lynyrd Skynyrd and we made friends with those guys and they said “Come with us to Europe!” and then we had the opportunity of opening for Glenn Hughes… You know, all this stuff happened super organically… Some people must think “Who is he paying to get these gigs?” but it just happened because, you know, you build a relationship with one person and this person knows a guy from this camp who knows other guys and they know Glenn Hughes, and they know Zakk Wylde… So that’s how it happened.

Talking about live music… you actually released a live recording before you even recorded a studio album. That’s quite unusual these days, right? Is this a sort of hint on the fact that you are a live musician rather than a studio musician?

Yeah man, that’s what it’s all about. My favourite bands like Mountain, Cream or Hendrix… you know, all the power trios… what I fucking love about them is when I listen to their live stuff because that’s when it really goes off, man. Mountain or Cream, they could take a simple blues and would play it for twenty-five minutes and it would get so insane… that’s where I wanna go with music. I wanna take this shit live! When we play our own shows, we love jamming, taking the music, pushing it, twisting and turning… and that’s what I love about that shit, man. It’s all about the live scenario. I got to record with amazing people and I loved it but, for some reason, I always get off playing live, that’s where I feel at home.

You’re not just a talented guitar player, you’re also quite a singer! Did you ever consider having a singer so you could fully focus on the guitar or was singing and playing the guitar the plan all along?

Thank you, man. You know, I wanted it… even though when I started playing music, I was all about the guitar. Actually, I didn’t start singing before I started this, my own trio. Basically, it came down to this : “Either you’re gonna start singing or you’ll have to find someone who can sing for you” and I didn’t really want to have to deal with the singer drama… and you know how hard it is to work with people in general and I didn’t wanna have to work around other people’s schedules… And all the guitar players I love also sing, so that’s what I wanted to do. So I really committed to it and it took a while, it’s still taking a while actually, to really find my voice. It’s like the guitar, it’s constantly evolving… the great part is I’m making progress. You know, I watched a video from two years ago and was like “Fuck! That kinda sounds like shit!!” (laughs). But it’s getting better and for me, it’s all about the growth, it’s not really about reaching a place, it’s about continuing to evolve.

How old were you when you started playing the guitar?

I had just turned fifteen. In high school, everybody was playing the guitar… and I wanted to play the drums. I was like “I’m gonna fuckin’ play drums and be cool…” so I borrowed a drum set from a friend, brought it to my parents’ house, went to the basement, kicked the cymbals… two minutes later, my parents came downstairs and my dad was like “Nope, not happening!”. And that was it. “Try guitar, you can take it with you. You can go anywhere with a guitar”, he said to me. I was like “fuck!!”. So I started picking up the guitar even though I thought I would still be a drummer but I finally came to love it.

The music genre you love and play is not new and it seems that pretty much everything has been written… Isn’t it hard to bring something fresh to the genre?

Honestly, I’ve never approached it like that. I never thought “Well, what am I going to bring to the table?”. For me, it’s just about the love of the music. You know, I heard some great music and thought “This is fucking cool! I wanna play shit like that!”. I listened to stuff like Grand Funk Railroad or Joe Walsh and it got me excited. After learning, practising a lot, twisting and turning, I think I kinda started to develop my own spin… But I don’t really look at other songs and think “Fuck, he took that riff!!!”. It’s more about the passion, the fire, the energy… I listen to some music that inspires me and I just wanna play… it’s just what I wanna do, you know.

There seems to be a kind of going back to the roots movement that started a few years ago. There are more and more bands sounding as if we were in the 60s, 70s or 80s… And you’re quite young yourself, still you play some good old blues rock. How do you explain this craving for old stuff? Do you think it’s a reaction to something? Is it out of nostalgia?

Honestly… I think that for a lot of people, it’s not a passion thing. They listen to something and think it’s cool like “Wow, that 60s psychedelic song sounds cool, let’s do a psychedelic band!”. I think a lot of people are searching for different sounds and they hear one artist, let’s say The Black Keys for example, and they’re gonna go “Let’s do that!”… and then you have ten bands that sound like The Black Keys. Sometimes, I think they just go with what they see or hear… But I don’t want to put it down, because it can be good and, in the end, it helps the music. But for some bands, I don’t think it’s a real spontaneous thing. It’s like some people who come to me and say “Man, the guitar is coming back, that’s cool!”... It never left, it’s always been there!

Yesterday was the first night of this tour with Zakk Wylde, in London. How did it go?

It was amazing. We got a great response, man. I was so happy about that. I was nervous, for sure. You know, these people, they’re obviously here to listen to Zakk, they love Ozzy, they love Black Label Society, Black Sabbath… and here comes me (smiles). So yeah, I was a little bit on edge. But after the first tune, the response was great. Zakk and his crew are so fuckin’ awesome to us and I feel right at home.

Who are the guitar players you would say are your biggest influences?

The two biggest influences for sure, the guys I can’t seem to get away from are Stevie Ray Vaughan and Leslie West. Two different schools of playing both rooted in the blues and the blues rock. Stevie’s the guy who really got me into the blues and helped me discover a lot of other great players like Albert King, Buddy Guy… And then, there was Leslie of Mountain and I heard him play “Mississippi Queen” and “Never in my Life” and basically I realized that was how I wanted my guitar to sound, like a pissed-off bull coming at you. That fuelled my playing, my style… I got inspiration from many other players but those are the two guys I can’t get away from.

Your first album “Old Glory and Wild Revivals” was produced by the renowned Eddie Kramer… How was it to collaborate with him?

Amazing. A dream come true, man. Eddie’s spirit and presence alone are enough to inspire you. You know, we were recording a song at some point with a great drummer, Jonathan Mover, and he said to Eddie: “Hey Eddie, did you go to Woodstock?”… and Eddie said “Woodstock? I recorded Woodstock”. I was just standing there like “Ok…”. I already knew he was on another planet… But, to work with him, what’s better for a guitar player, really? Hendrix, Zeppelin, that’s crazy, you know… What can I say? And the best thing about him is that he’s not bitter or bored, he’s there for the music. He’s still got the fire, man.

Your album was released last year and had very good reviews. Is there another one in the works?

Yeah, I’ve got a batch of twenty killer songs that I’m ready to record but we’re on the road right now and we’re touring until November so it’s gonna be hard to get into a studio soon but definitely, in 2017, we’ll hit the studio and record a new album.

Your dream tour?

Well, this is one of them, honestly. You know, I would love playing with my heroes, Leslie West, Black Sabbath would be great but they’re retiring now…

Will we see more of you in the near future?

Yes! I think that there’s a tour in the works right now with Walter Trout which should take place in October. At the moment, we’re doing the Zakk tour and it’s going to keep us busy for a while because we’re gonna do tons of stuff in Europe and then we’re gonna go to Canada and the States… But yeah, I definitely think we’ll be back in France in October.

Your favourite guitar?

Oh man… that’s hard. Honestly, I’m gonna say that my favourite guitar is the guitar I’m playing… which is a Gibson Les Paul Custom… but it’s a custom-made one. Basically, it’s the best of a Les Paul and a Les Paul Junior wrapped into one. I think I can play any style of music on that thing… it’s just amazing!

I noticed you didn’t play with a pick, don’t you like it?

For what I’m trying to do, I find it’s just a bit limiting for me, personally, and I feel more comfortable without it. It’s just different taste, you know…

Any musician you’d like to collaborate with?

I would love to sit in a room with a guy like Zakk Wylde… Leslie West as well, of course. I’d love to collaborate with some of my favourite guitar players, you know, Bill Gibbons… I would love to play with Ted Nugent as well. Ted has had a great musical influence on me… the first records he put out… Eddie Kramer did records with him back in the day, I fucking just love that shit. Unfortunately, he's done those questionable political moves that I don't really agree with, you know... But as musician, I think he's great. Oh, And I also love Robin Trower, I'd love to collaborate with him, man.

The last word is yours:

First, thank you for checking me out. I really appreciate that. And to your readers: I guarantee, if you haven’t heard of me yet, you will because I’ll be coming back… to kick some ass!!