An interview with JONAS

The following excerpt was taken from
the April 1999 edition of Swanky Ladies:

SL - You've been quoted as saying that music is your oyster, but somebody replaced the pearl with a peanut, could you expand on that idea?

Jonas - Not likely. I can't believe I would ever say something like that!

SL - Anything, any ideas at all on that subject?

Jonas - Are these the types of questions you normally ask your guests? I mean, they seem a little stale. Okay, I guess what I'm trying to say is that music is the language that I use to speak to God, not like he's listening. When I'm sad, when I'm angry, when I'm filled with rage, these are the moments that I feel most in touch with that muse, or whatever you want to call it.

SL. - But don't you feel your songs downplay that sense of rage to concentrate on topics that are closer to the heart?

Jonas - I think I'm feeling that rage building inside me right now! Maybe it's just me, the pills seem to be helping, but I'm really having trouble understanding where you are coming from with all of this.

SL - Okay, new topic then, how did you get started as a musician.

Jonas - Well, I've always been considered a bit of a prodigy. At the tender age of 22 I learned about the black keys on the piano, and the musical world was suddenly revealed to me. But, it really started long before that. I was a member of several light orchestral groups. We'd dabble in everything from classical to Old MacDonald, from jazz to John Phillip Sousa. My abilities as a coronet player were just starting to be noticed when I got entrenched in the revolution of the early 90's.

SL - The music of Kurt Cobain? The fall of communism?

Jonas - No, not really, it's more of a personal thing. You back up you car and head away to this strange place where they try to pack your head full of these ideas about the peaceful tribes of the Amazon, the dangers of apartheid, and the atomic weight of borax. It can really screw with your head!

SL - Is borax an element? I never really saw you as a college man.

Jonas - Neither did my professors, believe me!

SL - So who were your musical influences? Who led you through this revolution to the point you are today, musically?

Jonas - 80's metal bands, wipe that smirk off your face!

SL - Sorry, but your music doesn't seem to draw in any way from bands like Poison, Warrant, and dare I say, Motley Crue.

Jonas - You can't hear it in the music, but you can hear it in the spirit of the songs. I like to remember a time when rock and roll was about having fun! I'd say technique wise I'm closer to a lot of the folk rock performers, but who wants to party with them???

SL - Okay, I see your point?

Jonas - Do you? Because I'm not buying your sincerity here!

SL - Believe me Jonas Swanky Ladies has the utmost respect for artists like yourself! I'm curious about the message in your music, what is it you are really trying to say?

Jonas - Mostly that love stinks, but, also, that I'm an idiot and I keep trying to make love work. It's really pathetic when you think about it. I suck! Sometimes I write about God, because I think he's watching over me and pointing his finger at me, that he's sitting up there with Saint Peter and the Archangel Gabriel and they're all having a good chuckle at my expense. Do you hear me man, I see you, I SEE YOU UP THERE!!!!!!! (Emphasis Added)

After the interviewer was able to calm Jonas down he went on to ask him about the future direction of his music:

Jonas - I see myself dead or in prison by the age of 32, but, assuming I live to tell the rest of this story, I'd like to get away from the confusion that notes and lyrics can bring to a song. I'd like to strip away all that stuff and try to capture the pure essence of music.

SL - And what would that sound like?

Jonas - A baby breathing? Fire? Maybe the sound of mating squid? I really don't know, that's why I'm curious. But, what I really want to do is direct!