Let me tell you about a band that I have been listening to lately and DAMN THEY ROCK! They are Surrender the Fall from Memphis and they have a new album out that you are going to have to check out! Their debut album “Burn in the Spotlight” is now out on RUM BUM Records and is really having everyone take notice of these guys! From start to finish, they deliver energy driven songs that are emotionally charged and engage you from the first note. We had the chance to talk with singer, Jared Cole before he headed out to play at last week’s Dysfunctional Family BBQ Festival in New York.
We are happy to share with you that interview:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Music Junkie Press: Thank you so much Jared for talking with us here at Music Junkie Press where those who are addicted to music, get their fix! Now let’s talk about Surrender the Fall. What are you guys currently up to?
Jared: Right now we are gearing up here in Memphis, flew all the guys in and got everybody together and we are going to work up a new set. We are heading out to Syracuse, NY this week and playing the Dysfunctional Family BBQ with Volbeat, Ten Years, Wayland, Big Wreck, us and Eye Empire. Pretty stoked about that and ready to play with everyone. We have played a lot in the past with Eye Empire and that has always been great. Those guys are like family to us, so it is going to be a lot of fun. They are currently on tour with Volbeat, so we are looking forward to seeing those guys and meeting them. I hear their band is big Elvis fans and we are from Memphis, I think we might be able to work that one out.
Music Junkie Press: We know that “Surrender the Fall” will be putting the “FUN” into that Dysfunction BBQ.
Jared: Ya, I think it won’t be too hard to find. We will be bringing a little recklessness on our own, so I think we will fit right in.
* * * *
Music Junkie Press: We have been rocking out to your latest single, “Some Kind of Perfect”. The video is on MTV Buzzworthy Videos and it completely rocks. We are so glad to see the heightened return of “music Videos”. If I could ask, when growing up, what was the most memorable music video you liked or didn’t like?
Jared: Oh my God, it is hard to tell. When I was growing up, we didn’t have, we lived so far out of the city, we didn’t have MTV or any of that back then, the cable channels for us. We were just too far out of the way, so whenever I went over to a friend’s house or something like that, I would always be attached to the TV watching these videos. I remember Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”, I remember that one a lot, I remember Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. I remember a lot of Unplugged Nirvana in New York. I think they actually made a record on it as well. That is what sticks out in my mind the most. I remember Kurt Cobain sitting there playing the songs and they were raw, they were right there and they didn’t even have a whole drum kit. It was great. I think when a band can play acoustically and translate that song and have it make sense like that, as well as live, I think if you could do that acoustically, then those are the true artists. Those are the ones that put a lot of heart and soul into, because that is where it came from. Everything that I write starts out on an acoustic. I think if I can’t, I mean I am not a guitar player by any means, but if I can’t play it and sing it by myself, or at least make a general attempt to, I don’t have any business doing the song. You have to feel it, stripped down.
* * * *
Music Junkie Press: Let’s talk about your album, “Burn in the Spotlight” You guys really give your 150% on this album. Every song from first to last just keeps you rockin. Do you have a personal favorite on this album?
Jared: You know I am really partial to all of them, I have to say that first. You know we went whole into it. I mean they say, “You have your whole life to write your first record and you have 3 months to write your second.” You know that is very true, because I put my whole life into this thing. We used to be a little different and trying to typecast our genre and kind of whether we knew it or not, we were trying to pigeon hole ourselves into a certain category. I would have these acoustic songs and Eddie and I would be writing or jamming or what not and he would be like, ya I just love that song but Surrender the Fall would never use it. It is not really what we would do. Then it was like we finally said, we are just going to write good songs, regardless of what it sounds like and if it is a little slow, a little fast, acoustic or piano, we are just going to do it. We are going to be honest with it. As far as my favorite, there are so much I like about every song. I really love how “Everything you want me to be” came out right in the beginning and says, “ I am a dirtbag, mother fucker fake ass selfish son of a bitch” That song just basically giving the middle finger to anyone who wants to say something about you and they don’t really know you. It is just like I know who I am, so screw it! I will be whoever you want me to be, I will be everything you want me to be. I love “Some Kind of Perfect”. I would probably say “Some Kind of Perfect is one of my favorite, if not my favorite off the whole record.
* * * *
Music Junkie Press: True, all of the songs really are great. I mean recently my new Go To song to get me energized and ready to go has been your song, “Nothing”. It is an incredible song that just kicks ass. How about you? Do you have a particular Go To song that just gets you in a good mood, energizes you or always takes you to a good place?
Jared: Oh man, I get pretty amped up listening to the new Eye Empire record. I will say that much. We have done a couple runs with those guys and again, they are family, they are our brothers so I get pretty amped up listening to them. I have been for the longest time listening to a lot of Stone Sour. We just got finished playing with them at the 98 Rockfest in Tampa and we played with them at Rockfest in Charleston and that band is the best band out right now. It is unbelievable. They have so much command and are such great musicians. The live shows are incredible, Corey Taylor is on fire from start to finish. Everything you want out of a rock and roll show and those guys bring it and bring it every night. I have been listening to a lot of that, Stone Sour.
Music Junkie Press: That is so true! We just saw them play at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards and they are on fire, great show.
I know this last time in Tampa it was so busy and an in and outdoor stage, so crazy and I didn’t get to meet anybody. But in Charleston, I got to meet Jim Root and Corey Taylor and talk to them for a minute and some of the most incredible people you will ever meet. I mean some of the nicest, down to earth, take the time out for you and they really care for what they are doing and they are real. It is not a show, they don’t put on some fake façade, it is just the real deal with them. Those guys are bad ass.
* * * *
Music Junkie Press: How old were you when you first played guitar?
Jared: I started playing guitar, I picked it up when I was about 10 years old for maybe an hour. I had no clue what I was doing and I put it back in it’s case. It was my Dad’s guitar and I shoved it under the bed and didn’t touch it for another two years or so. I picked it up again and was like alright, I really want to do this, I want to learn and figure out how to do something. I had a buddy of mine show me three chords. He is like, “If you can play these three chords, then you can pretty much make your way through any song”. I just took that and kind of ran with it. I never had any kind of lessons or anything like that. I loved doing it so much, I would lock myself in my room and learn how to play songs on tape by fast forwarding or rewinding and learning those parts and then move on. So I would say maybe 12.
* * * *
Music Junkie Press: Can you remember what was the first song you learned to completely play?
Jared: Shimmer by Fuel, well I can’t say. That was the first song that I ventured out away from like conservative G, C and D regular chords like you learn on the first day of school. That was the first song that I actually started experimenting with other chords and stuff like that. It was very different from the beginner’s stage and I spent the most time. I remember spending my whole Christmas Holiday over at my family’s house when I was a kid learning how to play that song. I just loved it. I learned other things too like “Smoke on the Water”, I tried to play “Dream On” and other stuff. That is where my head was at. Between that and 16 Stone by Bush, that whole record by Bush, ya, all of that.
* * * *
Music Junkie Press: What was your first concert?
Jared: Poison and Warrant on the Cherry Pie tour before Ratt ever joined. I think I was like 8 years old and my Uncle took me to it, he snuck me. It was like the coolest show I have ever seen. I was set from then on. Me and my next door neighbor, I would go back and tell him stories and we would stand on the porch and crank the music to 11 and play fake or toy guitars or whatever we could get our hands on because it was what we wanted to do. I was influenced big time by the 80’s and by like, just the big show. You had people who got into it, whether it was their image or wasting a can of Aquanet on their head. Or it was the ones who would play those shredding solos and run and slide on their knees. I mean as cheesy as you want to call it, you felt it. It was energy and the crowd loved it and that is what made me love it.
Music Junkie Press: That is what it is, it incites the energy. That is the best part of those shows, is just that, they are a show. That is what you go for.
Jared: Absolutely! Exactly! Otherwise you can just dream it, listen to the record at home.
Music Junkie Press: Exactly, going to music concerts is what is great for kids. I think it is great that you started so young because it really brings kids down that path of music. They see the passion of others and the energy they create and it gets them to want to do the same; to create that energy for others.
Jared: Absolutely, and another thing too, I think, this is attached to that; I think music is Art and the music should be given away. I know how the business was before and everyone would make money of selling records and stuff and that was great and people wanted to support doing that. This whole Spotify, Rhapsody thing, all this sharing type of stuff, I think that is great. I think Art should be free. I think it frees up more financial freedom for these people to come and actually show up for the shows and witness what we really love to do. I mean ya, we love going into the studio, we love making music, but it’s getting out and connecting with people, having a good time is what we really love to do. It is what we are in this for and more people will come out for that. Napster, I thought was a great thing, I might get shot for saying it but I thought it was great!
Music Junkie Press: Yes, I know. You don’t want to have someone have to decide on spending their money on a new album when they could spend that money getting to a show and enjoying the experience, the people, everything. It is time to get the kids, the people out there connecting again. We have become so digitally connected and we need to get people to connect personally again.
Jared: Yes, I mean why waste your money coming to the show and not knowing all the songs and having to learn it when you go to the show and are seeing it live when you could learn it at home, get amped up on the way to the venue and get in there, and rip someone’s head off in a mosh pit. You know what I am saying. It just doesn’t make sense to me. It will get back to that one day. One day, It will get back to the 45s, when things were simple and people loved music for music.
* * * *
Music Junkie Press: I am hoping it will get back to that. Live shows are where it is at! I love live shows and especially can’t wait to see Surrender the Fall live. We are out here on the West Coast and have been waiting for you guys to come out and play. Have you ever done a West Coast show and if now, when are you coming?
Jared: No, we haven’t been out on the West Coast at all. We have been really excited about getting out there and we have heard that there are a couple spots with a really, really, good rock scene and it is something that we have been really dying to do. Right now, we have been just doing mainly Midwest and regional trying to branch out from that and obviously getting the single out on the radio and having a little momentum with that helps us to branch out. Ya, I would love to come to the West Coast, are you kidding me, I would love it!
* * * *
Music Junkie Press: If you could go back and talk to your 14 year old self, what advice would you give to yourself?
Jared: Ha ha, that is a good question! Hmmm. 14 years old… Well, don’t hang out with some of these people you started hanging out with… na, just kidding. I think I would just prepare myself for it to be a really, really long road and just kind of give myself some foresight into the future and say, Look, what they say is true: You really can do it if you don’t give up on and give it 100% every time you do it and then miracles can happen. You can achieve the dreams you want and you can get to the places where you dreamed about when you were playing on the front porch with a broom in your hand. That can become a reality, you just can’t give up on it. If you don’t give up on it, you never failed the only choice is to succeed. That is what Surrender the Fall means, it’s giving up the option to fail.
Music Junkie Press: That is great advice for anyone of any age. It is so true to keep your dreams alive. That is what we need.
Jared: It is so cliché because everyone is like keep going, don’t give up, don’t give up. I had to tell myself that a lot, to tell myself don’t give up through this whole experience and like I said it is so cliché but it is true. I mean do you remember that guy who was in that band that gave up? No, Nobody else does either! We refuse to give up. We have been through member changes, we have been through personal life changes, losing people in our lives. I mean it goes without saying sometimes families, significant others, people that you love are in it for the long haul and sometimes they can’t take it. I mean we have been through all of that, we have been through the death of families, I think this band as a whole, as a family has taken a lot over the course of these 8 years that we have almost been together. It really shows that who we are as people and shows as to what we write and shows in our live shows, because it is a release for all of us.
* * * *
Music Junkie Press: You guys have created a family with your fans. There are people from all over who share their love for your music and they come together. I think it is amazing that you guys can bring that together with your music. Your music touches people, energizes them, it is not just these emotionally driven songs, but at the same time they are adrenaline filled and just rock. I congratulate you guys on succeeding at that.
Jared: Thank you so much. We have wanted to make music that was real and that was hones. I grew up listening to many writers and one of the times I got to meet a couple of them, I was able to look at them in the face and say I had no idea about how I felt about a certain situation until I heard this song that you wrote and it said exactly what I couldn’t say. That is what we wanted to do. We wanted to be able to have it to where anybody can relate to this stuff and find peace about it, find closure or whatever they can do, to live their lives for themselves and not let anyone else make a hindrance on how they live their own lives. If that makes any sense.
Music Junkie Press: Oh it does and so beautifully put. In closing, is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?
Jared: We are getting back on the road really soon. Those details are TBA but we are really looking forward to seeing everybody and making new friends as well. We are a live band and we love being on the road. So hit us up on Facebook, go buy the record, I guarantee you, you will love it! If you don’t love it, I will give you your money back personally and check out the videos. We have one for Love/Hate Masquerade and our new single “Some Kind of Perfect”
Music Junkie Press: Thank you so much for your time, we are going to be putting up the links to your social media sites as well as the links on where to buy “Burn in the Spotlight” which should already be on everyone’s playlist!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jared really tells it like it is. His passion for music and what he does, shows with everything he does. I have heard so many great stories about their live shows that I really am anxiously waiting to get them out here on the West Coast. Make sure you head over to their Facebook page and keep up to date on their upcoming shows. Also, I hope by now you have your own copy of “Burn in the Spotlight” and if not, quit waiting and head over to Amazon or Itunes and get it today! Check out their video for their song, “Love/Hate Masquerade” which has received a lot of great airplay on the radio and Octane on Sirius XM. You can also head over to MTV BuzzWorthy to watch their video for Some Kind of Perfect.
~ Crank it up loud, Marisol
Information & Links:
- Website: www.rumbumrecords.com/artists/surrender-the-fall/
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SurrendertheFall
- Reverbnation: www.reverbnation.com/SurrendertheFall
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/STFBand
- Buy CD on Itunes: itunes.apple.com/us/album/burn-in-the-spotlight/id554377987
- Buy CD on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Burn-In-The-Spotlight/
I am that neighbor and those stories are legit. Richard Marx bitch!
That is sooooo cool! I can totally picture the porch scene.