As a newly discovered, and a newly formed band at that, I am sitting down today with South Jordan. These guys hail from Bloomington, Indiana and have put together quite an impressive first recording. With a pop piano rock sound matched with industry standard lyrics you leave wanting nothing but more. It is nice to finally meet you guys and have the chance to talk. You three have some interesting stories I am sure. Being from IU and living on campus I am sure has effected your music in many ways. Let’s just start from the beginning. Ladies and gentlemen, South Jordan.
Tell me a little bit more about you guys. When did you officially meet?
(Bobby) We met in late February of 2008. Michael Hall submitted a song to a song-writing competition held by the recording arts department of Indiana University. Mike Chan and I heard Hall’s voice and knew it would be a
great fit to the music that we were currently writing. We had Hall sing on a demo we had just recorded and the rest was history.
What was the moment when you three knew that you would form this band?
(Michael) It was after we recorded the first version of our single, “Fatal Flaw”. We knew we had something special and decided we wanted to give it a legitimate shot.
Where does the name South Jordan come from?
(Mike) South Jordan is the street that we all currently live on in Bloomington. This street also runs through the middle of the IU campus so we knew the name would be familiar to all the local students.
Being from a party town do you guys play a lot of house parties?
(Bobby) We have played our fair share of house parties. There’s always so much energy at those shows and we thrive on that. We have also played at a lot of the sororities on campus.
What is the time line for a full recording?
(Mike) We are currently in pre-production for a full album release. It’s hard to know exactly when it will be finished but we are hoping that we can release it by late 2009.
What is the biggest crowd you have played for?
(Michael) We just played for the IU Dance Marathon which had a crowd of over a thousand people.
What is your overall goal as a band?
(Michael) First and foremost we want to bring our brand of music to the masses. The more people we reach the better. We want to take this band as far as possible. We truly are shooting for the stars.
What are you guys drinking when on stage?
(Michael) All we drink is water. It’s the only thing that helps my voice get through the show.
Where do you practice?
(Bobby) We practice at my house. Fortunately I have a large enough space that we turned into our practice area.
You are playing Madison Square Garden. Who is your opener?
(Bobby) Ben Folds. He’s always been a big inspiration to me and I would love nothing more than to play a show with him.
Who do you get compared musically?
(Mike) We always get compared to The Fray, One Republic, and Coldplay.
Where does the inspiration behind the lyrics come from?
(Michael) The lyrics are all derived from personal experiences. Every song is based off of something that has impacted us personally.
If you could tour with any band right now who would it be?
(Michael) Coldplay without a doubt.
You just ordered a hamburger. You asked for it well done. It comes out medium rare. What do you do?
(Bobby) It makes no difference to me. I just eat whatever is brought to me.
Who are your biggest inspirations?
(Bobby) Ben Folds, Coldplay, Maroon 5, The Fray. (Mike) Led Zeppelin, Beatles, and One Republic. (Michael) Coldplay and Sinatra.
What is the one word of advice you would give a band that is just starting out?
(Bobby) Be persistent. You get rejected pretty much most of the time but every once in a while something will work out.
You guys are on tour and have to fly to the U.K. for a show. Your plane goes down and you are stranded on a deserted island. You can keep 3 things from the wreckage. What do you keep?
(Together) We would keep an acoustic Guitar for music and firewood and 2 keyboards. We’ll figure a way to make a radio out of that.
If you were not playing music what would you be doing?
(Mike) Honestly, if I weren’t playing I would be involved in the industry in one-way or another. Maybe producing or engineering or the business side cause Bobby and I are both in the Recording Arts program here at Indiana University. I really can’t picture myself doing anything outside of music since I’ve been around it since a really young age.
(Michael) I could see myself opening up a small café of my own in Chicago. I love personal interaction with people.
(Bobby) One form or another, I want to be in the music industry, be it as a producer or engineer at a studio.
Is MySpace good or bad for a musician’s career?
(Mike) MySpace is great for a new band. It provides much needed exposure to millions of people who have no idea who you are. It also gives us a way to keep in touch with fans, and we love doing that.
I always let the interviewee get the last word. Go.
Everyone one of us has the personal drive to take this band as far as it can go. We believe we have something unique that has yet to be explored in the music realm. We look forward to the chance of bringing our style of music to the masses.
