Time to namedrop a little bit. I am friends with Joe Lynch, the guy who directed Godheads latest video and he was nice enough to hook me up with an interview with lead singer Jason Miller.
I found Miller to be a totally open and honest guy. Also Godheads latest album kicks major ass. Get it now!
Check out the website for Godhead
Daniel Robert Epstein: Whats going on?
Jason Miller: We are going on tour starting tomorrow. Two weeks in Europe then three weeks in the States.
DRE: What was it like working with Joe Lynch as director on the video for Far Too Long?
JM: Joe had a great vision. He works really hard, is really talented and I think hes going to be a successful filmmaker. I worked with him a long time ago when we did a low budget video in 1998 for a song that was on one of our older albums.
DRE: Who puts up the money for these videos?
JM: Usually the label will pay for it but in this situation the label didnt want to contribute much to it. So it was our responsibility to pick up the rest.
DRE: What does a video do for you?
JM: MTV2 usually plays our videos and so does Fuse. It helps promote the album and helps open your audience up by letting them know you are out there.
DRE: How do you decide what song becomes a video?
JM: Usually its the same one that becomes a single. In this particular case we had the song out on the radio for a while.
DRE: I saw on your website you donated a guitar for the money to go to kids.
JM: Yeah a friend of ours runs this charity called Guitars4Kids and he gets different celebrities to sign guitars and then he puts them up for auction. It was actually a guitar I used on tour. We all signed and it put it up for auction.
DRE: I thought people usually try to keep kids away from bands like yours.
JM: [laughs] Any fan can bid on the guitar. They get the guitar and the money goes to the kids. Were not interacting with kids. Im sure the parents wouldnt like that too much. But I do want to do a kids album like Raffi. Thats one of my goals down the line.
DRE: I think you have to become uncool then cool again like Ozzy to do a kids album.
JM: I could do it under an assumed name and dress up like a crazy character.
DRE: You could be like Chris Gaines.
JM: Hopefully not.
DRE: You were on the Punisher soundtrack.
JM: Yeah I wrote a song with Ben Moody from Evanescence. Hes doing a solo record right now and Im writing that with him. So we decided to do this track together for the Punisher and we ended up liking the way we work together.
DRE: How did you meet him?
JM: I met Ben when Evanescence played on Jay Leno. There was an after party and the owner of their record label, Windup Records, is good friends with our manager and he introduced us. But he already knew me from the Eleanor Rigby video because he was a fan of my tattoo.
DRE: Whats the tattoo?
JM: I have this biomechanical tattoo on my right arm.
DRE: Are you a big comic book fan?
JM: I was when I was younger. I havent been able to keep up with them now. I was into Classic X-Men and things like that. Its weird because when I was a kid I wanted to see the X-Men movie. Once it came out it was anticlimactic for me. The only movie that I think captured the spirit of the book were The Lords of the Rings movies. I grew up reading those books, I have many different versions and all sorts of collectibles.
DRE: Were you ok with the changes that had to be done for the movie?
JM: I really was because the main point is that they captured Middle Earth. Ok they had to cut out Tom Bombadil and they changed a few things but it still told the story.
DRE: How is the new album personal for you?
JM: I write all the lyrics and we all write the music together. The inspiration comes from within and various situations that happened to me in my life. I remember the emotions of how it started and how it impacted me. I channel that out on paper. Most of the lyrics are pretty introspective. There are a few storytelling things.
DRE: Is it difficult for you?
JM: Its pretty natural. Its more difficult for me to write in a different style, which I am experimenting with now like with Ben Moody.
DRE: How so?
JM: Im not writing for me, Im writing for him. So its different to put yourself into someone elses shoes. Its challenging but fun.
DRE: How do you challenge yourself with Godhead?
JM: The challenge now is to keep the identity of the band but still evolve every time out. You can definitely find challenges within your own group by creating them for yourself.
DRE: Youve said that the most recent album is a bit more internal. Why is that?
JM: Some of it is about a recent relationship that just ended right before writing and recording this record. Also dealing with what I was going through right before that.
DRE: Did the other person in the relationship recognize herself in the songs?
JM: Yeah she did and she gave me a lot of shit about that. She called me about it and started bitching me out about it but its ok because were still friends.
DRE: Really?
JM: We are. It was one of those relationships that died slowly. It mutated from a relationship into a friendship. Although I have pretty much become friends with most of my ex-girlfriends. Im a pretty likable.
DRE: Was it lucky that the relationship ended right about the time you had to do an album, so was it a good thing?
JM: I guess it was. But even if you are really happy in a relationship you can always put yourself in the mindset of where you were before. If you need to draw from a negative experience you can always put yourself in that position.
DRE: I just read that the way you dress onstage is somewhat of a persona?
JM: Where did you read that?
DRE: It was a link off the Godhead site.
JM: I wouldnt say thats totally true. I dress in black all the time and Im pretty much the same person that you see onstage. I just dont walk around wearing makeup all the time.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
I found Miller to be a totally open and honest guy. Also Godheads latest album kicks major ass. Get it now!
Check out the website for Godhead
Daniel Robert Epstein: Whats going on?
Jason Miller: We are going on tour starting tomorrow. Two weeks in Europe then three weeks in the States.
DRE: What was it like working with Joe Lynch as director on the video for Far Too Long?
JM: Joe had a great vision. He works really hard, is really talented and I think hes going to be a successful filmmaker. I worked with him a long time ago when we did a low budget video in 1998 for a song that was on one of our older albums.
DRE: Who puts up the money for these videos?
JM: Usually the label will pay for it but in this situation the label didnt want to contribute much to it. So it was our responsibility to pick up the rest.
DRE: What does a video do for you?
JM: MTV2 usually plays our videos and so does Fuse. It helps promote the album and helps open your audience up by letting them know you are out there.
DRE: How do you decide what song becomes a video?
JM: Usually its the same one that becomes a single. In this particular case we had the song out on the radio for a while.
DRE: I saw on your website you donated a guitar for the money to go to kids.
JM: Yeah a friend of ours runs this charity called Guitars4Kids and he gets different celebrities to sign guitars and then he puts them up for auction. It was actually a guitar I used on tour. We all signed and it put it up for auction.
DRE: I thought people usually try to keep kids away from bands like yours.
JM: [laughs] Any fan can bid on the guitar. They get the guitar and the money goes to the kids. Were not interacting with kids. Im sure the parents wouldnt like that too much. But I do want to do a kids album like Raffi. Thats one of my goals down the line.
DRE: I think you have to become uncool then cool again like Ozzy to do a kids album.
JM: I could do it under an assumed name and dress up like a crazy character.
DRE: You could be like Chris Gaines.
JM: Hopefully not.
DRE: You were on the Punisher soundtrack.
JM: Yeah I wrote a song with Ben Moody from Evanescence. Hes doing a solo record right now and Im writing that with him. So we decided to do this track together for the Punisher and we ended up liking the way we work together.
DRE: How did you meet him?
JM: I met Ben when Evanescence played on Jay Leno. There was an after party and the owner of their record label, Windup Records, is good friends with our manager and he introduced us. But he already knew me from the Eleanor Rigby video because he was a fan of my tattoo.
DRE: Whats the tattoo?
JM: I have this biomechanical tattoo on my right arm.
DRE: Are you a big comic book fan?
JM: I was when I was younger. I havent been able to keep up with them now. I was into Classic X-Men and things like that. Its weird because when I was a kid I wanted to see the X-Men movie. Once it came out it was anticlimactic for me. The only movie that I think captured the spirit of the book were The Lords of the Rings movies. I grew up reading those books, I have many different versions and all sorts of collectibles.
DRE: Were you ok with the changes that had to be done for the movie?
JM: I really was because the main point is that they captured Middle Earth. Ok they had to cut out Tom Bombadil and they changed a few things but it still told the story.
DRE: How is the new album personal for you?
JM: I write all the lyrics and we all write the music together. The inspiration comes from within and various situations that happened to me in my life. I remember the emotions of how it started and how it impacted me. I channel that out on paper. Most of the lyrics are pretty introspective. There are a few storytelling things.
DRE: Is it difficult for you?
JM: Its pretty natural. Its more difficult for me to write in a different style, which I am experimenting with now like with Ben Moody.
DRE: How so?
JM: Im not writing for me, Im writing for him. So its different to put yourself into someone elses shoes. Its challenging but fun.
DRE: How do you challenge yourself with Godhead?
JM: The challenge now is to keep the identity of the band but still evolve every time out. You can definitely find challenges within your own group by creating them for yourself.
DRE: Youve said that the most recent album is a bit more internal. Why is that?
JM: Some of it is about a recent relationship that just ended right before writing and recording this record. Also dealing with what I was going through right before that.
DRE: Did the other person in the relationship recognize herself in the songs?
JM: Yeah she did and she gave me a lot of shit about that. She called me about it and started bitching me out about it but its ok because were still friends.
DRE: Really?
JM: We are. It was one of those relationships that died slowly. It mutated from a relationship into a friendship. Although I have pretty much become friends with most of my ex-girlfriends. Im a pretty likable.
DRE: Was it lucky that the relationship ended right about the time you had to do an album, so was it a good thing?
JM: I guess it was. But even if you are really happy in a relationship you can always put yourself in the mindset of where you were before. If you need to draw from a negative experience you can always put yourself in that position.
DRE: I just read that the way you dress onstage is somewhat of a persona?
JM: Where did you read that?
DRE: It was a link off the Godhead site.
JM: I wouldnt say thats totally true. I dress in black all the time and Im pretty much the same person that you see onstage. I just dont walk around wearing makeup all the time.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
I really loved 2000yearsofhumanerror... JM is a cool one
I met the love of my life (Lhia) at the parlor, because she had a Godhead flier for later that night and I told her that I'd meet her there later. That was 8 years ago.
I think that and some free show on the mall during the 4th of july were the only times I heard those guys though.
If anyone's in the DC area, smack Marlow and Illch for me.