Interview - Jane Don’t
Back to front: Seb (Host), Marco (Host), Nick (Saxophonist in Jane Don’t), Pat (Lead Vocalist/Guitarist in Jane Don’t)
Just as a lil’ icebreaker, let’s say someone handed you $500 dollars and said 'You have to burn this tonight’. How are you gonna do it?
P: ”I would use to pay off the rest of my car insurance this year… Some new equipment, either that or a new guitar…”
N: “I just got a tattoo on my shoulder, a little death buddy right here… So I think maybe, I would get him a friend… I would also go to every house show and buy all their merch”
How long have you lived in Boston?
P: ”I have been living in Boston for a little under two years, I moved in the summer of 2021. Not too long”
N: “I moved here in the summer of 2019. I came for Berklee, stayed for Jane Don’t”
How has it changed your music?
P: ”It’s not just moving to Boston, it’s the people I met and collaborated with since moving here… you learn a lot just by playing with other people, which isn’t something I was doing for a long period before”
”You take ideas, something you like, from someone else’s playing on stage… even passively, you just start to draw on that”
You just released “Pass The Light” on Spotify (go listen!). What was the process like to get that out there?
”Our lead guitarist, Rowan, he records with a lot of bands around here. We used his setup, got drums and bass, very quick, then we did overdubs, mixed it… I have a buddy out here who’s a really good audio engineer, sent it out [to him], got it back, and released it”
Can you give us some insight on what it’s like being in a small band? Any challenges?
P: ”Time and money.”
”We all work, in various roles… some teach, some play… some aren’t even doing jobs related to music”
”I think almost everyone, aside from Nick, is in their own band outside of Jane Don’t… so everyone else has also got their own time commitments”
”Motivation is quite the killer sometimes, especially in the winter, it can be hard to keep that motivation sometimes… it can be just exhausting to schedule everyone, reach out to recording studios/ spaces… I don’t think that’s new, for anyone… these issues even go up the ladder, for bigger bands, too”
You were saying that some of you guys teach music, do you?
P: ”Yeah, I teach music right now in Watertown… I love teaching. I love spending time talking about music”
”In an academic setting, for music, but it’s still collaborative. I learn a lot from my students, and that’s the best part too when some six-year-old whips out some crazy knowledge and I’m like ‘wow!’”
What made you want to pursue music? Have you always been interested in music?
P: ”I’ve always been into music… I never took any lessons or had any tutoring, I was lucky because the public school I went to had a very robust music program… definitely would attribute it to my high school music teachers. I started my education in music education because that’s what I was into… they really pushed me to pursue music more than just in school”
N: ”I’ve been obsessed with music my whole life since I was a toddler. Writing songs, mostly, I wrote my first song when I was seven, carried it around in my pocket everywhere…”
Where did your [band] name come from? Is there a connection between your music and name that you want fans to know about?
P: ”We had a little publishing issue… We were originally Jane Doe, which is a common name, but that’s kinda the point. I identify as nonbinary and use they/them pronouns, so when I was figuring out a name to market my stuff under, I wanted to try and have a more androgynous name, but I wanted it to still be personal… Jane Doe was what I picked because it kinda fit the gender vibe I was going for… I didn’t want to market it under my own name”
I still think ‘Drake’ would’ve been a good name though
”Believe it or not, they told us that one was taken too”
I know you said a lot of your band members are in their own band as well, our last guest said the same thing for his band. Why is it you think people want to have their own band?
”I think a mix of creative vision or decisions you want to have control of. I know a lot of people want to record on their own, put the recording on there, and have a band that wants to play the other parts. Recording today is so accessible, you can even use garage band on your phone. It’s not bad, like an immediate disqualifier. You really feel that pride and that ownership like, I put this together. I would say creative control is the most common reason.”
What was your most memorable show?
”Definitely the one you saw us at last”
What made it stand out?
”Was the first time we played with that big of a band… we’ve got drums, bass, rhythm acoustic, rhythm electric, lead electric guitars, saxophone, clarinet, viola, keys… it was the best. It was really cool being in a group that plays such different setups… that show was really special for me because that was when all the big pieces came together”
That makes sense, and again, it sounded great, too!
Find Jane Don’t:
IG: @janedontmessaround
Spotify: Jane Don’t
Important message from Jane Don’t!
”If you’re attending house shows more than once a month, definitely use earplugs. It’s not safe!”
