Interview with Jon of Mars
Interview with Jon of Mars
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
Music is in my blood, I can’t think of a single period in my life where I wasn’t making music or trying to make music or putting all of my effort into finding a way to do music.
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
When I’m not playing music I’m usually doing coursework for College, playing games with my friends, working out, or going out in the forest to find adventures. It lets me get a bunch of ideas for songs and helps me refresh my creative batteries!
How long has your band been around?
3 years as of May! The band is still pretty fresh (not the members though!)
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
We’re based out of Oil City, Pennsylvania, and it influenced our music by allowing us to be kind of outcast by most of the majority hicks and jocks that seem to dominate the area. We never gave any bit of a shit if people don’t like us, we’re gonna make music regardless!
How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?
It’s my middle name with my favorite planet, it just sounded kinda cool and had two relevant ideas, so when I said it aloud I was pretty convinced that was THE name, you know?
Tell me about your most memorable shows.
Do people remember their shows? I feel like between projects I’ve done they all kind of bleed together, my favorite though was 814Fest, I got to be a Banana for 3 days.
What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
Basement Transmissions in Erie, PA. I want to play stadiums all over the world!
If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?
Korn, Fear Factory, Pantera, SOAD, SYL, Meshuggah, Gojira, Slipknot, Weird Al Yankovic.
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?
Writing music sucks, but it’s essential to learn and you should also just learn to read fucking sheet music. Learn music theory too, I promise that once you understand how the pieces work together, everything gets easier.
If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?
Work harder, and stop eating garbage food please, we’re gonna be old one day, and your ass’s functionality is not guaranteed.
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
“A Respite!” it’s everything that I would love to tell my younger self, it’s years of pain and grief summarized in one concept: Love yourself and give yourself a break.
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
My favorite to play is “MisinformedNation”, but “A Respite!” gets requested every show we play.
What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?
Pretty much anything that can grab my attention, or things that I think should be changed or done better by humanity as a whole.
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
That life goes on, and things will be okay even if the world is crazy, even if you feel crazy, you can always bounce back.
Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?
We have never had even close to a fight or disagreement, we’re all just excited to make music, plus we all feed off each other, so where some bands may argue, we find creation.
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
To never stop making music, and to continue to grow our outreach to the entire world. Mayb play a couple of stadium tours, then keep rocking until we’re 90 and we turn into dust, at which point we’ll shoot our dust out of a cannon like Hunter S. Thompson.
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Song Stream - Respite