JAKE
MAYHEM
JAKE MAYHEM is the latest new AOR
sensation from New Jersey, the 'AOR state' that brought us DANNY
DANZI, NORWAY, DANGER DANGER and many other great acts in the
past. Jake is a man whose words could be mine, because he is also
a big fan of 80s AOR and this can be heard on his excellent debut
CD 'Waiting for tonight'. You can read the review of this CD by
clicking here, but in the meantime check out the interview I had
with Jake who really deserves to be noticed here in Europe...
Can you please
introduce yourself?
Hey, there, I’m Jake Mayhem, an AOR / Melodic Hard Rock
artist from Clinton, New Jersey, USA. I sing and play guitar
mostly, though I can handle bass, keyboards, and drum
programming. My style is very much 1980s, with driving beats,
crunchy guitars and uplifting songs about relationships and
having a good time. I started playing guitar at age 13, though I
experimented with piano and even slide trombone was I was
younger. But age 13 was when I started getting serious about
music…I started listening to songs on MTV and the radio and
trying to figure out the guitar parts. My parents were musical,
so there were acoustic guitars around in the house, but I knew
that I had to get an electric guitar to play the kinds of sounds
that I wanted to hear. For instance, I was always interested in
playing guitar solos, and for me that was more fun than rhythm
guitar. You can solo on an acoustic guitar, but it responds
differently and doesn’t sound the same as an electric
guitar.
So I was getting
equipment, learning new techniques, and trying to put together
the rock band, and I was also playing in the high school jazz
band. I did that for four years…two on bass, two on rhythm
guitar. Eventually, the rock band played at some school functions
and backyard parties, but that was all. And even though I was
surrounded by music, I wanted more…I listened to as many
artists as I could, and took music theory classes from the high
school.
When I went to college, the band broke up, and I tried for a
harder rock sound, very heavy metal. Those projects never made it
out of my parents’ basement, though. We called them names
like Arson, Wyldesyde, Johnny
Justice. We found out that the first two were already taken, and
the last one was just plain silly—we got it off of a video
game! And in those days I just couldn’t find the right
musicians, and the projects never had the same sort of chemistry
that the high school one did. I was working part time as well as
taking classes, so there wasn’t as much time to practice. I
still kept writing songs, though, and experimenting with
different styles. It was in college that I first played with
someone who used sequencers and drum machines, and that later
proved useful when I couldn’t find a drummer to work on my
album. I didn’t major in music, but I did take more theory
classes and history classes. After college, I worked on my music
alone. I realized that I had enough of a vision to make it work,
so I concentrated on improving my vocals, especially my range,
and getting all of my stuff as solid as could be before I started
making the record.
You have released a
fantastic debut CD titled “Waiting For
Tonight”—please tell us everything about it?
The album is a ten song AOR record. I played and sang everything
myself, because it was much easier to schedule that way, and
besides, I knew what I wanted to hear. It contains the ten songs
that I’ve worked the hardest and longest on. Some of the
guitar riffs on the record are actually parts that I wrote in
high school…so some of it really is authentic 1980’s!
I work in multimedia production, so I have access to a recording
studio, as well as the practical knowledge you get from using the
equipment all the time. I came into work on nights and weekends
to record, edit and mix. The
system is a Macintosh-based DigiDesign ProTools 24-bit system.
The advantage of it is that you can actually see the sound
waveforms represented on the screen, and manipulate them using a
visual interface. Much easier
than trying to guess where the tape heads are at any given
moment, like you’d have to do to do the editing with the
same precision. Plus, you can cut and paste, and combine separate
takes on one track.
The main guitar was my Ibanez 470S…it’s a slim line
shredder guitar, but it has no tremelo. I don’t use one,
because they either make the guitar go out of tune, or they
require special tools and strings and longer setup times.
That’s just not work it to me, especially since I can do
most of the same things with just my fingers. The guitar has a
Seymour Duncan Full-Shred pickup installed in the bridge
position, and I mainly used that in
combination with the built-in single coil. The bass on the record
was a Fender Jazz 5-string, with the low-B string. I love that
extra deep sound that you can get! Having that bass also opens up
the keys that I can write songs in, because not everything has to
be in A or E. You can get really good results in the key of D
with it, whereas D on a regular bass sounds a little thin. I used
an Alesis SR-16 drum machine, and an AKG 414 studio microphone.
The guitar amplifier was a Line 6, and the bass was plugged in
direct.
I would like to
know the background stories on the songs of your debut CD. Please
tell us about the songs (the story, when you wrote it, who
influenced you musically on the particular song, etc.).
“Straight For Your Heart” was a song that I’ve
been trying to write for years. It started out in the late
1980’s when I saw an Yngwie Malmsteen
video…”Heaven Tonight”. I watched him playing a
chord that I had never seen before…using a #4th as a
suspension. I learned how to do it, and that I wrote my own riff
using that chord. It was originally a song called “September
Fire”…and no, I don’t know what that means…I
just thought it sounded cool. I always heard that lead part in my
head, but I didn’t come up with the pre-chorus part until
about 1993 or so. The story of the song is just about a guy who
wants to have a chance to prove himself to a girl he likes, even
if he has to make a fool of himself to try to impress her.
“Nothing Else Is Enough” is a riff that’s actually
from about 1987 or so. I think I was trying to sound like The
Outfield, or Keel, or a combination of both. Also there was a
song called “After the Rain” by a band called
Nelson…I liked the bass driving the song, and I wanted to
capture that style, but add more layers, like piano and clean
guitars. The song itself is from the perspective of a guy
who’s remembering a particular date with a girl, and how
that is driving the relationship forward.
“Savage Chains of Love” has a long history. It started
out as a tune called “Footsteps in the Wind” and it was
one of the first tunes I wrote. That was too depressing, though,
and I aways played with the chord progression over the years. I
wrote another song called “Savage Chains” while I was
playing with my band called Arson, and it was only recently that
I realized that the two songs were meant to be the same song. I
was jamming on “Footsteps”, and I accidentally played
the guitar solo to “Chains” without even realizing it!
So I combined the two ideas and added some new things, like the
decending bass riff in the verses. The song is about how a good
love relationship can be a little like bondage. I was originally
worried about adding it to the record, since the subject matter
is a little risky, but it came out sound so good that I
couldn’t leave it behind.
“Crying Eyes” is a recent song, that I’ve worked
on for the last few years or so. I was inspired by Lynch
Mob’s “No Bed of Roses” from their first
record…I wanted that big chorus sound with the open chords.
It was originally a straight-ahead rock tune, but somehow it got
danceable in the studio! This song is notable also because I used
extensive Q-Sound processing on it to give the illusion of
spatial positioning. The story is about a guy who sees a girl
being treated bad, and he thinks that he could be a lot better
for her than her current boyfriend.
“That’s All You Need” is a recent song, and it was
one of the last ones that I finished before I started to record.
I’ve had the chorus riff since about 1993 or so, but I had
no idea what to do with it until lat year. What inspired this
song is the dull, depressing music on American radio. It’s
like everyone here has forgotten that life can be pleasurable,
and worse, it’s like they’ve forgotten that music can
make you happy. The song just says that even if life gets you
down, just find some good music to listen to, and it might make
you feel better. Well, it’ll certainly make you feel better
than listening to depressing music, anyway.
“Tears Don’t Fall” is an older song, dating back
to about 1993 or so. I wrote the original version for the heavy
metal band I was in, Arson. It never worked that well back then,
but this version is lighter, almost pure pop rock, and I think
that it’s much better than it used to be. This song is about
a guy who dumps his cheating girlfriend, and he doesn’t look
back. It’s not an angry song, but it is a little mean.The
end keyboard solo is interesting, because it’s not really in
my style, it’s more New Wave. I was just playing around with
sounds, and I found this
one. I surprised myself in that I tried something that was a
little out there, and yet I think that I made it work.
“Forever After Now” is brand new. I’ve always
tried to write hard rock ballads, but it’s very hard to do
that without breaking the mood of the record, or without getting
too sentimental. I wrote this for my wife Kimberly, just about
how happy I am to be with her, maybe thinking back a little bit
on our wedding and when we first met.
“Hold On To My Heart” is from about 1992 or so.
I’ve had the riff since high school, and it was inspired by
Poison’s song “Fallen Angel”. Again, I figured out
the riff that they wrote and used the chords to make my own
song. The song is about my wife Kimberly, and just being open and
committed to our relationship. I didn’t write verse two
until last year, thinking back on some of the challenges we had
when we first got married. That piano
part on the pre-chorus was originally a guitar overdub, but the
piano sounded nicer.
“Waiting For Tonight” is a new song. I’ve had the
chorus riff since 1987, but I had no idea what to do with it
until last year. I built the song around that riff. It’s
about getting ready to get something that you’ve wanted for
a long time. I wanted it to be general, so that it could apply to
many situations, but I guess I was think about the album itself,
and getting my music on tape. This song has three guitar solos,
because I had to shred at some point on the record, and it fits
this song. There’s a song called “How Can You Do What
You Do” on the first Mr. Big record that gave me some
inspiration here.
“High Speed to Nowhere” is a new twist on an old song.
It came out of two songs from the Arson days:
“Backlash” and “Wild Nights”. The whole
bridge section with the bass and the floating guitar came from
“Backlash”, and the idea of the song and some of the
lyrics came from “Wild Nights” It’s about driving
a car, just to get out and get away from everything, and
connecting with yourself again out on the road. It’s not
about unsafe driving, but about driving that makes you feel good,
on a highway at night, with good music cranked up.
Did you get any
airplay?
No. American radio is not friendly to this sort of music. Right
now, there are a lot of punk sounding bands like Blink 182 and
Phoenix TX, and there are also depressing post-grunge bands like
Creed and Days of the New. I’m
hoping that European audiences have better taste. %)
How are the
reactions to the album?
I’ve scared a few techno fans, I think. But in general,
people who like this sort of music to begin with like the record.
I get a few nitpickers now and then, pointing out little things
that could be better, and that’s helpful for planning new
stuff in the future. For instance, one person said that I
didn’t use a wide enough variety of tones on the record,
both on guitar and keyboards. I think that’s true, but you
also have to take into account that I wanted a very specific
sound, and I know what I like to hear.
What’s really interesting is that I’ve gotten a lot of
different reactions when I ask people what song they like the
best. Rockers tend to say “High Speed to Nowhere”, but
others say “That’s All You Need”, “Straight
For Your
Heart”, and “Forever After Now.” A few people have
said “Crying Eyes” and “Tears Don’t
Fall.” Overall, it must be a solid record, I guess, if
it’s hard to pick a favorite.
Your kind of music
is pure 80s AOR, which bands influenced you and what do you think
of today’s music genre?
I’ve been influenced by some AOR stuff, especially Journey
and The Outfield. Also, 80’s pop in general, like Bryan
Adams and Icehouse. But I also take a lot from melodic hard rock,
bands like icon, Great White, Firehouse, Mr. Big, and even heavy
metal bands like Twisted Sister, Dokken, and Lynch Mob. They all
favor strong melodies, and good guitar work. I don’t usually
like later records by these artists, because many of them
experimented with heavier sounds in the 1990’s, trying to
adapt, and it just didn’t work. Great White is an exception,
their new record (Can’t Get There From Here) is pretty good.
American music today is either depressing or just plain silly. No
one here wants to be grand and elegant; everything is ironic and
self-reflexive. I personally like music that is uplifting and
that makes you feel good, and
you can’t get that kind of stuff here much. Though I do like
the Offspring once in a while. But it seems that European
audiences have favored the kind of music I like, so I’m
starting to look over there for new music to listen to. I just
ordered the new Norway record, for instance. It’s really a
funny thing because they make music in New Jersey, and I listen
to it in New Jersey, but we have to send it through Europe in
order to make the transaction.
If you get some
attention of European AOR labels, what would you do then?
That would be great! It would be amazing if I could release the
record in Europe! I would love it! But I’m realistic enough
to know that I might have to tweak it a bit, or re-record chunks
of it entirely. I’d be really willing to make a European
release happen, even if I had to re-record the whole thing. That
would be fine, maybe I could even do it with a live drummer.
I’ve spend a lot of time working on this music, so a few
more months’ perfection wouldn’t bother me. I’d
prefer to record here, since I’m so close to New York City
and there are a lot of good studios
there.
But I would love to see a lot of Europe (I’ve only been to
England /Scotland---does that count?) and it would be great to
play some gigs there. I’d have to put a band together,
though. Maybe I could compress a tight
schedule into a week or so off work, and take it as vacation
time. Who knows, though? It depends on how much attention the
record gets and how far the labels are willing to go.
Are there any plans
for a new release?
Not at this moment. I’ve just finished this record, and
that’s been a great relief. It’s finally done! Right
now I’m just send out copies for reviews and pushing it as
much as I can. I do have some other material that I’m
writing, but nothing definate yet. I’m always coming up with
lyric ideas and guitar riffs, but I’ll need a little time to
let them gel. I write sort of offline, waiting for things to come
into my head, usually when I’m driving. Then I take them and
work on them later. If I remember them, they’re usually
good, if not I let them slip away.
Of course, if _Waiting For Tonight_ does get some attention, that
will probably make me work harder at putting together new stuff.
Finally, do you
have anything to add to our readers?
Not too much…just that I hope you’ll get a chance to
check out my music! I’m really grateful to STRUTTER for
giving me the opportunity to be heard, and even if nothing else
happens with the record, it’s been great connecting into the
whole European scene. I’ll definitely keep up with it in the
future, and not so much listen to the junk that American radio
plays. I’m glad to see that good music is not dead, so KEEP
ROCKIN’!!!