Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
With credits on work by The Obsessives, Oso Oso, Benches and many more up-and-coming artists, Jordan Krimston is probably someone you’ve been listening to for a while without realizing. Following the release of his debut LP Somewhere I Might Go you’ll be well aware of his talents. Jordan took some time out of his schedule to Roll the Dice with TGEFM below.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats in advance on the release of Somewhere I Might Go. For the uninitiated, could you tell us a bit about yourself, the record and how it came about?
Of course, thank you for talking with me. Well, I’m Jordan. I play a lot of different music with a lot of different people. In the middle of putting out my 2nd solo LP right now though! Hmmm, I hate to give it this connotation but the record is kind of a COVID-record in a way. Not like lyrically or anything, but just that a lot of these songs were written during lockdown / the gradient emergence out of pandemic. I think we were all looking a bit inward then?
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?
Hmm, from the age of 7 til now in 3 ½ year increments it probably went something like this.
The Beatles > Radiohead > Weatherbox > Pretend > Oneohtrix Point Never (R+7) > Sadeh21. Hmmm. Yeah that math definitely checks out.
What is it about music that you are most passionate about? What motivates you to keep writing and playing?
My legitimate answer is that I don’t know and I think that’s the fun part!
You are the touring drummer for Oso Oso and also produced tracks with The Obsessives and Benches. How does that experience tie into writing your solo material?
I’ve been super lucky to play and create with a lot of wonderful artists. I’m sure that there are a myriad of ways that I subconsciously steal from everyone I work with. As a producer, it’s fun to witness how everyone is infinitely creative on their own, and how infinitely different everybody’s artistic ids are. I’m sure there’s a very incestuous web of influences, tricks and tactics within my immediate collaborators and friends, I’d love to see it visualized at some point even though it’s probably not really possible.
What’s the state of the scene from your point of view? We are living in a “just deal with COVID” world and everything about this timeline is some level of completely fucked. Beyond the lyrics, what impact, if any, does the current cultural and political landscape have on the music?
It’s hard to say, I think its situational and region-specific honestly. I’m from San Diego, and I think we are are a town that had a scene glow-up during covid, which I do think is probably an anomaly. Most scenes can get more amorphous than people think, so it’s tricky to be absolutist about it. I think the cultural and political landscapes have a transitive effect on my songs. Meaning- the cultural/political landscapes definitely have their effects on me, so they definitely affect my music, even if its on a subconscious level. So it’s hard to describe exactly what that effect is, even though it’s there.
The music world has also changed a lot over the last few years. What are some of the biggest industry changes you’ve come across in your time within the scene?
Definitely less vacuum tubes.
You’ve been at this all for a while, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
I wish I started playing piano first. That would definitely save me a lot of time now. I definitely look back on musical career and see a myriad of errs but I do think that’s essential. It would probably be concerning if I wasn’t able to identify those with the foresight I have now.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
Sooo many to list. I think my biggest piece of ‘advice’ (*not really the right word) to any musician or music fan is that whatever style of music you listen to, you would probably benefit from branching out from. I don’t think there’s a cap on how many styles of music there are, and what you can learn from them…. But I guess to actually answer your question, I’ll say that lately I’ve been listening to Oval, Terry Riley and Omo Cloud!
Now that the world has its hands on Somewhere I Might Belong, what’s next for Jordan Krimston?
I’m gonna change my solo moniker to ‘Jordan Krimston Follow Your Heart’ and put out a minimalism inspired hyper pop album. So, mainly that in terms of my solo material! I’m also organizing an ambient compilation. Email me at jordankrimston@gmail.com if you want to submit a track.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers
Jordankrimstonaudio.com
dogmagic.net – my room mate Jake makes amazing music software
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
