Interview with The Junction bassist Matthew Jameson & drummer Michael Taylor

Hailing from Brampton, Ontario, The Junction consists of Brent Jackson (guitar/vocals), Matt Jameson (bass), and Mike Taylor (drums). The band’s name represents the idea of there being a place (or should I say, a “junction”) where different aspects of all genres of music connect to make one beautifully unique sound. And that’s exactly what this band does. I sat down to have a chat with bassist Matt Jameson in mid-December to discuss the bands beginnings, their current situation, and their plans for the future – including their upcoming album, set to be released sometime in early 2006.

Okay so first of all, your name, the band you play in, all that jazz….
Matt: Matt Jameson, I play bass in The Junction.

So, you guys all met in Brampton where you went to school. How did you end up forming a band together?
Matt: Brent and Mike met in grade nine. They went to the same high school; I didn’t know them at all, I was going to another high school. Brent later transferred to my high school, they entered in a Battle of the Bands kind of contest at my high school. I saw them – I was playing bass in another band but I really liked what they were doing – and, so I kinda asked if they wanted to jam. And, our band was breaking up, cause the drummer was going away to college, and we just kinda went from there. So it all started in high school.

Alright, so at one point you were a four-piece band, with Joel James playing keyboards. Are you looking to find another keyboardist in the future, or are you content being a three-piece group?
Matt: We’re content being a three-piece. I’d say one of the most difficult parts of anybody trying to form a band is finding the right people. You’ve got to find people that are on the same page, different levels of commitment, how people are musically, and then of course, you have to live with them. So, we’re not looking for anybody else, we’re happy as a three-piece, and we’re gonna keep going forward with that.

Who are some of your major musical influences?
Matt: Everything. We listen to everything… we can do it all. …What’s up Mike?

Mike: [to Matt] What’s up Jameson?

Matt: [to Mike] What are some of our major influences?

Mike: Major influences? Well, everyone has their own personal thing, y’know what I mean? Like….

Matt: So, we could list off a bunch of bands. If you wanted. But really….

I guess that’s up to you.
Matt: Really, it’s kinda how we’re feeling and we kinda just listen to a lot of music, and whatever kinda happens in the jam space is what happens naturally. We’re not really out to copy anybody’s song or anything, it’s just kinda what we’re doing.

So, if you take influence from everywhere, how would you describe The Junction’s sound?
Matt: A melting pot of music with the same three guys doing it. And uh, that’s pretty much it, I mean, I think that we wanna still be…. We don’t wanna be all over the map, but we still wanna be doing the unexpected and surprising fans and giving them new stuff to listen to or stuff that they didn’t expect that we would do.

You guys played Edgefest 2005.
Matt: That’s right.

So, that’s got to have been quite a change from playing fairly small shows. Describe that experience.
Matt: We didn’t want to get too ahead of ourselves and think that it was the biggest show we’ve ever played. Tonight’s the biggest show we will have ever played. Edgefest was on one of the side stages so it was in a tent. It was a really really cool experience to be a part of and it went really well. I think we would do it every year if we had the opportunity. So, if we get the opportunity to do it next year we probably will, otherwise… it was just great, yknow? The one good thing about playing first was after you play you just pack up your stuff and you have the rest of the day to be carefree and enjoy the other bands.

You’ve played with bands like Billy Talent, Rise Against, Alexisonfire, Moneen, and now you’re with Bedouin Soundclash – you’ve been touring since the beginning of November.
Matt: yep.

Are there any particular groups that you would want to play with in the future if you were given the chance?
Matt: Well, we would definitely like to go back out with Moneen. Again, things with going out with bands is you’ve gotta hope that your schedules line up cause everybody can be working on different things. And uh, yeah we’d definitely like to be going out with them. Really, we just wanna… we’ve been really lucky cause we’ve just been going on tour with really cool people, and it’s exciting cause we’re learning from these people and at the same time, everybody’s cool, everybody’s nice… and you get to do what you do. It just makes touring that much better. So, as far as going back out with someone right now, the only thing I could think of would be Moneen right now but when it comes time to hear other bands who are going on tour we’d definitely like to go out and stuff with other groups.

So, you guys were recently signed with Universal Records. Has anything changed for you in terms of creative control, as opposed to with your last label?
Matt: Not at all. Um, the last label was simply a distribution deal, which means they put the record out that you give them, and it’s really… the best thing is, they know who we are, they know that we’re not a band that they have signed and are going to start telling us how to dress and change us into something. They know that they signed us for who we are and that’s where it’s just a good relationship with working with some really cool people that, everyone’s out there to make the best goal. Everyone wants to have the best record possible, so any bit of their advice or, y’know, that they wanna give to us as far as working on the record or the direction or what we’re doing or what we’re giving to them, is very, very open and really, they would only ask us questions and give advice because they wanna make the best record possible, and we’re totally gonna listen to that as well. Like I said, they know who we are and that’s a very comforting thing. Everyone’s into developing this, so that’s what we’re doing.

Okay, so, I hear there’s a full-length album in the works?
Matt: That’s right.

I’m sure that being with Universal has probably opened up a lot of doors for you musically, in terms of connections.… Is there anything you’re planning on doing differently with the new album?
Matt: As opposed to the last one, I would say the sound of it is probably to be different. We know that the EP is cleaner than what we do live and we wanna have, y’know, more of a live… more energy… on the CD. And we’re doing it with the same person that did the last album, and of course he is in the exact same position as we are where we’re doing a debut, he’s doing a debut… he obviously knows what he’s doing, but it’s his kinda first major, major record to put out, and it’s our first major record to write and to have done in the studio. So really, it’s just a big, big opportunity that we all wanna make sure we take full advantage of. It’s kinda like, your record… you could do 2-300 shows a year and do really really well but obviously having a record is kinda what can carry your band up and we need to give people some more material that we’re still playing right now and we’re really excited to get in there. This is the last show of the tour and we’re working the record right after this.

Any word yet on a release date for it?
Matt: No, I would say probably just… early summer, spring? That’s the best I can say. I mean, we’re gonna have a little bit of time for Christmas, then start working on that album and we’re not gonna stop until it’s done.

Do you guys have any other big plans for 2006?
Matt: Y’know, it’s kind of at the point right now where you don’t really know where your career’s gonna go in 8 or 9 months from now because you don’t know what the CD’s gonna do, so you kinda just… all I know is that we’re doing a record and that we’re doing some other things to help release it and set it up and then of course, after it’s done you have to find out what’s happening outside of Canada as well, if anybody else wants to pick it up, put it on the shelf, and do a little bit of work behind it. And, of course, you gotta tour but none of that stuff is set up as well, so really, I would say, we know we’re releasing a record but the rest of it is up to the record.  [ END ]