Interview with The Jakes vocalist Sameer Gadhia

With the release of their seven song EP, Shake My Hand, California based band The Jakes are looking to take their brand of music to the masses. While their musical approach is a bit different from the standard Pop/Indie fare crowding the airwaves the songwriting is strong. Each track is a story in itself, expertly crafted to draw the listener in. Shake My Hand is well produced and very well written and will be a record that music fans will not want to miss. Vocalist Sameer Gadhia took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for PureGrainAudio.

What was the writing process for this CD? Did you guys all write together or was it the efforts of one particular member of the band? How long did it take?
Sameer: All right, the fact that we were all in different colleges at the time we were writing this album made it a bit difficult. We are all very meticulous writers and we all want mutual ownership of our songs. Pretty much, it was a democratic voting system when it came to things that we wanted or did not want and I am pretty sure that everything was mutually decided on.

Now that your new CD Shake My Hand is complete, how do you feel about it and are you satisfied with the outcome?
Sameer: I feel great about it. I am really happy with the way it turned out. I mean when making CDs there is a difference between the live repertoire we have and the recording, especially when you have to go through a producer and different recording systems. But, in the end we are all happy with the outcome and we are excited to write more now and improve from what we have.

You guys keep things pretty interesting thematically can you talk about some of the subjects you tackle on this record?
Sameer: Our first song “Garands At Normandie” talks about an American Soldier’s guilt. “Pay the Piper” is about corruption in institutionalized religion or the warping of current models of ideals. “Texas Tea” is about oil burning in the 1930s. “Take Me Home” is about a kid dealing with a loved one having cancer and the intangible emotions that go with that and “Shake My Hand” and “Cough Syrup” have a somewhat lighter tone.

If someone came up to me and said the had .99 cents in their pocket and the wanted to purchase one song from Shake My Hand, what tune would you recommend?
Sameer: My favorite actually changes a lot and varies with different things. If someone had asked me what my favorite live song is I would have to say “Shake My Hand.” If some one were to say which one song I recommend off the album I would have to say “Garands At Normandie.”

The artwork on Shake My Hand is quite interesting and detailed. How is it tied into the albums title? Is there a deeper meaning to it?
Sameer: We actually sat with an artist to determine how portray our CD. We wanted Shake My Hand to be a sort of a compromise. The way that we write music is like a compromise between mainstream music what we call Indie music so that is one reason. We also wanted to address some of the issues we have been talking about such as the fact that the shaking of hands is a moral obligation between two people. Even two different people with completely opposing views on life must sometimes come to compromise so the CD shows a very business, corporate person in all black wearing an animal head; very complex. He is in the business culture but is still acting like an animal because in the end business is about yourselves and amassing the most amount of resources. The other person on the cover represents creativity.

How do you think MySpace impacts what you guys do as a band and do you think downloading helps or hinders the artist?
Sameer: MySpace has been a great tool recently. Some people have definitely abused it. I think if you use it for its original purpose, getting your music out there, and not using it as your primary tool of gaining fans, but getting people out to shows then it is fine. We are proponents of readily accessible music and it is very important for us at this stage that we can get our music out to as many people as possible.

You mentioned your live show. How do you feel your live show differs from your CD?
Sameer: The live show is a little bit different. Our live show is a little more raw. There is a lot of grooving and cohesiveness going on between members of the band.

Do you get nervous before a performance?
Sameer: No. When I first started yes, but we have been playing a lot and I have gotten closer to the guys as musicians.

What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?
Sameer: I would say the summer tour this year. It was great! We had a great time just getting to know each other and it was a great experience and so much fun.

What does the future hold for you guys as a band?
Sameer: We are contemplating taking a break from college and playing full time and just trying to do as much as possible to get out there. Hopefully within the next couple of months we will be playing out more. We have only been playing out about once a month. We also hope to be going out on a national tour this summer.  [ END ]