Jager Henry: “I wouldn’t say I changed, more that I was taking the path I was supposed to take.”

You might not be familiar with the name Jager Henry however, add the name Bonham to his name and that might help. The son of legendary drummer Jason Bonham and the grandson of iconic Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, Jager has followed in their musical footsteps… kind of…

Dropping the Bonham surname and stepping out from behind the kit to become a frontman in his own right, Jager recently dropped his debut album, Heart of Thorns. In our latest Cover Story, V13 sat down with Jager to chat about his iconic surname, how he found stepping out from behind the kit and upto the mic, and what inspired some of the darker themes on his new album…

How are you?

“Good thanks.”

Where are you? Are you in a cinema or is that just the background?

“A cinema at this office that I just walked into. I’m hoping I don’t get kicked out mid-interview.”

I’ve had worse things happen in interviews, so don’t worry about that. What’s your movie of choice?

“New or old?”

Let’s go with old…

“Old, it would be Princess and the Bride. That famous line where he’s like, ‘my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father.’ New. I loved the Deadpool Wolverine. I thought that was funny.”

We’ll get started just in case you get kicked out. We’ve heard the singles so could you tell us more about the other songs on the EP?

“So the EP, compared to what’s out, it’s more of a clash of the title track, ‘Heart of Thorns.’ The music I was making before was heavy, but it had more of a pop influence and I wasn’t too happy with it. Eventually, I found my sound, sat down with this producer and showed him some stuff I had in my mind and we just brought it together. I wanted it to become something where someone couldn’t pinpoint one band reference.

Someone can’t be like, ‘Oh, you could tell they listen to Deftones.’ I want them to listen to one song and be like, ‘Oh, he’s trying to be so and so,’ then they listen to the next, ‘oh no, he trying to sound like so and so,’ then the next one… I want people to be so confused. I want to write it for every ear, every viewer, every attention span physically possible. Someone asked me ‘if you had to put three bands into a blender to describe your album, what would it be?’ I said, ‘Limp Bizkit, Korn and Bad Omens.’”

Not a bad selection, all killer bands. A comment you made just then about finding your sound. When was that moment where it clicked?

“I was in the studio and we were working on the title track ‘Heart of Thorns’ and I just had this melody in my head. I knew the sound I was trying to get. I knew what I was going for and the idea I had in mind because I had sprinkled some of that on the last song ‘Bleed’. Then we pretty much just started playing the chorus and then we just tried to lay down melodies and I just said ‘Take me, break me because my heart is made of thorns…’ and it was like a dopamine hit.

That’s it. This is it. There’s no turning back full speed ahead. It was the greatest feeling in the world.”

“I want people to be so confused. I want to write it for every ear, every viewer, every attention span physically possible…”

Watching the last two videos, particularly the last video, there were quite a lot of religious connotations to it. The video before that was quite dramatic and quite dark. Where does the visual side of it come from and what’s your inspiration as a songwriter?

“My inspiration is real-life things. I always try to keep it as real as I can. I know some songwriters make up this whole story but some of the things I write, like this entire album is about just so much personal stuff. The visuals for ‘Bleed’, I was just in this dark mode of my own mind space and I just wanted it to be dramatic and have these mannequins around, like there are different personalities.

For ‘Heart of Thorns’, we went into the religious play because I said like the heart of thorns and the crown of thorns almost collide. There were times when I was like, and it’s not to be blasphemous, we were just kind of more like idolizing it like the church is a beautiful thing. The verses were in the confession box, we’re in the confession box for the verses. It’s like, we’re confessing.”

I think you can cover religion without being blasphemous. You’ve also mentioned the quite personal themes as well. So, moving to a frontman rather than a drummer, firstly, what prompted that decision and how does it feel putting your life out on show by doing so?

“It was a lot of shoes to fill and it was never something I was crazy passionate about. Don’t get me wrong, I love drumming, but it was never something that gave me the itch. One day I remember I was just hanging with friends in middle school, I started making music with them and I was singing, sometimes rapping and doing all that. It felt like this was more of my thing. I was always scared to step out into it because of the name and stuff. Then just one year, it hit me where I thought, ‘no, that’s what I’m supposed to do.’

I went through a phase where I tried everything but the thing I loved. I tried getting a regular job. I tried going to college, did all this stuff but I kept going back to that, kept walking back in that direction. That’s just a sign. It just became a thing where I realized, unfortunately with the shoes in the past and the background, that wasn’t the thing I was supposed to do, this was. There’s going to be people that understand that and respect it and there’s going to be people that hate it, but, you know, we’re all making our own beat in a different way.”

V13 Issue 62 Cover Story – Jager Henry

Absolutely. You’ve talked about Korn, Limp Bizkit, but which singers made the biggest impact on you?

“I say this in every interview, Daughtry. I love the way he sings, like the dad rock, low tone. He nails it. Daughtry, Chester Bennington. Even some singers like Noah Sebastian from Bad Omens, how he has such different vocal ranges for different songs. He can go down, down, down to high, high, high.

Even people who I wouldn’t say sing, like Fred Durst. The way he’s just stage present. Sometimes I don’t even look at people for their singing, I look at them for how well they perform it live because playing it like the record isn’t always the easiest thing when it’s hard rock or heavy metal.”

I think as well as a singer, you’ve got to be the whole package because you’re usually the focal point of the band. So, you went through high school knowing it felt right singing, what was that moment where you crossed the line and said, ‘Right, I’m doing this’?

“I was bodybuilding. I was just this big muscular dude. I would show my music, I wouldn’t put it out, but I would show it to friends. I had a friend named Chris, and I had a friend named John Michael, and I had a friend named Troy, and a kid named Bruce. He was one of my bosses at the gym I worked at.

I started just showing my friends music all the time, mainly JM and Chris but unfortunately, Chris passed away at a young age then JM did too. He was kind of my roommate. Every day the kid would tell me, ‘When are you just going to stop with the gym and put this music out? When are you going to stop with this and finally do what you want to do?’

I think it’s unfortunate because after his passing, I started just not going to the gym. I fell into a dark depression after losing a couple of friends so soon and around the same time I thought about it and the way it hit me was I’m putting this music out now because I don’t want to have to get up to heaven and have him scream ‘Why did you never drop it?’ I guess, in the saddest way, it’s kind of helped.”

“I think it’s unfortunate because after his passing, I started just not going to the gym. I fell into a dark depression after losing a couple of friends so soon…”

That’s a situation nobody wants to go through, did releasing the music and putting it out there help you to cope with that?

“Yeah, for sure. I would just book way more studio sessions than normal, like five-hour, six-hour days. The studio I went to, didn’t let you do too long, but I would book the max, even if I’m not making anything, I’ll just sit on the couch here, it definitely helped. I wrote a song that still isn’t out but it’s about the whole story of that happening. I’ve played it live a few times. You can find it on YouTube. I might put it out but I’m just waiting for the right time because it’s a very poetic, synth, piano, melody, ballad-type thing.”

I’m sure you’ve been asked this in interviews probably countless times, but you dropped the surname for your music. What prompted that? Do you think having such an iconic surname and being a frontman, would have shone more of a critical spotlight on you from people?

“The thing is, I used to go by it when I was younger, I didn’t really care. This doesn’t do anything. It wasn’t ever like a thing, ‘Oh, it’s going to do something for me,’ because that was something kids always said. They’re like, ‘Oh, you’ll, you’ll blow up. You’ll be famous right awy because of who your dad and granddad are.’ Well, I’ve been making music since I was 13 so they must not have enough pull because I’m still over here struggling guys.

It’s the funniest thing when people say it’ll happen overnight for you. It’ll happen overnight. No, it won’t. Everyone has to put in the work. I dropped it more in a way where I wanted to be known for my music more than my name. Although, in the same way, I’m still the name because my granddad’s middle name was Henry. My middle name’s Henry. So I’m Jager Henry. The name’s still there. People don’t catch on to it. The name is still there. It’s just, I don’t know. I’d just rather someone say they love my song then say but I didn’t know this.”

Regarding your granddad, I just missed that whole Led Zeppelin era when I was born…

“I never met him but I always wonder what life would have been like…”

At what point did you become aware of how important he was, not just to that band, but to music in general? He’s an icon but when did you become aware?

“I was always into music. My dad would drive me to school at seven years old blasting ‘Chocolate Starfish’ by Limp Bizkit but I think I became aware when we moved to America, when I was about eight or nine. Because in England, it was just John. People who were older knew him because he was at every pub… When we moved to America, I was about nine or 10, I went to school and a couple of months went by and then people found out seeing Dad pick me up from school.

I became more aware of how much bigger it was when I would go to the local stores and they’d be selling albums. Everybody’s kids would ask, ‘ Can my parents meet your dad?’ Why? He’s just this bald dude, bro. I think moving to America made me more aware because in England I knew, but I didn’t see what it really was then I moved to America and I saw that he was this idolized masterpiece that even I agreed. When I got to a certain age, I did sit down and listen to everything front to back and I realized the actual art that is there.”

In terms of your dad, or as you put it, that bald dude, what’s the most important lesson you’ve learned from him and did he tell you stories about John?

“He would. He would tell me some funny things. He would tell me how much he was such a dad’s dad and such a family man, always wanted to come home from tour and would call and be like, ‘Oh, I wish I could just come home and see you.’ The best advice he gave me was just the same thing I’d said before. If you can go out to a room of people who don’t know who you are and put on a show that you feel happy with, you’ve already done more than most people. The day you quit is the day you were the closest to making it.”

“Everybody’s kids would ask, ‘ Can my parents meet your dad?’ Why? He’s just this bald dude, bro. I think moving to America made me more aware…”

Musically, you’re a million miles apart from your parents and granddad…

“Yeah, that’s why I love touring with him…”

You’ve toured with your Dad and done Led Zep events…

“It’s funny because you expect it to go poorly, and don’t get me wrong, there have been times people are screaming some stuff and we’ve had some altercations at the merch booth where people have tried to fight me for not being a drummer. We played one theatre and some guy fully swung over the merch table but, other than that, the reaction from the crowd has been amazing. This last Canadian tour we did was insane. Merch was sold out by the fifth show. It was unreal. Everybody wanted a vinyl. Everybody wanted a CD but I had to say that they were not out yet.

We were playing the EP so people who were catching on would go on YouTube and already know what this song sounds like. They’d send me the link and it’s already on YouTube. That’s why I said, ‘we just have to put it out. Let’s go. It’s time for something.’ They said ‘No. Singles, singles, singles.’ I said ‘No we need a project. I want something to tour. I want to be able to play all this music live and not be worried about 400 YouTube videos coming out before the actual track.’”

Is there anything lined up for touring?

“We’ve been talking about a November tour with a different band, but I think we’re going to be touring in December. I think they just announced some of it today with Dad again. Just a few. I said I don’t want to do it again, but if I did, I’d want it to be some fun ones and it is one that I’ve played before with him that I found were my favourite, one of them being the hometown, Florida so I’ll be able to go and see friends and family again and check in on my sister. She has a kid now so she can’t fly to any of the shows. She was supposed to come to Aftershock and Louder Than Life when we played the festivals this year but ‘well, you just had to have a baby.’”

Looping right to the very beginning, when you look back to the start of your career, how do you think you’ve changed and do you feel you’re on track for where you hope to be?

“I wouldn’t say I changed, more that I was taking the path I was supposed to take. I believe I was supposed to go through so many different things to find this because that’s where the authenticity comes in. I didn’t just try to be this thing. I let myself naturally find it there. I believe we are on track of where I hope to see this go and become because my friends are always like, ‘Oh, what are you going to do when you make it?’ and I’d say, ‘dude, it’s not even what I’m looking for. I’m just enjoying the process and can’t wait to see where it goes and hope that my music can help as many people as it did me making it.’”

Writing about obviously the hugely personal experiences you’ve been through, what do you hope people get out of listening to the songs?

“I hope they just see it in their own story because I wrote it with mine and the coolest thing is when music can tell them a different one. I’m going to hold a thing at the end when the album has been out for a month or so. I’m basically going to put something up online asking people to write what the album meant to them. What did you think I was writing about? Tell me how you heard it and I’m going to hear how many different people heard it in different ways.

This crazy meaning that people think is going to be so easy to read, but there’s such a separate story, secretly hidden in there. I want to know if people can find it. It’s exciting. And it’s just, uh, I think I’m in the step for the right direction. I’m at the highest point I’ve ever been in my career. And I just can’t wait to see where it goes and am extremely grateful for every step of the way.”

“I hope they just see it in their own story because I wrote it with mine and the coolest thing is when music can tell them a different one.”

What’s going through your mind at the moment with a couple of days to go until the EP is out?

“I’m terrified. You know, we all say that we just want to put out music and it doesn’t matter what the response, but I think putting out my first full project, I’m terrified that no one will hear what I heard, but, there’s so much other stuff also going on in my life right now, other than just this album, I have a lot of stuff I’m dealing with right now that’s unfortunate…”

Without delving into that, is that something inspiring you to write future new material?

“I have some stuff in my life right now that’s amazing, beautiful, and insane and then I have some stuff that’s happening that’s family, and that’s how it goes. I have this and it’s like trying to juggle this stuff but I need attention there, attention, attention there but I think it takes my mind off of it and puts me in a point where I’m just like, what happens next?”

To find out more about Jager, keep up-to-date with all his news here.