Tell us about:

Your latest single you have released:

Steve Harding: Our latest single is called ‘Jai alai’! It’s a two-and-a-half-minute ripper of a song that’s about bouncing back after you lost your mojo. It’s also the name of a pretty cool, fast-paced sport played primarily in South Florida and Europe. 

Your favourite lyric in this song:

Harding: “Oooo but you lost your mojo / Don’t worry, it comes back again.” 

Your favourite song that you have created that is an album track:

Christopher Cornell: “Fix Bayonets.” I always joke that like George Harrison, I get one song per album and I’m just happy that “Fix Bayonets” ended up being that song. I am very proud of the composition, the lyrics, and the overall feeling of the song.

Harding: I get lost in the guitar lines every time “All My Heroes comes” on. Natural born shredders. 

Your favourite song to play live:

Andy Gelb: “Jai alai” is a really fun one. High energy, quick punky song, and fun to dance to.

Harding: “Origami.” Really a great song to end a show.

Cornell: Probably “Mona Lisa.” It’s a quick little two-minute song but it has such a groove right away that gets people moving every time.

Andrew Cornish: “OTTR.”

Warren Forbes: “Fix Bayonets.”

The song that was the longest to write and why?

Gelb: “Little Did You Know” took some time to find its final form. We played around with different pieces and it changed a bunch before it found its final form. Really happy with how it turned out.

Harding: Most of these songs came together swiftly – we have a pretty good “shared taste” meter, so when an idea is cool, or shows potential, our eyes collectively light up and it usually finds its form pretty quickly – then we work on the bells and whistles. I remember “Girl You Like” taking some time to get where we wanted it to be. It’s the newest song on the record, brought to the band in late 2023, and we liked it immediately, so had to work hard on getting it right before hitting the studio in January.

Cornell: To be completely honest, I don’t recall any of the songs on this album taking a long time to write. If I had to venture a guess, I would say either “All My Heroes” or “Little Did You Know.” 

Cornish: I wasn’t involved in the writing of all of these songs, but from what I can remember “Fix Bayonets” went through the most revision and tweaking. Lots of very specific guitar and drum fills, chord voicings and timings, all that good stuff. 

Forbes: “Girl You Like” – for some reason we couldn’t settle on a structure for the second half of the song after having such a great intro & verse section solidified.

Your most emotional track:

Harding: “Secrets.”

Cornell: “Fix Bayonets” for sure. I was suffering through a major depressive episode at the time and writing that song was my therapy that helped pull me out of the pit.

Cornish: “Jai alai,” in an immensely positive way.

Forbes: “Little Did You Know,” I really let it out in the solo on this one.

Dream collaboration:

Gelb: Stewart Copeland. 

Harding: James Mercer. 

Cornell: John Wozniak from Marcy Playground. I think they are one of the most slept on bands from the ‘90s and early 2000s.

Cornish: Derek Trucks.

Forbes: John Frusciante.

Describe the feeling you get when you walk on stage to do a show:

Gelb: Sweat and smiles.

Harding: I feel great, honestly. I was born to rock and JPJP brings the best out of me and the audience. If a crowd shows up, it’s pretty much always guaranteed to be a party when we play. We like to have a great time, and that’s what our shows are about. 

Cornell: For the most part, usually calm. I’m pretty introverted in everyday life but when I’m playing in front of people all those intrusive thoughts go on pause and I am just there in the moment. I usually joke that this must be how most people feel.

Cornish: I always feel confident on stage with this band, which is not something I can say about a lot of the groups I perform with. Everyone is there to kill it and give it their all every single show, no matter what the audience looks like. I immediately feel excited to play when I walk on stage, mostly because I know the rest of the guys are feeling the same way.

Forbes: Vulnerability but paired with excitement to share positive feelings with others.

The hardest track to play live:

Gelb: Depends who in the band you ask!

Harding: “OTTR”, maybe “All My Heroes” – sometimes hard to catch a breath when you’re singin’ and strummin’ at 60mph!

Cornell: Easy – “All My Heroes.” I was feeling a little ambitious and wanted to write something really groovy that locked in with Andy’s drums and ended up with something I am really proud of but wears my hands down a bit.

Cornish: “Little Did You Know!” Doesn’t matter how many times I practice it, I still have to focus SO hard to execute it well.

Forbes: “All My Heroes.”

Essential items you always take on tour with you?

Harding: Hand towels (I sweat like an animal on stage), extra tuner, batteries, more underwear than you think you’ll need, headphones, melatonin.

Cornish: On stage I will always have my blues junior, my tube screamer (my only MUST HAVE AT ALL TIMES pedal), and a dozen extra instrument cables. When I’m traveling for shows I almost always have some variety of roasted nuts on hand, and a couple of Bill Burr podcasts ready to go. 

Forbes: Cigarettes & beer.

Describe your fans in three words:

Gelb: T posing maniacs.

Harding: Kind, boisterous, merry. 

Cornell: Loyal, fun, energetic.

Cornish: Dedicated, Good-humoured, at times, animalistic (in the best way possible).

Forbes: Chill, beast, lovable

A song by another artist or band you wish you had written:

Harding: “Boys of Summer” by Don Henley (by Mike Campbell).

Cornell: “As The World Caves” In by Matt Maltese. Such a beautifully haunting song. 

Cornish: “Someday” by The Strokes.

Forbes: “Comin’ Home” by City and Colour.

What we can look forward to from your band this year:

Gelb: More music! We’re already working on some new tunes and cannot wait to start playing those live, and maybe even some more recordings.

Harding: More high-energy shows and face-melting solos on (hopefully) some bigger and newer stages. Also, Malört shots for anyone who wants one. Andy’s buying 

Cornish: More high-energy shows, more new music, more laughs, more smiles, and some sweet new merch.

Forbes: Shows, parties & new tunes.