Emerging from the tormented ashes of fire and brimstone, Philadelphia’s very own Jesus Piece wastes no time with their long-awaited Century Media debut, …So Unknown. There is a masterful decision made for each cymbal crashed, string strummed, and vocal spewed. A record layered in such sonic complexity and richness, …So Unknown exceeds expectations by breaking the constraints and paving a brave, unexplored path for the future. Aaron Heard of Jesus Piece sat down with New Noise to discuss the new record.
It’s only been a couple years since 2018’s Only Self was released from the floodgates. A lot has changed in the world, to say the least. What would you say is the biggest change you’ve faced as not only a person but a creative?
Having a baby for sure. Everything else is whatever. Like I’ve been through some pretty terrible shit in my life. So, I mean, all this shit is really nice. It never feels like a bad time to me. I try to make the best out of situations, but this is the biggest change artistically or in life wise. everything is just becoming a dad, you know?
Yeah, that’s special man, that’s a blessing in general. So that’s really cool.
Hell yeah, big time.
How old’s your kiddo?
He just turned three at the beginning of March.
Hell yeah. And you know, getting Jesus Piece in general is like stumbling across a lost treasure; it’s a rarity. So, how do you all know when it’s time to get the boys back together to curate some new Jesus Piece material?
We were all hanging out at night, and then we saw this, like, big-ass light in the sky. It was like the bat symbol, and we were like, it’s time for us to be assembled. We all got on our motorcycles, and we fucking got to the HQ. Got the guitars.
Shreddin’ time!?
Honestly, no. It was really just felt like that time, like we’re in quarantine, all jokes aside. We didn’t do a thing. Like, we dropped that record; we didn’t tour on it. But the fact, the numbers were going up, and we were chillin’, it changed everything; we were like, maybe we should do this still, you know?
It just kind of went from there, like, we didn’t know what we wanted to do necessarily sound wise or even just getting everybody in the same room to write together, which almost didn’t happen; (it) was pulling teeth, but we got together; we made it happen and we came up with something that I am more than proud of.
I can even vouch for that too. I gotta listen to it. And I was like, oh shit. The floodgate’s about to open again. Speaking of tours, I went and saw you guys in San Diego.
Oh, you went to San Diego?
Yeah, I was at the San Diego show! On the World War tour with Tripp Jones, Zulu, Scowl, and Show me The Body.
Beautiful tour.
Beautiful tour, man. Saying that lineup out loud is wild.
Yeah, I’ve been telling them, I’m like, man, this tour is like perfectly curated. Two West Coast bangers, two East Coast bangers, with Tripp Jones to tie it together.
It’s like the Infinity Gauntlet of like hardcore.
Literally all the stones. I think what I appreciate most about touring with all these guys is, its people from every age group or generation, the last couple years of hardcore. And everybody is not only destroying shit on stage, but everybody is incredibly proficient in what they do. It’s just really nice to see that people still love to do this and still have the interest. I feel like hardcore people tend to step in, like, it’s like a come-and-go thing, but everybody here on that tour, they put their heart and soul into it, you know?
Yeah. To say the least. Man, you were crazy out there. It was like the heathens unleashed when all of you came on, doing flips off the stage, bouncing off the walls. That shit was dope, man. I was glad to get to see you guys. And that goes into like seeing Jesus Piece in general perform.
Yeah. I’m glad you were there, shit. I appreciate it.
And in terms of live performances, seeing you perform live is an experience. The energy you all emit while performing is infectious to say the least.
Not for nothing. I toned it down this tour, straight up.
Shit, really?
Yeah. I used to be way crazy. My back hurts now, dawg. I can’t do it all and shit.
You’re telling me bro. I’m ranging 30, and I was just standing there like, holy shit man, my back’s killing me.
You stretch out for a second.
Exactly. What is it about live shows you personally enjoy doing the most?
Connecting with people. I mean, I’ve been singing for long enough that it’s like second nature. It’s just a matter of crowd participation. That’s what I look forward to every day. How stoked do people look? Or, like, do they look confused or any of that? I like to look at all that because connecting is ideal. I mean, that’s what we do as people. We’re made to talk to each other. We’re made to, to interact. And I feel like our group of music and what we do, that’s what makes it special, you know? It’s not just dudes on stage and you don’t talk to them ever or there’s this huge barrier, like this fucking buffer space. I just want it to be community driven and have people together. You know what I mean?
Definitely. That’s one thing I appreciate about the hardcore scene in general is just like letting people come up on stage and interacting with them. You don’t see that at a lot of rap shows. You don’t see that at a lot of rock shows, so it’s pretty cool.
It’s always met with, like, people being pretty mad about it, but at the end of the day, it’s the coolest fuckin’ part, you know? Of course, there are things that go wrong because of it, but it’s a blast, nonetheless.
Oh definitely! Your vocal style embodies such rage and tenacity behind its delivery. Every bar, bro, just giving a reality check to listener’s eardrum. How do you get into the emotional mindset each time you deliver your vocals while also putting on a live performance? I can just imagine that’s insane.
Well, for the first couple of years, something would always happen to piss me off super bad day of the show. But I don’t really let that side out of me much, like in my everyday life, I’m a very docile person nowadays. I have my days of being a wild man, and that’s kind of where that always is. But the only time I really let that be, now is when I’m on stage. That’s my outlet. That’s where I get to purge all my negative feelings. So as soon as I do step on, man, I think about all that shit. I tap into all that shit and just get it off my chest then and there so I can smile for the rest of the day. I can bust jokes and laugh and joke with my friends. Not a fucking chip on my shoulder all the time. You know what I mean?
That’s what I loved about the set. When I saw you perform, you’re just making these faces; you’re just going ham. I really enjoy that ‘cuz that not easy to do at all. You’re putting yourself on the line for all these random people you don’t even know. So, I commend you for getting up there, doing that the way you do, man, that’s crazy.
For sure, no doubt. I appreciate it. Look at these mountains [points phone at snowy mountains passing by in Scowl’s tour van window]
Dude, it’s so beautiful! You guys are in Salt Lake, yeah?
That shit is crazy, nigga. We’re, like, in Boise in the middle of Salt Lake. We’re driving.
And not only are you a vocalist, but you also play bass. Is there one you prefer doing over most, or is it a blend of enjoyment?
You know, bass was always a fun thing to me. I absolutely love doing vocals, and that’s something, again, second nature to me. And me being a person who continuously tries to challenge themselves, I get bored; I get bored really fast. So, after a while, I got bored with doing vocals, and I thought I need to feed a creative side of me and do something else to remind myself that I love music, and I love being on the road, and I love to do this. I just need to eat a different dish. You know what I mean?
Yeah, definitely, ‘cuz doing the same thing over and over and over again, you’re like, well, I’m not having fun anymore. So that’s cool that you’re able to spice that up and you’re able to find that in yourself to do that.
And low key, I’ve always wanted to play in a rock band. I played bass in a death metal band with a guitarist of Jesus Piece for a little bit too. And that was fun. And that was how I learned how to play bass. I just was like, yeah, I’ll do it. And they were like, OK. I was like, ah, shit, shit.
Slappa dah the bass!
Yeah. Literally just put myself in a room, and I learned this entire fucking LP and that was my intro to playing bass, just playing in, like, a grind ass band. And then learning how to play with expression and stuff didn’t really come until I started playing with Nothing. It wasn’t just like shrouded by HM2 or, like, some shitty fucking bass metal. I just have to like legit play the bass and have it sound good. It was a slight challenge.
Obviously it meant something ‘cuz you got into Nothing, and you were with them for a few years.
Yeah. Last year I stepped out.
Hey, you’re back with Jesus Piece now. So that’s what matters, right?
Yeah. No doubt, I mean, I would still do if I could, but with the little man, just like two bands internationally touring and then a cycle, I’d never be at home. Like, you gotta pick and choose there.
With Jesus Piece, you’re like a smorgasbord of dynamic styles and influences. Each of you having your own individual and unique take on how music is created. What were some of your inspiration pulls for this record?
At least I know that when we do write, we try not to take influences in too much. You know what I mean? Like, there are things that we may hear, here and there, but we try not to do that. Because then we end up making the same shit that everybody else is thinking. You know what I mean?
So with this record, if anything, we looked into it as far as, like, how can we step up our songwriting necessarily than our sound? ’cause we have the sound already. Coming from a hardcore stance, a lot of the time it’s not necessarily the most sequential songs. Things are mixed up. You only get, maybe, ABC; sometimes it’s not just AB, AB type shit. So, we kind of had to grow as songwriters in that aspect. But I think it is shaped up nicely.
Yeah. And I agree. Jesus Piece are like nothing I’ve heard. It’s hard to be like, well dang, what do they sound like? What can I compare them to? That’s why I love that. Like everyone on the tour, they all have their own sound. There are influences, obviously, but at the end of the day, everyone’s got their own sound, which is great. And speaking of the songwriting on this album, what was your writing process like for …So Unknown?
Vocally or the whole shit? I know that Dave and John, they met up with a friend of ours, and they helped write everything. He was drumming, and them two were playing guitar ‘cuz he was busy with all this crazy shit.
So, they brought in an outside guy to help us out put it together, but that shaped up over time. There were some songs that were written in the studio, but for the most part they tossed everything together. And by the time it reaches my table, music gets done and then when I stepped in, I put the vocals on top.
I went out there for, like, a week, locked myself in a cabin with Randy, dudes weren’t even there ’cause I was just I had a lot of anxiety about stepping back into the booth. It had been so long, but I also wanted to try new things and try new sounds. I don’t know if it’s like the artist curse, but I don’t like to do things in front of people until I feel like they are adequate or they’re at a certain level. So, I wanted to just put myself away, lock myself away from the city life and everything going around me, and just focus on this record and do what I need to do to make this a record that I wanted to hear, and I would say, “I’m proud of what I did with this.”
Definitely. You should be, ‘cuz this is gonna shock the waves, to say the least. It’s gonna blow up. I got that pre-order already, man. You already know the deal. And that’s cool you locked yourself away in nature. Sometimes going out in nature, getting away from the city life, it really gives you time to self-reflect.
I was like this deer eating grass and shit at four every morning. I was making biscuits and gravy from scratch with Randy. He was just sitting there coolin. It was nice.
How would you break down the title of …So Unknown?
…So Unknown, that is a line from (the album track) “Tunnel Vision.” And “Tunnel Vision” itself is a song about just becoming a more refined and sharper version of yourself and what you’re doing. Just pressing the nose in the grindstone at the end of the day, changing yourself into a more ferocious or a more on-it person than you really are on your everyday life. I felt like that’s what this album was for us. It was pulling our head out of the sand, and just fucking putting it to it. And I felt like it was perfect for the record.
Yeah, I agree man. I agree. I listened to the whole thing, and I was just like, damn. It’s so different from Only Self, but you can still feel that same energy and that youthful spirit to it. Speaking of the title, the cover art for the album goes in hand with the title. LAZYGAWD, he went off, to say the least.
LAZYGAWD went crazy on the art. Wait till you get the record. We got a couple page booklet in there and shit, and there’s mad art and stuff. It’s really, really nice. LAZYGAWD went crazy.
But I’m glad that you did say that because at the end of the day, this artwork is slightly abstract, you know what I mean? Like I’m talking to some European outfits and stuff, and they’re just like, “Why are you doing this?” And I was like, “Why is there a need to be this fucking profound reason, dude?” You know what I mean? I’m not calling myself an angel. This isn’t like some fucking self-portrait. It’s art, and I want you to look at it and you tell me what you feel about it. What do you take from it? I feel like that’s important, especially when you’re swimming in the sea of other bands or other records. What’s gonna stand out? This thing that you’re confused by definitely will.
Yep. And that’s what makes it so unique. ‘Cuz I was looking at it just like, “Damn, what do I take away from this?” And to me, it just kind of embodies the whole record, like, you don’t feel understood. You’re misunderstood, and you feel unknown a bit ’cause you’re shedding your old self into the new era of Jesus Piece.
Yep. And that’s that. It’s Jesus Piece; it’s life. I feel all of us changing so much, and I see all of us changing. None of us know what’s ahead on the curve here, but we’re trying our fucking damnedest, you know? Especially, like, in these new shoes, you know, I never expected myself to be like this model father, but as soon as I had my kid, dude, it did change everything. I feel different. I don’t know how to take this, you know? A lot of these last couple years have been just coming back into my own skin and understanding how to navigate this world with all this new shit going on around me. You know what I mean?
The entirety of …So Unknown is layered in such sonic complexity and richness. There’s a masterful decision made for each symbol crashed, string strummed, and vocal spewed. How did you know what direction you wanted to go with this piece?
You know, when it comes to certain things like that, that’s all in the process of when shit is going ahead. You’re having flow with the project. You see what it calls for. You listen to the songs and listen to what’s supposed to be there. When I do write these things, I listen to these songs over and over again, and I try to hear where things should fall, as opposed to just saying, “I have this oh, I’m gonna slap it over top of this.”
I like to find my placements. I like to find my sounds first, and then we work everything else into them. And a lot of that comes down to working with the instruments or working with the certain hits. And I know that the rest of my guys are very much attention-to-detail people. So, they picked it apart over and over and over again. And then having Randy there as an outside voice too, to say, like, “Yo, I hear this,” creates conversation. And I know that it was like pulling teeth, sort of like pulling your hair out sometimes and then going back and forth, but the end result is always beautiful. And that’s just what happened this time.
Art is pain. Right?
Truly and personified.
And speaking of the creative process, failing is part of the creative process.
Absolutely.
What was one of the biggest challenges you all faced while creating this record?
Time. Finding the time to get together to sit and do this or having everybody’s schedules lined up to make this happen, like all these tiny moving parts, that was the worst part about this.
But everything else moved along pretty smoothly. I had a little hiccup the first round I went for vocals. I came in there hot. I was doing extra, doing too much almost. And I blew my voice out first day, and I just had to go home. I was like, “Dude, it just, it’s like that, bro.” Like, I’m not getting shit done today.”
And that’s why before, I went up to the cabin for a week. It shook my self confidence in a sense. I’m very sure about myself when it comes to vocals, but I stepped in there after all this time away and then I fucking blew it immediately, and I was just so upset with myself. And by the time, the week came that I went to record, I was just in the car screaming, just trying to build a callus again, and once I snapped back into that shit, it was all good.
Well, that’s good that you realized that you just went in there too ham the first try. Then you come back with a new mind. So, I’m glad you’re vocals are better or else we wouldn’t probably have …So Unknown, right?
I’ll tell you what man. If there’s anything I learned from getting my ass beat in Elden Ring all the time, is just, sometimes you gotta switch the fucking plan up, dawg.
Yep. Elden Ring, man, you gotta love Melina, she’s psycho. How long did it take you to beat her?
About a week. A week of sadness, disappointment. We all flew out to LA for some shit, like for a couple shows or whatever. I don’t remember why the fuck I was out there, but I brought my laptop with me, and I was playing on my laptop through the Remote Play of my PS4 back home. Kinda beat her, I was at my manager Sherwin’s house, and I was wilding out of the crib. Everyone’s looking at me like I was a psycho or something, screaming at the game.
That’s hilarious man. You remind me of me and my roommates ‘cuz we’re, like, super die hard Fromsoftware-heads.
Hell, yeah. You’re a Sekiro fan?
Dude, Sekiro was fire! Are you excited for the DLC for Elden Ring?
Absolutely. Yeah. I platinumed that shit in, like, a couple months. So, I had nothing to do. I did beat that shit, like, four or five times.
Yep, same. Dude, that final go around was intense. I was at the Elden Lord, the final boss, and then the Elden Beast. That took me at least two weeks on my fourth go around to platinum it.
Whoa!
Yeah. Barf man. That’s funny though. I didn’t know you played Elden Ring. That’s great.
Oh yeah. I’m a huge Fromsoftware-man. Dude, Sekiro, I platinumed that shit too. Like, that’s my jam. But I didn’t get into it until I started playing Dark Souls 3.
Same!
Except Dark Souls 3, I was like, fuck it, I’m in it. Like I did Bloodborne and shit. I love Bloodborne, but I just never touched Dark Souls for some reason.
Let’s hope Bloodborne 2 comes soon. Right?
Yeah, I need it man.
Yeah, me too, man. Me too. What is something you hope listeners take away from …So Unknown?
That’s a hard question to answer. Whatever they need, you know? I know that’s a very open answer, but I hope that everybody takes whatever they need from the record, and it feeds some sort of a part of somebody. ‘Cuz that’s all you can ask for, you know? You put this shit out into the world; it’s all subjective. Maybe will people like it; maybe they won’t. If they hear something, and they say, “Hey, this sits right with me here, like, this resonates.” that’s all I look for.
Yeah. And it definitely resonated with me, man. So you can consider that a W in your books if that means anything.
I appreciate you.
To wrap up the interview, is there anyone you want to shout out and show some love to at all?
Hell, yeah. I wanna show some love to my niggas in Scowl, bro.
Scowl, baby!
Show Me the Body, and Zulu and the whole tour, and whoever is reading or whatever, if you haven’t listened to any of those bands, change that shit as soon as possible.
That’s what I got. And shout out to Nothing, Nicky and them, that’s my babies, I love them to death. Cloakroom, Dissolution Wave, incredible record. If you haven’t listened to it, listen to it.
Hell, yeah brother. I’ll have to check it out.
Everybody else can eat my ass. (laughter)
Well, Aaron, I appreciate you immensely. I know your time’s precious, so thanks for hopping on and talking to me.
Yo. Thank you, man. Thanks for having me.
Of course, Aaron. God bless you, brother.
Likewise. Have a great day.
You too, man. Bye.
Peace.
Photo courtesy of Derek Tobias
