Chances are that you've probably heard the music of Jason Pollock without even knowing it. Born and raised in Charlottesville, Pollock has had a first-hand glimpse into the world of rock-n-roll stardom. Beginning in the early 90's (while a student at William & Mary) and continuing on through the last part of the decade, Jason Pollock was a founding member, lead guitarist, and songwriter in the rock band Seven Mary Three. You may recall the band's 1995 release American Standard which became a platinum-seller and peaked at #24 on the Billboard Charts. That album was fueled in large part by the band's biggest charting hit "Cumbersome".
For his part, Pollock ended up leaving the band he helped form in the late 90's and immediately after that spent two years living abroad in France to, in his own words, "re-discover myself as a songwriter". In 2001 that path to re-discovery led him back home to Charlottesville. Since that time, Pollock has continued to work toward growing as both a songwriter and as a singer and in March of last year he returned to the stage for the first time since leaving 7M3 by fronting his latest band The Pollocks.
The Pollocks perform at the Gravity Lounge this Saturday, February 7 to celebrate the release of their second full-length album Pardon the Witches (the debut album, Last Tender Leaves, was released in 2008). Joining The Pollocks will be special guests The Hill & Wood. 8pm. $10.
In the lead-up to this weekend's CD Release Party I've decided to continue a little feature segment here on The Rut called "7 Questions With...", a feature segment that I began while I was writing for cvilleMUSE. To that end, Jason Pollock was kind enough to provide seven electronic answers to my seven, equally electronic questions and the rest, as they say, is interweb history. There's talk of bands both old and new, the challenges and rewards of being both the artist and the producer, and even a little voyeurism (but in a strictly creative sense). More importantly what we discover is that Pollock seems determined to continue moving forward with his own music and doesn't seem the least bit encumbered by the stardom of his rock-n-roll past. [Read my 7 Questions With Jason Pollock after the break]------------
You were one of the founding members of the rock band Seven Mary Three back in 1992. Three short years later the band had a platinum selling album (American Standard) and a #1 rock radio hit with "Cumbersome". So one day you're playing a frat party and the next thing you know you're being interviewed by Rolling Stone and you're on MTV. How would you compare the dream of rock n roll success with the realities of rock n roll success?
The realities of rock n' roll success contain every wonderful dream (and cliche, for that matter) that you can imagine. However, there are a few aspects of "success" that many bands are unprepared for, off the top of my head: the hard work and exhaustion (getting a "deal" is like making it into Kindergarten- it's only the beginning and you're so naive), balancing the work and the party, trying to keep the different personalities in the group unified, realizing that the music business is more business than music and having to make daily compromises between the two (this was one of 7M3's downfalls- career wise we shot ourselves in the foot many times), any kind of fame changes the way that people see you (even though you remain the same), and most importantly, the hard work!
You left the band in 1999, moved to France, and began trying to find your own voice as a songwriter and a singer. I would imagine the experience was both liberating and at times frightening or frustrating. Maybe it was none of the above. How would you describe your time spent living abroad and in what ways did it change your outlook on making music that was your own?
In 7M3, I wrote the music (later the singer would start writing music, as well); so, yes it was difficult and frustrating to have to start from zero and to teach myself to sing and to write lyrics. But, I loved doing the work and the fear of failure was, in itself, extremely liberating. Living abroad teaches you that there are people living happily in places other than your own country. I forced myself to let go of a certain portion of my ego, which caused me to become much more dependent upon and observant of others and the details of their personalities. Stepping outside of myself taught me to be attentive to detail.
As a writer, describe your muse.
She lets me do whatever I want to her, though she is not dependent upon my attentions. For some writers, the muse is mysterious and fleeting. For me, she is always there, like a shadow, ready to give and take. She is as much a part of my life as wine, or oxygen- such is her generosity. She allows me to always live in the future. Voila!
In 2001 you made the move to Charlottesville. What led you here and in those seven plus years how would you describe the music community you've discovered and become a part of?
I was born and raised here and a majority of my family live close by. The Charlottesville music community is very similar to others that I've been a part of- open, generous, talented, experimental, opinionated, supportive of itself and the non-musical community (both creatively and materially), incestuous, ego-centric, wishing for fame and fortune.
Last year you recorded and released your first album Last Tender Leaves. Now you've got a new record out this year, Pardon the Witches, and I've read you're already working on a third. To this point you've taken a real hands-on, D.I.Y. approach to the recording process, which seems to be in stark contrast to the way the records you made with Seven Mary Three were done. What have you gained as an artist by being so personally involved in the making of your own music? Is it difficult at times to juggle the roles of musician and producer and to still approach your music with fresh ears?
Artistically, it has helped me to get closer to the "nuts and bolts" of actually getting the sounds onto the tape- microphone placement, EQ settings, amplifier choices, etc. Basically, I hope that it will allow me to present a finished song that is as close to what I hear in my head as I can get. This is a never ending process. A musician should always think in terms of a producer- playing music live and recording in a studio are two, entirely different subjects and trying to bridge the gaps between the two is what a top notch producer can do so well. Creatively, a musician should let the song pour out without any editing. After a certain point, the production side of the brain kicks in and whittles the raw wood into sculpture.
In summing up the songs on Pardon the Witches, you write: "I would describe Pardon The Witches as empty rooms inside broken homes...a holiday beach in the heart of winter...a honeymoon barrel going over the falls ". There's a mixture of beauty and sadness in these descriptions. As a writer do you see yourself inhabiting these scenes or are you simply a voyeur describing the view from afar?
Voyeurism is easier. Plumbing the personal depths can be more painful, but often more artistically rewarding. Each of the characters in a work by Shakespeare are merely facets of his own personality. Dylan never discloses his true personality literally, but rather through the dissection of those of others. These are my archetypes. My songs are observations of the human condition in friends, family, strangers, and myself. I will sometimes mix them all together. I will sometimes make them do what I need them to do to get my ideas across. Whatever it takes to make the listener feel that the song is speaking to them, or describing them in some deeply personal way. If I can do this one out of every ten times, then I'll have succeeded.
Finally, in March of last year you found yourself in a rock n roll band for the first time in almost a decade. Introduce us to The Pollocks, how would you describe the band's sound, and what does it feels like to be back on stage performing as part of a group?
The Pollocks are myself (vocals and guitars), Nathan West (drums), David Bartok (bass) and Ian Lawler (guitars). We are also joined (not frequently enough!) by Maryline (backing vocals). For the show this Saturday, Mike Clem (of Eddie From Ohio) will join us on acoustic guitar and Terri Allard will join us as a backing singer. We rehearse in a barn at my place that has been painted green; so, it's been baptized the Green Garage. We are loose, without running off of the rails. We play blues based, American music sifted through The Beatles, re-sifted through Tom Petty, spit out by Jason Pollock and zested with ze French touch. To be back on stage is terrifying! It's been so long since I was judged! After a few months, though, the old confidence comes back and the addiction sinks its claws back in. It's exhausting, but nothing else is more satisfying.
The Pollocks: Press
Going off to college is a turning point for most teens, allowing them to freely express their individuality and develop their personality. Charlottesville-area guitarist Jason Pollock’s experience was no different— it wasn’t until he began attending the College of William and Mary that he had any interest in music. And yet while Pollock eventually nationally renown in Seven Mary Three, it wasn’t until years later that he finally found comfort in creativity at the helm of his own project, The Pollocks.
“The first day at college, when you have to say what you want to be in life, I said, ‘I’m going to be a rock ‘n roll star,” Pollock remembers. “But I was just joking.”
Picking up a guitar for the first time in Williamsburg, Pollock hooked up with three fellow students and started performing up and down the coast under the moniker 7M3 to overwhelming success. Immediately after graduation in 1995, the band signed to Mammoth Records, moved to Florida, and achieved platinum status with their subsequent album, American Standard— all in the same year. Four years later, Pollock left the band and found his way back home to Charlottesville to find his musical mojo once again.
“When I left 7M3, I was feeling stagnant, wasn’t writing anything, wasn’t feeling good,” he says. “So I taught myself to sing, and it became a whole new ball game.”
After years of writing daily and boosting his singing confidence, Pollock was urged by friends and family to take his music out to the public— so in 2007, he and partner Maryline began releasing the first of what’s become a evolving, momentum-driven wave of home-recorded records. Beginning with the poignant Last Tender Leaves and Pardon The Witches, then rising to a more emotionally buoyant Wine Diamonds, Pollock and his rotating cast of bandmates have run the lyrical gauntlet from heartbreak, sorrow, and hope, capturing both the “bitterness and sweetness” of the lives that inspire them with a British-pop, classic-American-rock sound.
“I’ve hit a great stride— like people on sports teams who enjoy going to practice, I enjoy doing the work,” Pollock says. “When a CD is finished, I’m immediately on to the next one.”
And while the stark emotional residue inherent in his work with The Pollocks might be a far cry from his days in 7M3, incorporating a “normal life” alongside the responsibility and freedom he has as an individual artist seems to be the perfect fit.
“In 7M3, I was sharing the writing chores with the rest of the band— that’s what makes it a band— but at the same time, some ideas got lost for the greater good of the group,” Pollock says. “In this respect, I’m doing what I love— I’m the benevolent dictator, I’m doing everything from writing, arranging, recording, singing, it’s all on my shoulders— and that’s what makes it very satisfying.”