Get To Know Them
Tell us about your first concert experience: (Jaren)
I saw Bush/The Toadies/Hum show in Nashville when I was 13 and I’ve been hooked every since!
Hum completely stole the show, and the Toadies were my favorite band at the time. It was an amazing experience.
If you couldn’t be a musician, what would you be doing instead? (Jaren)
I honestly have no idea, I’m not very good at anything else.
If you could collaborate with one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why? (Jaren)
I’d love to just sit in a room and pick Tom Petty’s brain. That being said, I would love to be in a band with either Dave Grohl or Jack White.
If you became President, what is the first action you would take? (Jaren)
Legalize pot, tax it a bit, and use the $ to pay off some of this debt.
What social cause is closest to your heart? (Neil)
The environment. There just isn’t nearly enough thought and effort being put into finding ways to help sustain our natural resources for future generations.
What does the right to vote mean to you? (Neil)
It means that on some very basic level we all still have a choice. With so many things in life completely out of any one person’s control, there’s something very satisfying about being able to make a decision that could affect a bigger cause than one’s own life.
What bands or artists did you listen to when you were in high school? And which bands or artists influenced your style the most? (Jaren)
I was really into the Sex Pistols/Dead Kennedy’s/Sonic Youth /Nirvana /Smashing Pumpkins as a kid, but was also raised on a lot of country music. I think that pretty much explains our sound right there!
What activity or group were you involved with in high school that might surprise people today? (Jaren)
I was a youth peer leader!!! Hahaha - wow.
What’s the biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in high school? (could be personal or academic)(Jaren)
Hmm, graduating was a tough one! Physics kicked my ass - I barely made it through the class.
Do you do any volunteer or community work when you’re not on tour? (Neil)
We have done a handful of benefit shows in the past year for various causes that we felt strongly about.
What change would you like to see in our society in the next year? (Neil)
I’d like to see a mandate put on reducing fossil fuel use in not only the U.S., but throughout the world.
And I’d like to see American Bang be the biggest band in the world!!!
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