BB: What are your favorite places to play in Boston? Jonatha: Well, I love playing the Berkley Performance Center. I
played there the last couple times I think that I was in town. I love
playing in Copley Plaza, although the last time I played there it was
110 degrees, and we thought we were going to die. But you know, it's
always fun playing in Boston. It was really intense on stage because you
have the marley floor just making it even hotter. I think I was just
wearing my pajamas because I just couldn't even stomach putting anything
else on and sweating more. I used to play at T.T. the Bears, and the
Middle East Café. Those are some great places and the Nameless Coffee
House in Harvard Square; I think it was one of my very first gigs with
Jennifer. And of course all of the little coffee houses and church
basements all over New England. It’s such a ripe scene for working on
your craft. There are all these gigs that you can get into.
BB: How do you feel the Boston music scene has changed since you
first started playing around here? Jonatha: Well, I haven't lived there in so long that it’s like
I'm not sure what's happening lately. I do know that it’s still just
as great, I mean there are great people coming out of there. With Berkley
College being there, is a huge source of great musicians. Everyone’s
spent some time at Berkley. You mention Boston and people will say “oh
yeah, I went to Berkley.” I just think there is always somebody else
from Boston who’s a really cool new voice. So it seems like it's still
pretty fertile ground. BB: Who are some of your favorite local artists? You've sung
backup for Ellis Paul & Vance Gilbert… Jonatha: Oh yeah, well I love them. I love Patty Larkin. She's
just tremendous, although she's not from Boston originally, she's from
Milwaukee. But she's a Boston staple. Cheryl Wheeler was around there
for while wasn't she? Aimee Mann kind of got her thing going at Berkley
she's awesome.
BB: How do you compare the music scene in Boston to other cities
you've played in?
Jonatha: I think that it’s pretty
unusual. It's a really special scene. The caliber of the musician, and
the caliber of the writing is right up there at the top, it really is. I
think that Minneapolis is a great scene as well, and New York is
obviously a great city for music.
IN CLOSING
BB: If you could play on stage with anyone alive, who would it be? Jonatha: Well, let's see. I'm going to be playing with Joe Cocker
this summer; he was definitely on the list. I'm opening for Joe Cocker
in Europe in May and June. Elvis Costello would be right up there. Elton
John, Sir Paul McCartney.
BB: What do you hope to be doing in music in a few years? What do
you hope to have accomplished five years from now? Jonatha: I do set goals. I've been writing in Nashville a fair
amount recently as just sort of an experiment, because I've never been a
co-writer and I thought well let me try this. I’ll go to Nashville and
see if co-writing is something I can work on, and make my songs work for
me more. Write songs that might not be on my records, but that I could
offer it to other artists. So that's one thing I've been sort of
experimenting with, because I'm a song writer so why not do more of that
and make it work for me. I've been writing for film and television more,
and I would like to do more of that because I find that really exciting,
sort of having a very specific sort of assignment. This song must be a
theme song, in forty-five seconds that does this and has this kind of
tempo. That's exciting and that's a good source of income, which I'm
always looking out for because I have to pay the band. I just want to
keep making records. I'm actually going to be spending a lot of time in
Europe, because the response there has been really lovely, and it feels
like a place where you can make things happen more organically than the
massive United States. So those are my goals.
BB: What do you hope people will get out of your music? Jonatha: Passion, integrity, musicality, craft and hopefully some
poetry and a sense of real communication.
BB: What advice would you have for aspiring local musicians? Jonatha: Well, I have a couple of different thoughts. One of them
is you have to have to do this in order to do it. It can't just be a
hobby. It's a lot of work and I think there're a lot of people out there
doing this, maybe to many. I don't know. If you won't die if you don't
do this, maybe it's not for you. But that sounds terrible, so I don't
usually say that. But it just seems like everybody and their little
sister wants to make a record, and everyone and their little sister is
making a record. There are a lot of bad records out there. I think maybe
that's part of the instant celebrity cult. It’s funny, I was just in
France for a few days, and it’s like this everywhere. People, especially
kids growing up, they see Paris Hilton and they see Star Search and
American Idol, and so they want to be celebrities. They think, ok, well
I can be a musician, I could be an actress, I could be whatever, but the
goal is celebrity not something they are really passionate about. Not
like, oh my god, I have to write this song, I have to sing this song, or
acting transports me. It’s about I want fame I want money. So I think
there's all these mixed messages coming through to younger people and
it’s kind of scary. You have to have to do it. If you won't die if you
don’t do this, then maybe there's something else. Find something else
that is that powerful to you and do that.
BB: Thank you for talking to Boston Beats. Jonatha: Thank you, it was fun.
BB: One last question, In Missing Person Afternoon, where is
Louisa? Jonatha: (Laughs). I don’t know. I think she died…
BB: What advice would you have for aspiring local musicians?
