Munching away on a chocolate muffin, commercially-driven, acoustic singer- Songwriter Jon Paul Palombo tells me about his band’s new EP, why it is being recorded at his drummer’s Suffolk home, the journey of self-promotion – and why he would never go on X-Factor.
As we drink coffee in a cosy café in a busy hub of London, it’s obvious to see that the musician is determined to get himself places – and with what is an obvious passion for everything music industry-related and dedication to – well – the music, of course.
A tightly-packed mix of catchy acoustic rock slash commercially-driven melodies forms part of the package, for the EP, currently recorded and, most of which will be at drummer, Will’s, home in Suffolk. “We wanted to work on our own production – sometimes with a producer it’s really hard to say what you want, but we know how we need the sound to be, so we can just get on with it.”
JonPaul started out as a solo singer about four years ago, and after self-teaching himself on piano and guitar. He has been song-writing for a lot longer, attending a well-known London college to train professionallu. This was how Jon Paul met his band mates.
“More than anything the training was a great way to network and meet other musicians in the industry,” he says. “It’s a useful way of seeing what ideas other musicians have and how you play together.”
After playing a few gigs at some of the smaller, established venues, such as the Water Rats in Waterloo, he wanted to take his music persona to the next level – step in, band mates.
“With the band, there’s a lot more we can experiment with, and our sound is the direction I wanted to go in.” The band has been building itself with a good, solid song collection and gigs across London, including the Borderline (Tottenham Court Road), Shepherd Bush Empire and the Camden Barfly under its silver-studded belts.
Jon Paul is focused on his band but still likes to dip into his own little solo off-cuts and side projects. One of these is track ‘Call It Off’, performed as a duet with his girlfriend.
“She’s a trained singer, and our voices really work together,” he says. “We’d like to perform as a duet at small venues together every now and again. It’s nice to have extra things like that as well as the band.” True enough. Lots of artists have experimented with different musicians and different music genres.
Jon Paul’s influences have progressed from swing and big band music to, more recently, contemporary Indie and American singer-songwriters, such as Jason Mraz and Justin Nozuka. So it’s not surprising that the laid-back, Bradford-born musician creates a variety of sounds that are grand in gesture, , melodic, meaningful – and just downright entertaining.
On asking Jon Paul the underground he thinks are hot and bubbling under the surface right now, he talks about Tinashe and Me My Head. “We did a gig with Tinashe and he used a cardboard box as a drum!” he laughs. “We’re gonna have to try that.”
The diverse, commercially-angled musician is passionate to take his music to the next level, building up a bigger following and playing at bigger venues. But doesn’t every band want that?
“It’s all about your commitment and your belief that you have something to offer the music industry and the audiences,” he explains. And how is he going about doing that, exactly?
Until Christmas 2009 the band had a madcap plan to land lots of gigs and build up lots of fans. But what Jon Paul has realised is that it’s better to take small steps.
“You need to build up slowly – add a song, get another gig – it’s a gradual process. “Though it is the dream to play the big venues to a lot of people,” he adds. So what other advice does Jon Paul have for musicians out there? X-Factor, perhaps?
Jon Paul cringes at this. “I hate X-Factor!” he laughs. “You can get places without needing the approval of judges – lots of musicians have done it. Though you do need to play good songs if you want to appeal to a mass of people. You’ve got to stay critical of the songs you are writing, rather than writing a song to please yourself. Of course, the band’s got to like it as well. Good branding also helps.
“Build your contacts – it’s useful to know people. Recording your material is the best way of showing people what you have to offer and stay in people’s minds.”
All good advice, and all very well for going to become a popular act – but what if it all falls to shreds? Rather than creating music, he’d create structures. “I’d go back to being an architect,” he says. “That’s what I studied before I took up music properly.” And like building a structure, a band needs to be goal-orientated with every stage.
“A musician or band should set itself goals – not large goals, necessarily. I mean, if there are plans to rehearse regularly, everyone in the band needs t o commit to those rehearsals.” Despite plans to move back to his Northern territory, Jon Paul is deadset on a tight rehearsal schedule – even though his band mates are all staying in London.
“I plan to return to London for half the week for rehearsals,” he says. Now that’s determination from a young man who, under beneath his laid-back demeanour, is actually a steely, dedicatd musician willing to play his part in a big way in one of the most competitive industries of this day and age. Now, that’s determination.
The EP will be released on Monday, May 17, through I-Tunes.
Interview by Emma Longman
Find out more about Jon Paul Palombo:
www.myspace.com/jonpaulpalombo
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