A rare Interview with John Thomas the Drummer and founding member of Motherjane , opened up to Joe Peter the man behind
AIKYAA Cochin's School of Music and Performing Arts, this is the 1st of many Interviews with India's Artists so please do join the page on facebook.
1. Im sure Janiacs would love to know about your early years as a drummer starting out. Tell us about your early experiences.
I remember standing fixated and staring at the drumkit then used by the erstwhile 13AD. I was completely blown away by the appeal of the instrument. Now this happened when I was a kid. Then finally I did pick it up in the 90s long back after this incident. Much love and gratitude to David Joseph for showing me the way.
2.Wanna talk about some crisis you had in the band and how you got over it?
There have been moments in this journey where I felt like, this is it…the end of the road. But we got out miraculously, I must say. That inner voice one has, but is often neglected, gave me instructions, and sometimes it also helped that it echoed instructions from people dear to me.
I would call a crisis, a 'danger opportunity'…it may seem dangerous but it sure is an opportunity that you must go through to find your new self.
You can run away to regret in future. We didn't, instead we found a way, and here we are.
3. We know you dabble in new thoughts and approaches to life. Tell us what line of thinking works for you in your personal and professional life.
Right now my focus is to cut down resistance as much as possible,to take the downstream ride….just imagine how fast and amazing it would be. It may seem dangerous but then I always think of Gabbar Khan's dialogue in the movie 'Sholay' - 'jo dargaya samjo margaya'. The system always tells you to hold on to certain things which may block your progress. You let go and there you are, speeding ahead.
They say fear makes you a prisoner,hope sets you free.
4.What gear works for you, and why?
I'm getting endorsed by Pearl drums and I really love that sound. Pearl has a very versatile tone and it works for any kind of music…its a very subjective thing. So u know what to take. As for cymbals, I use Sabian and am very much happy with it. I adore Wuhan and Meinl as well.
5.How did you record the drums for both the albums, what gear did you use and where did you record it?
For our first record, we took drums at Riyan Audio, Cochin and that was the first ever time I played for a recording. I finished all nine tracks in two days and the record was done in nine days. I'll call that divine intervention,cos I'm still trying to figure out how I would've done that otherwise. A big thanks to Rex Vijayan and Baiju too for that.
MAKTUB was a little more relaxed and we recorded drums thrice at different places - first we did it at Riyan, then my studio at JAM, and then at Gopi's Audiophile and thats what u hear on the record. Tone wise, I still like the production at JAM but some technical issues forced us to shelve that project.Shyam Monk did the recording, and Jerry Peter (drummer, Exodus) did the production. At Audiophile, Baiju did the production part and I owe him one, for that recording won me the best drummer award at JD'09. A big thanks to Gopinath.T.J for the fantastic mix as well. Thats a TAMA Artstar ES with Zildjian cymbals that you hear on the first record, and the second was recorded with a MAPEX M kit and SABIAN and WUHAN cymbals.
6.How satisfied are you with the outcome of your drum sound in your recording having recorded it wherever you did?
Everybody felt it could've sounded better and I would blame nobody else but me….mea culpa.
7.Given a chance to go back and do it again, what would you do to improve on your drum recording?
Given a chance to do so, I'd definitely do it all over again, anytime. What I'd do, is not something I want to discuss now cos I'm still exploring some new ideas.
8.Who are the drummers you aspire to?
That will be a huge list, but let me put up some names that come to my mind at this moment….Bill Ward,Virgil Donati,Chris Adler, Trilok Gurtu,Thomas Lang,Dave Lombardo, Mike Bordin, Martin "Axe" Axenrot, Tony Williams, Marco Minneman. Ranjit Barot, Hamesh and Roberto Narain would be my Indian idols.
9.What has been and what is your current practice regime?
I don't have a practice regime as of now,but am striving for one. I would strongly recommend young drummers to have one.
10.Everyone has his own way of being creative. Do you consciously work on your creativity or do you let it just flow
I've sometimes developed some interesting stuff when I was not even practicing...so I believe its all a mind game. You do it all up here you know.(points to his head) I think its all about unleashing our human potential that is far bigger than we can ever imagine…sometimes certain people or events wake you up and trigger the process.You stop being a left brain prisoner and there you go following the rabbit trail...its simple but not easy.
11.Being in the band and performing for so long, have you gone through influences or attitudes that you thought would sound the death knell of the musician in you?
Yes I have, but haven't succumbed to it, touchwood. Its how you deal with your ego.You are a dead man if you let
.It..'ll take you out even before you realize what happened.
I always observe myself, stay focused and above all, enjoy the ride. Its so much fun that way.
12.Tell us about JAM, whats in store for JAM?
Surprises are around the corner, watch out.
13 Are you mobbed off stage in Cochin as much as you are in other states?
Yeah,its happening on a regular basis and really exciting to see so much love for our music. Hey… thank you all.
14 Being the son of Mr Thomas, celebrity cartoonist and brother to Paul who followed your fathers footsteps, have you acquired any of their skills?How has your family supported you?
Sometimes it served an advantage being the kid of a celebrity father. I've also had my share of dissent and turbulence associated with it. Maybe that was required at that point of time. My Father never wanted me to pick up a life in rock, he never managed to catch hold of the idea. But his negation actually fueled my non conformist spirit to do the stuff I wanted to do. Paul always helped me out and I will call him a mentor. He's told me time and again that I had good lines sketched but never had the patience to match. I'd always been a restless kid and obviously found nirvana pounding on drum heads to glory.
15 What should Janiacs look forward to from MOTHERJANE?
The ride ahead will be twice as exciting, I cant disclose much..Get ready for surprises, though..