Jonathan Kane (Doom Dogs) – an Xperience Interview

Jonathan Kane – an Xperience Interview – by Rob Smittix.

Photo Credit: Chris Cardi

RRX: Well, glad to have you on the line. I’m very excited about Doom Dogs. I just spoke with Jair-Rohm (Parker Wells) the other day and he was telling me some of the background story about the band. From what I remember you showed up at a gig. You never rehearsed, you never played with the guys before. Jair-Rohm said he was just a big fan of yours and that’s why he wanted you to come join the group. I was just thinking about … the look on your face or what your reaction was when you asked about the game plan.

JK: It’s a couple of things. First of all, I was contacted by Jair-Rohm, as he told you, and I was like … wow, yeah, I would love to play with those guys. They’re both great musicians. I know both of their work but haven’t worked with or even met either of them. So, that was a big yes! The fact that Jair-Rohm reached out to me in the first place and then when we had that conversation, I mean … it’s not the first time I’ve done improv. I’ve done improv before lots of times. So it wasn’t a complete surprise, but I love that with Jair-Rohm, we don’t even really need to talk about it.

RRX: Yeah.

JK: Let alone we had no time to rehearse. I mean, literally, I walked into the club and met both Reeves and Jair-Rohm for the very first time with about an hour and a half before we were gonna be playing, which also included the time that we were supposed to be setting up and sound checking. After a certain point is when I asked the question, do you have any notes for me? Like what do you guys want?  For me, that could have been anything from like … make it rock, or make it atmospheric, but I loved his response. He had been listening to my playing in various contexts over the years and just wanted me to “do my thing” or whatever that meant to me at the time. I think that’s the thing about Doom Dogs: everybody is doing what is speaking to them and through them at that exact moment. With these improvisers, with these three particular people, everybody’s really tuned into each other all the time. So it’s never the kind of improv where people are just kind of lost in their own world. I’ve never improvised with people where everyone in the group was so tuned in to everything that the other two were doing. So that’s pretty exciting.

RRX: Improvising a full set, man, that’s incredible.

JK: Yeah, every set is a brand-new set. We each have certain modes of playing through our thought processes that kind of pop out here and there. But it’s never like a set thing at a set time. We all have our stylistic patterns and impressions. Reeves, Jair-Rohm, and I suppose I can put myself in that camp also … are all just good at improvising. I think part of that is because we’re also good at listening.

RRX: Right.

JK: And reading the room. I’ll very often play as quietly as I can while I’m studying the audience, waiting for that moment where I think they look like they’re beginning to think that this is about some nice quiet music, and then … that’s the moment when I will bash my drums as hard as I possibly can to just sort of throw a giant rock into the pond!

RRX: Nobody saw that coming. I love that.

JK: Reading each other is part of it and reading the room is part of it.

RRX: Definitely. With all the experience that you guys have, to me, it’s a supergroup. You all come from different backgrounds and stuff that you’ve done before. I mean, do you find it any more or less enjoyable, or is it just different?

JK: It’s different and more enjoyable. I mean, I guess I can say that they’re both such great players. To get to work with people who are that good, it’s pretty fun, it’s gratifying. It’s like anything else you do in this world; when you do it with better people, you get better, they get better around you.

RRX: I actually had an opportunity years ago to play with one of Reeves’ side projects. A band called Jeebus.

JK: Oh, wow.

RRX: At first, we were really just excited to play with Reeves, being big fans. But it ended up … of course, we were supposed to be the opening band but … Reeves spoke to me and said “We’re gonna watch as much of your band as possible, but we do have to hit the road soon. So you guys actually have to play after us.” My guitarist is phenomenal, but he was like, how do I follow that?

JK: Yeah. That’s a lot to get sprung on you at the last minute.

RRX: I was looking over like, this dude doesn’t even have that many pedals. How is he making that noise?

JK: He’s a magician. He really is.

RRX: Here’s a guy who, at that point, had played stadiums and arenas with Bowie, and he now was here with us playing this little club. And he told me that this is what he missed and this is what it’s all about. I mean, just like you with Swans and other projects, playing these bigger gigs. But when you’re playing back at a little club or at a coffee shop, how’s that feel getting back to the roots of the whole thing?

JK: I mean, I agree with Reeves that there’s an immediacy in a small room that can’t be replicated in a huge room. Which isn’t to say (for me) that a larger venue isn’t exciting too, because of course it is. Something intimate about a small room. I guess it depends a lot on the kind of music. I mean, rock lends itself to the arena much more than, say, jazz, blues, or experimental music. Reeves must’ve missed it because he’s playing in arenas all the time. I wouldn’t mind trading in a few of the small rooms for a couple of arenas.

RRX: That’s right.

JK: One step at a time.

RRX: Absolutely. Doom Dogs are gonna be playing on January 8th at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, and that’s not necessarily a small venue. It’s a pretty decent size.

JK: It’s a special show. There will be seating on the stage, but if there is an overflow crowd, then they will also fill up the rest of the house as much as needed.

RRX: That’s what I’m going for. I’m hoping to put that overflow surge out there for you guys.

JK: Troy Savings Bank Music Hall sounds fantastic. I can’t wait to get in there. You’ll be there. We’ll get to meet in person, I hope.

RRX: I don’t see why we wouldn’t. I’m very much looking forward to it. But I heard there’s an album in the works.

JK: We’ve got a bunch of stuff in the can that we recorded, maybe a year ago, maybe a little less. There’s something in the works with a couple of interested parties, but nothing I can make a pitch about right at the moment. But it’s definitely in the works.

RRX: Yeah, I just can’t wait to get some Doom Dogs on our radio station here. That’d be great.

JK: Oh, fantastic, Rob. When we got it, you’ll be the first one to get it!

RRX: I’m gonna hold you to it.

Please visit jairrohm.wixsite.com/doom-dogs