Our good friend Bob Ferris was able to sit down with Jason Collett and talk about the new album and his upcoming tour with friends Zeus & Bahamas. Hope you enjoy!

My first attempt at getting a hold of Jason Collett:

“Sorry man, I’m a little behind schedule…do you mind if you call back in an hour?”

“Sure bud, no worries.”

My second attempt at getting a hold of Jason Collett:

“Ok almost there, can you call me back in exactly 10 minutes?”

“Do you want me to give you another hour?  That’s totally ok…”

“Na…it’s cool, 10 minutes should do just fine…”

On the second try I could clearly tell that the man was out of breath and if he wasn’t running yet he was thinking about it.  The third time was the charm.  When Jason finally had the chance to sit still and chat, there was a lot of rustling and discussion happening in the back ground.  “Busy day?” I ask with a laugh. “Well, we’re all in the van and this is the only time that everyone could get their interviews done.”

This is proper penance for these musicians, who spent a lot of last year holed up in the self-described “Man-Den” that is Ill Eagle studio in East Toronto.  “No one’s actually sure what’s on the floor,” Collett laughs.  But it’s not only Rat A Tat Tat that got polished off there-Jason’s travelling band, Zeus (Carlin Nicholson, Mike O’Brien, Neil Quin, and Rob Drake) put out Say Us in late February to critical acclaim.  Jason’s no stranger to being a piece of something big.  Whether it’s as an auxiliary member of Broken Social Scene or as the concierge of Toronto’s annual collaborative Basement Revue at the Dakota Tavern, he just wants to see the musical community grow and prosper. It’s kind of like how the Lifetime Collective works. “We get a lot of stuff from you guys.  We’re well taken care of.  It’s like in a community of musicians - you’re allowed to stretch out a little more and you really get inspired by others around you.  [With Zeus] I just recognize it for what it is.  I mean I’ve been playing with some of these guys since high school.  I’ve never had a feeling like this with a band before.  The dynamic has gotten to the point where, musically, we finish each other sentences.”

When asked if the recording and touring relationship with Zeus will continue, he sounds confident. “It’s unspoken.  I’m always gonna be involved with them and it doesn’t have to be laid down in a plan.”

Playing with his friends is obviously a lot of fun for Jason, so I ask him if he ever has to be the one to “reign it in” on stage.  He laughs “There is a lot of craziness on stage, but the good news is that I can go backstage and take a pee and know that they’ll keep playing!”

This is good news for a band leader that’s booked solid until the summer.  The dates include a stop off at SXSW, a sprawling tour through the Canadian and American Midwest, and some locations that Collett has never played before. ‘I’m very excited to play Mexico City. My only regret on this tour is that we can’t play in the country longer. I can’t believe we’re playing there.’  

Jason’s calling the tour the Bonfire Ball Revue, which includes Zeus and Bahamas (Jason’s former bandmate Afie Jurvanen’s solo project) playing the opening sets.

I ask Jason if this new, incestuous family is going to grow into Broken Social Scene proportions. “We just take it as comes.  Music is like a gene, these things always evolve.”




The Bonfire Ball Tour Dates w/ Zeus & Bahamas

www.jasoncollettmusic.com

www.themusicofzeus.com

www,myspace.com/bahamasbreeze