PropertyOfZack Interview : : John Nolan

I’m very excited to finally be posting my interview with John Nolan (ex-Taking Back Sunday, Straylight Run). I’d like to thank John so much for taking the time to answer my questions in great detail. In the interview John sheds some pretty major light on his solo career and the future of Straylight Run. Check it out.

1. Your first solo album, Height, was released in October; since the release how has the feedback been?

So far, so good. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from people. Although one guy messaged me on myspace to say that compared to Jesse Lacey I’m meh. So I guess he didn’t like my album so much.

2. How have the solo shows been going compared to shows with Straylight Run?

I think that a lot of the same people that come to Straylight shows come to see me, so the turnout is pretty similar and so is the general vibe at the shows. The solo shows are more laid back though, and I think more intimate. I spend more time talking with people from the stage and playing songs that I and the people I’m playing with aren’t necessarily ready to play. It either works out really well or pretty poorly, but it’s always exciting and hopefully a different kind of experience for everyone.

3. What made you decide to put a cover song on your album? Any special meaning to the song?

I’ve always loved that song and I feel like it’s sort of under appreciated. Everyone knows it, but I don’t think people appreciate how good it is. It’s a great pop song and at the same time it manages to be very somber and thought provoking. Those are the of the kinds of songs I like to listen to and the kinds of songs I aspire to write. To me it just made sense to record it and put it on my album

4. Do you plan on doing more solo records in the future or was the release a one-time kind of thing?

I do plan on doing more solo records. I’m planning to release a digital EP in a couple of months and hopefully another full length album before the end of the year.

5. Besides touring for your solo album, will Straylight Run be recording a full-length and touring in 2010?

Unfortunately, it’s looking like that won’t happen. We’ve had some interesting ideas for our next record, but there are a lot of practical and financial concerns that are probably going to prevent it from ever coming to be.

6. You toured with many different bands in 2009, which were some of your favorite to be on the road with?

The first tour I did for this solo project was with Mansions, and they were great to tour with. So great in fact that we decided to do it again on the west coast this January and February.    
Touring with Brian Bonz and The Dot Hongs amazing as well. We shared a van with them for about a month and a half and we had a lot of fun. On that run we were also with Person L. Both of those bands blew me away every night and were also just so much fun to be around.

7. What music releases are you looking most forward to this year?

I honestly have no idea what’s coming out this year. I basically only keep up with Radiohead, The Flaming Lips and Wilco and they’ve all put out new material fairly recently, so I’m not expecting to hear much from them this year.  I find out about albums so long after everyone else does. It usually takes about 10 people I know and trust telling me I need to check out a new record or band before I actually do it.

8. Your career seems to be ever expanding towards new territories, where do see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?

In 5 years I see myself bar tending.  In 10 years I see my wife starting a lucrative career which will allow me to become a stay at home Dad.

9. Thank you so much for your time, is there anything else you would like to add?

You can download my new live EP for free at johnnolanmusic.bandcamp.com and on January 24th you can watch the premiere of my new music video on aolmusic.com Thanks!