Hi, everyone! I recently sat down to chat with Jackson Katz, the drummer for the Los Angeles- based indie group Slow Hollows. When he's not performing with the indie mainstays, Katz has kept busy with his solo act- Brutus VIII. Known for his over-the-top live shows, he has developed a cult following in LA's DIY scene over the years. Although Katz joined in 2015, lead singer Austin Anderson, bassist Aaron Jassenoff, and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Fox are the other members that he is surrounded with. The group has released three studio albums, and their newest project Actors comes out October 24th on Danger Collective Records. Along with these records, Katz and the gang have performed on some of the country's biggest stages- including Coachella, Lollapalooza and Camp Flog Gnaw (Austin has connections with music mainstays like Tyler, the Creator and Frank Ocean). I've been a fan of Slow Hollows for quite a while, and it wasn't until I got in touch with Jai Chebaia at Danger and gave me this amazing interview opportunity.
bazzreviews: Which albums or artists inspired you to start a music career in the first place?
Jackson Katz: One of the bands that mean the most to me is Bauhaus- I actually have a tattoo of their logo. LCD Soundsystem was another huge influence on me growing up. I also really love David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave. I’ve been serious about music since I was about ten years old, but these people were ones I discovered early on and have shaped the way I make music today.
br: I know you were a later addition to Slow Hollows- how did you meet the other members of the group?
J.K.: I used to be in a band called Casinos, which was my high school band. We would play at the Smell, a club in LA with a group that was formerly known as “Hollows”. We all got to know each other super well through playing all these shows together and hanging out. After a while, the original drummer, Nick Santana left to go to school. They needed a drummer, and since we were all such close friends, I decided to step in. Casinos were kind of petering out at the time, so I guess you could say the timing for this was perfect.
br: What’s the significance behind the band’s name and your stage name, Brutus VIII?
J.K.: With Slow Hollows, I don’t know if there’s any significance behind the “Slow” part of the name. I think around five years ago, it had something to do with the fact that there were a lot of other bands with very similar names. With my solo act, Brutus VIII was a name I had come up with in high school when I was just demoing and making songs in my bedroom. I don’t think there’s much inspiration behind that name either, just me sitting in history class learning about the Roman empire and guys like Julius Caesar and Brutus. Brutus wasn’t necessarily evil, but him being the guy stabbing his friend in the back made me like the idea behind the betrayal part. It stuck, and the eighth part of the name was totally random.
br: You guys have gotten to perform at big music festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza and Camp Flog Gnaw, what would you say are the best and worst things about performing at such big festivals?
J.K.: Not only is getting to play and having free admission to these festivals great, but I would say the best part of them all was being at all these festivals I had dreamed of going to as a kid. Playing with so many bands that I had been obsessed with for so long made it even crazier, and I cannot be more fortunate for the opportunities I’ve had. In terms of the worst aspect, it’s easier to reflect and look back after you’ve done. When you’re in the moment, you’re stressed out about playing and worrying about making the best of such a short set. I’d say the best performance at a festival for us was Coachella, we had a great audience out there. If we’re talking about the most fun we’ve had in a show, Flog Gnaw is the winner. It’s such a well-run festival, and we got to hang around so many amazing artists. I actually got to meet one of my all-time heroes, Danny Elfman, so that blew my f----n’ mind.
br: I’ve heard you are also known for having some awesome live shows when you’re playing solo- would you say that you prefer performing live rather than working in the studio?
J.K.: They’re two totally different experiences. If there’s a really great show, it gets really exciting for me. My live act is much more confrontational than the music, so it feels really great to kind of yell and be able to get those emotions out on stage. I don’t think most people would assume that I’m an angry person, but like I said, getting the ya-ya’s out on stage is always a great time. I was actually just thinking about this the other day. The performances I love to see are when the artists are acting upon very genuine feelings, and both the audience and artist are reciprocating those emotions. However, when I’m recording, it’s not tapping into things like aggression or confrontation. I can work with the entire range of emotions that I experience on any given day.
br: What’s the biggest difference from writing songs for Brutus VIII and Slow Hollows?
J.K.: As Brutus, I have the final say on everything because I’m the only member. It’s usually just me in my bedroom crafting s--t out. With Hollows, it’s Austin’s project, but we all contribute in our own ways. We all work together as a unit and flesh out songs until we think they’re good enough.
br: What’s more important to you when you’re making songs-lyricism or production value and instrumentation?
J.K.: I don’t really know if it’s one or the other, it depends on the song. Certain songs have more lyrical value, so I’ll probably write better lyrics if I’m feeling in the zone and want to write some juicy stuff. At the same time, I love sitting in my bedroom and make beats for a few hours.
br: Do you have any fun recording stories from both the band or your solo career from over the years?
J.K.: I really don’t have a lot of funny or weird s--t for this one I think the only one that was memorable for me was the process on the first Brutus album. It was me working with my old roommate, Rob of BOYO, who I saw you interviewed. He would be in one room working on his stuff for BOYO, I’d be working on Brutus stuff. We’d both help each other out and add our own little twists to some songs.
br: What songs are you the proudest of in Slow Hollows’ and your discography and why?
J.K.: I’m super proud of all the new Slow Hollows stuff, not only with my contributions, but everyone really came together to make some amazing stuff. I really like where we’re going with this new project One song that I like a lot is “Two Seasons”, we just put that one out recently. It’s a great song with some awesome lyrics. For Brutus, I loved making “Fräulein”. I almost feel like it was written by someone else. Even though I wrote “Japanese Candy” two years ago, people seem to like that one at all my shows.
br: I know that Slow Hollows is releasing a new album, Actors soon- can you tell me a little bit more about what it’s going to have in store?
J.K.: It took a really long time to make this record because we weren’t really sure what direction we wanted to take with it. We got a little bored and uninspired by making the “same-old, same-old” indie guitar record every time, so we wanted to change it up. I think it does a great job of bringing some new sounds into the mix, but it stays true to our songwriting and overall Slow Hollows style. We’ve had so many different producers and people work on it, and a huge shoutout to Hollows member Daniel Fox for putting his production lens on this project. I can say with certainty that this is the most unique Hollows project to date.
br: What about for Brutus?
J.K.: I haven’t been playing a lot of shows here in LA, but I’ve been working a new full-length for a while. I don’t know when it’s going to come out, but I just recently finished an EP with the aforementioned Daniel which is called Power Couple. It’s definitely more dancey and techy than most of the stuff I’ve done before.
br: What music goals do you have for the future?
J.K.: We have a big Hollows tour starting in a few weeks which will take is into 2020. We want to hit a lot of cities here in the US, and maybe head over to Europe for a brief stint there. Come out to our release show on the 24th at the Moroccan Lounge in LA!
LIGHTNING ROUND:
Name one album you find as overrated and one you find as underrated
Overrated- Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
Underrated- Congratulations by MGMT
What was the first album you ever bought?
iTunes- Sublime’s self-titled
Physical- Abbey Road by the Beatles
Who was the first artist you ever saw live?
Motley Crue and Aerosmith at the Hollywood Bowl
If you could put any four musicians together and start a band, who would it be?
Peter Murphy- Bauhaus (vocals), Mick Karn- Japan (bass), James Murphy- LCD Soundsystem (drums), David Gilmour- Pink Floyd (guitar)
I'd like to thank Jackson again for giving me his time for an interview, I had a really awesome time talking to him! For those who haven't checked out Slow Hollows, I hope that you do now. They're an amazing band that has a lot of awesome stuff in their catalog. Thanks so much to everyone for reading this, and I hope you stick around for more bazzreviews content in the future!
To hear Slow Hollows’ music, go to https://slowhollows.bandcamp.co
Also, a link to Jackson’s music as Brutus: https://brutusviii1.bandcamp.com
Are you interested in seeing Slow Hollows on tour? Buy tickets at http://slowhollows.com
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