Life On The Road With Spafford: An Interview With Jordan Fairless October 26, 2018 12:16

Words by Jordan Kirkland: Live & Listen

Photos by Isom Morgan Photography

Over the past four years, I've had the opportunity to interview a countless amount of artists and bands. While it's difficult to hit each band with totally unique questions, each conversation allows me the opportunity to get a detailed history lesson on the subject at hand. That being said, I had the opportunity to sit down the Spafford's Jordan Fairless (bass) last Friday before the band's show at Saturn in Birmingham, AL. Watching this band's continuous rise up the ranks of the jam/festival scene has been nothing short of amazing. Thanks to this opportunity, I now have a much better understanding of the band's remarkable story. See below for the full interview, and make sure to catch these guys on the road as soon as possible.

I thought we could start off by covering some basic background info. Is there any particular person that led you towards playing music?

Jordan: Definitely. I credit my parents. Both of my parents were music majors in college, who later found different careers that allowed them to make more money. My father was a pastor, and my mother was a choir director, so I just grew up around music. It kind of came naturally. I started playing the violin in the fifth grade and eventually gravitated towards guitar. I was always nurtured by the church environment of my parents. They helped to foster that young obsession with music, which later turned into finding the radio. I found bands like Weezer, Incubus, 311, Sublime, and others that really made an impact on me.

Those bands made a big early impact on me as well. 311 was the first band that I became truly infatuated with.

Jordan: Yeah man. That record with all of the flames on it. I remember staying up until 2:00 AM to try and catch a certain song on the radio, so I could put it on a tape.

I used to do the exact same thing. I would even call the radio station and use different voices to request the same song, so I could try and record it on tape.

Jordan: I had a thing growing up where the music that I could listen to was heavily censored. I would listen to music secretly...bands like Tool or Green Day. Whatever anyone was giving me, I would go listen to outside of my house. I wasn't allowed to listen to that music at home until later. Music has always been this outlet to something else for me.

I was in a similar scenario. My parents didn't want me listening to "profane music." I definitely had to return a few CDs to the store.

Jordan: I used to try and put my thumb over the 'Parental Advisory' sticker (laughs).

Absolutely. I know that routine all too well. So you mentioned that you started off playing violin and gravitated towards guitar. When did you make the transition to bass guitar? Who are a few bassists who helped you find your sound?

Jordan: I realized early on that I was listening to bassists without knowing it at the time. Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and Dirk Lance (Incubus) whose real name is actually Alex Katunich. I loved the early Incubus stuff. He had some amazing tones. One of the first CDs I ever purchased was Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, so Victor Wooten is just burned into my brain. Then there was Phish later on and plenty of others.

The bass is somewhat of a recent development for me. I guess it was seven years ago that I switched over from drums. First, I played violin, and then trumpet and french horn. I played guitar intermittently. At some point, I was on the drum line and started playing the drums. I just loved playing music, and I would play whatever I could.

The band needed a bass player, and I felt confident that I could do it. I started studying the bass, and at that point, I realized that I had been listening to the bass my entire life. It's the rhythm section, and it just kind of developed from there. There were the guys I've mentioned, and then the jam music that I didn't find until later in life. Listening to guys like Phil Lesh, Mike Gordon, Dave Schools, Victor Wooten, and all of those guys. I realized that there was a different element between the studio and creating live music. Somewhere in there, it's been this blend of how I play the bass now (laughs).

That's a well rounded group of influences. Tell me about you ultimately met the other guys in the band and how Spafford ultimately started.

Jordan: Brian (Moss) and I met in Arizona back in 2008. I had moved out there looking for something different. I grew up in Nashville. I lived in Gainesville, Florida for a while. I was born in Alabama. I spent time in Michigan and New York. I'd lived all over the place. Something about Arizona was very special. When I met Brian, there was something about the way he and I interacted musically that was very special.

That's what continued to keep my roots in Arizona. The music, landscape, and so many other things were there. I moved out there looking for something different, and I found it. All of the sudden, we have a band. So I thought, "Ok. I guess I'll stay here and keep playing shows with this guy." Now, here were are back in Birmingham, Alabama. How did that happen? I've been in Arizona for ten years now.

When I think back on meeting Brian, I just remember that he was really good on the guitar. I knew I wanted to play music with him. It just kind of grew from there. We've been through changes. I'm not the original bassist. I was the original drummer. Counting myself, we've been through three drummers and three bassists. We've been through multiple keyboard players. There's just something about the music that wants to keep going.

Red (Andrew Johnson) has been here for while now. I feel like he just joined the band yesterday, but in all honesty, he's been in the band almost as long as I've been playing the bass. That's crazy for me to think about. Then adding Cam (Laforest) in...it's like we met because of music and stay together because of music. The world needs this music.

I love it. Speaking of Arizona, which you just touched on, you've come along way from those days. The success you guys have experienced comes with a lot of accolades, praise, and even criticism. What do you guys do to keep it all in check, stay grounded, and focus on the music?

Jordan: We have a motto. Every night before we go on stage, we huddle up and say a group prayer, if you will. It's not to anything specific. Even if people think we're great, this is about us...right now. We have to go out there and play music. Let's be patient. Let's listen to each other. Let's have fun. That's our motto. I would love to be rich and famous and have all of these things, but that's not going to change who I am at the core. It's not going to change anyone in this band, because at the root of it, we started this band because we like playing music.

Now, people enjoy listening to us play music, but that's not why we started the band. We'll play in front of no one and still have so much fun. The fact that there are people there now to push us and carry that energy forward...that's a bonus. I'm still in this because I love playing music. That's what keeps me humble. I'm not some rock star. I'm not a genius. I'm a guy who loves playing music, and I'm really appreciative of the fact that people will allow me to do that all of the time.

How about your strategy with songwriting versus improvisation? Improv is obviously a huge part of this band. You guys have done some marathon sets. How do you decide when to just run with it?

Jordan: That's a big question. We just embrace new music as it comes. We try to figure where a jam is going to go when writing a new song, but it's just going to happen when it happens. It may not happen the first time the song is played. You may find the jam and where to let it breathe the fifteenth time you play the song. The approach is that if someone has a song idea, show it to the group, and let's try it. Let's see if we can get it to the point that it's ready for the stage.

Last night, we were in Nashville. Something about The Basement inspired me to write something. Then, I have to see if I can finish that, and how long until I can get it to the table. Once it's to the table, how long until it gets to the stage? Once it's to the stage, how long is it until we really figure out how to play the song? There are songs that we've played for years that we're still figuring out how they're supposed to be played. We're not going into the studio, writing an album, and then going out and playing those twelve songs. We're touring 100+ songs, and each night leaves a space in that song where it could be open to having it's own jam. Maybe there is a section where previously, there was nothing there. It was just a guitar solo, but tonight, let's make it a jam.

I would say that the crowd and environment inspire when and where the jams happen, how they happen, and how good they are. We need that energy, and with writing new music, there is so much that is already there. Getting it to the table is the hardest part as a musician. You finish everything you need to do by yourself, and then you prepare to show it to other people. If I'm painting a work of art, I'm probably not going to unveil it in the first two weeks. It's going to take me at least three months before I'm even close to showing someone what I think the finished product is going to look like.

Maybe two years later I end up finishing the painting. I don't know. I'm not an artist, and I don't paint. That's how our ebb and flow with live music is. When it's ready, it will be played. There is too much music getting ready right now that eventually will be played.

That's a great transition towards talking about the new record, For Amusement Only. I'm sure you had more than enough material to choose from. How did the song selection work, and how was this studio experience different than those in the past?

Jordan: We spent six months recording the previous album. We recorded For Amusement Only in two weeks. We walked into the session knowing that we had two weeks to record the album. What can we accomplish in two weeks? Here's our list of options. These songs are representative of a journey. This is what has brought us to this point, and here are these two new songs that we're going to throw on that happened during the recording. The whole process involved figuring out what to select from the 100+ songs we had been playing over nearly eight years. You have to chop down and select what to put on there.

At some point, you have to choose what makes the album. I'm gonna record "Leave The Light On" because we've been playing that song for six years, and it deserves studio take. With the other tracks, it's about finding a good flow and writing a good setlist, if you will. We wrote it all down on paper and said, "That looks really good. Let's record it." It's a setlist that lasts forever, you know?

I know you guys have been on the road for a few weeks, with a about a month left on this run. I always enjoy discussing the elements of playing in different regions, especially the southeast. There's a certain vibe, as well as the whole concept of southern hospitality. How has the south treated you thus far?

Jordan: There's something in the water. People are nice. They love music. They appreciate the show. People are just nice. It's a different vibe. Every market is different. "Southern hospitality" has to be the most appropriate term for what we as a band feel when we are playing here. I feel so good tonight. How we were treated today. It's the same vibe in Atlanta and Florida. Everyone is here because of the music. It's not just because there is something to do. People like music on a deeper level. There is a lot of great music that came from this region. There's just something in the water, man. I can't really describe it. It's special and amazing.

I have to agree with you there. So, just to wrap up, what's coming up on the agenda for the remainder of 2018? What are your goals moving into 2019?

Jordan: A bunch of new music. Jams that go somewhere that I've never been before. That's what I want every night. I want to go somewhere I've never been before. That's why I like touring in a band. I like seeing new places, and the feeling of creating a new memory. You can never recreate the first time that you see something. If you're driving in Idaho, and it's the first time you've seen Idaho, you won't experience that feeling again. I want to keep creating memories that are that special, for myself, the fans, and the band. I think that we all share that vision. We're gonna play more shows. More two and three-night runs in the same city. Maybe record an album that no one has ever heard. Go to Disney World. I'd really like to have a vacation and go to Disney World at some point (laughs). I just want this to keep going.

I've got a good feeling about that.

Jordan: I sure hope so.

WEWatch Spafford perform "West L.A. Fadeaway" in Birmingham here:

Life On The Road With Spafford: An Interview With Jordan Fairless October 26, 2018 12:16

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