EJ LANG

EJ LANG

Going solo, changing styles & creativity

I first started working with EJ when he was lead singer of a punk rock outfit called The SkudFux. I wound up producing two albums for the band although for their second release they decided to rechristen themselves Jerkswitch. While the first CD titled “Cheers” was a high-energy, teenage-angst ridden, raw skater-punk album with a hint of hardcore, the Jerkswitch release “Bufo” showed more musical complexity and some intensely socially conscious lyrics.

But Punk rock is not all that EJ wants to do. And NOT being boxed in by one style was a driving force behind this project. From dark moody folk to grunge influenced art-rock.

I sat down with him towards the end of mixing and asked him a few questions.

JASON: I find that today’s music is incredible; sonically and technologically what we are capable of was inconceivable in the not too distant past, and yet, I’m drawn to the imperfections captured in early recordings. Now that we can tune and quantize everything with machine precision, have we lost something of our humanity or is this just evolution taking its course?

EJ: It’s a choice. The pop production trends tend to go to absolute perfection which I guess is popular in the music world, but it’s still a choice. You decide as an artist if you want it raw or if you want it perfect. Personally I like a mixture of both.

JASON: I remember a time when music had became corporate, and then along came Nirvana and destroyed our concept of what popular music could be. Do you think that could happen again and could your music be a part of that?

EJ: Well, I mean, it would be one of my dreams for sure. There’s so much modern pop and rock and shit that’s on the radio, same recipe, same guitar tones, same effects, maybe it’s time for something new, something a little different. The way I see art I think weird is always a good thing; my stuff can be a little weird sometimes. If I’m lucky maybe that weirdness could open the door to some change.

JASON: When I listen to this project, what I like about it is that the songs are different, even from one another. Was that intentional?

EJ: I never really thought too much about any sort of direction, and I never write to fit into a category. I do what comes to my mind. And that’s what I’m gonna keep doing. My philosophy of music is if it’s good, it’s good. I can’t be the only one who listens to or judges music in that way, so I can’t see it being a problem for me. It’ll never affect the way I write my music. If it’s hard to market - not my fuckin’ problem! (laughs).

JASON: Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell; the subject matter in their songs, the poetry, the depth of emotion. Do you feel this is lacking in today’s popular music?

EJ: The deeper stuff is still out there. You can go on band camp, or do a little digging and you’ll find some deep stuff. What’s popular on the radio though, big corporate stations and big record companies are still making those decisions for us.