Balance and Composure, familiar figures in the indie rock scene, is comprised of Jon Simmons (guitar, vocals), Erik Peterson (guitar), Matt Warner ( bass), and Bailey Van Ellis (drums). The group is currently on a US tour with their album The Things We Think We’re Missing, which was released in 2013. I was able to chat with lead vocalist Jon Simmons about the tour, musical inspirations, future plans, and Blue Angel jet planes. They will be performing at the Orpheum this Sunday, Sept. 14.
JACKIE: Your latest album, The Things We Think We’re Missing, released 2013, reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200 [which is pretty awesome]. How have you and your bandmates been handling the attention? And how have things been in general since that album release?
JON: That was actually a huge surprise, we weren’t expecting that one. We weren’t expecting anyone to like it. We never do, for some reason. So, I don’t know, we just kind of do whatever we think is right and stay busy touring, and have fun while doing it.
JACKIE: I think the whole “no one’s gonna like it” mindset is totally natural in this environment, especially because you’re putting yourself so far out there.
JON: [Laughs] Yeah.
JACKIE: How long have you been on tour with your latest album?
JON: The album’s been out for a year now and we’ve been touring five… Probably five months now.
JACKIE: I stumbled upon a few of your acoustic covers, which I really loved, so I was wondering if you did a lot of acoustic sets?
JON: Well thank you, first of all. And uh… No, we actually don’t do it all that often, just a few here and there, but not really. We have a few lined up for this tour, which is a rarity, but we like to do it for fun once in awhile. I like doing them.
JACKIE: Yeah, I think acoustic sets can be a lot more intimate.
JON: Yeah, definitely, and I love getting to sing a song differently. It’s cool.
JACKIE: How do you usually begin writing songs? Does it start with lyrics? With a melody? Try to explain that process.
JON: For the most part it’s music first, and then a melody, and then lyrics. I usually like to make up a melody and add lyrics later on, then try to get it all to make sense. Sometimes the lyrics will come first but that’s really rare.
JACKIE: Which musicians do you draw the most inspiration from?
JON: Oh, it’s changing all the time. People like David Bazan, Jeff Mangum from Neutral Milk Hotel. It changes almost weekly. And uh, there’s a plane flying by right now. Sorry.
JACKIE: [Laughs] That’s okay, not a problem.
JACKIE: So your music has been referred to in the past as post-grunge and emo, etc. But how would you, the musician, define your music?
JON: I don’t know, I think genres are very silly. I just consider it “rock,” because why not? You can call it emo, or whatever, but I’ll just stick with rock because, I think music is supposed to be emotional, and if it’s not, then I just don’t really understand it. So uh, yeah. “Alternative rock,” you can say.
JACKIE: I like that mindset: “Genres are silly.” And a bit confining, don’t you think?
JON: They’re super silly!
JACKIE: Who’s your favorite band/musician to listen to right now—
JON: Hold on, hold on… [pause]. Sorry, that was six Blue Angel jets that just flew over me.
JACKIE: Where are you, exactly?
JON: We just arrived in Baltimore and they’re celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner, and they’re celebrating hard. [Laughs] Okay, what was the question?
JACKIE: Who are your favorite bands or musicians to listen to right now?
JON: Let me think here… Well there’s this producer/rapper named Travi$ Scott who I really like. He’s amazing and he just released a new album called Days Before the Rodeo and I’m obsessed with it, it’s really really good. I’ve been revisiting Pinback a lot, too.
JACKIE: Oh, awesome!
JON: Yeah, I love Pinback, I’ve been in a huge kick recently. And I um, I also saw this band that I’ve never heard of a few weeks ago called Tycho, and I guess I wasn’t expecting to like it, but they’re really good. Who else, let me think… Angel Olsen! She’s straight-up amazing. Have you heard of her?
JACKIE: Oh yeah, I liked her new stuff and I got really into her old album Half Way Home, too.She’s great.
JON: She’s dope.
JACKIE: Yeaaah, she’s dope.
JON: [Laughs]
JACKIE: So, what’s next for Balance & Composure?
JON: Well we just started our headliner in the US today, so we’ll see how that goes. And then we have Europe the first week of October, I think, and after that we’re just kind of chillin’ for the winter, and in the spring we’ll probably start writing and stuff, getting ready for a new album.
JACKIE: “Winter chillin’?” That sounds awesome. Well, I wish you guys all the luck on your tour, and I’ll see you at the Orpheum this Sunday.
JON: Ah, awesome! Thank you very much for the luck-wishing.
Jackie Braje can be reached at jacquelyn.braje@theminaretonline.com.