Interview: One Exit Down (Written)
One Exit Down are an indie rock and pop band whose latest release is called ‘DRUGS (the honey mixes)’. We spoke to the band about all things them!
1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.
JACOB: My name is Jacob. I got started by teaching myself guitar at 17, and now I started working on the One Exit Down project in 2019 writing the songs for Exit 1: Luna.
RICH: My name is Rich and I taught myself to play guitar/bass and drums at age 12! I have always loved playing music. I saw OED for the first time and absolutely loved the music and energy. I convinced Jacob to let me play for them and luckily he needed a fill-in drummer for the next show!
KEVIN: I’ve been playing guitar pretty much my whole life. When I first saw One Exit Down performing at the Pike Room in Pontiac, MI, I loved the music and Jacob’s showmanship. He mentioned that they were looking for a permanent bass player at that show, so I wound up auditioning by playing a show with them and then wound up playing lead guitar a few months later when I became an official member.
2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?
JACOB: I usually tell them we make indie pop or indie rock. It’s a vague enough genre to encompass whatever they might imagine.
KEVIN: Yeah, my go-to is to say indie rock too.
RICH: Indie rock or indie pop rock usually sums it up!
3. What’s currently going on in your camp? New releases? Tours? Etc.
JACOB: So much going on! We’re releasing a new single every six weeks this year! No tours yet, but we are working on booking our Saturdays around all the Great Lakes States.
4. What has been the most positive experience of making music to date for you?
JACOB: My most positive experience making music would have to be letting myself finally be vulnerable in my songs.
KEVIN: Can’t really top Jake because that’s definitely so rewarding. But for me, it’s the great people that we’ve met. If you want to meet new people, go to a show put on by your local scene. You’ll meet some of the kindest, most creative people that you may never have otherwise.
RICH: Being able to play certain venues and shows has been amazing. I love the act of sharing our music live with people and gaining new fans. That genuine reaction of support really makes you feel good.
5. Likewise, what has been some of the more challenging aspects and how have you overcome them?
KEVIN: One challenge for me has been the technical stuff like creating our in-ear monitor rig or growing in my recording engineer skills. I love to tinker with tech though, so once I put my mind to taking that stuff on as part of my role in the band, I know I’ll figure it out one way or another.
RICH: For me, pushing myself to be a better musician. I believe I am a good drummer, but I see a million ways I could improve. I think to some extent all of us in the band are perfectionists. The support I get from Jacob and Kevin really helps me thrive.
6. How do you handle the modern expectations of being in a band? Always online, having to put out content constantly, your success measured in likes and follows?
JACOB: We’ve been adapting to playing the algorithm. It can become difficult, but we’re working on posting consistently on all the apps, and releasing music every 6 weeks. To be completely honest though, I think if we find a really off the wall stunt to pull that will boost us significantly more than any app ever could.
KEVIN: Yeah, that would be dope. Like, can we be the first band on Mars or something?
RICH: Honestly that part of it sometimes feels frustrating to me. I don’t personally believe that is the best way to get into people’s playlists! Most new music I find doesn’t come from my FYP but I know that it does help people discover you who may never have been able to otherwise.
7. What’s something that really ‘grinds your gears’ about the industry/business these days and what would you propose is done to combat it?
JACOB: Personally I dislike how much emphasis there is on singles. My head works in terms of albums. Everything I’ve been writing since the release of “Exit 1: Luna” has had similar themes that string together. With the way things are nowadays you almost have to release your whole album as singles and EP’s to one day release the whole thing the way you intended as an artist.
KEVIN: The whole “getting signed” thing can be pretty exploitative in a lot of cases with regard to who actually owns your music and who profits from your work. You just have to be extra careful with that because of AI now too.
RICH: The grind! I wish you could just post a cool new song and watch it get natural traction. If only it were that easy!
8. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support your music?
JACOB: Put our songs on loop while you sleep. That way we can stick it to the man and all quit our jobs.
KEVIN: Check out our show schedule on our socials and come see us live!
RICH: Come see us! Stream us! Tell all your friends about this awesome new band you found!
9. Outside of the music, what’s do you do to relax?
JACOB: I exercise and play lots of video games. Doom, Assassin’s Creed, Halo, Destiny, Stray, and some Star Wars games as of late.
KEVIN: I love cooking, playing board games, and going to record stores, so I’m usually doing one of those.
RICH: I too like to play video games! I work a pretty labor intensive job so when not practicing drums or working I like to relax and play games with friends online.
10. Where can people find you?
JACOB: You can find me hobbling around the Chicagoland streets selling sweet wine with high alcohol content for the purest headache into all your favorite Illinois liquor stores. Catch me if you can!
KEVIN: Search us up on whatever social media you use. We’re on all the usual things.
RICH: Online, just search One Exit Down!
