Music Q&A with Cody Votolato of JR Slayer
Photo by Bob Sweeney
In case you missed it, Cody Votolato (known for his work in The Blood Brothers, Jaguar Love, and Head Wound City) recently announced his new project, JR Slayer! Along with the announcement, a song was also released titled “Not Rotten”, which is also the name of the EP. Not Rotten will be out on September 9th via Memory Music and in this Q&A, Cody talked about the EP, the best piece of advice given to him by a musician, and more!
Congratulations on the release of “Not Rotten” and on the announcement of your debut EP, Not Rotten! What does the song mean to you? What does the EP mean to you?
At its core the song is about love and moving into the vacuum it sucks you inside of. You can be taken away from all of life’s hardships and the problems of the world for bits of time, getting lost in something that is greater than just yourself. A reminder of how much beauty there is for us to experience. For me personally in this song, that is my relationship, but I don't feel its beholden to a significant other. It can be family, a group of friends or your favorite record. Anything that takes you away from the pain of the world momentarily. It's not always something that is chosen, but it is known immediately.
The EP itself carries a different kind of weight with me. I started this project without the ambition of doing anything too much greater than writing and recording songs in my bedroom while playing the occasional show. I wanted to start giving art its space without any terms. I feel that was when I was always at my best. My main goal was to give everything with no expectation of return and allow for the art to return what it wanted to. For me, collaborating and being produced by Will Yip is a huge milestone for this project and feels full circle. It feels like I actually achieved the goal already, no matter what happens in the future. Having it come out on Memory Music and be supported by others and not just me is an unreal accomplishment in my mind. I wasn't trying to force it to happen. It happened naturally and it's something I'll never take for granted.
On Not Rotten, you collaborated with a number of musicians. Who was the first person you asked to take part on the record? What is it about their work that led to them being part of the album?
I started playing with Jason Klein first for this one. He and I met after I moved to LA, became fast friends and eventually roommates for a time. We started playing together somewhere around that time. Not only is he the bass player in the band, but I also credit him for sending my early recordings to Will Yip and sparking the opportunity to make this EP in the first place.
Will is also a major collaborator on the record. I've never really been in the more traditional sort of Producer/Artist relationship where we are co writing etc. We restructured, edited and made the songs generally stronger together. For example, I gave him a song with no melody on it (The Fade Out). He wrote the melodies and I put words to it pretty much on the spot. It was a really fun way to create. He is also a master of harmonies. I learned so much about singing.
You have been in different bands. What’s something you have learned during each project you have done either collectively or separately?
The Blood Brothers - Cut all of my teeth here. I basically learned to play and write music with my friends in this band.
Jaguar Love - I taught myself to record and use Logic Pro in this band since we used lots of tracks while playing live. It wasn't a super normal thing at the time for a punk band to play along to tracks so it took us a while to sort that out.
Head Wound City - Learned how to be the most brutal band no one knows about with the raddest people.
What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you?
Paul Hinojos from At The Drive In taught me how to tour manage. Its not related directly to song writing or performing but I feel that it has rounded me out as a musician in general and in life.
We all have our days where it may not be going as well as we’d like. People deal with their worst days in different ways. What helps you get through the bad days? How do you stay positive?
Holding it in is about the worst thing you can do. Talking about it without complaining about it is key. That's hard to do. I am fortunate and have a very supportive partner which helps greatly on the hard days. That and exercise. I wish I could say meditation, because I know it works, but I don't do it often, if ever really.
Thank you for taking the time for this Q&A. Any last words or final message for the readers?
I wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk to me and whoever is reading for checking it out!