INTERVIEW: Howard Jones – Light The Torch

It’s been a busy weekend for Light The Torch singer Howard Jones. We caught up with him just after he wrapped up a once in a lifetime set with JASTA AND FRIENDS at last month’s Bloodstock Festival. Led by HATEBREED‘s Jamey Jasta, the supergroup also featured Dino Cazares [FEAR FACTORY], Kirk Windstein [CROWBAR, KINGDOM OF SORROW] (read our review of that performance here), but the night before he had hopped on stage at the O2 to sing with his old band KILLSWITCH ENGAGE as they supported the mighty IRON MAIDEN. We sat down with the man himself to discuss his weekend of performing with friends and how he felt a renewed love for music before creating LIGHT THE TORCH‘s latest record Revival.

Hey man, you doing alright?

Howard: Can’t complain!

So that performance looked like an exceptionally fun set to be a part of.

Howard: I mean come one man! I get to hang out with some friends and play some fun songs, yeah!

It just looked like a fun jam session!

Howard: Exactly, it was just a good time. It’s something a little different. It’s kind of like one of those choose your own adventure books. Which way do I go? Ah, I’ll go with Kirk! Wow, that was a weird analogy.

How did this weird supergroup JASTA set come about?

Howard: It just came from the strange mind of Jamey, he just this idea of “you guys come over and do some songs” because you know he had a lot of people collaborate on the album. I didn’t actually know if he was serious, but it just worked out and I was like “man this is happening” and the schedule worked out and I pulled it off. I still got to hang out with the KILLSWITCH guys and this was all a lot of fun, I mean who gets to do this?!

So you were just in London, you hopped on stage there with your old band KILLSWITCH ENGAGE as well didn’t you?

Howard: Yeah! That was a lot of fun. You never know what to expect. and who gets opportunities like that? I didn’t expect such a reaction.

I was wondering about a certain picture Jesse Leach posted on Instagram about a song done together, I was wondering if there was anything you could tell us?

Howard: (mysteriously and purposely vague) I did a song with them, and it’s going to be on the new album. [laughs]

Was it fun being back in the studio with them?

Howard: Oh yeah, it’s a fun song and it didn’t take long, I start singing and Adam and I are ripping on each other, we just picked up where we left off.

Whilst the name change from DEVIL YOU KNOW to LIGHT THE TORCH wasn’t planned it felt like it came at the perfect time because this feels like a much more revitalised and focused version of the band.

Howard: Yeah, we felt we needed to change. Since we had to let the name go it wouldn’t have felt right trying to replicate what we were already doing so it was like okay, let’s do something different. Let’s throw some more melody in, why not? and we could do what we wanted. We just decided let’s write since no one knew what we were doing anyway, so we just kind of went for it and there it was.

I feel like there are some of the best choruses of your career on this new record with LIGHT THE TORCH, did you have anything that gave your writing such momentum or light a fire under you?

Howard: Honestly it was the last tour we did as DEVIL YOU KNOW in the UK. It was a show in Glasgow and I remember I was walking from the bus to the venue and I stopped in the middle of the street and thought “oh my god, I love this again, what just happened?”. A lot of the time you do feel like you’re going through the motions but it dawned on me then. I started listening to some of the demos and just walk through every city we played in the UK and just listened and started writing. We were on that tour and things shifted, I wish I could explain how exactly but I don’t know, it was time I guess.   

I feel like the new songs are a lot more personal and about yourself. Were you in a particular place that made you want to write more about the self?

Howard: I just kind of write what comes man, it all depends on where I’m at and where the music is. I never know what’s going to happen when I start writing. I just try to write what fits and it’s not like I have a particular theme in mind when I start writing, or sometimes it kind of is that way. There’s kind of a mix of everything on this one, a lot of hard work a lot of deep stuff.

Your lyrics have always dealt with an inner strength and overcoming obstacles mentally, do you think lyrics like that are more important now based on the current conversation on mental health?

Howard: I think there’s a place for every type of lyrics and a lot of times you can make an impact without knowing you’ve made one. Because I don’t lead a life online much, a lot of times I don’t know my stuff has been tattooed or made such an impact, I’m very grateful for it and everything but a lot of times I don’t know. I just write what I feel and I’ve been through a lot. One day I’ll try to tell the whole story, there’s so much to it. For now I just write what I feel because things change and so I just share it. I write stuff and when it’s real personal it’s just me sharing, that’s probably the best way to get to know me is through lyrics because I’m so antisocial half the time.

So now you’ve been in the UK a couple of days, How do you find your stays over here? Are the crowds noticeably different?

Howard: It seems overseas that you’re more receptive to different types of music, along with established artists and unestablished artists, there’s an appreciation for it which seems to be lacking in the States at times. I don’t know if it’s because there’s a glutton of bands or if you don’t make it in the States you don’t “make it” so you have to play the States a lot, so crowds are jaded cause they see you a lot, I don’t know! I’m just poking at the air right now but it just seems that there’s a hunger for music here that never goes away and that right there is pretty amazing.  

You did the stuff with KLLSWITCH ENGAGE, you’ve just done that set with JASTA, have you got any more plans whilst you’re here?

Howard: Nah, I gotta go back to the States to finish up some stuff and doing some writing with other bands as I’ve been doing some co-writing. Finish up that then on tour with AVATAR and TRIVIUM in the US. Then hopefully I can chill for a bit, but in 2019 I think you’ll be seeing a lot of us, And I mean, you’ll be seeing A LOT of us!

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