A Conversation with Jasan Radford of Centershift
The ages you grow up into shape you, one way or the other. Great artists have a great many things to share. It had been an enlightening conversation we had with Centershift’s Jasan Radford. During our conversation, having noticed some similarities with great bands such as Audioslave and Breaking Benjamin, we asked Jasan about the band’s influences. Breaking Benjamin and One Side Zero, the latter being the band from which Centershift had been formed, as Jasan tells us,
Were around at the same time. I think they started a little bit after us. I wouldn’t say an influence, but I would say a genre shared, maybe, you know? I think we’re probably influenced by many of the same bands (…) and then Chris Cornell… how are you not influenced by Chris Cornell? Growing up in (…), my musical career really took shape in the late 80s to 90s. Do you know what I mean? That was definitely… I would say, as a singer, that would be an influence, for sure.
Indeed, one must recognize the greatness of Chris Cornell and his influence spread throughout the different genres. Even though Jasan takes his influences with him, we can see that he adds something of himself into it and creates his own sound based on his influences. That results in the uniqueness we get from listening to Centershift and what makes the experience of listening to their songs so fascinating. We must thank Centershift for sharing their amazing music with the world and the people who need beautiful things in their lives. Progressiveness. There are completely different riffs from what we usually listen to in Centershift’s music. We thought this unique killer feature boosted Centershift’s standing out from other bands. Sometimes, some bars result in odd measures because of the melody the composers create in their minds. Did the band seek, in their composition, to add that progressive atmosphere to their songs, or was it accidental?
You know, I guess you could say accidental in the sense that we don’t necessarily, if I write the song or Ryan [Stuber] writes the song, you know. We bring them in, and then the band writes the song, really, when we have an idea. The off-time meters and the progressiveness of it, you know, I think it’s something that happens kinda organically, naturally. We don’t go out thinking, ‘we’re gonna write a song in five, today, (…) 5/8 or 5/4. Thirteen. In fact, a lot of the songs come out that way. One of the songs on the first EP, A Different Shape, is called Kingdoms, but originally was called Eleven because the time signature [of the song] is eleven. (…) 9 is called 9 because the time signature is 9 and from the follow-up of a song called 8 on the One Side Zero record. I kind of keep these kinds of things in a sequence, but as far as going out and trying to be progressive or creating certain sounds or to be different, I don’t say that we do that. I think that we let everything be organic because (…) we are all on this together in the great scheme of things. So, if you stand out a little different from somebody else, cool. But if you’re in a genre of your peers and amazing musicians, even better.
Unity. Friendship and brotherhood. They are all amazing. There is no doubt about it. And it sure sounds naturally good. Bonded by strong energy that makes them sound like a single entity, this is the kind of feeling we get when listening to their songs. Each member shares the same energy, amplifying each other. Rowing in the same direction, at the same pace.
That’s a big part of something that we appreciate. The brotherhood. Being in a band is a lot like marriage or relationships and things like these. And especially being band members or brothers for so long, we all come from different bands, but we’ve all known each other for over twenty years. Some of us have played in bands together a little bit here or there and then formulated Centershift. So, I hope that comes across as it’s definitely a family and a brotherhood, and when you’re on the same page, it’s magic. And it’s not always the case, but you really hope that it is.
We sure know it is very hard to find the right people to play with. People who want to walk in the same direction, at the same pace, trying to find the same or similar goals. And when it happens, it really is magic. And, as Jasan says,
that’s definitely the trick. You know, sometimes is the right person, but it’s not the right time. (…) We leave much of it up to the universe and let it be what it is. We hope that the honesty in the music that we write, from life experience or truth and honesty, just translates.
The single From Where We Are. Climate Change and Mental Health. The latest single, From Where We Are, seemed like it touched on a recent and sensitive topic: Climate Change. The rising sea level is a worrying issue, but Jasan has more to say about it.
It’s that. It’s, overall, the feeling of feeling overwhelmed, you know what I mean? Where we are, we can watch the water rise. The water is a metaphor for emotion and feeling. Looking outside and seeing the world the way it is. We wrote most of this record through covid and solidified and recorded it in the two years, maybe a little bit more. So, we really… for me, as the lyric writer, and the message of the song, when we write something, the lyrics kind of go. I get a vibe of what we’re writing and start gibberishing. And then it just touched me of something of that day. Do you know what I mean? I came into the studio, and Ryan was working on the song, on the guitar part, and I started humming a melody, and I came up with the words right then for the chorus. And, to me, it’s looking at the world. Looking at life. Feeling overwhelmed. We’re watching the water rise. Also, where we are means, we are gonna be ok. We can wait until it dries. It’s all gonna work out. Not everything is that bad. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.
And Jasan touches on the topic of climate change and shares his opinion on the issue, which we were really glad to hear.
But I think that touching on climate change and the very important things in our world is important things without preaching to the people. That’s just not me. I write what I feel, and it’s honest, and if you relate to it and if you get the message or create your own, that’s great too. Because that’s what’s the most amazing thing about art, in general, is your own interpretation of what it is. The meaning.
The lyrics and Centershift’s approach to reality. We were curious on getting to know about Jasan’s and the band’s approach to their lyrics writing. In other words, we would like to know under which kind of light they like to see things when writing lyrics from an optimistic perspective, pointing out possible solutions, or from a negative one.
Writing everything from your heart kinda thing in the world that you see. I try not to be negative, but truth is truth. Fact is fact. So, if I were to point out something that I see or feel, that’s just what it is for that moment. As I said, I don’t think that I go after… Well, that’s not true. If you look past bands and stuff, some things need to be said. We’re in a format that we have, as artists, and that is out there in the world, and have been blessed to have this kind of career. We are responsible for keeping people informed or bringing attention to things that need change. And sometimes, maybe not. Do you know? Maybe the band just wants to go and rock out. Just… that’s it. Which is cool too, you know what I mean? It’s all art. But I do feel that there’s a responsibility to bring light to certain issues or situations. And without being political. Doesn’t matter which side you’re on. If your belief is this, that’s great. If your belief is that, great. I’m not one to tell you anything like that, but if I feel that there’s something I’m passionate about that I want to bring awareness to, then yeah, it’ll come out.
Listening to the lyrics, we have also found some similarities with System Of A Down, and we asked Jasan’s position on this one regarding being passionate about something that they really would like to share.
They’re peers of mine. We all kind of grew up in the music scene together here in Los Angeles. Shavo [Odadjian] is a very dear friend of mine. So, I think out of respect, yeah, sure. I think maybe there’s some influence from them. I think they’re very vocal about their political stance, and I appreciate them for that. They brought awareness to a culture that not a lot of people knew and what the truth is out there. (…) I definitely respect their stand on their political values and views. So, yeah. It influences a bit.
Regarding lyrics, we wanted to know what Jasan’s main concern was.
That I’m honest. I guess it’s a concern. You know, I wanted to be honest. To feel like I’m telling the truth or whatever I’m writing about (…) there’s a consciousness to it, and it doesn’t feel contrived or made up; or that I’m making the song about this because. But, you know, sometimes, these songs need to happen. We have a song called Waiting for Summer that has been written about covid, during covid. Because, it was like, everything we were doing was through Zoom, and it really talked about the frustration of being isolated and put in here—locked up, in a sense—quarantining (…). We were all going through it. The world was going through it at one time. In a way, I looked at it. I was like, ‘Mother Earth is cleansing everything.’ It was really interesting to see all the animals come out. (…) The smog was gone here. And all this crazy stuff was like, Mother Earth just needed to push reset. I really hoped that it would bring the world together more as a unity. But a lot of people went through a lot. There’s a lot of mental health awareness. More active in that awareness and issues that came up because of this. We can stay positive and look like that. To go back to your question, I just wanted to be honest. I want someone to get their own interpretation of whatever they feel like (…) but also to know that I’m writing from my heart of what I see or what I have gone through, and that’s what this is about. And sometimes to be something simple where you just want to say, ‘F-U’.
Sharing stages and ideas. Playing with the old bands, Jasan shared stages with System Of A Down and other great bands out there,
In the late 90s, when they were around, all of us played together. So, a lot of the bands: Incubus, System [Of A Down], Snot, some amazing bands of the 90s came around (…), so we were playing shows constantly, back then. The music scene was incredible in the mid and late 90s and the early 2000s.
Regarding the issues and touring with these great bands, we were curious about if they talked about them with each other, seeing music as a weapon to tackle them.
Sure. We have a very tight community of musicians, friends and brothers, and family, as we like to call it. The issues that come up, especially if we’re writing the record, and when writing the lyrics, the band kind of write everything together, and so I definitely appreciate their input; and to go over a topic, or if I’m writing something and it becomes a topic of conversation, then yeah, we discuss what is that, and ‘my buddy’s going through this and this kind of stuff, and it goes back to my feeling of we have a responsibility to address these issues. But not to make it works like every song is going to be about, ‘oh my God, my feelings are hurt’, or things like that because we’re not always like that. Yes. For me, music is a weapon for cleansing myself and dealing with the issues at hand if I’m on my own. My own demons, ‘that you struggle with’, you know? For me, it’s an out vent. It’s to make me feel like I’m ok. And if it touches somebody and helps them feel ok, or to get through something, I mean, that’s the hope thing here, you know? It’s like, you can’t keep it unless you give it away. And I think being honest in your music and just writing what you feel and what comes out. Honestly, I think that’s the best way that people can relate to it.
To be part of History. It has been great listening to Jasan’s opinion on the music scene during the 90s and early 2000s, and we wanted to know what the main differences Jasan felt from those times to what the music scene is today and what we feel as a break of that part of the culture, and also how covid affected the rock music scene.
It started changing in the mid to late 2000s. Rock music took a bit of a dive into the world, and different music scenes popped up a little more. Acceptable. I think covid did the reverse. I think it helped because I think a lot of bands that were larger bands or were in that music scene back then are back. So, many of the bands that took a break, or stopped, are back. You know, they’re releasing records, they’re out on tour, they’re playing the big festivals. So, I think covid gave a lot of musicians a kick in the butt. Which is a double-edged sword. Because, when you’re starting a new band, referred to as a baby band, even if you come from something that’s already established, like One Side Zero, [that] was on Warner Brothers for a long time, and for us to start this, during covid, it seems like everybody wrote a record. I’m sure Jimi Hendrix came out of the grave and wrote a record. He’s gonna be on tour. The shows and people are making up for shows that didn’t happen within those last two years. So, for us, coming out as a baby band, we’re cutting our niche in there to try to get on some shows and do this, and create the buzz or bring the music more into the world, live. It’s about being creative after something that changed the world again, like covid. And it changed our industry again. Thinking outside the box, and further outside that box, the best thing about it [the double-edged sword] is some bands that I have been a fan of for so long are now back again. Putting out records, touring, and playing. So, to me, it’s a win. I feel that the scene that was there in the 90s, in the mid-90s through the 2000s, is coming back. Rock is making a resurgence. There’re some amazing, amazing bands out there. And I’m excited to see where it goes. I’m excited to be part of it.
It really must be amazing to be part of a revolution. And mainly after a great unfortunate and life-changing event such as covid-19, which brought so much pain to people and got the industry as we are known for so long to change, all of a sudden, to something else we felt, at first, as being something almost unachievable. Jasan has witnessed a second revolution and has played an active part in it, which must feel great to still be on the front line, which has taken a new generation of musicians with it. Jasan shares his feelings about it.
[It feels] old. We’ve been doing this for a long time. To be lucky. I’m very grateful to be blessed enough to be able to do this again and for as long as we’ve been doing it. We won’t be seeing it stopping in the future, (…) and (…) I just feel blessed to be a part of all of it and to see the up-and-coming bands and whatever I can do to help them. And just be a part of something really cool and see where it goes.
Performance and the people. While performing, are Jasan and Centershift focused on conveying a message or on providing their fans with the best and greatest show possible?
We strive to sound like our records. We strive to put on a show that’s theirs, engaging with the fans and being really active and engaging with them. We try to kick our own butts to have a good show. If we’re not walking off tired and drenched, then let’s go back and do it again. You always critique yourself a little bit. I try not to watch our live shows because you’re always your worst critic. We definitely go up there. You put on the armor, and ‘let’s go. Let’s go to work’.
But Jasan’s statement on sounding like their records got to us, and we wanted to know if there was some work from the band on arrangements, something that changes here or there to make the songs sound different during a live show.
For sure. We do some of the interludes (…) live (…). The show would be what you’re experiencing when you’re listening to the full length when it comes out later this year. We incorporate a lot of that into the live show. Everything’s organic. We don’t use samples or beats or anything. Everything is us playing it. So, if you hear [some noise], that’s Ryan with his 80 pedals doing something creative. And it may not always be the same, which is kinda cool. So, every show’s different. The setlists are always different. We try to fit in with many of the bands we play with because the scene is growing out here, so we cater the setlist to fit the show overall (…). And people come to see. They don’t know us, are going to enjoy the whole night and fall in love with every band, we hope.
Talking about setting up high expectations and how some of us go to shows without reading about the band that’s playing the gig or listening to anything of theirs, Jasan shared with us something really cool.
Some of my friends who work for Live Nation, I kept sending ‘em singles and links to the EP. It was like, ‘I don’t wanna listen to it until I see it live.’
We loved sharing these kinds of experiences, and Jasan told us, “I get it. I think that’s really cool to actually go that route. Go be surprised, and then fall in love”. We see it as a way to get in touch with the people, the musicians. Because not always do the musicians are what we expect they are when listening to their records. We may like a record, but sometimes people may disappoint.
Yeah. I think it’s… you know, we’re people too. We just have the—I call it a blessing—opportunity and the gift to share with the world our feelings and maybe say the words and say the things that some people don’t know how to. So, if we’ve been given that gift, we must share it.
And that’s how you change someone else’s life. Now, we wanted to know when Jasan thought a composition was finished because some compositions may not come to an end; because one is so into them, nothing can stop the composer from continuing with it.
It’s hard being an artist. Maybe you never feel it’s done. And so it’s really hard. I think when you get to the record, and you’re recording it, and you’re working with the producer, and he’s going through all the changes. Because, when you work with the producer, you hire, and you work with that person because they become the fifth member, right? So, they take what you’ve done, and then choruses might become verses, the bridge, or things like these, and the whole song might change. I think that once it’s recorded, and even though it’s on the record, you still think, ‘Oh, I could’ve sung that better,’ or ‘I wonder if we would have done this,’ which is awesome because it brings up the next song. So, I don’t know if you ever feel like it’s done. I think that you have to sometimes just put the guitar down. It’s like, ‘ok, you need to walk away from it right now,’ and yeah. I think I’m always thinking like ‘it can be better,’ or the next song. (…) It’s really hard just to put it down and be like, ‘ok, stop. It’s done’.
This comes as a good thing for the band, performing live and trying some new arrangements, maybe, to see how many versions of the same song sound, and how many changes the band can make from their recorded songs, and have a different perspective from the song.
That’s pretty smart. [With] the technology, now, it’s so easy to record your rehearsals and change all the arrangements. You can do it into Pro Tools or whatever music recording program (…), and then you can edit right then to see if it worked. But play it live. That would be interesting to see how the crowd reacts to different versions of it. I like it.
We wanted to know, when Jasan’s writing a song, reaching a point where he wants to get it done, how Jasan likes to end it: either to end it on a cliffhanger, for future thinking or to make an explicit conclusion.
I think each song is different. Some songs are written that way where it’s like start to finish, and you’re like, ‘wow, cool. I think we got it. And there are some songs that become epics because there is no ending [to the songs]. You love it, and so you’re like, ‘I don’t know what the ending will be’. I think it’s specific to each song. Obviously, they need to have an ending at some point. But I think for music, there have to be those songs. There have to be songs without, maybe, an ending or those that are six minutes long or seven minutes long. Because it’s art. You want people to listen to it. It’s on your album. Make these really cool creative things. Because a lot of the music we all grew up on or fell in love with our album songs. It’s not a single that’s on the radio. It’s the album. The content that’s in there. And that’s where you want to listen to it all day, whether cleaning your house, chilling out by the pool, or whatever. That’s the magic of it. I think it happens. Each song happens in its own direct way. Some will just be finished, and some will be [mysterious whispering voice] those epics! [laughs] War and Peace.
We had a really good time talking to Centershift’s Jasan Radford. We hope you enjoy the new single and make sure to watch the video. The first video is where the band appears performing. It is a novelty for the band, and, as Jasan says, “it’s a cool representation of what we are live.”
Keep up with Centershift on their socials linked below!
