Introducing musician, Jason Achilles Mezilis

Those of you who follow my blog will know that music is probably as big a part of my life as reading and writing. I'm currently running a series here where I'm introducing a few of my favourite indie musicians.

My guest today is talented musician and producer, Jason Achilles Mezilis. Jason plays guitar in the rock band Owl, and that's how I first heard of him. When I started following the band a few years ago, I then found out that Jason also had a solo project. I bought his album, which includes an instrumental track. 'Jerry's Song'. When I was putting together my book trailer for Second Chances, I really thought that track would be perfect as the background music and Jason was kind enough to let me use it. Here's a link to the book trailer for those of you who may not have seen it: Second Chances - Book Trailer

I invited Jason here to chat about his musical career and his new band and upcoming projects.

Here's the interview:

You are currently involved in many different bands in some way or another... I know that you are a permanent member of the rock group Owl, and you have a new band that you have just started called Black Belt Karate, I've seen on Facebook that you also play with other musicians in LA. Which of your current projects would you say takes priority, and is it hard to juggle all the commitments?

Yeah, I know might seem like a lot. But with Chris touring with The Cult, Owl goes pretty inactive for a large stretch…so there aren’t as many conflicts as it might seem. Right now my priorities with that band [Owl] are just working to get our new album done, artwork and videos and so forth. And a lot of the artists I play with in LA are actually bands that I produce, and that’s my main involvement with them…sharing the stage is more of a fun side-benefit, when I’m available to do it…but they can all exist without me if need be. Actively right now the new band [BBK] is the primary focus – Black Belt KARATE has our big LA debut on Oct 11th, and we’ve been working hard on promoting our debut single / music video, which dropped a few months back, as well as the follow-up single “Kaleidoscope” which is slated for an Oct 30th release…with of course, another crazy music video. And I produce all the music (and videos) for that band, so it can add up to a full workload pretty quick



You are an independent musician with quite a bit of experience in the industry. What advice would you give to a band or musician who might be thinking of starting out? I know it's not an easy time for musicians in general, and the current economic climate has effected all artists in some way. Do you have any tips for the best way to get new music noticed, for example, have you noticed that certain social networking sites are better for promotion than others for musicians?

Ha – go be a doctor, instead! Make your parents happy…actually, it’s not a “hard” time for musicians, it’s just in flux…and that’s the hard thing to figure out, how to step into that groove that’s ever-changing. But it’s actually a great time if you have a lot of energy, at least a reasonable amount of talent, and a crazy hard work ethic. Strong addiction to caffeine doesn’t hurt either…or a general reprehension towards large amounts of sleep. Best way to get noticed is to bust your ass…the details are all up to you, but you won’t get there being lazy

When did you first learn to play music, and which was the first instrument you learnt how to play?

I started with piano, age 8…classical lessons for about 11 years. Didn’t pick up guitar, though, until 16 or 17 – early Van Halen records saw to that


A couple of years ago you released a great solo album, Between the Lines. How long did it take you to put that album together, and were the tracks written especially for the album or were they songs you'd written over the years?

Ah thank you ☺ well it’s interesting, the songs on that record were never conceived of to be a “collection” of any sort…it was actually just something where I looked back on the past couple years of fun little side-project recording one-off sessions I did with friends, and realized somehow there was enough of a thread there that I could compile them into an EP release. A lot of that had to do with the fact that they were all the same lead singer, an incredibly gifted vocalist friend of mine named Darin Bennett…who always came down and sang his balls off for a bottle of Jack Daniels. Good stuff




Your musical style on 'Between the Lines' has been described as 'Dirt Rock'; where did that description originate from, and do you think it's a good way to describe your style?

Definitely. As best I can recall, the expression “Dirt Rock” came from a recording studio I worked at in SF, about 11 years ago…one of the other interns overheard my early demos when I was first developing that sound, during a late-night tracking session, and that’s essentially what it sounded like to him. I loved it – I’ve always felt my guitar sound has a lonely cold rainy-night streets of San Francisco grit to it…that’s where it came from, I like to take it with me. Another of my buds here in LA calls my old Marshall amp the “dirt box” – so it all comes full circle. But that sound is all the amp, my homemade cabinet, and the guitar…no pedals, no tricks. It’s actually difficult to capture on tape sometimes, because it toes the line between distinction and mud, and all at rather loud volume


Do you have any other solo projects planned?

I have some conceptions, but nothing in a formative stage. I have a piano in my house now, so might involve something along those lines. I have a feeling any forthcoming solo release (in the near future) would be a strong departure from the rock n roll format, since my new band [BBK] is so fulfilling in that regard


Who were your favourite musicians when you were growing up, and are there any in particular that have influenced your style over the years?

When I was a little kid, a black-and-white TV broadcast of Vladamir Horowitz was what inspired me for piano. When I learned about rock n roll as a young teenager, I found Def Leppard (due to a cute girl having it written on her backpack) – and later Van Halen, which was what finally pushed me over the edge into guitar. When I was young, my father played classical guitar, but he was so good at it and it looked so impossible that it ironically steered me away from the instrument for many years

You are currently in a band, Owl, with Chris Wyse from The Cult, and Dan Dinsmore of The Clay People. How did you get involved in that project?



Chris and I were introduced through a mutual friend and became friends when I first moved to LA. We hit it off rather well to begin with, and became hiking buds over the years, when he lived up in Laurel Canyon. At the time Owl existed in different permutations, and I was always a fan of the band. At one point Chris felt he needed to start over with all new blood, so to speak, and I was invited to be a part of it…mainly just as a recording project. Truthfully, I didn’t know I was a full-fledged “band member” until the day I got a copy of the CD and saw my name was one of the ones in the big print ☺


Owl has a new CD coming soon. The first Owl album is an awesome progressive rock CD, self-titled Owl; it's one of my favourites, in fact. Can you tell us anything about the direction the new CD will take? Will Owl fans be surprised, or is it similar to the first record?

Ah thanks (again). Well the new CD was definitely conceived of differently, primarily in that the case of the first Chris acted much more as director of the ship, much more controlling of the minutiae. That’s not a bad thing, he just had a very specific vision and found hands to fulfill that. And the songs had been around for a while. This time around, Chris has been a lot more hands-off with our contributions…before he would sit over my shoulder and tell me where to go, this time he just left the room, said “make it awesome”, and came back a few hours later. And hopefully I would! But primarily the songs are still his composition, of course, and he still helmed the production duties. On the performance aspect this new record definitely carries more of our individual personalities. And in that regard, I’ve never considered myself much of a guitar “soloist” but I have to say I’ve got a couple leads on this new record that are some of the best stuff I’ve done…it’s quite cool. And Dan’s playing is massive, really huge and full of personality. Of course Chris brings everything he’s got as well…so it’s a lot to contend with!


Are there any plans for Owl to tour outside of the US?

No plans…but fuck it would be awesome


Your new band Black Belt Karate, recently released a single, Servant, which I think is fantastic. The video is great and is extremely well done. BBK will release an album soon, I understand. Can you tell us a bit more about how BBK came to be, and what your plans are for the future of the band?



Thanks..! Well as to the album thing, I think that may actually not be our plan. I’m trying something new with this band, in terms of release schedule. The plan is to put out one single after another, and (for as long as financially feasible) release a music video to match. I suppose once we have enough releases for either an EP or a full album, that will come together…but right now I feel the digital world has driven us back to a singles market, and I am attempting to ride that whale as best we can, in perhaps a new and unique fashion. The band itself was formed initially on the ashes of my former band with the lead singer Ryan, which was Your Horrible Smile. We had about a 3-year run in LA a number of years ago, and imploded rather predictably, but perhaps before our time. So this is another go, but revitalized, hopefully wiser…and definitely playing better together in the sandbox. Our drummer (also a Ryan) is a longtime friend who actually played on a number of those tracks from my solo release. And Harry (on bass) is a newcomer, but he’s fantastic..full of personality, and a monster player. These guys really are the best of the best, it’s exhilarating for me, making music with them

How would you describe BBK's musical style?

Oh man…I don’t know. It’s a pretty straight down the arrow rock band, but definitely a lot of strong seemingly disparate elements…strong melodically, very rhythmically oriented, with some progressive, some grunge, some beach-boys styled harmony vocals, some so-cal desert rock, some east cost punk style F-you attitude. A lot of good stuff

I know many musicians say that touring/playing live is the best part of what they do. Is that your view, or do you enjoy other aspects of your musical journey just as much?

Yep. Love it

If you could play a gig in any venue in the world where would that be?

I have nothing specific, just mid-sized touring venues and up. Enough to get the boys paid (myself included) and support a strong following. Definitely overseas, would be fantastic


If you could tour as a support band (with Owl or BBK) with any major group, who would you choose?

Well they’re rather different. BBK I’d probably say Queens of the Stone Age, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, or something similar. Owl…I don’t really know. Chris is the one with his finger more securely on the pulse of that band, and the energy he wants it to put out, so he’d be the one to ask.


I know that you own a recording studio, can you tell us a bit about what types of bands you produce there?

Yes. Organic Audio Recorders, in downtown LA. I’ve also been doing a lot of work recently out of my newly constructed home studio, which my friends and clients have come to refer to as “The Acropolis”. Between the two, it really runs the gamut from crushingly loud metal / indie rock bands, to soft-spoken singer-songwriters and jazz and so forth. For me, the excitement is in recording new styles and with new techniques that I haven’t explored previously.

What music are you listening to these days (apart from your own!)? Are there any new bands that have caught your attention?

Sometimes I flip on the radio just to say somewhat abreast of what’s current…but mostly I listen to talk radio. I don’t want too much outside influence on my art, I like to keep it rather pure and close to the heart. I listen more to new bands when clients bring them in, as a comparative measure for whatever they are going for. But nothing specific stands out right now. There’s one brand new rock song I hear on the radio all the time now, that I like very much (which doesn’t happen too often) – but in this case I have no idea who performs it


Where do you get your musical inspiration from?

Internally. I would categorize myself as very abstract, in that fashion. Outside influence has very little to do with the riffs and ideas I come up with. The biggest outside influence on my art is perhaps the rhythm of my footsteps…that first happened in San Francisco, where I didn’t have a car for a year. I’m not one of those artists that looks at or feels something like a perplexingly lovely sunset, then translates it into music…although that is fun to do sometimes, as an exercise. I do some work helping score video games with a composer friend of mine, we did the last few “Raving Rabbids” scores together, if any one reading this is familiar. And in that case, you are presented with a scene and very specific instructions, in terms of what they want…and you go for it. Of course this is background music, not high art. But it’s fun as hell


From following you on FB, I know that you are a big fan of Star Wars. What is it about those films that you love?

Indeed. Oh man, it just seems so tangible…I’m a huge fan of science fiction, and that scene in Empire where Han is desperately trying to repair the Falcon on Hoth, and Chewie blows some electrical lead and smoke and sirens are going off…it just feels as real as the auto shop from high school. It’s fantastic. And of course the score through those movies really transcends to a higher place, emotionally. It’s all just great




As I'm interviewing you on Goodreads, it's only right that I should ask about your reading habits. Do you like to read? If so, do you have any favourite authors/books?

I don’t read much, and when I do it’s usually from those slew of new books on latest findings and fuzzy arguments in the world of quantum mechanics, big questions about the evolution of the cosmos, that sort of thing. In terms of fiction, not much at all…I barely have enough time on my hands to catch an occasional movie every now and again. BUT for book lovers, I would absolutely recommend Rambles Through My Library by Raymond Smullyan…it’s my current bathroom book, and it’s written by a book-lover, for book-lovers

Do you prefer print books or ebooks?

Books. Absolutely

Do you have any upcoming events that you'd like to tell people about?

Well the big thing is the release of BBK’s 2nd single “Kaleidoscope” and accompanying music video. The single drops on Oct 30th, and the video probably a week or two later…we’re still making it. Owl’s new album release date is still tentative. I am currently in studio production with new releases from both Noah Engh & the Kansas City Bankroll, and Albert Garrett & the Bad Romantics…both of which I would expect early next year, perhaps on my new label (Organic Audio) – but not sure yet

Where are the best places online for people to find out more about you and your music?

BBK’s first single “Servant” and the forthcoming “Kaleidoscope” on iTunes, along with the Owl first album of course, as well as releases from many of the artists I produce (and occasionally perform on recordings with). My solo record you referred to earlier is currently NOT available online, but I am hoping to get that live again in the coming months. In the meantime if anyone wants a copy they can contact me directly, or steal it from you! My old band [Your Horrible Smile] has a great track online entitled “Shot at the Title” on iTunes, that’s definitely worth picking up. I also did another “solo” effort of sorts, amusingly enough entitled “The Solo Project” which industrious folks can dig around and find somewhere online. And I believe I still have a solo release under my full name [Jason Achilles Mezilis] on iTunes entitled “Schizmatique No. 2” that is a live recording of a piano piece I wrote and had performed at my graduation recital from UC Berkeley, many moons ago…it’s somewhat in the vein of a Shostakovich Prelude, very animated and full of life. A difficult song to play, but the pianist who conquered it for that particular performance was very generous, and gave what was needed. It’s quite cool, actually, for those into more classical-bent solo compositions

Where can people buy your music?

Again, just visit iTunes and search for “Black Belt Karate” or “Owl” – that’s the best / easiest. Or my name for the solo piece

Thank you!

Thank you, for being a great guest, Jason. I wish you continued success with all your musical projects!

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You can follow Jason's new band Black Belt Karate on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBK_Official and also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BLaCkBeLtKARATE
And, those of you in LA, if you're free on the 11th October, why not check out the band's debut performance?