Jon Sandler
Jon Sandler finally brings his sound over to the UK, as he and The Fancy Band release their new single ‘Take My Time’ in the UK on March 18th.
We grabbed some time with him during his recent stay in the UK to talk to him about the new single, playing New York after Hurricane Sandy and his influences as an artist.
So, what can you tell us about Take My Time?
Take My Time is a song off our last album called Late Night Champ that we released about six months ago and it’s basically a song about feeling like there are things in life with that you should, well, take your time over and some things you shouldn’t.
In most cases, if you love someone you shouldn’t take your time with them because life’s too short. I was writing it at a period of time when New York City was not feeling like home after I just moved there and I was more in a rush to make a girl feel like home. That’s sort of the theme and idea of the song.
The album came out last year as you said, what’s the reaction been to it so far?
The album’s been great, even though the momentum is still building. We’re really proud of it and worked really hard to make sure that it sounds exactly how we wanted it to sound. We’re excited to be over here in London for a few days and be able to play some of the songs and the reaction’s so exciting, people really seem to connect with it.
You’ve worked with some great people on this album, what was that like?
Actually, my piano player Dominic produced the album and he did such an amazing job. We worked with some really prestigious engineers though and the guy who mixed our album Justin Gerrish mixed some great albums from Weezer, Muse and Vampire Weekend.
It was also mastered by a really great guy called Chris Gehringer, but all around we were able to work with some great people to get the sound we were looking for.
So what’s the reaction been like in London?
We’ve never been here before and we wanted to play the songs here and see how people react. We had only played in the US before so it was time to cross the pond and we’ve been really happy with how people have been receiving the songs. People have been so nice and we’re definitely enjoying London.
You guys played the Rockwood in New York right after Sandy hit right?
Yes, the Rockwood is one of our favourite places to play in New York and right after the hurricane we actually played a show and we donated the proceeds to helping the victims of the storm. We play there all the time it’s a great place. New York’s been our home for the last few years, so we’re definitely feeling like we fit in now.
What was the atmosphere like there after the storm?
Well, the outfall for the hurricane was devastating for a lot of people on the coast, so there were a lot of people going through a hard time and we just felt like we wanted to do anything we could to either raise money or help in any other way, so playing music was the best thing we could do at that time.
So, what makes The Fancy Band so fancy?
When we recorded my first EP, called ‘The Fancy Band’ (which is where the name comes from), I named it that because my band is very humble. They’re all so down to earth guys but the sound we created was really fancy.
The four of us produced a huge sound and also arranged a whole string section and used all these different instruments and components that meant that once the EP was done, the first thing to came to mind was how fancy it was. So, the name just stuck.
You’ve been song writing since a very young age, what was it that first drew you to it?
It was really just something that I started doing. I never decided I wanted to write songs, it was just something that came naturally to me and over the years I started to love doing it and felt it was what I was meant to do.
Then, the natural progression was to seek out recording studios and actually started doing that when I was very young. I’ve actually got a cassette tape I recorded of me performing when I was twelve and my first album of originals came when I was 16/17. I love the process of recording, I always have.
So, how do you thing that you’ve changed as an artist since then?
Growing up I didn’t have I had a band that was with me and make my sound everything I wanted it to be. I was playing alone and recording alone, and while I loved doing that, since moving to New York and meeting my band through various means (I met my drummer in college) bringing my songs to them has let them flourish in a way that I never could have made them do on my own.
I just love the evolution of how my song writing has come forward as well as the recording process in general. It’s only made my music more fulfilling for me and better to listen to. It’s great to have people on my team now.
As a New Yorker, has the city ever been an influence to you?
New York City’s constantly inspiring me. I’ve lived in Brooklyn now for coming on ten years and it’s so stimulating and there’s so many people and it truly is a place where dreams can come true if you work hard enough and that inspires me all the time.
I’m inspired by the fact that even though it’s filled with so many people it can feel lonely sometimes and the craziness becomes normal to someone living there. You go through the same feelings, troubles and happiness that everyone else goes through, but it’s somehow the most unique, exciting, amazing place in the world. It’s also home to those that live there and that once again is constantly inspiring.
So what’s next for you then?
Well, we’re heading back to New York after this and we have some shows lined up there. We might head down to South By Southwest in Austin and play a show down there. We’re just looking to gain more and more exposure, play our songs for whoever will listen and we love to travel so hopefully tour more and just continue to do what we love doing.