Interview with Jake Aho
In our most in-depth interview yet, Remove picked Jake Aho’s brain on everything from the origin of Toeheads to the importance of DIY.
I’ll try to be on my best behavior so I don’t muck up the integrity of the interview. Let’s get to it, Joe.
Firstly, I’d love if you can take us back to the origins of Toeheads. How did it all get started?
Hell yeah. I was hoping you’d ask this because this is one that I’m really good at answering. I guess I should be. So, Toeheads started... it was early 2018. I met Brendan probably in September 2017 at a party I was having at my house and we got to talking. He was in another band at the time, The Pontiac Stags. (I actually ended up replacing the drummer later down the line.) I saw them play live and I was really entranced by it. It was the first time I saw a local live band where I was like this is what I like hearing. They’re having fun and its kind’ve loose, but it’s also loud and kinda crazy? So I really started digging Brendan. I realized there wasn’t a lot of ego there and we had a lot of similar philosophies regarding music.
But wait, to go even further back, I started recording myself playing guitar around the same time. There were early recordings I did not know what the fuck I was doing, just playing three chords.
From the beginning, were you doing it on tape?
Yeah, I was so lost on how to use things like DAWS like Garageband or Ableton. It’s no secret that we live in a 'post-everything' era. And, I’ve always had this yearning for things that are nostalgic. So I got a Tascam right after I turned 21 and started there. All the stuff I was recording prior to Toeheads was very primitive. You know, simple acoustic stuff because I just didn’t know how to do anything. Recording something like a drum track would be a luxury.
So, back to Brendan. I showed him these songs I had demo'd. He’s not like anybody I’ve worked with before to any extent because he was so ambitious and always has been. He loves to do things right as they’re happening. I showed him this very early demo of ‘Mr. Fish’ I had recorded the fall prior to that. I showed that to him and he was like, ‘This is so sick! We could play house shows and parties!’ I think the beauty of this band is how fucking clueless we were about what we were doing and we just wanted to play the music. We just had no expectations or presuppositions about itit.
After I had done all the recording (on Basement), he was the only reason I ever put it out. I was so nervous about having my voice heard and playing live. There was a lot of second-guessing. From finding inspiration to showing me the right people, Brendan was there.
There’s this liner note that’s always stuck out to me on the tape, ‘At least all the mental unrest has brought forth some songs.’ What’s the story behind Basement, if there even is one?
It was me and Sav (my girlfriend) living in my parent’s basement while I was finishing college in my last semester. I was commuting and working full time and back in my parent’s basement after moving out two times already. I was so disappointed in all of that shit. However, I realized there was actually this great opportunity, now that I had all this momentum going musically. I said, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna do it, but I’m gonna have this rock band.’ I was thinking that ‘although this situation I’m in, in this basement, is not ideally how I’d like to be living and it sucks most of the time, it opens up this avenue where Im able to set up all my recording gear and play all the time.’ So every day for like 4 months, right up until the week I moved out I would come home and record those songs, track by track. I felt so inspired, I was just running with it. It was unlike anything I had ever felt.
Some of it was recorded before I graduated. ‘Demon House’ and ‘Mr. Fish’ might have been recorded the day I graduated college right before I went to the ceremony.
Seriously! So you’re telling me you were recording those tunes with your cap and gown on?
There’s no way to fact check that, but essentially yes.
But, you asked the story behind the title. Obviously I called it Basement because I recorded everything down there, but also it was this analogy for the way I felt at the time being 22 years old like, ‘This is the basement of my entire existence,’ like, ‘I can’t feel any lower than this.’ It’s just that kind of immature response to circumstance before you realize how bad life can actually be. So, sure on a surface level its called Basement, but like every song was really emotional in a way, where they were written from a response to some feeling of discomfort or uneasiness I was having to things in my life.
But, you asked the story behind the title. Obviously I called it Basement because I recorded everything down there, but also it was this analogy for the way I felt at the time being 22 years old like, ‘This is the basement of my entire existence,’ like, ‘I can’t feel any lower than this.’ It’s just that kind of immature response to circumstance before you realize how bad life can actually be. So, sure on a surface level its called Basement, but like every song was really emotional in a way, where they were written from a response to some feeling of discomfort or uneasiness I was having to things in my life.
I guess there's another analogy I’m thinking of now. If you start building a house, you start with a basement and you build up from there. Similarly, I guess this project was laying the foundation for this band.
You had mentioned once something about Toeheads almost being a horror-punk band. Can you elaborate on that a bit?
I had a lot of ideas about what this band could be. Once I really reconciled what those were, I was kind of like, ‘that would be completely fucking chaotic.’
My first idea for the band was to make it completely anonymous. I don’t want anybody to know I’m in this and when we perform I don’t want us to show up until right before we play and I wanna wear masks so no one can see our faces. Like what? That would just never fucking work.
Then I had the idea of the band being this completely fluid entity. It would always be me, but then the band would always be different. And for that, I was like, ‘That is the worst thing you could do.’
So, for the horror-punk idea. I feel like my attraction to a lot of music is attached to the lore of things. It can trip me up sometimes because I’ll start reading about a band and I’m like, ‘Wowww. I know all this shit about them and I haven’t heard any of their music.’ I’ll get into it just because the backstory is so good. So, it sort of came from Black Sabbath’s origin story. I think they said that their practice space was across from a movie theater that was showing a horror film called Black Sabbath. They had basically said, ‘we should make all the music sound like the score to a horror film.’ I was watching a lot of classic horror films at the same time. It’s so campy and fun and aesthetically it looks so good. Those visuals would match up so well with a sloppy garage-punk band. If you look at the Toeheads logo that I drew actually, that’s a direct callback to a George A. Romero movie called The Crazies.
Songs at this time were just coming. It was only after I had written them I had the chance to reflect on what they were all about. For the first time in my life the songs were kind of dark and deranged.
Horror-punk might be pushing it, but there are a lot of call-backs and elements that have made their way into the project. I think ‘Laser Cannon’ even sounds like an old-school metal song.
Okay, here comes a cliche question. What music has had an influence on your writing?
I’m gonna hit it right on the nose to get this out of the way. Everybody makes reference to the fact that my favorite artist is Ty Segall and obviously a lot of his influence bleeds into what I do. So, sure Lemons and Melted were very influential on me, but it was also part of a whole era of music in the early 2010’s that was playing garage after the initial revival. The first thing I ever heard from him was his compilation of Singles 2007-2010. I never had heard music that recorded badly, like super raw, but I couldn’t listen to anything else. That compilation was a huge influence on me.
I remember there was this band, and all the research I did on them never gave me results, called Hornet Leg. Other favorites would be The Shaw Tapes from The Gories. Obviously Jay Reatard was huge. I remember marveling at the fact that Blood Visions was so clean sounding but also psycho, considering it was like a concept album about killing his girlfriend. I remember thinking ‘This is so crazy! How can you make music about that and not burst into flames?’ Also The Oblivians and Coachwhips. I’m also huge on 70’s soft rock like Bread and The Bee Gees, hahaha. Had a Bob Dylan craze for like 2 years too which lead to me becoming a Neil Young-head later down the road.
You guys went on a short tour. What was the best part of that experience?
The tour was in May. I wanna do another one so badly. We were basically like ‘Lets take this on the road.’ We got three dates and headed off. It was incredible. We actually made money on the tour and made some great connections. We played a show in Bloomington, Indiana and it was insane. It had like 11 foot ceilings and was totally full and everyone was into it. None of these people knew who we are and they’re dancing!?
Totally honest, I was nervous that it was gonna be fucked up and stupid. Like the worst case scenario, that we could potentially be playing to three empty rooms and it would just be awkward. There’s no winning when you're thinking like that though.
Honestly, I’d like to be touring all the time.
Any funny stories from the tour?
We were piss-drunk the whole time! Honestly I was just so tickled pink that it was going well. Me, Joey and Brendan were just stoked to be wherever we were and have a place to play.
What are your goals in regards to music? Anywhere you would hope for it to take you?
I know a lot of people who get started in music and can't get there footing and then things dont progress past a certain point. From there they get down on themselves and start hating it.
Which I get, because life is really hard and so is being vulnerable. I feel very ambitious about my music and I'm thankful for that. Any success I or my band have at this point is crazy. It’s really flattering that anyone would be into what I’m doing, especially when people have been going for way longer.
Basically, I just never want to get to a point where I'm doing this and I’m unhappy. It’s been such a privilege to find this. I found what I love doing kind of late, now Im just gonna run with it and see where it takes me. I don't expect much and I'm just stoked when things go well.
Garage rock, by its very nature, lives in the shadows. You look at the biggest artists in the genre and they’re not rockstars or living lavish. They’re barely making money off of what they love doing. But that's not the point and never should be.
Here’s a quick one. If you had one pedal what would it be?
Easy. Green Russian Big Muff. The one pedal I’ve used at every show.
What does DIY mean to you?
It’s absolutely everything. DIY is hugely important to me, I think the most important part of creating is learning to do things yourself. I just look at my own journey through the arts. I didn’t know how to record or play any instrument that ended up being on the record. I didn't know how to make tapes, shirts, book shows or put a band together, but I think I'm too impatient to wait for others to help me. Once I get an idea I need to bring it to fruition. DIY is great because teaches people to push their limits and find out what they're capable of.
The other thing I have to say about music, DIY, all of this is to love what you're doing and believe in it, because everyone can tell if you don't. I’ll just say this: You have to put your dick all the way out. That sounds ‘Bro’y but let me explain. You have to commit to things all the way through and ride it out and just fucking do it. Balls to the wall, ya know? Find something you love and let it kill you, right?
I don't know, Joe. I love what I’m doing and all of the people I’ve met from making the jump, putting myself out there. It’s such an important part of who I am now. It’s all because of DIY, taking chances, and believing in yourself a bit.
New EP coming. Could not be more excited. Tell me about that.
I want this to capture how you would hear us at a show. Live tracking and mic’ing up everything.
The first record was 95% just me playing everything a track at a time and I feel like the sound of Toeheads now is primarily based around Joey and Brendan's playing and contributions to the music.
Most of these songs everyones heard before because we’ve been playing them live for awhile now. One of the tracks is a new version of ‘Dead Malls’ which was on the Remove Compilation #2. I wanted to get this out to give people some new stuff and give me the proper time to flesh out the next LP.
The first record was 95% just me playing everything a track at a time and I feel like the sound of Toeheads now is primarily based around Joey and Brendan's playing and contributions to the music.
Most of these songs everyones heard before because we’ve been playing them live for awhile now. One of the tracks is a new version of ‘Dead Malls’ which was on the Remove Compilation #2. I wanted to get this out to give people some new stuff and give me the proper time to flesh out the next LP.
Lastly, what do you think about Detroit as a place for artistic development? Is there something special about this place?
I think that scenes are a big part of it, just like any place else. I am lucky to be part of a community of people that play music together. I think the scene I’m in is great. People like Nips and The Ham House are very supportive and helpful with getting people off the ground and getting people a show. Then people like Brendan and Chuck who put out everyone's music. Its the younger crowd and theres a shitload of talent and ambition there.
The problem is the divide between people who are doing the exact same thing. There’s like five different scenes of people who are in their early twenties playing guitar music. Why are they separated? To some end I get it, but there's a lot of petty beef that is counterproductive to the core of what we all wanna do, play and be heard. The old guard is ultimately the enemy, as are the normies. Let us come together and squash them.
Scenes that do well nurture each other. You look historically at scenes that do well and that's what it is.
Thanks so much Jake!
My pleasure.
(Interview conducted by Joey Molloy)
