Editor’s Note: Jibe is arguably one of the biggest rock bands that people need to know about right now. Their mix of today’s mainstream rock and the post-grunge efforts of the 1990’s make them a “must-listen” on anyone’s playlist. Before their initial split, they were starting to make it to the top of the charts on various CMJ countdowns in the southern part of the United States, in particular in Texas and Louisiana, and they even created a song that the Dallas Cowboys would adopt as sort of an anthem as well. Joe Grah, frontman of Jibe, would get caught up in drugs and alcohol addiction, disbanded Jibe, and moved to Los Angeles. Now Jibe is back and better than ever. In this conversation, you will get the sense that Joe is grateful to “bring the band back together” and is not going to be taking this second chance for granted. Without further delay, here is my conversation with Joe Grah, frontman of Jibe.
M.T.C.: Is this Jibe?
Joe: This is Joe Grah of Jibe, how are you doing today?
M.T.C.: Thanks for taking the time to interview with us today.
Joe: Yeah, thank you for taking the time as well.
M.T.C.: Tell us about the day in the life of the writing process for Jibe, it seems like there was a lot of emotion packed into the latest record “Epic Tales Of Human Nature”.
Joe: The whole thing about “Epic Tales of Human Nature” is kind of a reflection of what the band went through. We were together for a long time, we became this family, this unit, and I lost my way cause I got out of my mind, my own vices pulled the band apart. Then, when we got back together, it was really emotional and really real and now, we have more of a sense for respecting each other and not taking each other for granted at this point in time.
With the songs, there was so much connectivity and so much pent up emotions that we just poured everything into it. We wanted it to be a reflection of our story, the story of all of us, you know what I’m saying? We were trying to find our place, giving it up, f****** it up, finding it, losing it, over and over again, it’s kind of a reflection that it’s never too late, it’s an ongoing story that is still being told for all of us.
M.T.C.: Based on what you mentioned, about your second chance, what life lessons did you learn from this?
Joe: For me personally, it’s for me not to take myself so seriously, and not to get involved in that s***, because as the managers would say, I’m on a train derailed going 80 miles per hour and not knowing what was going on, or some bull**** like that, to really trust yourself, to love yourself. It’s never too late, believe in yourself, because they tell you that you only have one chance or two chances, it’s all a bunch of bull****, it’s never too f****** late, because we all have this beautiful path, but we are immediately shown when we are born, it’s right vs. left, it’s black or white, Democrat or Republican, you have to choose a side and get on it, instead of meandering through the stuff, and remember that it’s simple, everything is a reflection, it’s just a dichotomy, left vs. right, black or white, and all opposing sides are relevant to our path, they’re always there, but we deny them because we duck under them to get away, we go over them, we go around them, that’s how the path is, you can deny it all you want to, but it’s always there, and it’s never too late to find it.
Matt: Is that what Jibe touched on in the first two videos that you released for this album “Human Condition” and “We’ve Only Just Begun”?
Joe: “Human Condition” was definitely socially and politically charged, the song is both socially and politically charged, but it’s also personal. That’s what I love about this band because ten different people can come up with ten things, and you could be like, “holy s***, yes it is”, that can happen ten or 20 times to an infinity. The “Human Condition” video we released on Election Day for a reason because there’s a lot of s*** going on with the press, there’s a lot of bull**** in the press, there’s a lot of things going on in the world that are not right. There’s a lot of lying being perpetrated without getting too in-depth. We’re better than what we’re being f****** sold right now, and that’s what “Human Condition” reflects.
“Human Condition” Music Video
“We’ve Only Just Begun” is about the journey that I had to go on when I left this band, and that was giving away my dream and my purpose, and it’s all about having to go to hell and back to get to this, and I never thought I would have it back, and getting a second chance to do this again.
“We’ve Only Just Begun” Music Video
M.T.C.: What do you like and dislike about making music videos?
Joe: The dislike is there were a lot of retakes! *laughs* Going through it over and over again. The like is that I wrote the treatment for the video, I like now that I have a clear head that I can see my visions, hopes, and dreams, that I can actualize them using much more visual writing, video live, and doing music videos and writing the treatment, and I get to tell this story, I want to select this moment and this path. It really allows artists to encompass fully.
M.T.C.: What did Grammy-award winning producer Toby Wright bring to the table on this record?
Joe: He gave us that true mixer reflection sonically to the record. He took the record and, he’s a friend that actually came into the fold of the record. We were trying to figure out the mix, I thought I had a pretty big mixer. He brought enthusiasm and he brought a friendship, we would talk constantly about the record, we would even be on the phone daily. He was able to take the vision that the band had, and put it into a sonic perspective that the world could ingest and understand, he put all of those little pieces into the right places.
M.T.C.: Fantastic! Where do you see Jibe five years from now?
Joe: In five years, I see Jibe touring the world, this is our fifth record, so that will be our 7th or 8th record, but who knows how fast we make it, there could be a 9th record, doing videos, with tons of f****** people having tons of emotional and gratifying experiences, and how the universe can reflect those emotions. It’s just really connecting with more people.
M.T.C.: What is the craziest moment that you had on stage?
Joe: There’s been a lot with this band. The craziest moment off of the top of my head right now, we’re collecting all of these archival moments from over the years for this documentary from the last year and a half. Fans that turned into friends and family members had all of this stuff stashed away, so we’ve been collecting it and getting the director to look it over, and I recently saw one where, I don’t know which city it was or what club it was, I was on a speaker stack and I jumped off the speaker stack, and it was 20 or 25 feet up, and I hit the crowd and I got knocked out, and just seeing my lifeless body being carried across the crowd, and back up on the stage, the security guard picks me up and gets me off the lift, and the reason why I say that is because I don’t remember that at all, I have no recollection of that happening.
The other crazy moment for me was when I hit the stage and when the band is humming, and when I connect and the crowd connects, and I lose my consciousness, literally, I like passed out because of the intensity of the emotions and the energy of the performance level that is happening, so there’s a lot with this band, we’re finding out with the documentary. I was so inebriated, if you will, back then that I don’t remember a lot of crazy things that have happened, but I’m remembering now as a fan. *laughs*
M.T.C.: Where can people find Jibe, message to the fans, and I’m giving you the floor to add anything you want about “Epic Tales of Human Nature”.
Joe: You can find us at www.jibeband.com, you can find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jibeband on Instagram at www.instagram.com/jibeband, on YouTube, you can find videos from us from our whole career. You can get our record at https://shop.bandwear.com/products/cd_jibe016, that’s our exclusive merchandise “booth”, you can get a ton of merchandise, got a ton of new merchandise that’s going to be coming across the wire in the next few weeks, we’re really proud of that. I’m just really looking forward to meeting everyone out there and sharing experiences and finding new ways to rediscover myself, in order to figure out how to get that elevated hum.
M.T.C.: Thank you for the time Joe, and for my readers, go pick up a copy of “Epic Tales of Human Nature”, it’s a great record.
Joe: Thank you man, I really appreciate you taking the time out of you day for this interview.
And there you have it! Special thanks to Joe Grah of Jibe for taking the time out to interview with us! On Saturday, July 8th, Jibe will be having a CD Release Show at Gas Monkey Live in Dallas, Texas. Show time is at 7:30 and it’s going to be a great night to get out to a show. For tickets and further information in regards to the show, click here.
