Faith is Vengeance- Interview with Enation

When Enation frontman Jonathan Jackson sings of love and hope, he’s not just preaching to the choir–he’s right alongside them. “I fail at it a lot,” admits Jonathan. “That’s why I write songs about faith, because I need to. Sometimes I feel like I have nowhere else to turn but towards hope. I’m not naturally inclined towards joy, but at my lowest points, something stirs inside and tells me that it really is the only option other than despair. It’s my vengeance.”

What results as retribution for Jonathan creates a glimmer of positivity that bursts through the darkest days and elegantly screams, “You’re not alone. You can do anything to which you set your mind. You will not only survive your struggles, you’re going to emerge a better person.”

(We highly suggest you play this video while you read the rest of this article.)

Legions of fans have latched onto this and propelled Jonathan and his Enation bandmates (brother Richard Lee Jackson, Daniel Sweatt, Michael Galeotti and Luke Galeotti) to the forefront of the independent rock world. The breathtaking single “Feel This” immediately placed in the top 10 I-Tunes Rock Charts upon its release, and its epnoymous EP debuted at #1 on the CDBaby Top Sellers list. Additionally, Enation has seen longtime support from the online retail giant, having held five out of the Top 10 songs on the CDBaby Rock charts simultaneously, and seeing multiple albums go to #1 on their respective national charts. Then, there’s song placement on pop culture phenomenon One Tree Hill, Stephen King thriller Riding The Bullet, and Emmy Award-Winning daytime drama General Hospital, on which Jonathan has earned three Emmys for his role as Lucky Spencer.

Interestingly, it was a soundtrack that inspired Enation’s upcoming album. “We were approached to create some music as part of a soundtrack to an independent film called Not Today,” tells Richard. “As we started working on developing ideas for that, more songs came together that really fit the emotional themes of the first songs and all of a sudden we realized we didn’t just have a few songs for a soundtrack, but an entire album that stood on its own.”

Enation’s most recent single, “Glorious,” was recorded from the member’s individual homes in Washington, California, and North Carolina, using Pro Tools. “Recording ‘Glorious’ forced us to approach the whole recording/producing process differently,” admits Daniel. “It got us out of our comfort zones. I feel like it opened some new doors for us creatively.”

“There’s nothing like the energy feeding off one another, trying as best we can to capture the live, experiential emotion of a concert in the studio environment. But out of necessity, I think we will have to do more of that ‘on location’ recording,” says Richard.

Jonathan, who is slated to release a book of poetry titled Book of Solace and Madness, reveals that his songwriting is always evolving. “There have been songs where I’ve had the chorus done for over a year before the verse finally came out. That can be frustrating sometimes, but patience is really important, because it’s better to wait on a song then to put something out that feels half-baked.”

Daniel agrees. “As artists, I think we could work on a song indefinitely, making minor adjustments here and there. At some point we have to let the song be, and stop trying to force ourselves on the song,” he says. ”We are usually pretty disciplined about the whole process and call it finished when we feel like the song is saying what we want it to say lyrically, conceptually, and emotionally.”

Enation embraces pain as a vehicle for breakthrough and transformation. “That is an ongoing revelation,” shares Jonathan. “Certainly, when we look at the Cross of Christ, this truth comes into view in a very mysterious and striking way. Out of pain and suffering, feelings of defeat and abandonment, a new world is opened up: a world of love, hope, healing and redemption.”

For Richard, this hits close to home. “One of the most vivid reminders of that for me are my twin girls, Evelyn and Hannah (16 months). My wife was told she wouldn’t be able to have kids, which was devastating to her. She told me this before we got married, but I just had faith that God had a different plan than what the doctors were telling her. The road to get our daughters into the world was a long three years, with lots of unknowns and dark days of uncertainty. But in the end, God prevailed, and every time I see their faces, I’m reminded that pain can be a vehicle of breakthrough and transformation, if we allow God to have the wheel. I used to play ‘Everything Is Possible’ as a prayer for my yet-to-be-born children. Now I play it as a triumph of faith in my own life.”

The members of Enation are genuine, down-to-earth souls not only put here to create, but to educate. Several of the band’s songs have been donated to causes that raise awareness to issues including sexual assault against women, modern day slavery, human trafficking, and leukemia. “Whenever we have the opportunity to raise awareness to incredible causes, we are honored to do so. One of the reasons Enation exists is to inspire love as an action, not just words,” says Richard.

CONNECT WITH ENATION:
EnationMusic.com
Twitter @EnationMusic
Facebook.com/EnationMusic
MySpace.com/EnationMusic

Planet Verge: What’s your take on the state of pop culture today- Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, etc.?

Daniel: “I don’t watch much pop culture TV, so I can’t really say. But I do think that if something is popular people will try to emulate it. So given the subject matter of show’s like 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom and Jersey Shore, there is a real danger that we may be sending the wrong message to today’s youth.”

Jonathan: “I don’t invest myself in it, to be honest. I keep myself fairly engaged with the news, but not really pop culture. I like reading history and stuff. Watching Dancing With The Stars is about the extent of my pop culture knowledge.”

Richard: “I’m not a huge fan of a lot of the reality TV out there either. Some of it, like The Biggest Loser, is inspiring. Shows that promote positive, redemptive change I think are great to watch. Pop culture, it seems, is getting more and more absurd. It’s getting harder for our generation, and the next, not to have a ‘ME!’ mentality. We use iPhones and iPads (myself included), and their title sort of points to the innate selfishness that is being promoted in our culture. Self-sacrifice isn’t being taught as a real virtue, which we need more of.”

Planet Verge: Does anyone in the band have a rescued shelter pet?

Richard: “I rescued my two cats, Freddy and Meyer, from a parking lot of a grocery store. I was worried they were gonna get run over. They were kittens, helpless, abandoned. I thought at first I’d just help them survive the day, but in the end I couldn’t let them go.”

Planet Verge: What Web sites do you visit daily?

Richard: Most of Enation’s to say hi to our fans. I like USA Today (as an App), Fox News, sometimes ESPN, my personal Facebook and Twitter, sometimes a funny YouTube video.

Daniel: I check my Facebook page everyday.

*By Joelle, who named her dogs Skye and Lucky–not just because one has blue eyes and the other is a rescue, but because they are General Hospital characters.

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