Jared Hart ist eine feste Größe in der East-Coast Punkrock-Szene. Als Frontmann der Bands „The Scandals“ sowie „Mercy Union“ ist eher für die lauten Töne bekannt, aber er kann auch anders. Fernab von Punkrock begeistert er als Singer/Songwriter das Publikum. Anlässlich seiner am Freitag startenden Solo-Tournee durch Deutschland mit Abstechern in die Niederlande und in die Schweiz haben wir mit ihm darüber gesprochen wie es ist wieder unterwegs zu sein, die Unterschiede zwischen dem Publikum hier und in Amerika sowie über das neue Album mit „Mercy Union“.
Frontstage Magazine: Hi Jared, thanks for the interview. How are you?
Jared Hart: I’m hanging in thank you! I hope you are as well.
Frontstage Magazine: How is it to be back on tour in Europe after such a long time?
Jared Hart: I’m a bit anxious but excited to be back over after what feels like longer than it’s actually been.
Frontstage Magazine: What are you most looking forward to on the tour?
Jared Hart: Honestly? Playing songs for people again. The live streams were such a beautiful way to connect with people over the time but I really missed that feeling of sharing that space and experience with other humans.
Frontstage Magazine: You have already played many concerts in different countries in your life – is there a particularly curious experience / event that you will never forget?
Jared Hart: There are definitely a few experiences that I’m sure I wished I didn’t forget, but when I think about playing in different countries I often think about the first shows in Ireland and Czech Republic. I’m the first one in my family to come back to the countries that my families immigrated from and that was a real trip to say that I came back to play music.
Frontstage Magazine: Are there differences between German or European and American audiences?
Jared Hart: There are. I’d say the initial difference is the audience’s desire to discover new music. In Europe, people genuinely digest music that they’ve never heard and whether they like it or not that’s insanely appreciated from an opening act or new artist stand point. I’m not saying that doesn’t happen at home, it’s just more consistent overseas from my experience.
Frontstage Magazine: Do you prefer to be a solo artist or part of a band?
Jared Hart: Depends on the day and how far I have to drive. There’s pros and cons to both. Sometimes I love being able to cruise by myself and have some quiet time, other times I just miss rolling around with a crew and having an adventure together. I love both of those touring experiences.
Frontstage Magazine: A new album by your band „Mercy Union“ will be released soon – what can we expect from the album?
Jared Hart: You can expect the best performances and representations of these 4 individuals that has existed on a record, (in my opinion). It’s one of the first times that it truly sounds like how it sounded in my head, and I’m super excited for people to hear this batch of songs.
Frontstage Magazine: Do you have a favorite song on the album? If so, which one is it and why does it mean the most to you?
Jared Hart: I think right now it’s a song that is loosely titled “Volition,” but I’m sure that title will change. It’s a song that came together really quickly and it kind of felt like magic. We were practicing all of the songs the week before recording and I just thought “This should be a Mercy Union song”. I threw it out to the group and within 20 minutes it was put together and we tracked it the next week. We brought in our friends in Four Shore Strings to play over it and it’s easily become my favorite on the record.
Frontstage Magazine: Were there any difficulties due to the pandemic during the production of the album?
Jared Hart: Just getting together was difficult. We all have different family situations and obligations outside of the music thing that we were responsible for, so it took until about March/April of 2021 for us to get in a room and play together again. The whole time we were writing and sending tracks back and forth, but nothing ever beats being able to play off of each other in the same room.
Frontstage Magazine: In a few months you will go on tour as support with Dave Hause – are you looking forward to coming back to Europe so soon after your solo tour? What can we expect from this tour?
Jared Hart: I’m always looking forward to coming to Europe. It’s one of my favorite things in the world. Expect a band of buds from New Jersey who are so grateful to be out doing this thing again. Let’s go all out and have some damn fun.
Tourdaten 2021
03.09. Wiesbaden – Kreativfabrik
04.09. Köln – die wohngemeinschaft
05.09. Amsterdam (NL) – Q-Factory
07.09. Dortmund – Subrosa
09.09. Bremen – Tower Musikclub
10.09. Hamburg – Molotow
11.09. Hannover – Bei Chez Heinz
12.09. Langenberg – Kulur.Güter.Bahnhof
13.09. Dresden – Ostpol
14.09. Leipzig – 19:00 Uhr AGRA – Messegelände Halle 2 & 20:30 Uhr WERK 2 Kulturfabrik
16.09. Berlin – Schokoladen
17.09. Braunschweig – B58
18.09. Göttingen – Nörgelbuff
21.09. Zürich (CH) – Dynamo
23.09. Stuttgart – Club Zentral
24.09. Karlsruhe – Alte Hackerei
25.09. Frankfurt am Main – Elfer Music Club
Tourdaten 2022
Mercy Union als Support für Dave Hause
29.01. Hamburg – Knust
30.01. Frankfurt an Main – Batschkapp
01.02. Münster – Skater Palace
02.02. Berlin – SO36
03.02. Leipzig – Conne Island
05.02. München – Technikum
09.02. Stuttgart – Im Wizemann (Club)
10.02. Köln – Kantine
Fotocredit: Gregg Pallante
