LOMM: Can you give a little biographical and historical info; who is involved in the band, and how did you guys meet up?
Jon: Of course! As of now the core members of the band are myself, Vikram Shankar and Jack Kosto. It’s a bit of a crazy story, but I attended the ProgPower festival in Atlanta during the year of 2016. During that time I met a singer by the name of Adrienne Cowan, the vocalist in Jack’s main project, Seven Spires. Her and I became acquainted and she introduced him to me via social media, and we quickly became friends. I was attending music school online in Florida at the time and one day I randomly showed him some ideas I had written, and from there Threads of Fate was born. Vikram was actually at the festival also, but he and I wouldn’t meet till much later on.
LOMM: On the other hand you seem to have had a productive time with the album coming soon. Did that help to battle the last years challenges?
Jon: Funny enough the album had already been finished completely, artwork and all by the time the pandemic hit. So we spent a lot of that time basically just sort of planning what to do with it.
LOMM: Your new album has a very unique atmosphere. What does your genre mean to you, why did you choose this genre?
Jon: It’s very weird because there are so many different influences that go into this band that it’s hard to place at times. I would simply say that all of our music is a very personal extension of not only myself, but all of us collectively.
It’s all meant different things at different times to each of us.
LOMM: How did the initial musical and thematic elements evolve?
Jon: The themes since the release of our debut have more or less remained the same, except I would confidently say the overall theme of the new record is much darker.
LOMM: Who composed the songs primarily this time? What is your process like?
Jon: It’s a bit of an odd approach, but whenever I write a song it pretty much starts out as just programmed drums, keyboards and some orchestrations and maybe (rarely) vocals. So there’s a basic structure that Jack can work with on guitars, which then comes back to me so I can write the vocals, and then Vikram steps in and takes all the keyboard parts I’ve written and puts his magic on them, adding a lot more in the process at that. For this album we all collectively shared songwriting duties however and it was very rewarding. Jack and I cowrote a good amount and Vikram wrote three songs.
LOMM: What bands do you draw your inspiration from?
Jon: Quite a few! But I would predominantly say Evergrey, Shade Empire, Swallow The Sun and Eternal Tears of Sorrow are the main inspirations.
LOMM: Are you happy with your product? I mean, what aspects of it do you think you guys nailed, and what parts do you think you could improve
upon?
Jon: I’m very proud of what we have done so far, but the way I see it is there is always room to be better and do
better. That is the musician’s journey, you never stop learning or improving.
LOMM: How has the overall reception been so far?
Jon: Much to my surprise quite positive! It’s crazy that we’ve been received so well for a band that hasn’t played live
or toured yet.
LOMM: Have you ever been on a tour? Given live performances? Is it tough for you not to be able to do
so now?
Jon: Threads of Fate has not but I myself of course have played live and toured before. And honestly as far as
Threads not being a touring band for the moment, I’m content with the fact. All three of us are so busy with other projects as it is, and I feel that this project would benefit greatly from just slowly being developed overtime before it
ever does a performance. And furthermore all three of us feel that way
LOMM: What do you see for your future? How is it looking?
Jon: I try my best to not look that far ahead and just take things as they come.
LOMM: Could you tell us about the lyrics / themes /concepts you focus on or plan to focus on? How did the ideas come about, and how do they influence the writing process? Who is writing the lyrics?
Jon: A lot of the lyrical themes involve things such as sorrow, loss, grief, anger, hate, vengeance, death. At times perhaps escapism, all sprinkled here and there with bits of occultism or lore just for the tongue in cheek aspect. I
write all of the vocals and lyrics so a good majority of these words are based on personal experiences of mine. Much
like the bands that inspired it, Threads is meant to thematically represent the darker aspects of life and the human
experience.
LOMM: Which is more exciting? Being on the road or studio?
Jon: Both are exciting for different reasons in my opinion. I absolutely love being on the road and performing, but I also love being in the studio because that’s where I get to spend time with those I work with, have some good times
and a lot of laughs.
LOMM: What’s more important to you? Catering to the audience or music for its own sake?
Jon: A huge idol of mine once said “Never play to the gallery”. I would like to believe that the reason any of us even
do this in the first place is because we have a lot to say, and music is the only way we can express it. So for me
personally, writing music is all about expressing what is within myself. I myself have quite a bit to say, and that is the
only way for me to say it all. If anyone at all can relate to it on any level or take some comfort in it, then even better.
LOMM: When you look back your music career, what do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
Jon: I’ve only seriously embarked on such a career within the last 4-5 years with the birth of Threads and the other
projects I’m involved in now so I would say it’s only just beginning! I still consider myself up and coming but I would
definitely consider Threads and my growth as a singer to be the greatest accomplishments, especially since I never
originally intended to be a singer.
LOMM: Anything else you think your fans should know?
Jon: You are all amazing, and the three of us couldn’t possibly be more grateful for you all. Thank you.
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