Coming Undone with Jackson Waters
03-14-2007
by Brenten Gilbert

New to the scene, but not new to music is the young group Jackson Waters - a group of friends who met in college and are now signed to Word Records. Their debut release, Come Undone hit the shelves last week, but CMCentral caught up with front man, David Leonard, a few weeks ago.

We chatted about the new album, the cover art, marriage and the ever-perilous world of Jack Bauer. Below is that conversation.

CMCentral.com (brenten gilbert): Hey. How are you doing today?

Jackson Waters (David Leonard): Good. What's happening man?

Not too much. You've got all of the big news going on with the band and everything.

Yeah.

So, you having a good day?

Yeah. We are on the road - on the way to a show tonight.

Cool. Where are you guys headed today?

We're headed to a little small town in Arkansas, my home town, doing a thing there.

Sounds good. So you guys are a pretty new band, as far as being signed at least. It seems logical to start with some background information. Can you tell me a little bit about the band and how you found each other and how you got started?

Yeah, well we started. . . We all met in college, kind of. We all went to John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas and I was doing solo stuff, just playing around when I met the drummer, Ryan, and one of the guitar players, Toby. We just met and started hanging out and then decided that we wanted to start playing together to see what would happen. We started to sing and, as time went on, we added on Brian, the bass player and Jesse, the other guitar player. We started out playing coffee houses and little clubs and churches and all kinds of stuff. So that is kind of the short version I think.

Yeah, and then the rest is history.

And the rest is history.

So is there any significance to the name Jackson Waters?

There is not any significance.

(laughs)

How did you guys come up with it?

We just kind of threw it up in the air and it kind of stuck. We like to say that it is [stands for]: Jesus And Christian Kids Serving One Nation With A Truth Encompassing Real Salvation.

Wow (laughs) I think that's the longest anagram I've ever heard.

I'm just kidding

(laughs)

Alright, there is a bit of buzz surrounding you guys now, but in your opinion, why was it a good move for Word Records to sign you?

I think we have something different to bring to the table than what's happening in Christian music. We are trying to be a little different then everyone else. I don't know if we are succeeding at that, but that is kind of what we are striving for. And we are hoping to bring something different to the table. I don't know, we are going to work our tails off to try to get people into the music and hopefully they'll like it.

Very cool. You also have an independent release out from 2004 called All That I Know. How is the transition from an indie band to a "signed" band been for you?

It's been cool. It was very cool, especially in the song writing. Lyrically and everything, it was good to have other people's input. Like people saying if something doesn't really make sense wheras before, it really didn't matter. It was just kind of whatever we were feeling at the time. So to have help on that was really cool. Just to be able to have other opinions. Working independently, we had a producer, but it wasn't really like a producer, producer. Like, it was nice to be able to have somebody to really speak into the project and help us with the sound and everything.

What surprised you most about being signed? What expectations did you have?

Just how long it takes. It's a long process. We've been signed for a year now and the album still hasn't been released. We're still working and still trying to get everything together. When you're an independent artist, you think that when you get signed, it all kind of magically happens and everything takes off, but it really is just a long process. And it's going to continue to be a long process, but we are really excited about it. We are happy to be where we are and doing what we are doing.

Yeah, (laughs) You guys were supposed to be release the album last year and it still hasn't yet come out.

Yeah, I don't know what to say about that. . .

(laughs)

Alright, so you did get an EP out digitally last year called Center Of Attention. What's been the center of your attention lately?

Probably the center of our attention lately has been working to make money to live. We've all been working jobs just to be able to pay the rent. So that and everybody is getting married. My wife has been very supportive. We've been almost married for two years now so, and the drummer just got married and two of the other guys are fixing to get married so a lot of that. A lot of love. So that's been cool too.

Definitely.

(laughs)

And the new album is called Come Undone. What can we expect from the album?

I hope something fresh, something new. That's probably what everybody says, but that is what we are really hoping for with this album. Just something that people can get ahold of and relate to. Just fall in love with the music because we have and we hope everybody else does.

Okay. Your bio says that you call your style of music, " life rock." Can you expand a little bit on what you mean by that?

Yeah. It was a thing that we came up with. . . Actually Toby, our guitar player, came up with it. It sounds cheesy and it is cheesy, but it's funny. It's cool, we think that the "life rock" thing came along with. . . We feel that every song on the album has something to do with whatever you are going through in your life. Wherever you are [in life], there is a song that relates to you. A song that you can get a hold of and see on the album. There are ups and downs and I think that is kind of where it came from.

What would you say is the biggest theme of the album?

Grace, man, you know? Just moving from your past and moving on to something new. Just trying to move on from where you've been before. I think that that is a big thing that we have always thought about. We can't seem to grasp God's grace or how he can love us - even when we are so unlovable. I think this album is soaked in it as well.

Did you intentionally focus on that theme or did just kind of happen?

It just happened.

So what's been going on in your life where you've experienced the grace of God recently?

Every day, especially with my wife. Her love for me has really brought grace to a different level for me. Her love for me has kind of painted a picture of God's love for us also. It's kind of made it more real to me. To actually have her love me, even in my failures. Her love for me has brought me closer to and has given me more understanding of God's love for me. I think that in everyday life, that is kind of where I've got it.

Very cool. You start to understand why the Bible uses the metaphor of marriage to describe God's love for us. . .

Yeah. Definitely.

The cover art looks really cool, I was taking a look at it today. . .

Yeah, you like it?

It looks like a lot went into the design. What's the story behind it?

You are talking about the heart with the hand coming through it, right?

Yep.

Yeah. It's kind of an open invitation of God asking you to continue. His invitation for you to leave the past and leave your struggles - not all your struggles, I mean, you are going to continually have struggles - but to move past them and to try to focus on His love. Just the hole that we all have and the search for something real and the search for something that we can get [to fill it]. I like it that the heart is anchored down, so it's like [everything is] trying to pull you down and trying to keep you down but it's Him reaching through trying to pull you up. I like that.

He's pulling on your heart strings, right?

Yeah.

In your latest blog entry, you mentioned that there are a lot of things in the works. Can you give me any details?

I think it's just time to get on the road. That's the biggest thing in the works lately has been hitting the road and trying to get people to listen to the music. We love to play live so that's our biggest thing. No other big things in the works.

Are you guys planning a big tour?

Yeah, U2 called us the other day and they wanted us to come out. (laughs) We were like,"Eh." So we passed on that one.

Not sure about their new album?

Yeah, so I don't know man. There is talk but it's talk, you never know.

Any ideas of who you might pair up with?

No idea, we'd love to go with anybody. You got any hook-ups?

You know, I tried to bring a concert here once and I realized how complicated it all is. . .So I retired early from the concert promotions business. There is a lot to it.

(laughs)

Alright, so what kind of things do you do to relax? Do you read a lot or play video games?

We just got these PSPs so we've kind of enjoyed them. They are pretty fun. And we're watching 24 right now on the road.

The new season? Or do you have the old ones?

No, we are actually just getting into it so we are late bloomers.

I still haven't watched a full episode of that show, so I'm with you.

We like it. That is pretty much what I do. We are pretty low key.

After the album releases, what's next for you guys?

World domination.

Ah, yes, world domination. . .

Yep, pretty much. I don't know. Hopefully, people will like the album. We hope people get it. It's kind of scary. It's our first major release and it's not just a CD for us. I really want it to be more than that. The last CD we made. . . All of our friends bought it, you know? And other people that we played shows for [bought it]. So this is kind of on a bigger level now and we are just kind of hoping that people like it. We aren't doing the album for anybody else, but when you record an album, it always helps that people like it. This is kind of like putting yourself out there and saying, "There you go. if you don't like me, it's okay." But, we hope people dig it.

Is there anything else that I missed or anything you wanted to add it? Some closing thoughts?

Our album [came] out on March 6th - Walmart and everywhere.

Wish you guys the best. Have a good day.

You too, man. Hope to see you on the road and put a face with a voice.

Find out more about Jackson Waters and Come Undone at JacksonWaters.com or MySpace.com/JacksonWaters

Preview the album using the special flash player below: