Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Nations.
Hi Jeff, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been a music nerd. The first song I ever learned the words to was Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” when I was around 4 years old. I’d have friends over to my house in early grade school and I remember sitting them down in front of the stereo to show them Red Hot Chili Peppers or Tom Petty songs. I have always naturally been drawn to music and I’m sure it’s because my parents are big music fans.
My dad is a musician and when I was a little kid, I used to go to our basement with him and sing and strum along on my little plastic toy guitar while he would play along to REO Speedwagon and Molly Hatchet records.
Just before my 11th birthday in 1995, we were driving around one night and my dad asked me if I wanted to learn guitar. I had never really considered it but I went, ‘Yeah, why not?”.
We went to Fazio’s Frets & Friends in West County a few weeks later and we picked out a classical acoustic guitar. From there I was hooked and by 7th grade or so, I knew I wanted to play music for a living. I was in a couple bands with friends in middle school that wrote some songs and just played a couple shows. My first real band was in 2001 while I was a junior in high school. I recruited some friends at school and we put together a band called Essence Of Logic that would stay together till 2007. That band released a full-length record and a couple demos and EPs.
I was able to get that band on regional radio and we toured the Midwest and had a blast doing it. Through that band, I learned the business side of music: booking, PR, management, etc. After that group disbanded, the guitarist and I formed Science Hill. That group got signed to a record label that put us on a national tour for 2 1/2 months. I learned how to route and book a tour during my tenure with them. I also learned a lot about what not to do in this industry. Science Hill eventually fizzled and I decided I’d tackle a new indie rock project on my own. I wrote an entire EP myself and went to the studios at Webster University and, working with an engineer, tracked the entire EP myself, performing all the voices and instruments with the exception of a few guest appearances. I named that project Various Hands and started to recruit musicians through Craigslist and Facebook.
That group would be together until 2017. In 2014, I auditioned for the drummer position in Shaman’s Harvest. It came down to me and one other guy and the other guy got it. A year later in 2015, that drummer left and I ended up stepping in. I drummed with them for a month and played the biggest shows of my life to that point. The band ended up giving the permanent position to a friend of theirs which took me by surprise but business is business. At that time, I had also enrolled at Berklee College Of Music to pursue a degree in composition which I earned in 2018.
In 2016, Various Hands did a tour with Rookie Of The Year, an indie/emo band that blew up around 2009. I hit it off with their singer and in early 2017 he called me and asked to join Rookie as their drummer for their reunion. I played with them for 2 years, touring nationally on a regular basis.
For the sake of my sanity, I left Rookie in early 2019. A few weeks later, I connected with a drummer on Facebook named Brad Moxey who plays with Evergreen Terrace and drummed for Saliva every now and then. He posted one day, saying, “I’ve got an opportunity for a touring bass player”.
I sent him my info saying, “You don’t know me but here’s my info”. Turns out Brad had just joined Nashville country artist JB Crockett and they needed a bassist. I forwarded a couple audition videos and once again it came down to me and one other guy and guess who got the job… But alas, about two weeks later, Robbie Vanosdol (our guitarist) called me and said, “This other guy isn’t going to work. You’re in”. The first gig we did was in Columbus, OH opening for Rascal Flatts’ lead singer, Gary Levox, and then right after our set we served as his backing band for his set in front of about 4000 people.
We’re thankful to have gotten back on the road this year and we currently have some insanely exciting things happening behind the scenes that I can’t wait to discuss. Aside from that, I live in St. Louis with my wife, who is my biggest and most patient supporter/cheering section. I also perform solo acoustic and with a 4-piece ’90s cover band called Proud Larry.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of my favorite quotes about the music industry is from Hunter S. Thompson: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.” That statement could not be more accurate. A musician faces more rejection in a month than most people probably face in two years. You never know what kind of people you’re going to end up working with, from musicians to promoters to venue managers to sound techs. Some folks are pros, some are people I would’ve gladly thrown through a window. Shows get cancelled, vehicles break down, gear craps out, promoters don’t want to pay you after they said they would, etc.
You learn how to deal with it all. My biggest failure/misjudgment was in 2016. I was put in touch with a musician in L.A. who was the guitarist for Powerman 5000 at the time. He and his wife had this new project that just got signed to Dave Ellefson’s (formerly of Megadeth) label and they needed a drummer. I went out and auditioned and got the gig.
They asked me to relocate in about a month’s time. So I packed up my essentials, threw them in the trailer, and with my incredibly patient and understanding wife’s blessing, moved to L.A. with the intention of her joining me out there a few months later. I drove for 2 1/2 days and after spending about 4 days living with this husband/wife duo and rehearsing this dated brand of Hollywood goth “metal”, complete with skeleton masks, I started to get a bad feeling. They ended up being the two worst, most miserable human beings I have ever encountered on this planet.
I have never witnessed a situation so toxic. So after about 4 days of living and rehearsals, I peaced out and headed back to STL. The whole ridiculous debacle cost me a week total of my life. That band was dropped from the label a few months later and haven’t done anything since.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When I’m not on the road, I play guitar and vocals for a St. Louis cover band called Proud Larry and I do solo and duo acoustic shows. I also teach private lessons, pick up session gigs when I can, work for School Of Rock in Kirkwood and Allsup in Belleville, IL, and I host weekly trivia nights at Nick’s Pub on Mondays and 1356 Public House on Wednesdays.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I am always open to working with new folks as it brings out creativity you sometimes don’t know is there. The best way to support is by coming to a show or streaming or buying my music.
Contact Info:
- Email: jeffn9@hotmail.com
- Website: jeffnations.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/jeffnations
- Facebook: facebook.com/jeffnationsmusic
- Twitter: twitter.com/jnationsmusic
- Youtube: youtube.com/jeffeol
- Other: https://jeffnations.bandcamp.com/
Image Credits
Regan B. Stephens
River City Views
Shelly Lanhar
Jeanie Liautaud
LeeLee Hawkins
