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Supertones Interview
Jason Carson, drummer, singer and speaker
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Supertones Interview
Jason Carson, drummer, singer and speaker
Jonathan got a chance to sit with Jason backstage after their concert at DCLA 2000 in Washington DC where Jonathan was training. Jonathan gives us a peek into Jason’s personal life, his marriage, and his interests.
Jonathan: Jason, you guys just played a great set. I noticed that you’re not only a drummer and a singer, but you do the majority of speaking for the group. We’d love to find out more about you.
Jason: Great- thanks for taking the time to talk to us.
Jonathan: Our pleasure. Jason, how old are you?
Jason: I just turned 26 in July.
Jonathan: Where do you live?
Jason: Aliso Viejo, which is halfway between LA and San Diego.
Jonathan: Alright- California. My readers are going to think I’m favoring people from my own state! Jason, teens are going crazy out there. They love you guys. Do you ever get hounded by groupies at the grocery store?
Jason: No, not really. And that’s one of the many cool things about my church. They know how to worship- and when we’re done worshiping- they don’t want to talk about the Supertones. My wife and I are just a normal couple in the church.
Jonathan : So you’re married. Any kids?
Jason: No kids yet- Julie and I have been married 1 year and 10 months. We’re taking our time with the whole kid thing.
Jonathan: How did you meet?
Jason: Through Tony- our bass player. They worked together. I met her and thought she was beautiful. She wanted to take Tony and I snowboarding and Tony canceled at the last moment. We spent the whole day talking and really hit it off. We dated 3 ? years before getting married. She has a beautiful heart and I can’t get enough of her.
Jonathan: What’s your favorite place to go with her?
Jason: Definitely the beach. We love to walk along the beach, talk, pray or read together.
Jonathan: How does it work being married and being on tour all the time? Is that hard?
Jason: She comes with me a lot- she’s with me now- it’s great! The longest I’ve ever been without her is a couple of weeks- although I don’t like to do that.
Jonathan: That’s great- it sounds like you have a great relationship. Now are you in any sort of accountability group?
Jason: Dan, our trombone player, and I are great friends. He’s a great encouragement to me and we keep each other accountable.
Jonathan: That’s awesome!
Let’s change gears here. Supertones is a pretty popular band and I’ve seen you do some great concerts. But what’s the worst concert you ever had.
Jason: You know- I can’t actually point out a particular one- but I can honestly say this. Our concerts go bad when we’re rushed and not prepared, not ready to worship. Whenever we don’t get time to pray or read the Word together before the concert- it’s just not right. Sometimes we have just met really quick, prayed a quick prayer and I felt that my heart wasn’t right. We don’t want to lean on our own power- just His.
Jonathan: So true, so true. Jason, this newsletter goes out to youth workers around the world. I’m going to ask you a question that we might need to hear. What’s the worst thing a youth worker has ever done to you- have we ever treated you rotten?
Jason: Once a guy read an article and found out what church I went to. He called up the church and said he knew me. The poor little old lady that was a secretary there didn’t know what to do so she gave him my phone number and he called me up. He said he wanted to book me for a concert. I told him that I couldn’t do that- that’s why we have a BOOKING AGENCY. We’re under contract with them and we can’t violate that. He kept arguing with me.
Jonathan: You’re kidding.
Jason: No- he didn’t catch a clue. He actually got angry and started raising his voice saying bad things about our booking agency and that we weren’t listening to God’s voice.
Jonathan: Unbelievable. Well- we promise never to do that to you . . . I’ll get your phone number later just in case.
You guys seem to get along real well and have lots of fun together. Do you guys ever get in any fights?
Jason: Our worst disagreement was over our album Chase the Sun. We couldn’t agree on the song order and cover.
Jonathan: What do you do when this happens?
Jason: We vote. We have six members in the band, and GUARANTEED, the vote always comes out 3 to 3. We’ve spent up to 8 hours discussing some of these things.
Jonathan: Does someone take charge?
Jason: Everyone’s pretty good. I sometimes try to facilitate. Although, I try to pick my battles. If I fight for every small detail every time, then my voice would never matter. I try to save my opinion for more important spiritual matters like integrity, etc.- not that I’ve got it all together or anything.
Jonathan: Alright Jason, I always ask everybody this. What’s your favorite movie?
Jason: No question, it’s JAWS. When the 25th anniversary edition came out, I picked up that day on DVD.
Jonathan: You’re kidding?
Jason: No, Jaws is the best.
Jonathan: That’s my favorite movie. I got it on disk too. Who’s your favorite character?
Jonathan and Jason in unison: Quint! (High fives were exchanged! At this point I won’t bore you with the various impersonations and movie lines that Jason and I quoted here, but we both definitely liked Quint’s fingernails on the chalkboard scene, as well as his story about the last time he put on a life vest! For those of you who haven’t seen JAWS in a while, we’re talking about the original Steven Speilburg movie JAWS, not those lame sequals with too many shots of the big plastic shark. We’re talking about the classic original- the movie that scared everyone in the world from going in the ocean that year . . . the movie that really gave Speilburg his start!)
Jonathan: That’s great! I knew you had good taste. What else is in your top 5?
Jason: Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Shawshank . . .
Jonathan: No way! Raiders is in my top ten, and Shawshank is in my top 3.
Jason: What’s your top 5?
Jonathan: Jaws, Shawshank, Heat, A Bronx Tale . . . and number 5 is a draw. What else to you like?
Jason: Braveheart, and recently Gladiator.
Jonathan: You’ve got good taste my man! What’s your favorite place to eat?
Jason: If I can’t get Wahoo’s fish tacos, I’d have to say In and Out Burger.
Jonathan: Do you have any pets?
Jason: I have a black lab named Roger. He won Wal Mart dog of the year at my local Wal Mart.
Jonathan: Really?
Jason: Yes- we entered him into a contest, and out of 200 dogs, Roger won.
Jonathan: What do you think of cats?
Jason: Hate em’
Jonathan: Like I said, you have good taste. One last question: How can we pray for you?
Jason: That all of us would continue to have a deep desire for God and continue to seek Him everyday. And I would love prayer to be a better husband to Julie.
Jonathan: Jason, thank you for your humility and your honesty. It’s good to get to know you better. Thanks for your time.
Jason: Thank you Jonathan.
Keep an eye out for Supertones’ new CD coming out in October and don’t forget to check out their web site at: http://www.supertones.com/
Jonathan’s Interview Page
If you haven’t already checked out Jonathan’s other interviews- check out his interview page. He’s got interviews with Jim Burns, Geoff Moore and many more upcoming interviews!
https://thesource4ym.com/interviews
Jonathan McKee
Jonathan McKee is the author of over twenty books including the brand new The Guy's Guide to FOUR BATTLES Every Young Man Must Face; The Teen’s Guide to Social Media & Mobile Devices; If I Had a Parenting Do Over; and the Amazon Best Seller - The Guy's Guide to God, Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket. He speaks to parents and leaders worldwide, all while providing free resources for youth workers on TheSource4YM.com. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.