Exposed Vocals Interviews Program
Program is a Progressive Rock group started back in 2008 by Jon Friedberg (front man). At the age of 6, he began taking classical piano lessons. He earned a bachelor degree in Audio Production in 2012 at the Art Institute of Los Angeles. Since then, he has been improving his ability as a musician with a group of friends while working as a delivery driver. Once he earned enough money to save up for recording equipment, he composed and recorded all instrumentation on his demo album himself in the last two months, entitled “System Overload”.
Exclusive Interview
Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
Jon Friedberg: I was followed by “Exposed Vocals” on Twitter, and I decided it would definitely be worth getting in touch with them. One thing led to another, and before I knew it I was asked to do an interview. Thanks again for this opportunity,
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Jon Friedberg: I grew up in St. Louis, MO. I began taking music lessons when I was about 6, although I did not really enjoy playing music until I got into high school and started partying with friends. I began listening to a lot of Classic Rock during my senior year of high school, and that’s when I fell in love with it. Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin were some of my biggest inspirations starting out. Music has always been a part of my life, even when I didn’t want it to be. It’s a hard life being a musician, and there were times when I tried to avoid it so as to attain a more stable job/source of income. However, after a while I realized that if I don’t play music for a long time, I start to feel overwhelmed and even have panic attacks. I can’t live without it. It’s my life, and I’ve accepted that now.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Jon Friedberg: I think my inspiration behind the name “Program” came from experiencing so many different walks of life while growing up, and having to adapt to each of them. When I was 18, I was in a church choir while in college. A year later, I dropped out of college and worked as a line cook in a restaurant. I noticed that the mentality of people in the workforce tends to be very different from that which I was used to in the church, and I had to adjust in order to survive. I’m not attacking anybody’s religion. People are entitled to their own beliefs and I respect that, but so many people have used religion as a justification for their own corrupt actions and greedy intentions. Brainwashing someone into doing something because someone claims that it’s God’s will when in actuality it’s their own is disgusting, and I began to notice it more and more in religious circles the older I became. We are products of our own environment, like a program that has been installed into someone’s brain to make a person act in a certain way. That’s where the name “Program” came from. It’s a call for people to wake up, to stop believing everything they’re told, and to think for themselves.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Jon Friedberg: I think it’s wonderful that you can go online and search for so many different stations in which you can submit your music. It’s really the game changer in a day and age where people are glued to their I-Phones, and hear most of their favorite music on Spotify, Youtube, etc. It’s the digital age and you have to embrace it if you want to be a successful artist. My entire EP is online for free, because the most important thing for an artist starting out is to get your music heard. If you love what you do, the money will come later. Art needs to be shared, and I’m a firm believer in that. If people like it, they can buy a concert ticket, and that’s where artists should generate most of their revenue– in live performance. Anyone can sound good on a record, but the real test as to whether an artist is genuine or not is if their live performance is better than their performance on an album.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Jon Friedberg: Don’t give into the fads or what people tell you is going to be a “money-maker”. Follow your heart, and your gut. You don’t have to be rich anymore to record an album since recording equipment is so affordable these days. Also, never give up. No one can stop your dream from becoming a reality except you. You have to believe in what you’re doing, period.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Jon Friedberg: It’s like Jazz. If you do it once, it’s a mistake. If you do it twice, it’s Jazz. Music is like God working through you, and sometimes the message gets altered. You have to roll with the punches. As long as you follow through it usually works out, and a lot of the time it sounds even better than before. That’s part of what makes a live performance so exciting- seeing an artist adapt and transcend in a situation right before your eyes. If you can adjust at the spur of the moment, you’ve obviously dedicated a lot of your time to the craft– and fans appreciate that.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Jon Friedberg: My EP only came out in the last few weeks so I have not toured with it yet, although that is definitely the plan. Nothing would make me happier than to tour my music around the world.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Jon Friedberg: It varies. Usually I hear something in my head and just go from there. It might be a vocal chant, or a guitar riff, but it has to start somewhere. I never write an entire song from start to finish in my head, but the feeling turns into a thought and then it can be expressed through sound as a medium. It’s a form of therapy for me, and hopefully others as well. Writing a new song gives me a great sense of purpose and clarity within my own life, and that’s why I do it.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Jon Friedberg: Right now my music is free for download on Soundcloud at www.soundcloud.com/programband. I welcome anyone and everyone to listen and share free of charge.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Jon Friedberg: Oh jeez, here it comes. (lol) Well, I don’t have an mp3 player. However, I’ll admit that in high school I used to listen to the “Rocky” soundtrack while I worked out. Also, I’m not a huge fan of pop music. I’m 29 and I’ve lived on the edge most of my life. However, I do have a soft spot for the song “Talking in your sleep” by The Romantics. Also I’m not a Miley Cyrus fan, but I loved her version of “Jolene”.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Jon Friedberg: I would buy a house somewhere I don’t have to worry about disturbing the neighbors or paying bills, get my old group of friends together, and play music all day with them until it was ready to be shared with the world. I have a great group of friends back home that I’ve played music with for many years, and money was always the biggest factor that prevented us from spending more time together. Realistically, we could only afford to jam with each other once a month or so, but if I could fit them all under my roof free of charge, I would. Some of the most magical experiences of my life were with those guys, and I want to share that with the world. They were a big inspiration for me in putting together this album.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Jon Friedberg: Right now I work with an 8-channel mixer and some very good studio monitors. However, I would like to get some even better ones so that I don’t have to put my bounce on a CD and listen in my car every time I think a song is done. Also, I could really use an AKG-414 for vocals, and an Avalon or 1176 Compressor to warm things up a bit more. Also, I would love to have the money to record my music on Vinyl.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Jon Friedberg: Most of my music has been promoted through the web, getting in contact with stations that are online as well as the radio. I’ll gladly share it with close friends, or people I know personally that I think might benefit from hearing a song of mine if it relates to a problem they are going through. Ultimately, you have to be relentless. There are a million artists out there trying to get signed every day, and if you want to stand out you better have a product that can speak for itself. If it does, nothing should stop you from trying to share it with the world however you can (without doing anything illegal or unprofessional, of course..)
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Jon Friedberg: I would love to perform in the Colosseum that Pink Floyd performed in from “Live at Pompeii”, or some other ancient monument that was designed using sacred proportions or to enhance the acoustics. I would love to play with any of the guys from Tool, or with world musicians such as Anoushka Shankar. (She would probably run circles around me though, Danny from Tool, too). However more than anything, I want to be on stage with my friends, because that’s what makes a great performance– the connection between the band members.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Jon Friedberg: Well, I definitely want to turn my 5- song EP into a 10- song album (same name – “System Overload”). I have about 30 songs in my “bag of tricks” that I am dying to get recorded and released, but one thing at a time. I only finished mastering my EP a couple of weeks ago and need to spend a bit more time on promoting it before I get back to the writing process (otherwise no one will ever hear any of it!!).
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Jon Friedberg: Martial arts has always been a part of my life, and a great stress reliever. Also I used to draw a lot in grade school, and love to trip people out visually just as much as I do with sound. Adam Jones is a huge inspiration for me, seeing as he designed most of the music videos for Tool as well as the album art. Plus he rocks.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Jon Friedberg: The first album I ever bought was “Nirvana: Nevermind”, and I was in fourth grade. My dad almost didn’t buy it for me because of the front cover. I threw a huge fit in the store and eventually he caved. I was listening to Nirvana at the age of 9, so that might explain a lot…
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Jon Friedberg: Any time in my life that music was an available option, I went after it head first. Any time that it wasn’t an option and I had to put it aside in order to pay bills, that’s what I did. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. I’m not going to lie- it’s never been easy trying to juggle a dead-end job along with my passion. Usually I would show up to work exhausted and irritated because I spent most of my time off working on music, and never really gave my body the rest it needed in order to be a “well-rounded member of society”. But you do what you gotta’ do, and you rest when you need it. Still, I’m sure I lost a lot of sleep and missed out on a lot of good times with friends, girls, etc. in order to pursue my art. But that’s what it takes, especially starting out when you don’t have much money and no one knows who you are.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2015?
Jon Friedberg: Program’s album in entirety with at least 40 minutes of music on it, in stores all over the world, as well as an international tour. (Or at least the U.S. to start out).
