When Jon Khan first mentioned his new band Blue Vervain it seemed at first to be a cool new project from a very talented musician. However, when you dig deeper into the ethos of the band, you’ll discover this is more than “just” a new project. According to Khan this band and its music became more about crafting songs that could be used to aid listeners who might be going through rough times. Listeners can use the music, like people use the Blue Vervain flower, in real life, to help and heel themselves. And that’s pretty awesome.
Recently we caught up with Khan to talk about the band’s formation, and their new album Wounds as they get set to play Happy Mondays at Wonder Bar tonight.
Year We Formed In: 2018
We’re Based Out of: North Jersey
The Story Behind Our Name: After first writing the first round of songs that would end up on the first album I had to next figure out what the name of my project was going to be. One day while I was attempting to quit cigarettes one of my good friends tried to get me on these herbal cigarettes that he had just bought online. There were a lot of natural herbs and flowers mixed into the cigarette, but one ingredient called “Blue Vervain” stuck out to me the most.
After looking up what it does (helps alleviate anxiety, depression, and insomnia) I immediately was sold because that’s what I longed for my music to provide. I wanted to present people with a group of songs they could listen to as a “crutch” to whatever mental state they were going through at the time. The songs, in my opinion after writing them and listening to them, helped me learn a lot about myself and gave me an outside objective view to my situation, and I hoped that would translate well with an audience and offer them the same benefit.
Bands You’ve Seen Us in Before: I was the lead guitarist for Morningside Lane from its inception in 2009 until this band formed in 2018.
Our Sound Has Been Likened To: Tigers Jaw, Snail Mail, Petal, and The Get Up Kids.
Famous/Cool Bands We’ve Shared The Stage With: We played on the same festival as Young The Giant last Spring at Festi-Ville in Millersville, PA which was a very cool experience to have after only being a band for about six months.
Your album Wounds dropped earlier this month. Talk about having your first album out, that experience of your first piece of fully realized music put out there in album form.
The whole process to writing, recording, and finalizing this album has been over the course of 9 months. Back when I wrote all of the songs, after initially wanting to only record a four or five song EP, I realized that I had a full concept developed. The experience of it finally being out for everyone to hear is daunting after keeping it under wraps for months on end, but hearing all of the feedback and new listeners we’ve been getting throughout the first month has been extremely rewarding and has definitely given me a “slow and steady wins the race” vibe.
Talk about the subject matter of the album — what’s are some of the themes you touch upon and why was it important for this record?
Wounds’ concept is a tale as old as time – relationships, heartache, and real life situations for each person involved in the relationship that dictate how they treat one another. “Wounds” is a reoccurring theme in this album, having them, their healing or just them being re-opened. Each song has its own subject matter that relates to an issue or a conclusion one faces when going through a relationship involving another person.
The lyrics are direct in the sense that the listener can fully grasp what I’m trying to say, and they can directly relate their own life situations into the characters in the song, and lastly come to terms with their own conclusions on how that makes them feel. Living in 2019 and soon to be 2020, there is a lot of extra “puffery” that goes into having a relationship with another person. As I said, the album’s concept is a tale as old as time – but with contemporary issues that are unprecedented. Things have changed in this modern era, but the basic fundamental principle of “feeling” for another stays the same.
You’re on Mint 400 Records — can you talk about their impact on the band?
Mint 400 Records has been an amazing label to be on. They have given us a home for this first record and have booked us on some amazing shows which we have played and will be playing in the near future. We appreciate everything they have been doing and will continue to do for us in the future during the writing of our second LP.
What is it that you love about this band?
Being in a band gives you a sense of community with those who come out to see you and also strengthens your relationships with those who you play with. You all share a common goal, and stripping away all of the extra stuff, a band strives to get up on a stage, plug everything in, and bring people together. It’s almost like real life magic too, because sometimes you get an opportunity to look out in a full room and see people who are really vibing to your stuff.
When that happens, all of your own feelings drift away because you feel as if you are providing someone else with a little form of therapy that they could take with them. As long as any band or musician can continue to do that, and there are still people who come out and get excited to see music, there is still a reason to play music.
What are you most excited for in the coming months?
I’m most excited to continue writing music for a follow up LP, and to play more shows in and out of state. It’s time to take this show on the road!
What is a definitive goal you want for this band to accomplish in the near future?
I’ve been focusing on writing a second album for this band, it’s been coming together and I’m looking forward to recording it eventually. I would also like to record some sort of live session with the band in the near future.
