Profile - Jake Kiszka
Words: 2400
Synopsis: Jake Kiszka is joined by a music journalist as they work together on his profile.
Warnings: None!
Note: In real life, I am a music journalist and have written multiple profiles before - although they are never in English. That being said, this is a completely made up profile. Hope you enjoy this different approach, and I am so sorry for taking this long to write again!
If you’d like to be added to a taglist, let me know. Here is a link to my masterlist, with the rest of my work. :)
Jake offers me another piece of cake. He was excited when I told him I liked chocolate cake, and considered it his duty to offer me as many pieces as he could without making me sick. This would be my third, and his second. I wasn’t exactly truthful when I accepted another piece, as I was so incredibly full I could feel my entire body reacting to the dessert.
As we ate, he kept one of his hands free, so he could touch his birthday candles. Closer to thirty than to twenty, as he had said before. When we first met and he suggested that we did his profile during a weekend in April, I immediately accepted. It was my mistake, as a professional, that I didn’t notice it was his birthday weekend. I called him a few days after our first meeting, and offered another weekend the month after, but he insisted that it was the best date for him, and changing it would make him upset.
That was the first thing I learned about Jake Kiszka - the man, not the guitarist. Other than the quiet, reserved man I was expecting to meet, I was immediately introduced to a very sensitive man, that took every word into consideration during conversations and wanted to make sure everything went the perfect way. Fearing it would make him give up if I, once again, suggested something else, I said I would be at his place on Saturday, first thing in the morning.
The idea was that we would spend that Saturday together, doing interviews as he created new music and celebrated his birthday. I asked him if he was throwing a party, and he denied. This would be one of the first times he would celebrate all by himself - not considering the writer that would quietly keep him company. He did mention that, later that night, one of his siblings would visit, but did not clarify which one. That either meant I would be meeting another member of the band or the one sibling that didn’t end up playing with them.
When I first arrived at around 9 am, he was already expecting me. I knew that because I could see his figure standing by the window, calmly looking outside and trying to figure out which car was mine. He wore light blue pajamas and was starting to make coffee - black, with the tiniest ammount of sugar. Music was playing, and when I did not recognize it, he seemed to find that funny.
Our first interview was conducted as we sipped our coffee. Jake seemed more interested in talking about his art before his personal life, so that was our main topic for a few hours. He didn’t talk for the entire time, making long pauses and asking me if I wanted anything to eat. For about half an hour, in the middle of our conversation, he stopped to cook himself scrambled eggs. During that time, neither of us spoke up, quietly listening to the music.
Jake Kiszka seems to view his music not as an artistic connection to the universe or a job. More often than not, he references music as his own personal way to connect with other people. When I ask him about his favorite part of being a musician, he mentions the look on people’s faces while he plays, or the way he can see the crowd dancing and singing along. When I ask him about the band, he lovingly talks about how much fun his brothers have when they play, no matter how exhausted they all are by the end of a concert. Nothing that he mentions has to do with him, specifically.
For a decade, Jake has been playing with the same three people: his twin brother, Josh, his youngest sibling, Sam, and their friend - although he often refers to him as his own brother as well, Danny Wagner. Jake considers their connection one of the most important reasons why their music works so well, especially during live performances. Besides the obvious connection he has with the other band members, they seem to be able to understand the differences between each other - different music genres they enjoy, the time they need to create, and how they behave on stage.
Jake seems to avoid talking about his brothers in a more personal way at first. He is a perfectionist, not only with his music but with everything that surrounds him. If the interview is about art, he will only mention his art. I ask him about his creation methods and, once again, he finds what I said funny. According to him, his creating processes are more simple than they may seem. Riffs come to him naturally, when he’s playing around with his strings and trying to figure out what sounds good. He enjoys writing with his brothers more than writing alone, because he finds the process easier if they all have the same idea at the same time.
He mentions their latest album, “The Battle at Garden’s Gate”, as one of the most interesting things they have done. In contrast to their first projects, “The Battle at Garden’s Gate” is fuller when it comes to lyrics and their instrumental power. When I tell him that opinion, Jake agrees, and says that, as he grew, he started noticing how much they could do with their music, without falling into rock stereotypes all the time. Lyrically, this album has interesting topics about war, the universe and the way humans interact with nature.
Talking about their first projects as a band, Jake is satisfied with how much they grew, but still looks fondly at everything the band did when they were just teenage boys. The guitarist mentions their early days, when they still lived with their parents and would only play for small crowds, as some of the best years of his life. Jake loses himself telling funny stories about their first performances and the mistakes they made before they learned how the music business worked.
After Jake ordered lunch and we ate together, I saw himself in his home studio, where he seemed to be working on a new song - not specifically one that would be released soon, he clarified. He was ready to talk about his early life and things that were not related to his music, but, even then, music had to involved somehow. I assume that is why he decided to create as we spoke, as if some of the things he talked about would bring him inspiration. He was playing one of his multiple acoustic guitars when we started our second interview of the day.
Jake can’t remember when he first started to show interest in becoming a musician. He mentions the fact that his mother had probably spoken about it during other interviews, but he wanted his profile to be built by his own words. He does remember the fact that music is one of his earliest memories. Joined by his brother, Josh, they would sit and listen to their dad’s vinyl collection for hours. As soon as they were able to walk and talk, playing pretend and performing for their family became a current activity. His own father, Kelly Kiszka, is also a musician, and introduced instruments to the boys very early on.
Other than music, he was interested in film and sports. Acting on his brother’s short films is another memory he carries with a lot of love. Josh used to write scripts for horror films - some of them worse than the others - and they would invite friends over to act with them. Their sister, Veronica, would also join them sometimes. All of the siblings are incredibly close in age, which is one of the reasons why they could be seen hanging out together quite often.
As soon as Sam became old enough, he joined his other siblings and, later, joined the band as well. Jake considers himself as an overly protective brother. Whenever something happens to one of his siblings, it is not uncommon that he will blame himself for not being able to stop the situation and protect them with his life. I ask him if that also happens when people criticize his brothers for their music or talent, to which he replies with: “they know they’re good”.
Jake recognizes how fortunate he is to have such a good relationship with his parents. He mentions that it is often an issue for artists, but it was not his case. Karen Kiszka, his mother, always knew her sons would become artists, by his record. He remembers how he wanted to make her proud by working hard at school and getting good grades, but it was never entirely possible. It surprises him that, even though he “wasn’t the brightest”, she would still tell him how proud she was of him and his siblings. Jake also shares that he believes none of what happened to the brothers would have happened without that support. They were teens making music at home, and Jake doesn’t know how all of the noise didn’t drive his mother insane.
I ask him about his birthday. Jake has, obviously, always shared a birthday with his brother. That doesn’t seem to be an issue, as he talks about their celebrations with joy. Getting older seems to be a tough topic, and I don’t need to ask him why, as he talks about it before I even get a chance. Jake feels as if his years are shorter than anyone else’s. Touring has turned his months into days and the months he has for himself are resumed to one or two every year. Celebrating his birthday with his twin brother is often one of the only times he feels like himself again. For this year, they have decided to celebrate separately, and it seemed like a good decision at first, but he admits that he was feeling incredibly lonely.
When asked about touring, Jake is more interested in talking about his relationship with the fans. I let him talk, without many direct questions. Jake is very grateful for the people that have listened to their music for more than a decade, and is also grateful for everyone who came after their sudden new wave of popularity. He saw as their crowds changed slowly, from family and friends to locals, from locals to unknown older people, from unknown older people to an younger audience. He says he knows instantly when a person recognizes him at a public place, and he finds it funny how, sometimes, they won’t say anything at all.
“Most of the people just tell me they love me or the band and thank us for the music. Sometimes, they’ll ask me about the most specific things, and I’m not sure how to respond. Especially if we’re at a bar and I’ve had a few”, he laughs at his own comment, and I join him. When I ask him about any unfortunate situations, he refuses to comment, but lets me know that there have certainly been some.
When he is done with that song for the day - a gorgeous fast paced song - he lets me know he bought cake for his birthday, and he wants me to eat with him. It is not often that I am invited to write a profile from inside the home of an artist, and Jake also tells me about how this was a first time experience for him. His relationship with music journalists doesn’t seem to be the best, although he appreciates their kindness and how well they treated him. If I could see inside his brain, I would say he finds us to be rather pretentious. I agree.
We talk for two hours, without any journalistic intents, before he gets a phone call. He excuses himself before he opens the door. I, luckily, recognize the person who just joined us for the small party. The same set of kind eyes, the same eyebrows and the same nose. The brothers hug each other for more than a minute, and Josh seems to know who I am, or at least know what I’m doing at his brother’s house.
He asks not to be interviewed, as if he had guessed what would come out of my mouth. Other than that, he sits and joins us, eating the rest of the cake. Jake doesn’t want to mention what was talked about, even though they were incredibly simple topics. Josh gives him a sweater, and Jake tells him he hates it. Jake gives him a book, without giving me a chance to look at the cover.
I offer to do the dishes. They tell me I don’t need to do them, but I insist. Jake leaves with his brother and they sit on the living room as I wash all of our plates and glasses. He yells from the living room, trying to get his voice to be louder than the TV, and tells me he has to be the first person to write the profile when it’s done. I promise him I would make sure no one would read it. By the end of our day, I didn’t know what to write.
Jake Kiszka is a very simple man. A very simple brother and friend. A very complicated musician. His creativity is almost blinding, and it is easy to miss the exact second when he gets an idea that turns a good song into a masterpiece. Jake Kiszka sees himself as a lonely man, but has so much love for his friends and family that it would be hard mentioning every single person that has ever been loved by him. His house is as simple as he is, and he decided to welcome me and share his life, his birthday, and his cake. He treated me as a friend, and let me ask as many questions as I wanted to.
As I prepare to tell them I’m leaving, I notice the TV volume is slightly lower. The twins are sat together, Jake sleeping on Josh’s shoulder. I wave goodbye as I leave, trying not to make too much noise. Jake is wearing his new sweater.
By the time you are reading this, Jake Kiszka has already read it twice. He admits that he loves the sweater.
