IN THE SPOTLIGHT: joan

With an upbeat sound featuring layers of different instruments and rhythms, it’s hard to stop listening to joan. joan, a duo hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas, features the charisma and musical talents of Alan Benjamin Thomas (vocals, guitar) and Steven Rutherford (vocals, drums). They released their first single, “take me on,” followed by a few more, which led up to their debut EP portra on July 11, 2018. Not only have they supported artists such as courtship., COIN, Alice Merton, Geographer, and Jeremy Zucker, they have taken the stage at festivals including Great Escape (Brighton and Hove, England), Westward (Vancouver, Canada), and Reeperbahn (Hamburg, Germany).

joan recently wrapped up a tour supporting half•alive, treating NYC to a memorable set at Mercury Lounge on January 24. Minutes ahead of the show, Alan and Steven generously shared some of their time and thought to chat about their beginnings, the making of portra, and the toppings the “joan” pizza would feature; they also posed for a few portraits.

UPCOMING SHOWS: February 27 & February 28 (w/The Aces) | The Bowery Ballroom

What’s the story behind the formation of joan?

ALAN: We both went to the same school (the same college), but at different times. I’m a little older than him, and we were both at a place with different projects where the bands were having moderate success. We weren’t really going for it, in other words. He had just graduated, and I was doing music full-time and licensing music. He was like, “Let’s get together and write.” It happened, and the first day, we actually wrote the first single we ended up releasing, “take me on.” We reminisce a lot remembering that day when we texted each other after the writing session and we were both like, “This is a band.” It just felt too right and special between us to not try.

What was the first instrument (musical or non-musical) you started making music with?

ALAN: Drums for me. I was a drummer first.

STEVEN: I did piano lessons first, and then I did guitar. And then I did drums. That’s where I stopped.

ALAN: I was the exact opposite. There was drums, then guitar, and then piano. Keys are still pretty new to me.

Which song (released or unreleased) are you most proud of?

STEVEN: I’m really proud of “i loved you first” from portra, the EP. I’m also really stoked about a song called “One More Touch” we’re releasing in the spring at some point.

ALAN: I would probably say the same thing. The new ones we’re about to release over the next 6-8 months I think are our best stuff.

You released your debut EP, portra, on July 11, 2018. What was the process of writing, recording, and producing it?

ALAN: We started releasing singles at first, and then we kind of got to a point we felt we had the right culmination of songs plus one or two extras to throw on it to make it one single offering. We started writing at the end of 2016, started releasing in 2017, and didn’t release the EP until the middle of last year. So it was about a year and a half of work. We have a ton more songs on Dropbox, but what we felt ready to release was that.

STEVEN: As far as production and writing, we were in his studio (a little room in his house), and we would spend all day there when we were home. He would work on production stuff, and I would work on lyrics usually. We mostly do everything on our own in Little Rock, and we’ll bring people along to help finish out. Our plan whenever we started was to release a single every once in a while we were working, and then the more we released singles, the more we were like, “Oh, this is something. It all needs to be released together as a thing.”

While on the road, what are some of your essential tour items?

ALAN: We have a pour over coffee kit that has its own waterproof case (I don’t know if it’s actually waterproof), but that goes everywhere. Steven is the master of pour over. The drives aren’t like crazy; we have early mornings, so we can chill and lazily get up and make coffee before we have to jet. That’s probably the number one. We have Nintendo Switches that we bring around, and we all play Fortnite and other games. We’re definitely not the go out and party type; right when the show is done, we go to the hotel, in bed, Fortnite, and sleep. That’s pretty much the routine. We sometimes eat McDonald’s.

What happens before you go onstage? Is there a joan pre-show ritual?

ALAN: I just get nervous every time, is that a ritual?

STEVEN: It depends because like this show tonight, Austin is playing first. We’ll then put all our stuff up, and by the time we’re done, it’s like, “Oh, it’s our time to play.” Right whenever we’re about to play because we’re support for the most part right now, we have to hustle to get everything together.

ALAN: Not until you’re headlining on tour, it’s tough to get into rhythm because you’re at mercy with the schedule. It keeps us on our toes.

What’s your favorite food and/or restaurant in NYC? Any places back home in Little Rock?

ALAN: Good question. Back home is easy. When we’re writing at my house, there’s a coffee shop down the road called The Meteor, and they have the best sandwich I’ve ever had in my entire life called The Zell. It has turkey, apple, and fig jam, and they serve it with jalapeño chips. I get a fresh, on tap sparkling water. You couldn’t ask for more. On tour, we do like Jimmy John’s.

STEVEN: In New York, we’ve never gone to the same place. We love pizza, so we pretty much get pizza every time we’re here. We also love ramen, and the ramen here is really good.

ALAN: We don’t have good ramen at home, so when we can, we try to get great ramen.

If there were a pizza with the name “joan,” what toppings would it feature?

ALAN: I can tell you my toppings, and then you [Steven] can add your toppings, and maybe it will be a conglomeration.

STEVEN: Just a huge, nasty pizza.

ALAN: I would put pepperoni for sure, a Muenster cheese (because it’s better than all the others), and all the meats. It’d probably have salami on it, some ham on there, some Italian sausage; it would probably just be a meatza.

STEVEN: I would put chicken, banana peppers, sardines, and honey. A meat lover’s joan pizza.

ALAN: You like sardines for real?

STEVEN: Nah, I was just kidding.

Who’s your favorite superhero character, and why?

ALAN: I’m not gonna lie, I’m not super into that stuff. Growing up as a kid, I was always fascinated by the Batman movies.

STEVEN: I’m not too into it either, but I did love the idea of Venom. I thought he was super cool-looking, and I liked the fact that he was kind of a villain and kind of a hero.

What’s a question you have wanted to get asked in an interview, and what’s the response to it?

STEVEN: Alright, I’ll ask you [Alan] a question, and you answer it.

What cartoon, growing up, do you wish you were a character in?

ALAN: Do you know what show I really liked? Captain Planet. Captain Planet was a superhero whose job was to save the planet. He’d bring together fire, water, earth, and little man, and it was environmentally conscious. I freakin’ loved it. It would come on every Saturday morning, and I’d watch it.

A huge thank you to Jess for coordinating and Steven and Alan for taking the time and thought to respond to the questions!

Be sure to keep up with joan by following them on Twitter (@songsbyjoan) and Instagram (@songsbyjoan), and liking them on Facebook (/songsbyjoan)!