A Dirty Dozen with JARED ROHDE from COUNTERPUNCH – June 2022

Photo credit: Katie Hovland

According to a recent press release: “Chicago’s melodic punk rock darlings Counterpunch return with Rewire, their long-awaited follow-up LP to 2014’s acclaimed Bruises. Delivering a patented blend of potent harmonies and showcasing exactly what they do best, ‘Rewire’ ushers in a new era for the punk rock stalwarts. Counterpunch is a four piece powerhouse that has been bringing their own catchy brand of melodic punk rock since 2004.” We get Jared to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Rewire is our newest album. If your are a fan of melodic hardcore, punk/thrash, skatepunk and big anthemic chorus this album is for you. This album is pretty straight forward but a cool little nugget would be the intro bells you hear in the song “Judgement Day.” The audio you hear was taken on my phones voice recorder while walking through the streets of Dresden Germany while on tour. We stayed at a hotel in the town square and one morning I was walking around and the sound of the bells was so beautiful. I felt compelled to capture the sound. Randomly we added in the mixing process and it fit perfectly.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I was always drawn to music as a child. I have vivid memories of hanging out with my grandfather in the summers. He purchased a top 40 hits of the 1950’s cassette. It had Elvis, Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers, and so may hits. I leaned every word and would sing them all the time. I was about 5 or 6 years of age. When I was in eighth grade my older brother who was high school age had a band that would play in my parents basement. They would take breaks and  I would run downstairs and pick up the guitars and strum trying to figure out how to play. One of my brothers friends showed me how to play a power chord and the rest is history.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Oh yeah there are a lot. But I would say Bad Religion hold the candle as far as my biggest influence.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Brett Gurewitz as a writer his lyrics have always moved me. His melodies are a thing of beauty. I’ve come to understand he does a lot of the backing oohs and ahhs and I do a lot of that on our albums.  It would be a dream to work on a song and collaborate with Mr. Brett.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

I became a dad last year. My free time is spent with my family. We love to go on hikes, bike rides and play at the pool.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I would say for fans of Rise against NOFX and Bad Religion. Anytime someone alludes to me being in a band as a rockstar is very cringe worthy. A lot of our every day is spent sitting around in clubs with weird smelling green rooms, sleeping on floors, not showering for days. Sure we get to do rad stuff all over the world but it’s far from glamorous.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Eric makes the drinks and food. I eat the food an drink the drinks. Kyle busts out the guitar and Jim posts the memes.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I have met a lot of my musical hero’s I don’t ever think of felt star struck. Meeting and parting with Fat Mike was cool from what I remember, lol.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Best part of being a musician is getting to be creative with my best friends. We are so fortunate to get to do what we do and take the music to the people. Dream job would be a voice actor.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

The question “why is Counterpunch the greatest band on the planet and how did you get to be so great?”  To that I would answer “Just listen“ lol. I don’t have a question that bugs me. I’m seriously grateful to anyone who takes time to find out more about Counterpunch.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Can’t think of any missteps. But there is still time 😉

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Weezer Pinkerton. It’s an incredible album that has stuck with since it’s release. I would have loved to watch all of those songs come together in the studio.

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Category: Interviews