A Dirty Dozen with BARRY THOMAS and JONATHAN PALMER from LOVE JONES – May 2026

Photo credit: Jonathan Palmer

According to a recent press release: “After more than three decades orbiting just outside the mainstream, Love Jones return with The Greatest Show On Earth — their first new album in years and a reminder that not all reinventions need to be loud to be meaningful. For a band that once moved effortlessly between Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Entertainment Tonight, and an early opening slot for art-metal gods Tool — while also landing in the cult film Swingers — Love Jones have always existed in their own lane. Too stylish for indie rock, too offbeat for adult contemporary, and too sharp to fade into nostalgia, they built a following that never fully disappeared — it just waited. With longtime members Barry Thomas, Ben Daughtrey, Chris Hawpe, Jonathan Palmer and Todd Johnson, joined by an expanded ensemble including The Bad Ass Brass and a cast of trusted collaborators, the band sounds as cohesive and confident as ever.” We get Barry and Jonathan 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?

Barry: We spent significantly more time developing these songs while isolated over Covid.  We usually write pretty fast, but these songs really developed over time as we were inspired by and fed off the additional instrumentation we have now.  Keyboards and a three-piece horn section.

Jonathan: For me, this album is about good vibes. It was created out of a need to get together a make music during a dark time, the pandemic. And it’s not as if things have gotten that much better in the world. That’s why we need life affirming music. The positive you-can-do-it energy on songs like “The Greatest Show” and “When We Are Free” is pretty straightforward, but even songs like “PKD,” which is about the science fiction legend Phillip K. Dick, or “Looking for Diamonds,” which is on the surface about a waitress at a chain restaurant, are filled with positive reinforcement. That’s kind of always been our thing: sublime songs that also make you feel good about being alive. Or something like that.

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

Barry: Both of my older brothers were very active musically while I was growing up.  There were always instruments around….PLUS my parents had great taste in music. I grew up listening to Bossa Nova, Jazz, Soul and Pop music and I’ve always been influenced by 60’s and 70’s music.

Jonathan: I was a washout as a young violin player. The Suzuki method just didn’t take. But I always liked singing. And writing about music. And writing poems, which I did a lot in high school. When the punk and hardcore movements began coalescing in Louisville in the ’80s, I befriended many musicians, including Ben from our band, through attending local shows. That continued in college at Syracuse. Eventually, some friends and I decided to give it a shot. I became the lead singer of a band by virtue of my ability to carry a tune. All those years of middle school choir and singing in church paid off, I guess.

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

Barry: Stan Getz, Louis Prima and Ray Charles.  The Louis Prima album The Wildest and the Getz / Gilberto albums stand out. Ben and I bonded over Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 initially.

Jonathan: I could name a million artists, albums, and songs that drove me. I’m grateful to my dear Mom, who recently passed, who got me hooked on vocal soul music early on. I spent hours learning the harmony parts on Stylistics and Spinners albums. Later on, as a teen when I first saw The Replacements live, I felt like they were doing something I could do. I was also massively inspired by the wild performances of early Beastie Boys and Public Enemy, how they provoked the crowd while also starting a party. As far as what I’m about as a songwriter and music maker, my north star since I was a kid has been ABBA. Benny’s melodies, the distinctive vocal blend of Agnetha and Anni-Frid, and above all, the masterful lyrics of Bjorn, probably my favorite lyricist of all time. Best pop band of all time, and best outfits.

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

Barry: Jimmy Webb or Burt Bacharach.

Jonathan: Carly Rae Jepsen. Such a sharp and catchy songwriter, and her lyrical wit is so underappreciated. She’s got that fantastic purr of a voice. And she’s all about good vibes!

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

Barry: I restore furniture, and work on my house.  Boring as it is.

Jonathan: Hikes. I live in Los Angeles, the urban hiking capital of the world. Griffith Park, the Santa Monica Mountains, or a drive out to desert. It’s the best place for me to find peace and creative inspiration. I try to find a trail in any city I find myself in.

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?

Barry: Our albums are like mixtapes because we love changing styles. We show our influences, but the music isn’t derivative of older styles or bands.  It’s amazing how many bands or artists listeners compare us to.

Jonathan: We make upbeat, catchy soulful pop to sing along to, with lyrics just smart enough to give you something to think about, but also just dumb enough to turn off your brain. I don’t spend a lot of time disagreeing with what anyone else thinks of what we do. We tended to get called a lounge band early in our careers, which was mostly a result of us marketing ourselves that way. We certainly have some loungey vibes, but we are more than that. We contain multitudes!

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?

Barry: We have spent a lot of time at cook outs and going to the Drive In together.  We’re friends first.

Jonathan: Ben is probably the best cook. Barry is the most fond of swizzling up a craft cocktail. Chris and Todd definitely get their guitars out and start the music. I’m just happy to be there. Just don’t make me clean up after.

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

Barry: Madchen Amick, whom I met, and Jennifer Connelly, who I stood next to at a bar once… and couldn’t speak.

Jonathan: Honestly, too many to count. I’m grateful to have met some of my favorite artists over the course of a long career. On the music side, I met Thomas Dolby at one of his shows a couple of years ago. Such a lovely guy, and definitely an inspiration to me. Very nice guy. I also met the author Ann Patchett at her bookstore Parnassus Books in Nashville. One of my favorite authors and she could not have been cooler. Writers are stars to me.

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?

Barry: Writing music.  It’s incredible to create something out of thin air and then watch people sing along in concert.

Jonathan: Making music that makes people happy. I think I’d have to do something that brings people joy. Maybe I’d open a bookstore. That’s a great way to get rich, right?

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?

Barry: Does your talent and great looks come from your mother’s side or your father’s? Conversely, “Did anyone ever tell you you look like Drew Carey?”

Jonathan: We live in challenging times. So why don’t songwriters create more protest songs, or write more about serious things? I think the answer is, sadly, that most people don’t want to get that deep. On the question I’m tired of answering? I’m up for anything.

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?

Barry: We had a TV pilot developed around the band, and read for the head honchos at Fox, but it didn’t go any further.

Jonathan: I’m not given to regrets. I believe in the butterfly effect, or “sliding doors,” whatever you want to call it. You go back and change one thing and it potentially ruins everything else. That said, I wish I had made more of meeting Babyface back in the day. I don’t think I was very articulate. Or sober.

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?

Barry: So many.  Just being in the room for any Beatles recording, and Beach Boys recordings, and Astrud Gilberto or Serge Gainbourg recordings.

Jonathan: I always wanted to go to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. It’s been closed for years, but so many great albums made there by Chris Blackwell, Brian Eno and many others. Legendary stuff. Grace Jones. The Stones. AC/DC. Talking Heads. But I think the most fun project would have been the first Tom Tom Club album. What a lineup. Sly and Robbie. Adrian Belew. Chris and Tina in their element. That album sounds like a party, and it certainly soundtracked many of mine in my younger days. I would have loved to have added some backing vocals.

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Category: Interviews