Jason:  Doing well, and you?

Chung Lao:  I'm good man.  Give us a little background on how Barefoot was formed, and specifically where the name “barefoot” came from. 

Jason:  Sure.  Barefoot is really a forming of 2 different bands from 2 different high schools. There's 5 of us all together: Clay (lead guitar, vocals), Matt (bass), Chris (lead singer, acoustic guitar, piano), Chris #2 ( vocals, acoustic guitar), and me, (drums, vocals) Clay, Matt, and I graduated from the same high school in Sherman, Texas and were in many bands together.  We had some funny names like Dog Alley, Slow Learner, Reigning Letters, those were some good memories.

Chung Lao:  Tell us about your other band members.

Jason:  Well, our lead singer Chris (21) likes long walks on the beach, enjoys movies........i mean........he likes.......football and ......uh.....working out........right?  :)  He's 21, and has been playing the guitar for a couple of years now.  He has a great voice and has been an awesome friend as well.  

The other Chris (21) (also the shortest one of the group....by far)  I've known Chris for about 2 years now he never fails to be one of the funniest guys I've ever met.  Very witty one, that Chris.  Amazing singer and guitar player as well.  

Clay's (22) such an amazing guitarist and great song writer as well.  He's very much a "Texas Guitarist" if you will.  He's very bluesy and puts a lot of emotion in his playing.  He's also from the great land of Sherman, Texas. 

Matt  (22)who's more know as "Fatt" (its a long story, his last name starts with an "F" so we switched the first letters of his first and last name and got "Fatt Mellonbaum"!!  Great name Matt!  Matt has to be one of the most solid bass players I know.  It's really important to me as a drummer to have a very tight rhythm section (drums and bass), and knowing that he will always be right on with the music is very comforting.    

Jason:  The sound of Barefoot is like, rap meets country, meets indian music??  No really, um....I would have to say that its a lot of influences mixed into one sound.  All of us come from such a different musical background which is great because it calls for a unique sound.  But, if I had to put it into a few words, I would say that its, Coldplay, Third Eye Blind, meets The Eagles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.  Meaning that we're rock, alternative, with a lot of 4 part harmonies.  Matt's the only one that doesn't sing because he's too busy singing random words in our ear on stage while we're playing!  :)

Chung Lao:  Describe your own background, musically.

Jason:  My background wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for my parents.  Both my mom and dad were both music majors in college and continued to be teachers for years and years.  My dad retired and my mom still teaches piano.  My dad was an orchestra director and music teacher for 30 some odd years.  All, and I mean pretty much all of my mom's side of the family were and are musicians of some kind.  Weather its piano tuners, piano players or clarinet players or singers, someone always did something musical in that family.  Family reunions were pretty crazy, needless to say.  So.........there was all kinds of music in the house all the time when I was growing up.  I started off playing the violin for about 8 years then moved on to the drums in high school.  Also, I have 3 older brothers who all play a different instrument so that helped um.......tremendously!!!

Chung Lao:  What was it about the drum set that drew you to it?

Jason:  There's just something about creating a "groove" that just never seems to get old to me.  I dunno, does that sound cheesy?  haha.  I love a good beat or groove and I wish I could dance but that unfortunately doesn't run in the family.

Chung Lao:  Describe for our viewers what it’s like to be a band member on the go.

Jason:  Um,...I've known the Simpsons for about a year now.  My connection to the Simpsons is simply this: Chris, our lead singer's dad was frat brothers with Joe Simpson at Baylor University.  Needless to say it was a pretty fortunate thing for us.  Joe is now our manager and he does such an amazing job!  

Chung Lao:  What is the title of your debut album, and what’s the ETA on its release?

Jason:  We actually don't have a title, we're still thinking.  ETA of album release is hopefully the summer.  We're at a stage right now where we don't really know when we'll be done recording the album, therefore not knowing when the release will be.  We're in Sweden right now working on the record, so soon we'll know when a release date will be.

Chung Lao:  Where can people buy your CD once its comes out?

Jason:  I would like to say that you will be able to by it at any store, but then again, its hard to say because I really don't know.  I feel safe saying that it will be sold at any store like the mall or CD stores or Wal-Mart. 

Chung Lao:  List your favorites:

A.  Food:

Italian anything...mmmmmm

B.  Car:

I like my Ferrari but some people say it looks like a Honda Civic.  haha.  I think I would just like a nice dependable car like maybe a BMW?  Is that too much to ask?     

C.  Sports Team:

Oh...don't get me started on sports.  I will be the first to tell you that I couldn't know any less about sports if I had to.  I grew up with music all around, so football on Sunday didn't really happen. :)               

ehem,,...........so, I like reading, I've just never finished a book?  Is that sad? haha       

E.  Cologne: 

 "Gravity" cologne.               

G.  Floss: 

Um, I like that one floss.....uhh what's it called??  Oh yeah.....dental floss

Oh, Come on!  Do I have to?  Ok....vanilla

Jason:  Well its definitely not their name because for some reason, with out a doubt I always forget their name the second they tell me, its weird.  The first thing I notice is probably their sense of humor.  I like some one who is cheerful and funny.  And also if you don't wear Puma shoes, I won't talk to you because you're not cool unless you have Pumas.  haha kidding :)      

Chung Lao:  My sources tell me you’ve become a pretty good chef.  Care to elaborate?

Jason:  Well here's the deal.  I lived in an apartment with the band for a couple of months and I didn't want to have Ramen noodles for every meal so I just bought a little cook book and started cooking and I've just been doing it ever since.  It's really relaxing to me for some reason. 

Chung Lao:  What is something you can’t stand in a person?

Jason:  One of the cool things about being a Christian and living a life for Christ is the influence you have on other people.  I grow everyday with my walk with God on a personal level, but it's also the way Christ shines through other people that influences me to seek Him more and more everyday.  God has given me the most awesome group of guys to be in a band with and I'm encouraged by them each and everyday.     

Chung Lao:  Does your mom approve of barefoot?

Jason:  If you call having pictures in her purse just incase some one she knows comes around as "approves", then yes she approves.  My mom is very proud of all of her kids and I couldn't ask for anything more than for her to be happy.  Love ya mom!

Jason:  It's that one guy from Australia!  He's awesome!

Jason:  My mother.  My mom might just be one of the most cheerful people I've ever known.  I really just admire her for finding happiness in everything she does.  There's never a dull moment with her.  She's always happy and excited about something.  Because Lord knows that when its all said and done, you'll ask yourself, "why did I worry about the little things in life so much and not just trust in God?"  I know that stress and anxiety can sometimes be a part of everyone's life but its when you completely trust in God that brings you to find true happiness.  I mean when I think about it, she's never been in a bad mood for more than like 5 seconds.  Thanks mom!  :)

Chung Lao:  What do you think of IndaPhatFarm.com?

Jason:  Well I would like to re-visit London.  It's such an amazing country and a very old one too.  I'm in Sweden right now and its great, I would for sure want to revisit this place.

I would love to see Italy, France, Egypt, Jerusalem.  I never thought I'd get to see the countries I have seen and that makes me want to see them all!

Chung Lao:  Ok, you’ve just had a great concert.  Sold out performance.  You’re dead tired.  You go home and have some cookies and milk, and the moment you hit the bed, you’re out.  When you wake up the next morning, you are lying on some jungle leaves, and when you look up, you see the, “Welcome to Jurassic Park” sign.  As you rub your eyes, you realize that you are bare foot.  You walk around a bit, and hear some noises.  You then come to a clearing, and before you can move 2 steps, you are surrounded by 5 Velociraptors.

Armed with nothing but your drumsticks, what do you do?