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O&A: From when you were first starting-and struggling all those years-to when it finally hit, how does it look 20 years later? So, the time actually was well-spent, but it certainly didn’t feel that way when I was coming along. ?īy the time I actually had a record deal, I had developed real chops as a producer, enough so that a lot of my demos became songs on the first record, and I got to produce my first record. There was always a revolving set of musicians and trying to get studio time, with year in and year out, nothing to show for it-except that I was constantly developing as a songwriter and a producer. Jenkins: Yeah, it does simplify it, because I spent years trying to get bands together to no avail. But that really is the story behind the band, isn’t it? Or is that oversimplifying it? O&A: In a way, it’s kind of a trope: the starving musician who scores a hit album and suddenly becomes famous. 11, show at The Queen, Jenkins, who is now 53, spoke to us about those early days, about the music business right now, and his metaphysical take on the spirit of the season. In advance of Third Eye Blind’s Wednesday, Oct. “That was always my mindset, and I was always surprised when anything other than that happened.” “I come from the DIY, indie ethos,” he says. “Semi-Charmed Life,” “Jumper,” and “How’s It Going to Be,” all hit the Top Ten, and the album itself remained on Billboard Hot 100 for two years. That special spaghetti dinner was surely on the menu the night the band signed its deal with Elektra Records, which led to a debut album that not only drastically changed the trajectory of Third Eye Blind, but featured songs that would define the late ‘90s.
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“Spaghetti dinners were for special occasions only!” “Ramen noodles,” Jenkins says with a laugh. It was years of struggling with little income, making do on coffee during the day and lots of cheap spaghetti dinners. Living in a shared apartment in San Francisco with other struggling 20-somethings, he had dropped out of graduate school to pursue a full-time career as a musician. It’s a word and a concept that comes up again and again during a phone interview with Stephan Jenkins, Third Eye Blind’s co-founder, lead vocalist, and force majeure.Īs Jenkins explains, whether it’s older fans going all-in with the band’s newer music, or newbies discovering the band’s hits from the ‘90s, he’s overjoyed that there are enthusiastic and engaged listeners out there who enable the band to continue to play, tour, and record new music.Ī little more than two decades ago, such a dream seemed unattainable for Jenkins.