South Jordan -

A new, fresh American band is  already setting social networking sites of Myspace and Facebook alight with buzz of excitement.  These guys have a  sound that is interesting, fresh, entertaining with meaningful and emotive lyrics are gaining  them an ever expanding fan base,   today,  I introduce you to South Jordan'  

The band is made up of Michael David Hall, the sexy hunksome fella on lead vocals, whose voice is husky, deep and breathy and so packed with emotion.   Next up is   Bobby Campbell who plays piano and guitar. And also writes the emotive, raw, authentic songs with Michael.    Mike Chan hails from Kuala Lumpur as is the bands happy synth master,    David Witucki from South Bend takes on the  bass and also provides the harmonious backing vocals.  Finally finishing off this five piece nicely is  appealing Evan Chapman  on the drums.

Drawing from many influences,  these young guys come together to make music with passion, honesty and power.   Here in an exclusive interview,  Michael David Hall,  SoJo's front man and enigmatic lead singer talks openly to Jason Shaw.

Michael,  you've got a lovely fresh and exciting  sound,   can you fill me in on the background,   how  was  South Jordan formed?  

SoJo formed 2 years ago when I met Bobby and Mikey through a mutual friend. Bobby and I were both writing our own music, and when the 3 of us sat down and jammed we just clicked. There was a lot of chemistry in our sound - it felt right.

Where did the name  'South Jordan' come from?

We've lived on South Jordan Avenue here in Bloomington for 3 years now. We came up with the idea at Hooters .... yea.... haha.

You've got over 15,000 fans on Facebook, nearly double that on Myspace, are you surprised at how popular you are?

We're always surprised at how far the music has reached. It's an amazing feeling to have all this support from people over the internet.   And its even better when we finally get to meet our internet friends at live shows.

Are you signed to a record company?

No record deal yet. We are going to New York City from May 18th till the 22nd - While we're there we will be performing privately for a few of the biggest labels. We're very excited for that shot.

Wow,  that's really exciting,  good luck with that,  but,    What's the  best for you, doing videos, recording in the studio or performing live?

All of those are very different things. We've really started to love our live shows.. we've come a long way with our sound and our performance is getting better. The acoustic videos we've made (which can be found on YouTube here) can take a while to nail down - When we are filming those it can get stressful sometimes because we want the product to be as perfect as possible.

Oh  that video for Firefly is really  great, who directed it? Looks like it had a big budget?

Thanks so much - Dark Hound directed that video. The budget for that production was a whopping zero (0) dollars.

They are an amazing group of students at Indiana University who have put all their time into making movies outside of school. We're so grateful that we got the chance to make a video with them... really grateful. It's amazing that they made that product without a budget.

See the video for Firefly here.

Where do you draw your influences from?

People think that this is a basic question... it's extremely hard to answer this correctly for me. Bono and Chris Martin (coldplay) are so good at being frontmen for their bands....I like to study them. I love to watch those two men work their audience. I hope to one day control a stage like that.

If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Any album by The Beatles. Those men wrote the best songs that will ever be written.

What's the writing process like for you Michael? Do you  sit and create, bouncing ideas of each other?

Bobby and I usually bounce ideas off of one another. We're the two songwriters in South Jordan.   I'll send him a hook or idea and 9 out of 10 times it will be turned down. But the one he likes will be the one that our fans will love. And vice versa

What song are you most proud of?

I am currently writing a song about my sister , Aubrey. When that song is finished it will be one of my finest works. It means an awful lot to me

I can't wait to hear it.   The songs  you do are all really powerful,  so full of raw emotion, they have the ability to really move people, do you find they are easy to write?

haha.   Definitely not easy. Bobby and I are both relatively new as songwriters........we've both been writing for 3 or 4 years and it's always a challenge to say what we really want to say. One of the hardest things about the POP music genre is that the songs are supposed to be immediately understood. We'd like to play with these radio boundaries in the future. We want to challenge our listeners to think

What's the story behind the song Forever?

Bobby and I wrote that song out in NYC with a very successful producer named Kyle Kelso. We knew while recording the demo that that song was special. Its got a positive vibe and a catchy chorus that people love to sing along to.

Fatal Flaw feels very authentic, very honest, was this a personal tale of unrequited desire? Whats the meaning?

Bobby wrote that tune. It's about a girl that worked in a coffee shop that he kept on going to see. (very attractive brunette) She was a tease, led him into thinking she was interested. The best part of the whole thing is that she has no clue that that song is about her and she's definitely heard it before.

Ok, so let's take a look at the future now, what's next in the pipeline for South Jordan?

I think we'll get a record deal within the next 6 months to a year. And if/when that happens we're going to party very hard for a day or two with our closest friends and our families.   But when the partying is over things will have to get really serious. We'll have to work even harder to keep the snowball rolling.

Personally,  I somehow don't think you'll have to wait long before that deal is offered,  but  where would you hope to be in,  say,  5 years time?

I hope to be with my band. I hope music works out so I can help support others in need and hold a positive influence. Thats my biggest goal.

What's the best thing & worst thing about being in South Jordan?
Touring is such a good excuse to eat McDonalds!!  we pound hamburgers like its nobodies business!

The best thing is that I am living my dream.

The worst thing that could happen is a total loss of my own privacy. But one day I will try and use that to my advantage and be a great influence.

Ok, Michael,  let's get a lil bit more  personal now, 

What makes you tick, what really is the inspiration in your life?

I feel incredibly grateful for my family and my best friends.    Most of the time when i'm sitting around with my dad I feel like Mufasa is talking to me.   My dad is the strongest man I will ever know.

I am inspired by love. I think technology and society is distracting us from what really matters   -    family, best friends, the earth.


We spend too much of our time looking into computer screens and texting while we should be running around outside and having real conversations with people face to face.

Haha,  hippies don't have to have dreads i guess. That is what i truly believe

Are you romantically involved with anyone at the moment? Or are you too busy to look for love?

Haven't had a girlfriend in a while. It's kinda hard when you're on the road with guys all day and you don't have a girl to call.

I think all the guys in South Jordan want a girl. But we are climbing a musical mountain right now and life is very hectic between school and touring.

You're a young good looking guy, did you know you're already starting to build a sizable gay fan base? How do you feel about that?

Thank you very much. I am very flattered when anyone thinks I am attractive.

What's your view on th the fight for equality and gay marriage?

I think it's sad we live in a "free" country that degrades minorities. It's a joke that politics have any say in whether or not two people can be married.

So,  would  SoJo ever play live at a gay pride event?

Haha that's definitely not our typical venue.. but I dont see any reason why we wouldnt

Any message you want to give our readers?

I strongly hope that those who give South Jordan a chance will be pleased with our music and our message. We're a very young band but we're growing so much,  and the support we get is the fuel we use to keep getting better.

Ok, now, I always end an interview with a little request, so Michael, go on, tell us a secret?

I legit knew I wanted to sing by the time I was 6 - because all those disney studs were getting the hottest babes by the end of the movies because they all had great voices

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I'm sure it's Michael's gonna be the one getting a lot more 'babes' in the not too distant future.  I'm also very sure that it's not going to be long before we'll hear and see a lot more of South Jordan in the mainstream.  If you take a little time to  listen to their music, I'm sure you'll agree,  these young guys have a big future ahead of them.   A record deal is almost certainly just around the corner, which I can hardly wait for,  I'd also like to thank Michael for his openness and honestly during this interview, it's great to feel the passion.   


For more information on Michael and the other boys from South Jordan please visit  their website www.SouthJordanMusic.com   or  join in the fun of the Facebook fan page they have,   Facebook.com/SouthJordan   as Michael says  "It's  the most important site for us because we can interact with everyone that visits"  and they do try to answer and reply to all the comments they get.


Jason Shaw

Jason's very own interlude in this thing called life can be found on his daily slice of cake from England's south coast - The Seafront Diaries!

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