Project 814?s Declassified is a reminder of a much more pure time in music, when songs remained unfettered by studio technology and were left to stand or fall on their own merits. More often than not, the songs of Project 814 stand tall, releasing waves of positive energy and joy upon listeners, bathing the willing in a pure, hot light. Tracks such as ?The Speed Of My Life,? ?X,? and ?Episode 69 (Don?t Go In There)? provide evidence of a band with both a heart focused on the most joyful elements of the craft.

P8 bassist Jon Pomplin was kind enough to grant me an interview to talk about the band (their release is out now on Cellar Records), work on their upcoming release, and an endorsement deal with GHS Strings. For more on the band, please visit http://www.project814.com

JB: The band is about to begin work on their second album, what is it, do you think that you?ve learned between the last one and now that you intend to apply to this new project?

JP: Well we haven?t really come up with a definite title as yet. There are a few ideas floating around but we?ll have to wait and see what fits best as the recording progresses. The songs are a bit more diverse than the last CD because everyone is writing on this one. This should give a real cool vibe. I have been studying fretless bass with Dann Glenn for over a year now and my playing and composing skills are at whole new level. With the addition of the Hot Wire basses, my overall sound has expanded too. The fretless has an incredible vibe to it. It is so expressive and beautiful which will add a wonderful new element to the sound.

JB:You?re a band that does pretty much everything for yourselves. The obvious disadvantage is that it can take time away from creating music or perhaps lack of money, but what do you perceive as the advantages of your situation?

JP: Actually, there are a lot of advantages to our situation. Todd has grown the label (Cellar Records) into a major force in the industry, without giving up his vision of a record label built to help the artists, not exploit them. The ability to have total control over our destiny is a rare thing these days. Creative freedom allows us to explore our music without constraint. Granted, it can be a bit risky too. We don?t have the millions of marketing dollars available that some major acts have. Our fan base has pretty much grown from more of a grassroots approach. Because we keep a bigger part of the sales ?in house,? we can invest in our own art without having to answer to anyone but our fans.

JB: You recently inked an endorsement deal with GHS strings. What does that mean in terms of your professional life. I would imagine that it allows you a certain amount of exposure in publications, etc. What else? (And, hey, it?s pretty easy on the wallet; bass strings aren?t cheap, after all!)

JP: Yes, the exposure is a great benefit. An endorsement of this level is not something that is just handed out by either side. I?d tried all kinds of different strings for various reasons over the years but when it came down to getting exactly what I wanted, I always found myself stringing up with GHS. A little while ago, a very good friend turned me on to their Progressives and after putting a set on my Fender I just fell in love with them. Every one of my basses was immediately strung with Progressives including the fretless. I like to change my strings at the first sign of them going dead and these just never seemed to die. When I wrote to GHS to thank them for such a great product, we hit it off right away and it grew from there. I?d be lying if I said getting my strings cheaper wasn?t cool. Hell, I have 5 basses that need to be fed. But even without the endorsement, I?d still use GHS exclusively. The company really listens to the feedback from customers and goes the extra mile to make the best possible product. How many companies can you say that about? After 24 years of playing bass, I can say with absolute confidence that these are the best strings on the planet. To have a company of their stature believe in my music as I believe in their product is a great relationship that could last well into the future.

JB: What first attracted you to bass and how long was it before you figured out how it was actually supposed to be played? I ask that because, you know, I think most of us, when we?re really young, just think bass is a four string guitar.

JP: I?ve always seemed to gravitate towards the rhythmic elements of music. Tying that in with melodic qualities was interesting from the very beginning. I guess being in the groove was exciting to me. While most kids wanted to be a guitarist or the front man, I wanted to do something different than the rest of the crowd. Probably the non-conformist rebel in me. The fact that there weren?t that many bassists around was another plus ?cause I had more control over who I played with. I started with lessons as soon as I got my first bass so the proper technique was implanted right away. Through all the years of playing I have [found] there is always more to learn.

JB: Who were some of the key players for you as you were finding your way as a bassist and who were the non-bassists you tried to cop licks from?

JP: Well, early on it was McCartney, Dave Hope, Chris Squire, John Paul Jones and Geddy Lee that I really dug the most. Through the years my musical influences have changed and expanded. My first teacher introduced me to fusion, and I fell in love with it. I was amazed by Jaco, Jeff Berlin and Dann Glenn?s work. I picked up every thing Jean-Luc Ponty put out too. The melodic nature of all the bassist?s work with Jean-Luc?s violin was a wonderful inspiration. In high school, I was introduced to the incredible dynamic elements in classical music. Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner just blew me away. That is why it?s really important that the musical programs in the schools be protected from the bureaucrats. I still am finding new things that inspire me, though it?s not always musical in nature.

JB: The music on this current record is what I tend to deem ?honest? sounding: I can?t really describe it beyond that. It?s just, you know, ?real.?

JP: When we went into the studio to record the songs on this CD, the bass, lyrics and some other instruments were written but most were still works in progress. The guy took this musical sketch and played what they felt worked best for the song from their own perspective. We talked about the general themes but I wanted it left open to their own interpretation. That created a whole new work beyond what I had personally envisioned. A perfect example was the song is Speed of my Life. Todd and I finished the lyrics the day we recorded them. The verses have the guitar doing the swells and the key doing the sitar part which, I had never considered when writing the music, yet work great together. Bob created the percussion parts in the studio with just a simple bass sketch, generally the case on all the songs he played. The guitar and synth leads were totally spontaneous and added to the song the day we recorded them. The next CD will have that same approach to a certain extent, though some pieces will be a bit more structured since there are songs written by other members. I believe in capturing a moment when recording, it seems less manufactured that way.

JB: In some ways it?s an ?old? record and by that (and I mean this in the best possible way) I mean, of course, that it seems to be in the same spirit as so many early heavy rock records from bands such as Grand Funk Railroad, Blue Cheer and Mountain. Maybe it?s not so much that you sound like them but that you?ve captured some of that same spirit.

JP: That wasn?t something that was intended when I set out to do this project. As we began to put the songs together as a band it became apparent that there was a musical theme forming. I guess it?s partially a product of our own musical tastes and experiences. The music that was being created in the days when those bands were in their prime is timeless. I consider it a compliment to be compared at any level with them.

JB: What can you tell me about the writing of ?Courage, Honor, Glory??

JP: There are a lot of things in that song that can be interpreted different ways. At the time it was written, the world was a much different place. This was before 9-11 when the US was flexing its muscles in smaller conflicts that only seemed justified if it was profitable to someone. It was the end of the millennium and it seemed the use of the military had almost become a tool for corporate takeover instead of the last resort in the defense of freedom. It was easier to envision a corporate mentality dictating the use and control of the military, as in Vietnam when the powers that be micro-managed things to the point that those doing the work became disillusioned and the public ostracized those willing to fulfill their duty. In a sense I wanted to use it as a metaphorical statement about those wielding absolute power, whether in a corporation, country or extremist group. The choruses hearken back to the days when my grandfather fought and died in World War II, when the country was united in its resolve, much like these days following 9-11. Like when the generation before mine worked for a company and there was loyalty on both sides. The news is proof enough that that ideal is dead and the worker, the soldier, the middle class are all the beasts of burden so that the rich can get richer. It is also is appropriate in today's world, though from a different perspective, which is what a good song is supposed to do. A warning to those that would attack us that our resolve is strong and our power great, and to those with the power that war is a terrible thing only to be used as a last resort. When we recorded this, the mechanized vocal parts were really fun to create. We used a vocoder on it and spent hours playing around and laughing our asses off before we actually got it done.

JB: ?Cathode Ray Reflections? is another one that I?m curious about. Anything you want to say about that?

JP: Lyrically this is one of my favorite works. I wrote it right after the tragic shootings took place at Columbine high school. In fact, the entire song was written in an afternoon a couple of days later and, with the exception of one word, was never changed. At the time, the media seemed insensitive, almost hell bent on the exploitation of the situation. I had wanted to scream out ?what about the kids and their families?? I saw the whole thing as a kind of microcosm of how society could get lost in the destructive throws of self-centeredness. To be honest, even now, when I hear the line ?promise ends with a weapons blast? it moves me. I really hope that the young men and women who died that day will be remembered so that their deaths were not in vain.

JB: The lyrics on this record address some pretty large (and important) concerns and while they?re ?heavy? in some ways, I also get a sense of hopefulness from the record as a whole.

JP: I think I was a poet long before I became a musician, and I try writing about what I feel and see around me. Writing songs is somewhat spiritual in nature. I have tried to write pop tunes and failed miserably. Yes there are some pretty heavy things there but it felt right to do them. In my opinion, there is way too much candy ass pop tunes on the radio and I want more meat in my music.

JB: So, how does a band like yours survive in a time like this?

JP: Balance is the key. We have all been in the music business for a long time and have learned what the pitfalls are and how to avoid most of them. A balance between work, play and family is important. That?s one of the reasons we didn?t tour following the release of Declassified. Each of us had other obligations that had to be met first. With the current economic situation, it can become tough to keep things in perspective. It seems we have to work even harder to reach the same goals. It is a business, one we love, but a business none the less. I think we will survive because we are not doing this to get rich. We do it because we love music and feel very comfortable creating and playing it together. We treat it as work where the fans are the important element.

JB: If you were going to put together a five-item starter kit for beginning musicians, what would it include?

JP: Now that?s a very interesting question. A copy of the movie This is Spinal Tap. Well, at least for everyone except drummers. There are some real truths in there about the business. Music is supposed to be fun but if you do it for a living, it can be brutal at times. You have to be able to laugh at yourself or you will go nuts. A beginners book on reading music. It?s really important to be able to at least read the basics. Tab doesn?t count. A decent tape machine so they can listen to themselves playing their instrument. It is a great learning tool. A calendar or big clock because there is no excuse for not taking the time to practice your art. Lastly a double CD or really long cassette with some selections from a variety of musical disciplines. The point is to expose them to all kinds of different styles. Hopefully, with an open mind they may find there is something that can be learned from every form of musical expression. In that way, they may find their own muse.

JB: You have children, what do you try to teach them about music?

JP: Well, both my kids are big music lovers and are excellent writers and poets. My youngest has been taking voice lessons and the oldest plays a little guitar and drums and is quite a good photographer. They have their own tastes in music and art which I respect. I may not always like their choices, but I never try to control what they listen to. I hope they can find that art is a positive form of _expression that allows infinite possibilities. My oldest actually got me interested in some pretty cool bands and we were in crowd when Disturbed shot the video for The Sickness.

JB: Feel free to add anything that I?ve missed.