REAGAN JOHNSON | Go Venue Magazine

On Tuesday, August 19th, I got to sit down and talk with Jason Null, founding member of Saving Abel, and the band’s new vocalist, Randy Webb.

The band is gearing up to begin their tour in October of this year. This will be Webb’s first official tour as Saving Abel’s lead vocalist.

Reagan Johnson: First off, I wanted to ask Randy, how long have you been with Saving Abel now?

Randy Webb: Not very long. Officially, I think June, so just a couple of months.

RJ: But you guys have played shows together, right?

RW: Jason and I have played shows together in another band. This tour coming up is our first. This is our first run, you know, with everybody, everything, all the other members of Saving Abel.

RJ: Jason, I wanted to ask, how did you guys meet Randy, and how did you decide to bring him on board with Saving Abel?

RW: My good looks. Haha.

Jason Null: I produced Randy’s band One Day Alive, and then did some writing with him and the guys on the record. Then I actually got drafted to go out and play some guitar with them, and we just became buddies. I’m friends with the drummer in One Day Alive. We used to do, well, we still do business together in other venues, but it was pretty simple to pick Randy. He was here. He was excited about doing it. He can sing, and he fits in with us, if that makes sense. Like I know I can see kind of foreshadowing of what’s happening on the bus. A year from now, I can see us all getting along pretty good together. Randy really sold me on the One Day Alive tour, though, when we would cover a couple of Saving Abel songs. And I thought he just did a fantastic job.

RW: Aw, that’s sweet, J, thanks.

RJ: Good looks go a long way, too, I’ve heard.

RW: Good looks go a very long way. I think, like Jason said, a lot of it’s familiarity, you know. Me being out on that last tour, I could definitely see where, if you’ve been in the business a long time, you’ve got the experience that those guys have, that that’s probably one of the first things you look at. Like, man, can I tour with this person?

JN: That’s 90% in my experience over the past twenty years of how well you’re going to function as one unit is how well you’re going to get along with the other guys. Most people will say it’s like being married, but it’s that times ten. It gets pretty intense, out there especially, especially if you know you’ve been on a six-month run or something, tour after tour, and you haven’t seen home. It really helps if everybody’s kind of on the same wavelength as far as their headspace and everything.

RJ: Have you guys started rehearsals yet for the tour?

RW: We start pre-production in August, right?

JN: Yes, we will start pre-production on the first of October, and we’ll be preparing to pack up the gear and put it in the trailer and head off to our show.

RJ: Do you guys know the opening acts for the tour yet that fans can look forward to?

RW: We’re not going out with any dedicated support for this tour. So usually, what happens on most of the shows is the venues bring in their regional artists there, and they’ll come out and open. You know, you never know. Every now and then, you might have somebody get put on the bill, depending on the promoters and the booking agencies.

JN: Okay, I can give you a little hint of something sort of special. We’re going to be bringing out Brandon Jordan with us. He’s the new upcoming Southern rock slash country artist that our guitar player has worked with pretty closely over the past two years. He’s going to come out with us, and I think we’re going to have him and Bartlett do a couple of his songs acoustically, and probably even on stage for one of Abel’s songs, too. So there’ll be a little something special going on there.

RW: That’s awesome, I didn’t even know that. Surprise!

RJ: Are there any new, up and coming acts that you’re really into?

RW: I’m usually a connoisseur of that. I always seem to get into bands before everybody hears about them. But right now, I’ve been so focused on this material. I haven’t, probably, for the last two months or so, even listened to anything. I haven’t streamed anything or, like, turned on anything other than Saving Abel.

RJ: That’s understandable, doing your research.

JN: I’ve been into some of the what I’m calling nostalgic bands, like Dirty Honey. That’s one of them. Tempest is another one. There are several of them out there. The Rival Sons. I think they’re really doing music justice. They were not publicized, you know, like a new pop or rock hit might be. Like Blackberry Smoke and bands like that, we just kind of loved right out of the gate. But anyway, those bands that I’m referring to, they’re kind of in that genre, but they’re pushing the limit of familiarity. Some of them have this 70s-ish and 80s-ish pop-rock vibe to them. I think it’s really cool. I threw out a couple of names; everyone should check those out.

RW: There’s a band that’s a little different than those. Right before I came into Saving Abel, and would have the, you know, have had the Saving Abel headphones on. They’re called Thousand Below. I think they were  just put on the test drive. Those guys are going to be, I think they’re going to be like the next Bad Omens kind of band.

RJ: I asked some fans that I know what they would like to ask you guys. One of the big questions that everybody wanted to ask is, what are your musical influences in Saving Abel?

JN: You know, I can’t really pinpoint — So I love music. It is such a huge part of my life. I can tell you a couple of records that I’d bring if it was the “alone on a deserted island” type thing. I would want ACDC’s Back in Black, and I would want Prince’s Purple Rain. I would want Johnny Cash’s anything he did with Rick Rubin, you know, unplugged style. My mom is 80-something now, so I got all of that 50s and 60s Elvis and Beatles, all the way up into the country side like Willie Nelson and Glen Campbell and all this stuff. And then Randy probably did this too. I came up and I got my joy from music, really, around the early 80s. Or mid-80s there, I liked Poison, what they call the hair rock bands. Then we shifted into the Seattle scene. I love Candlebox. That’s one of my favorite bands out of there. Of course, FTP and all those bands that came along. There was a part where I just kind of reverted back, and I just went and listened to all that stuff that my mom and my brother listened to when I was growing up. Bad company, again, the Beatles and everything. So it’s way too — That would be like asking me what my favorite guitar is, you know.

RW: I was in more of an Alice in Chains era. That was definitely — Like Alice in Chains was a big one for me and bands like that. I was a big fan of the band Cold. Still am. They were always a big — For writing, you know, like learning melodies and things. I always loved the way he approached what he did with guitars, with the vocal melodies. I always thought it was really unique. So I was always a big Cold fan.

RJ: It looks like you guys have 14 tour dates right now. Do you plan on announcing any others? And do you have any plans to get into the studio?

RW: Both.

JN: We just came into the studio and threw down a track. It was kind of like one of those things where we were invited to be featured on a track. Hopefully, that’ll come out before the end of the year, and then the studio will be the first thing we try to do before we fire back up in the new year.

RJ: That’s exciting news!

JN: Yeah, that’s the best part about it. Creating the music and hearing it come to life.

RJ: I look forward to hearing it. I’m hoping that you guys will have some future dates around Kansas or Omaha.

JN: They’re coming. Yes ma’am.

RW: Around probably spring, maybe.

RJ: That’ll come right up. Before we wrap up, would you guys like to share anything else with the fans?

RW: Yeah, man, we’ve had a turbulent past year with Saving Abel. You know, we just appreciate everybody supporting us still, and hanging by us. We’re looking forward to getting out and reconnecting with everybody, playing some shows, and having a good time from the start of the tour to spring.

JN: Yeah, I would like to get a sentiment out there, if it wasn’t for the fans reaching out to us in all kinds of ways and letting us know that they understand the predicament we have been in, and they’re here for us. That’s meant more than anything, I think, to me. So we are really excited about getting back to the road and reconnecting. And of course, all the other stuff. Playing live, writing, recording. One of the most enjoyable things and rewarding things is getting back out there with the people who have been to five, ten, fifteen, or twenty shows over the past 10 years.

RW: Yeah, I think there’s a lot of extra special feeling behind these shows coming up for this year.

After chatting, I can confirm that the guys in Saving Abel are just down-to-earth music lovers who want to create and share the love of their craft with fans new and old.

Be sure to catch Saving Abel in a city near you! The band’s official website link, along with upcoming show dates, can be found here. https://savingabel.us/#tour-dates

Randy Webb is now managed by Vinyl Destination Artist Management’s Shawn Flaherty. The link below can be used for inquiries. https://www.vdartistmgmt.com/

Courtesy of Saving Abel
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