Veridia\’s Deena Jakoub talks Winter Jam, Inseparable EP, full length debut and more
March 19, 2015
Each year Winter Jam not only features some of the biggest names in Christian music, but also some of the newest acts as well. One of the most successful bands to jump on the scene in the last year has been Veridia- whose debut EP- Inseparable– released last year and saw the band on tours with bands like Red, Demon Hunter and now, Winter Jam.
Before this year’s Winter Jam tour, the band embarked on Winter Jam’s West Coast tour, which runs in the fall every year.
[Winter Jam’s East Coast tour] feels like it’s much bigger. I think the arenas are a little larger and it’s just been awesome,” explains singer Deena Jakoub. “There really is no huge comparison other than that. It’s just been a really great experience getting to know people backstage and offstage. It’s just been awesome.”
Inseparable, which released February 25 of last year, reached no. 4 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart as well as no. 17 on the Christian charts. The lead single, “We Are the Brave” hit no. 1 on the charts and the follow-up singles- “Disconnected” and “Furious Love” are also climbing the charts. Not only that, but they recently celebrated just 50 shows together as a band.
“It’s just been really surreal because we’ve kind of just done everything backwards from the very beginning,” explains Jakoub. “We had a band before we had a name and then we released an EP before we ever played a show. So I guess it’s just like I said, we just did everything backwards. After a year, just a couple of weeks ago we celebrated playing our fiftieth show, which seems crazy.
“We’re still new and still just excited every day that even one of our songs could encourage somebody else. That’s what we work for,” says Jakoub.
Writing Inseparable was all about the journey from where they started to where they are now. Jakoub and guitarist Brandon Brown were in a previous band- Don’t Wake Aislin while the rest of the band- Trevor Hinesle (guitar) and Kyle Levy (drums) – had a journey to Veridia as well.
“All four of us in general made a lot of changes and transitions, even Kyle moved from Indiana to Nashville. We really just wanted to remind ourselves that we weren’t alone in this,” explains Jakoub. “Not just in our changes, and in our certain situations but in life in general, and also to remind our fans and whoever listens to us that you’re not alone no matter what your situation is no matter what is going on in your life, that we’re literally called to live in community, we’re called to lift each other up, we’re called to burdens and not do this thing alone and that’s kind of where the title Inseparable came from and our very first song that we [wrote]. “We Are The Brave” that’s kind of our anthem for that in general.”
Though they’ve all been in previous bands, nothing could compare for the level of success Veridia has had. Some bands just jump in and think way into the future while others tend to just take things one day at a time- and that’s what Veridia is doing.
“Even if we have a vision for what we hope this will turn in to one day, it really is just a day at a time and just taking every opportunity with a grateful heart and just being excited with everything that we’ve been given,” elaborates Jakoub. “It has been, with lack of better words, just exciting, and we’re looking forward to seeing what will come from it. It’s surreal to see how much has happened in just a year and we can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.”
So, with an EP out- one that’s been as successful as Inseparable, naturally fans are going to want a full-length as soon as possible. Jakoub says they may not have to wait very long, though.
“We’ve actually been working on it for a little while,” says Jakoub. “We’ve been writing and writing. We’re hoping we’ll hit the studio in April or May to start the first two songs. We’re just continually writing and thinking concept-wise, so it’s coming!”
-Reggie Edwards
Stream the entire interview here: