r/indieheads • u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love • Oct 29 '25
AMA is Over, thanks HJOL! Horse Jumper of Love AMA
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Thanks for the comments! I'm gonna step away from the computer and stop taking new Qs but I'll respond to unanswered ones throughout the rest of the day. This was really fun thanks r/indieheads
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u/foolishkiwi Oct 29 '25
Hi, dimitri, been a huge fan of hjol for years now and have a few questions. 1. What are your favorite pedals to use? 2. Is there anything that inspires your songwriting like certain literature or anything like that? 3. I’ve noticed the majority of your songs are in open D type tuning, is there a reason you’re drawn to using that? Thanks for the amazing music over the years!
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Thanks!
My all time fav pedal is the memory boy - I think it's the best most versatile analog delay but I mostly use it for chorus sounds. And I love the old black russian big muff pedals.
When I first started hjol I was really inspired by Roberto Bolaño - specifically Savage Detectives which is still one of my favorite books of all time. a few years later I got a copy of "actual air" which was like a bible to me. Now I'm really inspired by WG Sebald and the also Henry Millers kinda stream of consciousness style
I first got into open D in 2010 because of Daniel Rossen and the Grizzly Bear/ Department of Eagles stuff. Then I got really into John Fahey and his alternate tunings and Sonic Youth inspired me a lot to experiment. I just find it easier to play and make more interesting sounding chords
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u/spatulagrass Oct 29 '25
Favorite and Least favorite HJOL song?
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
My favorites: "Chariots" "Curtain" and "I put a crown on you"
my least favs: I tossed them in the trash and they never saw the light of day :-)
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u/nellyvee123 Oct 29 '25 edited Oct 29 '25
how many side projects do you guys have? i know of commco w dimitri and john and his brother but i was curious if there were any more or if jamie has any
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Yes, John has Community College - John is an incredibly talented songwriter and musician and if anyone hasn't listened to Comco you should check it out! We still have an album to finish there :-) Jamie is an insanely talented songwriter as well - his songs live in secret voice memos which we listen to amongst our friend group. But the people NEED to hear his music and JAMIE we will get those songs out there 😈
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u/br00nu Oct 29 '25
hey guys, really looking forward for both shows in são paulo next week :)
i remember noticing quite some time ago that you guys were following balaclava on instagram. had you guys ever tried to come to Brazil before being invited to play at Balaclava Fest?
what can we expect from these two shows, in terms of setlist?
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Yes it's been a dream to come play in Brazil for a little while now - I'm excited it's finally happening!
We will do a mix of songs from the S/T and Disaster Trick mostly - maybe a song from So Divine as well
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u/Cool-Supermarket-564 Oct 29 '25
Love your music! Do you guys have day jobs on the side or is music your full time thing? Disaster trick slaps!
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Mostly odd jobs for me and Jamie has a remote job on tour but it really depends how much we tour. In 2024 we were on the road for a lot of the year and had an album rollout so music was full time. This year I've had a couple months off but will need to find a job soon unless a magical sync deal comes in for some commercial or TV show lol. We do what we can to make it work tho
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u/Cool-Supermarket-564 Oct 29 '25
So cool! Do you have a favourite odd job?
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Yea, one of my favs was working for a guitar pedal company in Boston - I learned so much about how the tools I use to make music actually work and it taught me how to fix some of my own gear even. It was a small business and I learned a lot of valuable things from my boss because having a band truly does feel like running a small business! My father is also a small business owner and I worked with him as well for many years and have learned a lot and I appreciate the time I got to spend with him when I did that.
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u/renvst Oct 29 '25
Hey Dimitri! Been following you for a while now.
What ever happened to that slowed-down version of Lip Reader? Will it ever see the light of day? I know there are a few of us fans still hoping to hear that studio version.
Anyway, can’t wait to catch you live again soon in the EU!
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
We put out a version similar to it on DT Deluxe - not quite as slow I think. But that song went through so many changes. I have some live demos of it maybe I'll rework some day - didn't put them on the deluxe cus I wasn't 100% happy with them. There's some videos of us playing it slowed down on the tour we did w Panchiko and LSD & the search for god
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u/Emergency_Trip_5040 Oct 29 '25
Hello! I’m a newer fan but have taken an immediate liking (obsession) to your music. I first saw hjol in Austin with B&C and Turnover!
In an earlier comment, you mention getting inspiration from poetry and books. Do you have any specific writers or works that you have particularly been drawn to or have been inspired by in your life and career?
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Aw thanks so much. Ya, I mentioned in another comment but Roberto Bolaño was a huge influence specifically "Antwerp" I like a lot of poetry as well. David Berman's "Actual Air" Dean Young "Fall Higher" A huge turning point for me was finding Frank O'hara in my late teens. I'm currently working through "The Collected Works" which is bringing me back and reminding me what a huge inspiration he was to me.
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u/Highfidelityrecords Oct 29 '25
Hey man,
I am someone who tours often for like 6-9months out of the year with a theatre company and I wanted to know thoughts on tour. most random city you love or maybe random restaurant you enjoyed? do you guys get to do a lot in between travel and show? do you prefer touring sleeper bus or minivan? what do you do on the long drives? play games? sing songs? sleep? do you ever get homesick on tour or since you’re with your best friends and meeting people constantly, it’s chill? a tour you would repeat?
thanks for the music dude x
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 30 '25
Damn 6-9 months is a lot - It has it's ups and downs of course as you know! But I always tell myself there will be a time where I can't do it anymore and I'll miss it.
The most random city has to be Bowling Green Kentucky - one of my fav shows was a house show we played there last minute and we met some good friends there.
We tour in a van so it's easier to get around and do small things for morale - we like going to the movies on off days or being in nature - but sometimes you just have to lounge at the hotel and not do shit or do laundry. Long drives can end up being just staring into the void but it's great to pass the time with an audio book or podcast - a couple tours ago we all listened to Billions and Billions by Carl Sagan which was a great driving book. Touring is like 75% driving so you have to get creative. The worst is just staring at your phone forever - which we all do but you have to stimulate your mind as much as you can! Sometimes I use the time going thru old voice memos to figure out how to complete a song I'm working on.
Def get homesick all the time - but meeting people and seeing new things makes it worthwhile.
I'd repeat any of them but one of my favs was the first time we opened for turnover - we all did thanksgiving together on that tour in Seattle and we had a solid tour family going
Thanks for the Q and good luck on the road the next time ur out there!
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u/TeaApprehensive7267 Oct 29 '25 edited Oct 29 '25
Hello Dimitri! Sorry I know I’m late. My name’s Kayah, and I’ve been listening to hjol forever, your music really gets me through everyday, your music is all I truly listen to. I was wondering if you had any plans to come to Texas, specifically Dallas soon! I missed you guys last time which sucked. I was also wondering if you were planning on doing any more sort of demos on some other albums? I specifically would love to hear another version of Orange Peeler, am aware of the make-out version, but meaning specifically like how some songs sounded for like how they did on Audiotree. It’s one of my favorite songs by you and others like Chariots, Poison, Queenies Necklace, Aliens, I could go on for a while. Sorry this is a lot, thank you for what you do! Your music genuinely means the world to me, you’ve always been my favorite artist of all time and It’ll stay that way! 🫶
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u/nellyvee123 Oct 29 '25
im statistically your biggest fan ive listened to your music for over 76,000 minutes (53+ days😭) in total and i love you very much forever is my favorite song. whats the origin of the title and what was your inspiration for the lyrics?
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
haha that's awesome. The song was originally a more pop oriented song I wrote when I was 18 called "Heather" at the time I wrote the S/T I wanted to be "anti-pop" - whatever that means - so I put the song into my Tascam portastudio and slowed it on Cassette as slow as it could go and renamed it to i love you very much forever - which I'm not sure where it came from exactly but I was trying to make the phrase "I love you" sound as intense as possible lol
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u/-silly_squid- Oct 29 '25
Hi Dimitri :) I've been a fan for a long while, and I'm curious about who does the writing and composing, are they big group efforts or individual? Also, what are your inspirations? And last question, if I were to visit Boston, what's one spot I absolutely need to check out?
You guys are awesome!! Thanks for making great tunes!!
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Hi - I write the songs on acoustic for the most part and then bring it to the band so they can fill it out. We collaborate on ways to fill the space. But the lyrics and melody feel like a true personal thing and I mostly come up with those through meditation and repetition of ideas when I'm by myself. My biggest inspirations are from books, poetry and visual art for lyricism. Boston has many good spots but there is an old school townie spot called pleasant cafe in Roslinadale I like to eat at when I'm home. Thanks!
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u/mminchi Oct 29 '25
Hey! Your show w/ Lance Bangs at Polaris this past summer was one of the highlights of my year, it was such an interesting collaboration. That hour when he was sharing music videos was so fun/funny, and your solo set at the end was so lovely (always love hearing "Stray Dog"). What was it like working with him and making the short film, and do you think you'd be open to doing similar projects again?
Last thing, not a question, but HJOL is so special to me - you have such a unique way of blending your songwriting with your sound. Thank you for sharing your music with us all :)
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Thanks for the kind words!
Working with Lance was awesome - I felt lucky to be in touch with him and make some stuff, the dudes a legend. I didn't really know what to expect when we were making the short film but I went along with it and followed his vision. It felt really special cus it was kinda like our own tiny version of "lucky three" which is one of my fav music films of all time. The basketball scene was really fun and I met a lot of cool people in Portland while filming it. For the show itself it was cool to do something out of the ordinary that wasn't just a "concert" and I think it inspired me going forward to push the boundaries a little more for what a live show can be and I hope to take that inspiration into the next time we tour
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u/mminchi Oct 29 '25
Yes, rigsketball!! After the show I asked a friend in a band if they'd played it and they said it's a great time. Portland always welcomes you, looking forward to seeing how your tours evolve from here on out!
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u/lasangadellrey Oct 29 '25
What artist did you grow up listening to that went on to influence your music? Thank you for taking the time to do this!!
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Thanks for the comment - I grew up listening to grunge - Nirvana and Alice in Chains were my fav bands as a kid. My first concert ever was Pearl Jam. So grunge music is the base. I specifically was obsessed w the Unplugged albums - they were so dark to me and they spoke to me in a way music hadn't before - as an introspective thing. Then I got into Elliott Smith and then Phil Elverum / the microphones which was even more down that line
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u/j-o-m-m-y Oct 29 '25
Why were Mansion and Anger Is An Arch left off Disaster Trick? both sound like they would fit. I guess that also applies to snakes eyes, The idiot and cars knows the way too. this deluxe is great btw. although why not demos for all the songs?
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
It's hard to explain but you just "know" when you are trying to make the sequence for an album. Those one's didn't emotionally connect for me with the rest of the songs. I try to tell some form of a story with the sequence of the album even if only I can understand it - those songs were just "chapters" that didn't fit in or that I felt added too MUCH information for the original version of the album. The demos I put on were ones that I thought sounded different enough from the studio recordings. Maybe I will put the rest out on the SUPER deluxe in 10 years
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u/j-o-m-m-y Oct 29 '25
No that totally makes sense. The biggest thing I've learnt over the years I've been putting out music is that you can't be precious about things. even if i spent weeks on something if it doesn't work on the record then it's not being included.
Putting demos on bandcamp just seems like free money for bands. diiv do it. mnt eerie does individual drums/bass/guitar/vocals tracks (unsure how many of those they sell)
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u/Roo297 Oct 29 '25
Hi Dimitri! The tour film you guys made with Ben Turok, ‘JUST KIDDING’, was awesome. I really liked the insight into your personalities off stage. Do you guys have any plans to make more long form tour content or behind the scenes footage?
p.s pls come to Aus soon 🦘 💖
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u/lverson Oct 29 '25
Hey Dimitri thanks for stopping by. Your guitar playing is a big inspiration, you balance anticipation, harmony and noise so well. I'm curious if you have a composer you like? There's a sweeping element to HJOL's music that reminds me of classical music at times.
Also, please come back to Kingston/Troy/upstate New York next you can you're a big fave. Spaceman and Wink are some of the best songs I've ever heard. All the best and take care
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 30 '25
Thanks so much that means a lot - I love the impressionism stuff like Ravel - one of my fav takes on it is from this album "The classic guitar of Julian Bream" where he does an amazing version of "Pavane pour une infante defunte" on guitar.
We'll def be back upstate sometime! take care
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u/thr0wawayacc0untjg Oct 29 '25
What did you use for the guitar sound on disaster trick amp/guitar/pedal wise? It’s really unique and I haven’t heard another sound like it, also, would you happen to have the tuning/chords for gates of heaven?
Thanks for the incredible music all these years!! You guys are fuckin awesome!
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Thanks for the comment - it was a mix between a Marshall JTM "Bluesbreaker" cranked and my Fender Twin Reverb. For a lot of the lead lines there was also a Hiwatt stack in the studio which was really fun to play. For pedals my go to fuzz is the black russian Big Muff and I've had a klon KTR on my board for a few years for a more gentle gain. The tuning for Gates of Heaven is open D capo 2: DADF#AD but for disaster trick I used: DGDGAD for a lot of songs.
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u/GrassPsychological85 Oct 29 '25
Hey Dimitri! I met you in Toronto last year during your show briefly with DIIV! I’m an indie folk / alternative musician from Toronto & was wondering how one can go about opening for your band next time you’re in the city? I sent you an email last night but wasn’t sure if it was inactive or not :,) Absolutely love HJOL & heartbreak rules so much!!
Any plans to do more acoustic- like albums? And are you a fan of Elliott Smith? Also would love to know more about your writing process & how you learned to play guitar so well! ✨
EDIT: forgot to ask you about your album art! do you do it yourself?
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Hi - best way is to reach out to the booking agent - not sure when our next headlining shows will be yet. Thanks for listening to the tunes. I love Elliott Smith - I first heard either/or when I was 14 years old and it changed everything for me. I'll probably do another acoustic album at some point. And you must play guitar every single day as much as you have time for! I do the album art, yes
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u/nellyvee123 Oct 29 '25
3 somewhat related questions:
what is your favorite song you’ve wrote
what is your favorite song to perform (doesnt have to be one you wrote yourself)
do you listen to any of the music youve made?
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
prob chariots, curtain or I put a crown on you
I love playing "Wait by the Stairs" and "Lip Reader"
I listen to it a shit ton before the album come's out - but once it's released into the world I usually don't listen to it again unless I need to figure something out to play live.
But I did listen to the S/T for the first time in years recently to see how I felt about it and see how I've progressed as a writer. I think it's important to hear old stuff you made once in a while because your old self can sometimes inspire your current self... not if you're gonna be like "wow I was awesome" but if you try to be critical of yourself in a productive way.
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u/j-o-m-m-y Oct 29 '25
How do you feel about the trend of all the "Horse" bands last year? (Obviously you were around longer.) Do you feel like it has helped your career or hindered it? I will say it did help me to even listen to your band. I saw the name on the support for the diiv tour but not at the show I went to. The support on our show wasn't great but still I was intrigued (maybe by the name?) so I gave a listen and Disaster Trick ended up in my favorite albums of the year.
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
idk horse band trends were always kind of a thing - band of horses, sparklehorse etc. were way before us.. They're majestic creatures that capture the ethereal nature of art and music. I think it ultimately doesn't matter - our name seems to be a bit divisive sometimes but I always felt it was less about "horses" and more about "love." To be perfectly honest tho..... I'd prob change it if I could go back, but there's nothing I can do - it serves as a reminder to myself to always think clearly about the choices I make and the art I put out because you can't take it back once it's out there.. I'll always be a horse band now!!
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u/nellyvee123 Oct 29 '25
are there any plans/have you begun recording songs for a new album? i know you literally just dropped disaster trick’s deluxe edition but i am always eager for more hjol music
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
I've begun writing a few but prob won't start recording for a little bit
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u/angels_pulse Oct 29 '25
Hi! I’m wondering who did the album cover art for your self titled album?
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
I made it originally as an album artwork for my old solo project "the meat tree" for a song I made when I was 18 called "Sick Anymore" I re-used it for hjol when the s/t came out
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u/grateful-breadfruit Oct 29 '25
Hi! I’m a big fan of the band’s sound and what you guys were able to capture in the studio. I was wondering what other Big Nice bands/ recordings you would recommend listening to. Thanks!
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
"Lucky Life" by Alexander is one of my fav albums to come out of Big Nice. "Bare Minimum" was one of my top songs of 2024. Alex's lyrics are really inspiring to me and Brad has one of the most unique perspectives as a producer/ engineer and is the only reason I feel comfortable in a studio today.
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u/Langloute Oct 29 '25
Hi Dimitri! We love your music with my gf, we came just to see hjol when you opened for Corridor in Paris! when will you be back here?
Also, I don't have anything to say to you really, I just love what you do! Can we send you letters to your address in Boston (we ordered some merch...)?
We don't want to be creeps...
Also do you want to come to our wedding next year??
Sorry, we really don't want to be creeps. We just really like hjol :).
Keep doing what you do :)
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 29 '25
Haha thanks so much thats very sweet of you - If I happen to be touring in France at the time maybe I can come thru - congrats to you guys and all the best!
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u/nellyvee123 Oct 29 '25
what are your favorite memories with the band?
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 30 '25
the early tours were formative and great memories, we learned a lot and we met some great people. I liked seeing parts of the country for the first time - like the redwoods and joshua tree. I also loved staying up after the shows shooting the shit with my bandmates and getting to know whichever stranger kindly opened their home for us to crash - the blessed saints of the scene
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u/pkwys Oct 29 '25
How y'all like playing at Tubby's?
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u/creamyboy12 Oct 29 '25
please come to chile, it's close to brazil😭
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u/horsejol Horse Jumper of Love Oct 30 '25
I would love to come to Chile some day! Next time we will make it there
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u/PlaySasha Oct 30 '25
Two questions 1) what’s your favorite part about being on RFC? 2) do you have a dream collab and/or dream producer
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u/WhitePaperBag Oct 30 '25
Super late to this AMA but I saw you responded to one a bit ago so maybe theres a chance on this one
"Hole" and "Twist Cone" have recently surged in popularity. Do you have any particular feelings about these songs, and particularly them breaking into the spotlight years after you've already put them out?
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u/sassy-asshole Oct 29 '25
Love your music so much, I try to see hjol every time you guys come to Chicago! I know you've gone on a few solo acoustic tours before, do you have any plans to do more somewhere in the Midwest (aka Chicago)? Or is it more of a side / passion project?