Meet Jonathan Kabir | The Tak3down – bass, electronics, song writing

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonathan Kabir and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonathan, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
I have several answers or drives on what keeps me going, 1. I played soccer throughout high school and college and I have lost many games, the plan is always to look back and see what I can do better and what work to put in to build for that next game and win that next game.
2. I am an immigrant from Malaysia, moved here to US for a better life. I had lots of obstacles and set backs come my way, while there are some days I do give up, but like my soccer training, you got to get back up and put in the work to accomplish success.
3. I have a great support system of family and friends. People in my life for many years. They always offer that encouragement and positivity in my life.
4. This is actually the 6th album Keith my bandmate and I have released. We have had some successful releases and some not successful. The thing is we have so much fun writing and creating music that while we do take some breaks, we still want to create and keep going.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
This album Shapeshifters by The Tak3down is my favorite release out of all the other albums what we have released. The goal was to combine both our brains together and just release the songs what we both love. In the past we would release some songs on the album what I may not be into but Keith liked it a lot or vise versa. This time we were not afraid to cut songs. Keith is more of a metal guy and I am more of an alternative punk guy. We fused both our brains in the writing process and came out with this album what I would classify the genre as industrial punk. If I were to compare us to some big bands out there I would say a fusion of Ministry, AFI and Depeche Mode. What I am most proud and excited about is that we have songs on this album for everyone. I have noticed that all age groups, different genres, have all picked a favorite song on this album. And that was another goal we had. We did not want to close this album only for the punks or for metalheads, we wanted to write something what love but also something what everyone can enjoy.
As far as if what we do is easy, well it depends. The music industry in general is not easy. It’s a hard business. But Keith and I have been doing this since 2003. We have played over 500 shows together and this is our 6th release we have put out. What we learned is to have a good time and enjoy yourselves before worrying about the business side of things.
The lesson what I learned is to be yourself. When you become someone else is when you tend to get lost. Always be yourself.
What I want to world to know about our band The Tak3down is that we release music because we have a good time making it and putting it out, but another big side is, I want our music to touch the listeners hearts. I want to listeners to be happy and have a smile on their faces while listening to our music. While the lyrics may have a certain meaning to us, I the listener can apply those lyrics to their lives and that it means something big for them in their life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Phoenix Arizona is my favorite city, we have so much and everything here. First I want to say my bandmate Keith and I are both big Phoenix Suns fans. So I would love to take a friend to the game. The games have such an electrifying vibe, best fans in the league (I know I am biased) but always have a great time at the Suns arena. I love the close seating to each other, I just feel close to all 18000 fans in that arena. Where to hangout breakfast time, first go to Tres Leches Cafe on Van Buren street, grab their churro flavored coffee and one of their conchas. They have the softest and fluffiest conchas there. Then I would take the friend to Stinkweeds Record store on Camelback and browse their vinyl selection. For dinner I would take the friend to Taco Boys on Roosevelt and enjoy their delicious tacos and amazing salsa bar. For a night drink definitely take them to Yucca Tap Room on Southern, this place has the best beer selection, great live music, a whole pinball arcade and if you get hungry they have some great Asian fusion tacos.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I love to give shootouts to all the great men around me. My bandmate, fellow songwriter and best friend Keith Wallace. My brother Luke. Also my best friends Mike Palmer, Matt Timlin, Tino Luna, Zeke Parra, Matt Gaunt, Mike Bergerson, Stefan Pruett, Michael Martin, Mike McHale, Mark Larson, Christopher Clement and Jeff Harder. Our promoter Will Anderson, our producer who did our mixing and mastering Jalipaz Nelson, the PunkForefront guys Joe Maier, Aaron Jones, Johnny Spagnola. These wonderful men are always there encouraging me, supporting all my projects and just always there for me in general. I am blessed to have such an amazing crew.

Instagram:

Other: Music Video for our single Before Midnight https://youtu.be/WnzUZHpF5L0 Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0l9bbrDC5cFOgzcdcqAn1x?si=S495CXTMRk6wO4xGtqzcZw Bandcamp Link: https://thetak3down.bandcamp.com/album/shapeshifters

Image Credits
All photos by Angela RoseRed