Jack Underkofler Dives Into New Dead Poet Society LP, ‘Fission’

On the same day Dead Poet Society released their latest studio album, Fission, frontman Jack Underkofler joined Chuck Armstrong on Loudwire Nights (Jan. 26).

“You’re making music because that’s what you love to do,” he told Chuck, “and you’re just throwing it out into the world and seeing who connects and who doesn’t.”

Underkofler hopes listeners connect with Dead Poet Society’s new record in an honest, cathartic way.

“I think the best art — the art that I admire and the art that we try to write as a band — creates this narrow straight between what you’re feeling in your head to what the person on the other end feels in their head when they hear it,” Underkofler explained.

“I feel like the best songwriters and the best people, the best artists in general, make that line so clear that no information is lost when you play that song or you sing that song.”

As Underkofler conveyed, there is a gut feeling when someone says something that’s right and there is a gut feeling when someone says something that isn’t and he thinks as a songwriter and musician, it’s at least part of his job to hone in on that gut feeling.

“You find what is true and what isn’t. You know people can fake the truth quite often, but if you just talk about exactly what you go through and you articulate that correctly, I mean, there’s no truer art than that.”

Finding the Audience For Dead Poet Society

While hanging on Loudwire Nights, Underkofler admitted that when he joined the band 10 years ago, he didn’t have much of a vision for the future. But today as he looks ahead, things are a bit clearer to him.

“I feel like there’s a predetermined number of people on Earth, like an actual unknown but hard statistic of how many people could possibly like your music,” he said. “Whether that’s 200,000 people or 40 million people, there’s an exact number on Earth of people that would like it.”

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Underkofler approaches Dead Poet Society’s music with that thought in mind.

“Okay, that’s our fanbase, those are the people that love our music — it’s just that most of them haven’t heard it yet. It keeps me going. How big do I think this band could objectively get? If I could get all those people to hear it.”

What Else Did Dead Poet Society‘s Jack Underkofler Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What it was like touring in the early days of Dead Poet Society and why it was so draining on him and his bandmates
• What piece of advice one of his bandmates received from a professor that shaped his perspective on working in the band
• The things that reassured him that Dead Poet Society were heading in the right direction years ago

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Jack Underkofler joined Loudwire Nights on Friday, Jan. 26; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand. Stream Fission at this location and check out Dead Poet Society’s full tour schedule.