Former Beacher Jono Robertson and his band Social Creatures set to tour with Sam Roberts Band this month

By CHRIS ZDRAVKO

Former Beach resident Jono Robertson, singer, lyricist and keyboardist with the rock band Social Creatures, is preparing to tour the northeastern United States with the Sam Roberts Band later this month.

“Excited does not even begin. Even when I got the reply that they like the music, I was over the moon. Not to be cheesy, but it is a dream come true,” said Robertson, 32, in an interview with Beach Metro Community News about the upcoming tour.

He and his band Social Creatures (based out of Brooklyn, New York, where Robertson now lives) will be performing with the Sam Roberts Band in Philadelphia on March 14, Washington D.C. on March 15. and New York City on March 16.

Robertson’s involvement with music began at around six years old when he first picked up his father’s guitar. “I started plucking at the strings, coming up with something that I thought sounded like Sweet Home Alabama, but probably sounded like nothing.”

Robertson is thankful for the opportunities he had to learn music growing up. “I was very lucky that my parents were supportive of me doing guitar and piano lessons.”

Robertson was born in Hamilton, Ont., and then lived in Mississauga for a few years before the family moved to the Woodbine Avenue and Queen Street East area where he spent the majority of his childhood and teenage years. He attended Malvern Collegiate Institute and loved being part of the school’s music, drama, and English programs. He believes the music program helped set him up for his future career as a musician.

While he “was not the best student” when he was at school, Robertson said he was well-connected with the kids in the music program and went on a school choir trip to New Orleans.

“I didn’t know any of the songs when we went on that trip,” he said. “It was weird because I was serious about music. At that time in high school, I was already in a band (when Robertson was 14) with some guys my age and a little older than me, and we were playing in all the clubs in Toronto.”

His first band was called Lakeshore Boulevard because of a joke he told to his drummer over the phone at the time. The drummer was speaking to a promoter, and the promoter was asking for the name of the band. They did not have one, so Robertson said “Lakeshore Boulevard,” as a joke. The drummer then hung up, and that was their name for the band’s four-year lifespan.

 As a teen, Robertson said he was interested in both music and filmmaking. By Grade 12, he was involved the Malvern C.I. drama program and even made films.

“I think part of what attracted me to filmmaking is that I was in a band, and towards the end of high school, the band fell apart. Someone’s moving away, someone’s off to college… I was destroyed by that. I wanted to do something that I could do by myself, so filmmaking appealed to me.”

Robertson made a feature film touching on family, and grief. He considers it to be one of his big life milestones beyond his music.

He said he still has connections with friends from the Beach music community.

“The amount of people I knew in middle school and high school who have gone on to do wild stuff with music is almost strange,” said Robertson.

A female friend who grew up and attended church with Robertson is touring with Toronto indie rock band, Broken Social Scene. Another friend performed with the Toronto jazz band BADBADNOTGOOD, and some of Robertson’s previous bandmates have continued music in large bands.

Robertson first moved to New York City after being offered a scholarship in a theatre program there.

“I was uncertain about the future, I did not know what to do,” said Robertson. “I did not have amazing grades, I did not have amazing options, and a theatre program offered me a scholarship in New York.”

He knew people coming from the program, so he decided to take the leap, and start a new leaf.

Robertson said he has many fond memories of his childhood and high school years in the Beach.

“I look at the Beaches and think, ‘What a fantastic place to grow up.’”

However, he said there was a darker side to his teenage years in the Beach as he was involved with a group of “troublemakers” taking drugs and doing illegal activities.

“Wild teenage boys running around the Beaches up to no good… Boys trying to pretend they are macho,” said Robertson.

“(Drugs) were a big part of my story…  I’m also a person who’s four years sober.”

In his teenage years, cannabis, cocaine, and crack cocaine played a role in Robertson’s life and he said he first took crack cocaine at the age of 13.

He said he considered himself addicted to drugs, but triumphed over them due to the support of his family.

“When I had a chapter as a kid, I had a family that rallied around me and set me straight, and put me on the right path, and I was for a long time. For a lot of people, they don’t have a family to rally around them.”

Now, he said his life in New York is “all positivity” and he has been married for eight years.

For four years, he has been free of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and even coffee. After quitting, he experienced anxiety attacks, but they passed. He blames them on the coffee.

Robertson said he is proud of how far he has come. “Having been sober for these past few years, I feel better now than I ever did in my twenties. I feel more optimistic, and more energetic. I’m thankful for that.”

To pay the bills, Robertson is also a bartender and video editor. “I’m kind of bouncing back and forth between nine-to-five and nightlife hustling.”

As a video editor, he mainly worked on advertising for companies. He worked with social media videos, and TV commercials. “Funnily enough, I was really interested in filmmaking throughout my twenties, and I’ve worked on music videos for projects I’ve been in. That’s always been a fascination of mine.”

Robertson said he is hoping Social Creatures can become a full-time proposition.

“I’m in this for the long haul. In terms of commitment and sacrifice, I am way past the point of no return… In terms of touring and putting out albums, my plan is to be in this project as long as my body will let me do it.”

Robertson’s experiences with drugs, and overcoming them, are a theme in Social Creatures’ album, called Social Creatures.

“Social Creatures was written during the end of the time of being lost. It was right before getting sober, and feeling like ‘How am I ever going to make this happen. Is this even possible?’ During the beginning of being sober was when we were actually recording the album. That’s like you are looking at the mountain from the bottom.”

As the band’s lyricist, Robertson said that the music is often reflective of his life chapters.

Social Creatures are working on their second album, and it does not yet have a title. “This album seems to have a lot of the themes of cleansing and rebirth, and reflecting on those times,” said Robertson

To form Social Creatures, Robertson started with Craigslist. He found two of the current members there, and another member is a high school friend.

Touring is one of his favourite parts of being in Social Creatures, said Robertson. He’s especially thrilled to be touring with the Sam Roberts Band this month as they are one of his musical inspirations.

We Were Born In A Flame by the Sam Roberts Band was the first CD Robertson purchased. Robertson was also musically inspired by Nirvana, specifically their album, In Utero; Red Hot Chili Peppers; Radiohead; and Grizzly Bear. Robertson said he practiced his guitar skills by playing songs from those bands.

Though he loves touring, Roberston said it can also be challenging. “It’s a lot of sacrifice… A lot of bands, they don’t want to make the sacrifices.”

Transparency and communication are values of Social Creatures which help keep the band members together. “If you can have a group of guys who can argue about something, then shake hands and go home, and we are all still friends that’s where the good stuff happens,” said Robertson.

The death of Robertson’s mother when he was a teenager “propelled” his motivation to succeed in music, he said.

“I’d probably be a completely different person, because I had so much to express. There was so much feeling to channel. I think that is also part of being a troublemaker as a kid. You got all these pent up feelings; maybe it is anger, maybe it is sadness, and it is all coming out sideways. Music was a positive way to channel those feelings,” said Robertson.

He said his mother would be proud of him now, and would “lose her mind” if she knew that he would be touring with the Sam Roberts Band.

After this month’s tour with the Sam Roberts Band, Social Creatures will touring on their own in the U.S.

In April, Social Creatures will be performing in Philadelphia; Richmond, Virginia; Chattanooga and Nashville in Tennessee; Atlanta; Birmingham; Jackson, Mississippi and maybe some other cities as well. Toronto is even a possibility, said Robertson.

Social Creatures’ music, including their recently released single Fly the Loop, can be found on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Adb8zoz7BJ9T37gicl8oC

For more information on Social Creatures, please connect with them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/socialcreaturesband/?hl=en