As we embrace the holiday season of 2019 we return with our Christmas themed interviews this season with more artist you love! Today, we have Jake Arron Ward, of Watch Me Breathe. Still hot off the release of their music video for “Here and Now”. You can check out the video 👉 HERE

What is your favorite holiday treat?

Jake Aaron Ward: It’s gotta be eggnog.

 

Do you have a favorite holiday scent?

Jake Aaron Ward: I love the smell of Christmas trees!

 

Hot chocolate or apple cider?

Jake Aaron Ward: Depends what’s in the apple cider, I suppose. But I’ll say hot chocolate!

 

What are you most thankful for this year?

Jake Aaron Ward: The thing I always come back to is family. I’m incredibly lucky to have the family I do.

Do you have any Christmas traditions? If not, are there any that you would like to try or start?

Jake Aaron Ward: Many. My family always drives around and looks at lights on Christmas Eve. We also always watch “It’s A Wonderful Life.” After Christmas, some high school friends and I always go around gathering trees off the curb and stick them in basketball hoops. I actually think it made the local crime log one year! Shows how safe the town I grew up in is…

How long did you believe in Santa?

Jake Aaron Ward: It is a genuinely difficult question to answer, and depressing to contemplate. Not long. I was always skeptical.

 

What is your favorite Christmas movie?

Jake Aaron Ward: “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

 

Bruce Willis has said that Die Hard is THE Christmas movie, do you agree?

Jake Aaron Ward: Did he? I would very much like to hear his thoughts on the matter, but until I do I have to say I lean very much towards disagreement.

 

Do you do your Christmas shopping early, or do you wait last second?

Jake Aaron Ward: Last second, always. That’s when I do my best work! It’s a principle I live by.

 

What does Christmas mean to you?

Jake Aaron Ward: A time to spend with family, feel grateful, and gain 10 pounds.

 

Favorite dish for the holiday?

Jake Aaron Ward: Man, I honestly don’t know! I can’t think of an actual meal that I’ve ever traditionally had during Christmas. I can think of many, many desserts and candies and beverages though!

 

Do you enjoy decorating and are you typically full of the Christmas spirit?

Jake Aaron Ward: I am actually allergic to decorating. It’s like a combo of tidiness and manual labor, easily two of my weakest skills. But I suppose I get into the Christmas spirit in my own way! I like to wear Santa hats. Sometimes I say “Merry Christmas.” I observe the many tribalistic divides that emerge over coffee cups and religions with detached amusement. Sometimes I even go ice skating and wear a scarf! But where I live you have to do that in a designated area with artificial snow.

 

Christmas dinner: ham or turkey?

Jake Aaron Ward: Tough. Ham tastes better, but pigs are much nicer than turkeys. And infinitely smarter!

 

Are there any Christmas tunes you like to put on to set the Christmas mood?

Jake Aaron Ward: The August Burns Red album is always a good start. I like the Rascal Flatts album too, just because they’re so damn good at music.

 

What are your plans this year for Christmas?

Jake Aaron Ward: Well, aside from observing all the aforementioned traditions and hopefully making the crime log again, I’d say my plan is simply to appreciate how lucky I’ve been in life and lie around.

 

Does snow really make it feel Christmas or could you live without snow?

Jake Aaron Ward: Part of me definitely wishes it snowed where I live. But not all of me. It’s cold and it’s weird and it has to be shoveled.

 

Which is more fun, making snow angels or snowmen?

Jake Aaron Ward: Snow angels, but it has to be the snow angels where you get in a hot tub first.

 

We see it every year, something new is made smelling or tasting like pumpkin spice. What are your thoughts? Overkill, bring it on, or really do not care?

Jake Aaron Ward: It seems to me, an impartial observer, that pumpkin spice is overly controversial. It’s just a flavor. I actually think it tastes alright. It’s kind of like Nickelback – hating Nickelback is a fashion trend. It has little to do with how good or bad they actually are. It’s just an identity statement. “I’m team anti-Nickelback!” “I’m team anti-pumpkin spice!” Or vice versa. I should hope one day we’ll find more compelling ways to distinguish ourselves.