Robert Jon & the Wreck have steaked their claim as one of the top rock bands on the scene. The band has put out consistently strong records while becoming a top-tier live band. Robert Jon & the Wreck recently released a new single called “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” and are about to start a busy 2026 touring schedule. Frontman Robert Jon Burrison took some time to talk about all of it with me.
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On who joins him in Robert Jon & the Wreck – We have Henry James on guitar, lead guitar. We have Warren Murrel on the bass. Jake Abernathy on the keys, and then Andrew Espantman on the drums.
On the new single “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” – It really came from Henry and I sitting on his couch in his apartment. For something like that, that strong of a rocker, it’s interesting where those things can start from. But yeah, he just had this idea went with it and really, it’s so simple. The meaning behind it is literally put your money where your mouth is. In writing it. I was like, “How can I say this more?” Words matter and your actions speak so, just do the right thing sometimes. But it’s a lot of fun to play. We’re excited to play perform it for the first time live. We haven’t done that yet. We’re excited for this next tour to bring it out.
On the creative process of the band – We’re all one, we’re all one unit. It’s really cohesive. We all are riding together. Every chance we can get, and we try our best to keep everything at a certain level.
We release a lot of music we definitely have gone through different paths and, kinda have the ability of, sometimes this is a little bit more rock and this one’s a little bit more funky, this one’s a little bit more laid back. We all just contribute together.
So, we have that ability to do that. Sometimes, one person just has those ideas that are flowing and you back him up and keep the ball pushing, and then sometimes we’re all like, “Wow, I don’t know”. So, we just get in the room, and we just jam and then see if anything sparks. Sometimes the fire is lit, sometimes you have to start it, so it just depends on the time.
On releasing singles as opposed to full records – That’s what has been our plan for the past two years to see how that all works. I think a lot of us are still old school in the way, where we wish we could just release two singles off of record and then release and then so it’s a steady balance of the two that we strive for. But yeah, we’ve tried that out past few years, and you have to talk to someone about all the algorithms of the internet and how all that works. But it seems to be working. We’re right now we’ve got a few more in the chamber and we’ll continue to do what we do.
On if the stand-alone singles will find a home on a record – We definitely want the singles to find a place on some sort of medium whether it’s a vinyl or CD for the people that like those things. Yeah, they’ll all find their place somewhere. I don’t know if it’ll be on the next record or just a compilation. We have these compilation records called Wreckage, Vol. 1, Wreckage, Vol. 2, and I think Wreckage, Vol 3 will be out soon. Just a place for them to live and because not every song belongs on every record. There’s always gonna be a place for them. We usually don’t let any of them just live on the internet forever. But yeah, it’s a whole little mystery that we are continuing to try and put together.
On how they hooked up with Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records and if it helps having an artist-run label – I would say, so just to that last question, I think I would think, yeah, I think that really helps to have an artist that’s about the music to be like a part of the head. Just because they know what, they know the hustle, they know what you gotta do. It all happened really organically. We were out on Joe’s Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea Cruise. Which we’ve now done like seven times. We just met the team. We met all of them and then, we went on it again and we started becoming friends and it just seemed pretty natural. It wasn’t say, “Hey, nice to meet you. Let’s do this”. It was able to grow organically and have a relationship there with the team and everything to then move forward. It’s been great. It’s awesome to have them as a team member basically and helps us in moving forward.
On their Southern California roots – We all come from different musical backgrounds of Southern California, some of us grew up in the punk scene, some of us grew up in the ska/reggae scene and some of just the straight classic rock scene. We try to just let the song move us in the direction of the music more than, “We’re gonna write this style of music”. It’s just what happens naturally and what comes out of us which happens to be like the southern rock tinge to it. But definitely not deliberate. We just started playing music and writing music and that’s just what comes out of our fingers and our voices. So, it works. We enjoy it. You gotta do stuff that you enjoy and that’s the music that we enjoy…I think that that’s probably one of the hardest parts of being an artist is finding your own voice when it comes to anything, whether it’s painting or any type of artist is just finding your own voice and I think we still continue to look for it and strive for it, and do what feels the most natural.
On what fans can expect from a Robert Jon & the Wreck show – We are just there to have a good time. We’re there to play our music and hopefully and relate to the audience that’s there. We’re there to give the energy. As much energy as we get from the audience is what we’re gonna give back. It’s just that’s what we live for. Without having the audience and the fans engage, without it, you almost lose something in the music to me. If we were just here releasing songs and didn’t have that other side of the engagement it would be lost on me. It’s why we play music. That’s it. But no, we’re excited for this next run. We have a whole record of stuff that we’ve played a little bit last year, but not much. We’re gonna add in some fun stuff. We got some new songs that we’re gonna add in that aren’t even released. Because why sit on them? It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I’m excited.
On if they will add more dates around the country – I think there’s a really good chance I think there’s a really good chance that you’ll see us in the Northeast this summer I think there’s a really good chance I don’t know when we’re releasing those dates or what’s happening, but I think we will be up there this summer no matter what.
On if there will be a new full record from Robert Jon & the Wreck – We’re taking a little break from the full (album). I don’t know. Every, anything could happen on a switch, if we get an opportunity and things happen like that all the time, it’s just, you never know. That’s being a musician, that’s being a touring musician because, you get information every day about where you’re going, what’s happening and things change all the time. But right now, I think we’re set to release just for live shows and on the merch table Weckage, Vol. 3. And that’ll have some new tracks on it that haven’t been released. Right now, you can only pick it up at the merch table so, a little fun thing for only the people that come out to shows. But eventually we’ll have it out for people who couldn’t make to make it to the shows and everything. As far as a full-length album, that’s on the horizon. I’m sure we’ll keep everybody updated when it happens.
On what’s next for him – The Wreck is my (band), I can’t see doing anything without them. I don’t have any ambition to do any solo work as far as on that scale. I’ll do some solo stuff back at home when we’re off the road just for fun. But we’re just gonna keep pushing and we have some great opportunities coming up this year and hopefully next year too. So, my biggest goal is to continue to have fun with what we do and continue to create and put on the best shows we can, because families are growing, and if we’re on the road, we gotta be putting in, we gotta be doing it the right way.
