Why Jason aka "Them Jeans" aka "TJ" aka "Big Bird" is the Soul of How Long Gone
Is it because he's taller?
How Long Gone, like countless other podcasts, was a product of the pandemic. Notably, they were one of the first, and certainly most notable of the kind, with their first episode published on March 15, 2020, just 3 days after Tom Hanks was reported COVID positive, 2 days after the Trump administration declared a national emergency, and the very same day states began to impose strict lockdowns. The podcast, hosted by Chris Black and Jason Stewart, is published 3 times a week, typically including two interviews and a “Chris & Jason” episode. The interview subjects are usually “creative types”, with a heavy focus on musicians and writers, including such big ticket names as Diplo as well as niche #menswear guys that are more up my alley. Where HLG truly shines is in those “Chris & Jason” episodes, and the ten-minutes or so at the beginning of each episode that just features the two shooting the shit about whatever they have going on in their lives.
Q: So who are these two tattooed elder-millennials anyway?
A: Two former straight edge, former music industry vets, two former vegans (one now omnivorous, one pescatarian, one sober recovered drug addict, one cocktails and weed guy, two lovers of clothing and culture; two podcasters. There wouldn’t be a How Long Gone without both Chris Black and Jason Stewart, but I don’t think it would have any soul without Jason.
Chris Black, aka “CB” aka “The Gay Baiter” was born and raised in Conyers, GA in the suburbs of Atlanta. Growing up, he didn’t take much of an interest in school (eventually dropping out of high school) or organized sports, but found his place in the straight edge hardcore scene. A couple of years after he would have graduated high school, in 2003 he managed to become the manager of the newly-founded pop-punk band, Cartel, also from Conyers. Thanks to the band signing with Epic Records in 2006 and opting in to MTV’s human-zoo experiment, Band in a Bubble, Chris started to see the financial success his suburban parents always wanted, allowing him to enjoy all the cocaine the Big Apple had to offer. The partying lifestyle expanded Chris’ network in media and he started to define his own identity outside of the band, writing for PAPER Magazine and securing a regular column on style.com. In 2007, he got into social media management and subsequently brand consulting. Somewhere along the way, he got married, developed a serious oxy addiction, got divorced, and got clean. Now, in addition to co-hosting How Long Gone, he’s a columnist for GQ and New York Mag and consults for a handful of top menswear brands including J. Crew, Thom Browne, Stüssy, and New Balance, through his agency Done to Death Projects LLC.
Jason Stewart, aka “Them Jeans” aka “TJ” aka “Big Bird”, was born and raised across the country from Chris in Orange County, CA. Despite being practically a world apart, Jason similarly found zero interest in school or sports, also finding space in the straight edge hardcore scene. In his early 20’s, he would turn that musical interest into a budding DJ career, which (I guess) paid the bills for 10 years, thanks to hosting the regular party Dim Mak Tuesdays at Cinespace, featuring such budding artists at the time of Lady Gaga, Kid Cudi, and CharliXCX. In 2011, he became an early adopter of the podcast format, launching one focused on his second love, food, and and another, Tall Tales, a show similar to How Long Gone but more focused on interviewing music industry insiders. Jason is a bit less active outside of How Long Gone than Chris, but he also does a bit more for it, handling the production and editing, counterintuitively using Ableton, surely a holdover from his DJ/music production days.
Taken from afar, excepting the fact that Chris is sober and Jason loves to imbibe, their bios don’t seem all that different. After all, both found their way to podcasting through music. Both also have an appreciation for fashion despite preferring decidedly basic wardrobes. But the difference, I argue, is that Jason is a creator, while Chris is more of a curator. Chris doesn’t cook; Jason is an avid home-chef. Chris managed musicians; Jason is one. This is not to discount Chris in any way, in fact he is one of my biggest role models. He is an expert at reading the moment and synthesizing the vibe that it calls for. In the case of How Long Gone, in many ways, especially when there’s no guest, that vibe is Jason. Outside of being six-foot-eight, he’s the much more relatable of the two. After all, most people aren’t eating at Balthazar for lunch every day and flying back and forth between New York and LA at a moments notice. The vast majority of people, myself included, can hardly comprehend what Chris did to work with the brands mentioned above, nor what he does for them. Jason on the other hand, can relate to guests and listeners alike about his pursuit of the “perfect sandwich”, and while most don’t know the first thing about DJ-ing, can at least identify what makes a good one. Jason doesn’t live an “average life” per se, I mean, raise your hand if you have a sauna in your living room, but his way of life seems more tangibly aspirational than Chris’.
When it’s just Chris & Jason, Jason provides the perfect foil to Chris’ jet setting lifestyle, as a stand-in for the listener who couldn’t comprehend such a way of living, simultaneously bringing Chris down to our level and making him at least a bit more relatable. In the guest episodes, the conversational ease shared by the two translates seamlessly to a third mic, making HLG the diamond-in-the-rough it is, but where Chris’ commonality with the guest can tend to end with which Centurion Lounge is the best or what the hottest restaurant is in any given city, Jason can take it deeper. Pause.
Disclaimer: This newsletter was written to support its clickbait headline made up to flatter Jason who took umbrage with me omitting any mention of him in the Gift Guide newsletter. This assessment may or may not be rooted in any actual truth.