Joanna What sparked your interest in pursuing a career in music initially? Was there a specific moment
or experience that fueled your passion?
You know, I think I’ve wanted to do this in some way since I was five years old and first listened to DC Talk’s “Free At Last” Album and would break dance, or my imitation of it really, in my room and sing all the lyrics. I don’t remember having specific aspirations for a performing career back then, but those memories feel similar to when I did decide this is what I wanted and I imagine I probably imagined being on stage when I was singing and dancing. A real core anchoring point would have been when I was ten and started learning how to play guitar. I learned a few chords and within months of beginning, I was writing songs. Besides that, I can remember seeing a band play at a Bible Camp a few hours from where I grew up on a weekend retreat and hearing the ethereal music that would be labeled “worship music” in years to come and thinking “man, I want to do that, this is amazing”. I didn’t follow that specific path forward for my art but I still remember it being a major moment.
Could you characterize your musical style and the genre(s) you associate with? Are there
specific artists or musicians who have played a significant role in shaping your sound?
It’s taken me awhile to really figure out where my music sits and which box to put it in to get the point across to people who are new to it. But I’ve taken major influence from John Mayer in all his different forms over the past ten years or so and that’s who I compare myself and get compared to most often. The genre that fits it best would be “adult contemporary” which pulls from elements of folk, rock, and pop. Some of my music would fit into the indie-folk and americana genres as well. John Mayer has really been a bedrock for me, he’s someone I can listen to and be influenced by multiple different styles over the course of his catalog all at the same time. He started off acoustic-pop on “Room For Squares” and then brought in more of the blues/rock influence in his second album “Heavier Things” and then really dialed in the core John Mayer sound that many of us associate with him on his hit record “Continuum” which really solidified his foundation in both the pop and blues worlds. After that though he took a turn to roots, American, and even country music with “Born and Raised” and “Paradise Valley” and now I think he’s been able to combine all these worlds together at times on his recent projects. His example has been really helpful for me as a person who has a lot of different influences and genres they like stepping into.
Share with us the inspiration behind your most recent single. What triggered the creative
process for this specific piece?
My most recent song is called “27” and it’s a song about how time goes by fast and looking forward to a day where I’m not waiting on a day. It came about from a time where I was working at a packaging company. Often times, I would just be mindlessly feeding stock into a press and so I would have time to think and even write songs. I had just recently written my song “NY Campus” (being released later this year) about how my wife and I met and our story in the same way and the first line “three years ’till thirty and I’m thinking about time” came to me. Time is something I’ve thought about a lot in my middle-twenties, especially as my wife and I have a lot of kids and I’ve become very aware, sometimes painfully so, of how fast our lives are going to go by. So I was able to sit into a lot of the thoughts and emotions I’ve had around this common feeling of “wow, my life is going to blow by and I hope I can get to a point where I stop wishing away time”. I wrote the first verse and chorus while working and I might have crafted the rest at home or in subsequent work days.
In what way do you anticipate your latest song resonating with your existing fan base and
attracting new listeners? What message or emotions do you aim for listeners to glean from the
song?
I think for my current fanbase, this song will combine the feel of two of my better received songs “Nursery Lie” and “Till This Is Right” as far as sound and lyrical content and so I think this will feel like a good continuation of the tapestry that’s been slowly sewn. It’s an accessible genre and has gotten a few good playlist placements pre-release so I’m hopeful that it will find a home with new listeners as well. The song exudes reflection, longing, and a little bit of sorrow, so I hope it’s a safe shoulder for listeners to rest their head on to work through some of the pain that comes with recognizing the reality of life. The second verse is a bit of the take away of the song “it’s not like I wasn’t warned that time would fly right by. Don’t you wait around or stand in line ’cause blink your eye and your thirty-five or fifty-nine, wondering how the time went by or how to say goodbye.” Take the small risks that you can to try to lead the life you want to live and look back on someday, because you won’t have these days again.
How does this track contribute to the overarching narrative or theme of your upcoming album or
project?
This song is just a single as of right now, but it’s funny, I’ve talked to a few friends about how even if this song isn’t a “hit” to some or most of those who listen to it, I believe in this song and in it’s part that it plays in sewing that tapestry I was referring to earlier. I see a catalog of music as an opportunity to paint all of the different parts of who I am as a whole. This song reflects a real part of me and a defining factor in my youth: an over thinker and a feeler. Who knows how that will change as I grow older, and I’m glad I and my fans will have this to look back on in years to come as I grow and change and the Lord continues to shape me.
Maintaining creativity and motivation can be challenging. Do you have any rituals or habits that
you find instrumental in sustaining your artistic drive?
You know, I find it’s working a day job that’s often times helped me to stay motivated creatively. It’s often times while working a boring job that my creative juices get flowing and I stay motivated to keep growing music so I can get out of there haha! I am working towards doing this full time so that I can give it the time it needs, but when that day comes I want to have physical labor like some light farm work and groundskeeping to do around the house so I can have that time to engage my body and let my mind wander and dream. I also want to start setting aside some budget to make sure I can celebrate releases and accomplishments with my closest people, peers, and co-laborers. I think having this objective celebration is going to be important to really feel the weight of incremental success and not let it just get washed away in mind, always wanting more but not celebrating and thanking God for what I’m receiving.
Do you have any upcoming projects or releases that you’re particularly enthusiastic about? Can
you offer any teasers or details?
I’m really excited to be in a place where I’ll finally be releasing music consistently. If all goes well, a new song should be releasing every six weeks after “27”‘s release on Thursday August 15th, 2024 through June, 2025. Two of these will be stand alone singles, “27” and “NY Campus” but the other five will be a part of an EP Called “Something More”. I’m really excited for all these songs, but “Something More” is particularly exciting since it steps my genre into a new but adjacent space. These songs will show my John Mayer influence along with other beloved artists such as Gavin Degraw, Allen Stone and Jon Foreman. It will be such a good addition to the tapestry and I’m glad I’ll have these songs to document where I’ve been in my middle twenties. There’s a band considering bringing me on their Christmas tour as well, if that pans out then I may just have a little Christmas release this season, but we’ll have to see!
