Good morning everyone today on JoJo Recommends I’m featuring When You Sleep by Jackson Harden.
Jackson is 25 and from Utah in the United States. He’s been playing guitar and writing music since he was just 8 years old. He recently completed a bachelor degree in music and is hoping to make a living from his music soon. I found out about Jackson for twitch when a twitch friend messaged me as she knew I would love him. He’s only been on twitch a few months but has already got a lot of fans!
If you would like to follow Jackson on twitch or social media you can do by clicking on the links below.
How To Listen:
Jackson describes his music as folk music though he does dabble in other genres too. His voice is amazing and has a really raw, emotional quality to it which really adds to his songs I feel. He has a few songs on Spotify but is currently working on releasing an EP which I’m really looking forward to. I have linked the YouTube videos for “When You Sleep” and “Another Lonely Morn” for you below or you can listen to his music on Spotify via the link below.
Interview with Jackson Harden!
Tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Jackson Harden. I am 25 years old and I was born and raised in Utah, USA. I’ve been playing guitar and writing songs since I was 8 years old. I’ve also picked up a few other instruments along the way including harmonica, piano, and lap steel guitar. I recently graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in music and now I’m trying to make an honest attempt at doing music for a living.
What first got you into music?
My earliest memories of getting into music were through my childhood friends who would burn me CD’s of stuff like Green Day, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Weezer, and Nirvana. A lot of pop punk and grunge.
Who inspired you to make music?
When I was about 7 years old I was a huge Green Day fan and wanted to be Billie Joe Armstrong which led to me begging my parents to get me a guitar and let me start taking lessons.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I guess you could categorize what I typically create as folk music, though I dabble in a variety of different genres, some of which I never even put out or put out under different aliases. I like to explore all kinds of music and experiment with what it would sound like if I made music like that.
What is your creative process like?
Almost all of my songs start out as just a riff or chord progression I come up with on the guitar. Then I’ll start to sing different melodies over it with some random words and gibberish until something starts to materialize. Then I try to establish a lyrical theme based on the imagery and feeling that the music invokes and take it from there.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Justin Vernon.
If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
Phoebe Bridgers.
What is the most useless talent you have?
Making a water drop sound with my mouth.
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
I do. Usually just whatever the last thing I was listening to or whatever is stuck in my head.
Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
I actually haven’t really done any performing yet. I have pretty bad stage fright and recently started doing Twitch as a means to get over my stage fright. I actually just played my first open mic night which was a pretty big step for me. I’m hoping to get to the point where I’m comfortable enough to play shows soon though and want to hit that pretty hard eventually.
How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
I think it makes it easier to make music on your own and put it out to the point where most people can if they want to. The rise of streaming services has also made it very difficult to make enough money to actually make a living as an artist. I have a love-hate relationship with it.
Which famous musicians do you admire?
My favorite artist of all time is Bob Dylan. I’m also a big fan of anything that Alex Turner, Phoebe Bridgers, or Justin Vernon is a part of.
What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
I cheated on a math test in high school and got caught. I was a pretty good student in general but math has always been my weakness, but that’s not a good excuse though haha. They called my parents and everything.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
All I really want is for streaming services to pay artists what they deserve (a lot more than a third of a penny).
What’s next for you?
I’m going to continue to stream on Twitch and see where that goes. I’m also working on an EP at the moment that I hope to put out this year. I want to start playing shows in the near future as well and see what happens from there.
JoJo Recommends Playlist:
You can now listen to Jackson and all previously featured artists on a special playlist I’ve created on Spotify.
JoJo Recommends on Island Vibing Presents:
As mentioned previously JoJo Recommends is now featured on the fantastic Island Vibing Presents twitch stream which is on every Thursday night or Friday morning depending on time zones. If you would like to watch live or catch the vod please click on the link below.
Thanks for reading and happy listening!
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