"We hear so much about authenticity these days," says Jasso, "and being authentic is really where it's at." The Chicago based singer-songwriter is currently hard at work on a fantasy folk concept album that has been two years in the making, "It's got a young lady, a mean husband, a goblin, a giant bird -- all the important elements." Rebecca's 2016 ep, Magic, is an elegant and whispery album on which one can hear Jasso's influences, such as Nick Drake, coming through in the four unique stories that comprise the record. Here Rebecca talks with AHC about her childhood musical memories, the healing aspects of songwriting, and the constant lessons in humility that come with the territory of a musician's life. AHC: What has this journey in music, so far, been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way? Rebecca: Music drew me in at an early age, and I've been in its grip ever since. It's been incredible to know, since youth, what my purpose is, despite the fact that I veered off and studied something else in college. Being a singer/songwriter forced me out of my shell to become social, and it is a constant lesson in humility. I suppose what I would call the highs involve all kinds of experiences I've had, but more than anything, the fact that I've been anchored to something my whole life. You see, growing up, I didn't think I was very smart, and I didn't do very well in school. I didn't have a lot of motivation for things, and I didn't have much ambition, except when it came to songwriting. Somehow despite a lack of self-discipline in other areas of my life, I had a strong desire, a need, even, to play guitar and write songs. I didn't have a lot of expectations for it; I just enjoyed it more than anything, and every day, after school, that's practically all I did: play guitar and write songs. The lows probably have to do with bands breaking up, me not feeling like the best leader, falling out with people I thought would be in my life forever. The other side of being a musician is that friends become business partners, and it can get ugly. AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them? Rebecca: I grew up in a very musical house. My mother always sang and engaged my sisters and I, musically. She also played soprano recorder, and that sound was so sweet to my ears. Most of my musical experiences, though, involved singing in the car with the family. I was the only one (besides my mom) who could hold a harmony part on my own, so my two sisters would split up and one would sing with me and one would sing with her. There was a lot of joy in that. My dad sings pretty well, but he's super modest about it. But I learned to whistle because he's a terrific whistler, and when we watched the Andy Griffith show, we would whistle the opening together. I guess in my earliest years, the earliest recollections I have of songs just taking over me are: Birdland by Manhattan Transfer (the first song I ever said was my favorite song), Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr, and Let's Hear It For the Boy by Deniece Williams. Ok, now that I've totally dated myself...I have to say, the common element of these songs is the build up. The chorus or bridge gets big and gives me goosebumps. Sure, by today's production styles, these are small change. But man, to me they were so exciting. AHC: Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote or played? Or that first moment when you picked up a pen and realized that you could create whole worlds just by putting it to paper? Rebecca: I was 10 when I first started writing songs. I couldn't play chords yet, just the 3 notes I'd just learned on the first string of the guitar. That was pretty primitive stuff, then. But the first song I ever wrote that was a success was my freshman year of high school. It was called Stalker. It was about my high school crush, a senior who had a girlfriend, someone I didn't know and who didn't know me. It was very naive, but I was young for my age. It's pretty cute. I don't think I ever thought of it, back then, of creating worlds, or anything like that. I dreamt of being famous one day, but pretty much the same way someone who wants to be a vet dreams of working with animals someday. I was super fortunate that I never felt I had much of a choice -- my body compelled me to pick up the guitar and sing songs. My reason for writing was I thought that's just what people who played guitar did. And I just couldn't keep myself away. AHC: Which musicians have you learned the most from? Or writers, artists, filmmakers, teachers/mentors etc? Rebecca: I was pretty sheltered as a kid, and I didn't really know how to access music beyond my mother's collection. So I became a hardcore Beatles fan early on. I have moved on, but I have to give the Beatles credit for so much. I learned to sing harmony because of them, and I really think harmony in particular is my strong suit as a songwriter - not singing in harmony, but how my melodies work harmonically with the guitar chords. So, much as I sometimes hate to admit it, the Beatles were #1 whom I learned the most from. I also had a terrific music teacher in high school, Anita Miles. Ms. Miles had a lot of belief in me when I didn't have much belief in myself. I have never seen her again, and don't know how to find her, but I've always hoped I could reach out to her, somehow, to tell her how instrumental she was in my development as an artist. Nick Drake and Led Zeppelin are my two favorite artists of all time, and I listen to their music often, so they are certainly influencing my music on a daily basis. AHC: What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing and composing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak? Rebecca: A good song has to have a good harmonic element. Anyone can sing along with some chords. I have to do something really different with the singing melody to breathe life into the song and set it apart from everything out there. To me, it's the difference between snap-shots and fine-art photography. The subject matter might be the same; it's the skill of the artist that makes all the difference. A different artist can make a song great in a different way, but to me, it's about the harmony/melody relationship. Good lyrics don't hurt. It's hard to nail down a formula or say what one thing becomes a sudden moment where I know it's working, time and again. I just am not satisfied till I'm there, and it's completely personal and all in my head. I tweak and tweak a song, and then I stop when I'm satisfied. Several tunes I've written have been half a dozen other songs before they became the song. AHC: Do you consider music to be a type of healing art, the perfect vehicle through which to translate a feeling, a state of rupture/rapture, hope lost and regained? Does the writing and creating of the song save you in the kinds of ways that it saves us, the listener? Rebecca: I think the music is super healing. There's no way I would be who I am or where I am if it weren't for my ability to use writing to process through the difficulties and the breakups and the lonely times. And definitely, it saves me to write songs. It makes me know what I'm here to do, and I have so much joy each time I write something I like. Music is all kinds of things, and definitely, a window, the other side of which is some kind of emotion. Whatever you're feeling, whenever you're down, or feeling good-- you just open that window, and here comes more of that feeling, someone out there who feels like you do, who can empathize with you, or heighten your good feelings, or feel nostalgia with you. Every time I'm down, I listen to Radiohead, and I believe in my heart that they know how I feel. AHC: What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town? On-tour, on-the-road? Rebecca: When I was in fourth grade, my teacher, Mr Whitcup, played the tune Linus and Lucy on the piano in the classroom once. I loved it so much. I used to stay after school and bug him to play it again. I don't remember him ever doing it again. I just remember the intense feeling I had about hearing him play the piano. I have this super fond memory of seeing that VW commercial with the song Pink Moon in it. It was just after I graduated from film school. I fell in love with the song as much as the story in the commercial. I didn't know who Nick Drake was yet, and I didn't know how to find out what that song was. I loved the singer's voice, his way of singing, the melody, the guitar part, the message in the commercial, all of it. I never forgot that voice, though, and never forgot the mystery of "what was that?" Years later, I was sitting in a movie theater, seeing the movie "Garden State." And lo and behold, there was that voice. I knew it. I linked it to the memory of the VW commercial, and became obsessed with obtaining the soundtrack to that movie, if for no other reason than to just prove myself right, that it was indeed the same artist from the commercial. Sure enough, it was, and I've been a huge fan of Nick Drake ever since. In terms of my own music, being in my former soul band, the Sometimes Family, had its peaks and valleys, but I look on that experience with very fond memories. We shared a large apartment with a music room, and the experience taught me how to collaborate. I was the sole songwriter, but in time I no longer brought super complete songs, and instead brought skeletons for the rest of the band to contribute to. Whatever came of them was never anything like I had imagined, but so much better. AHC: When you set out to write a song, how much does 'where the world is' in its current moment, culturally, politically, otherwise, influence the kinds of stories you set out to tell? Rebecca: I unfortunately am not very influenced by current events in my writing. I'm lost in my head, in a dream, in a fantasy, in a moment from a book. I have political views, but don't go out there and write protest songs like many of my peers. I just do my own thing. Only lately have I concerned myself with current styles of music and thought about writing with a current sound. I can't say that other current elements, culturally or otherwise, usually seep through into my writing. AHC: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for other musicians and singer-songwriters out there who are just starting out and trying to find their voice and their way in this world? What are the kinds of things that you tell yourself when you begin to have doubts or are struggling with the creative process? Or what kinds of things have others told you that have helped push you past moments of self doubt/creative blocks? Rebecca: I am very much of the opinion that in order to write well, you have to write much. The experience of songwriting is what shapes you. And one thing I came to know about myself is that songwriting, much as I said earlier that I felt compelled to do it, is a discipline like anything else. I once went to California for 6 weeks and hardly played guitar at all. I came back and it took me a long time to feel that urge to play again. I had to really work at it, really practice it, to get back into it. So if you want to be a songwriter and actually write good songs, you have to commit to regular writing. When it comes to finding your voice, I think it's more of the same. You will work it out as you go. You can't know just by knowing. You have to work it out. We hear so much about authenticity these days, and being authentic is really where it's at. Just keep at it, and things will come into focus when you're ready for them to. AHC: Do you have any new projects moving forward or ideas that are percolating for the future? Rebecca: My big project, 2 years in the making now, is a Fantasy Folk Story Concept Album which I am currently recording. It's a folk story I wrote in the form of song. It's got a young lady, a mean husband, a goblin, a giant bird -- all the important elements. Right now, I'm learning about writing songs that would be commercially viable for sync licensing. That's why I'm studying current music, pop in particular. It's really exciting and really challenging. It's humbling to come out feeling like you really don't know anything about songwriting in the end. For more visit www.rebeccajasso.com/ To Purchase the EP Magic visit rebeccajasso.bandcamp.com/album/magic
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2024
Categories |