Started out playing in bands. I spent five years playing keyboards and singing in a band called Blue Suede Groove. We played lots of shows. Some were cool. Some were suck-ass. Either way, I had a great time making music and starting writing songs. I was a big Phish fan at that time and had my head generally lodged up my ass in terms of writing songs that were about a specific thing or idea. At the time, lyrics were an afterthought: just something I added to music that I wrote.
I quit the band and got a job as an assistant at a record company, Artemis Records. I loved working at Artemis, learned a ton about the music business and met some great people. At that time I began writing songs again with a different approach, putting more emphasis on lyrics. It was a process, a struggle to find my voice as an individual after playing in bands for so long.
While at Artemis recorded an EP that I entitled "You Have Me Wrong". I chose the title because many of the people I was working with at the time had no idea I was a musician. I also assumed incorrectly that they gave a shit that I was a musician :)
I was fortunate enough to be playing with talented people - Matt Chiaravalle (producer) Greg Eckelman (bass) and Rich Smalley (drums) helped me record 7 songs in 2 days. Matt Chiaravalle and I have gone on to do quite a few projects together. I played some shows in support of the EP - some in NYC, even ventured up to Boston to play with Citizen Cope.
The EP was a transition piece for me - got me thinking less like a band dude and more like an individual songwriter. The press was not kind - the Village Voice labeled me a "bitter, jaded, trite, watered down alterna-Billy Joel". I had read bad reviews of BSG stuff before, but this one stung a bit. Like anything else, I learned from it. That said, fuck you Village Voice. I may have a way about me. Perhaps we don't fulfill each other's fantasies. I'm movin out.
The experience left me questioning my motivation to write songs. So I stopped writing.
At Rock Ridge one of our first acts was Ike Reilly Assassination. If you're not familiar with Ike, do yourself a favor and check him out. He's one of the best songwriters of our lifetime, and the press knows it: The guy has been on the front page of the Arts and Entertainment section of the New York Times, countless other huge press features. I was a huge fan of Ike's stuff, and working with him was a thrill for me, though it pushed me a bit further away from songwriting. I was intimidated.
Weird cosmic moment - the last show I played in support of my EP was a Tsunami-relief benefit concert alongside Ike Reilly Assassination and Sister Hazel... Both Rock Ridge artists...
I have been fortunate enough to parlay my band and recording experience into producing records and writing songs with and for other people. In 2007 I worked on Chris Volz's solo record, Chris was best known as the voice of Flaw and later Five.Bolt.Main. Chris came to the table with incredible lyrics, powerful voice and a great sense of what works for him musically. I came to the table with song ideas, and together we put together a record that his fans initially hated but came around later to embrace. Volz was getting good press for the first time in his career, and I'll admit that it was rewarding for me in the same regard.
Earlier this year I had the pleasure and privilege of producing Ernie Halter's third album, entitled "Starting Over". Ernie's voice is a fantastic instrument, and I'm proud of the album we put together. Ernie had needed to suffer a bit to find his voice as a songwriter, as he endured a divorce this year at the same time of the birth of his first child.
I needed to suffer a bit too. Last year I lost my Dad following a 2 year battle with leukemia. I had spent a lot of time with him through his illness. At the same time that my Dad was diagnosed, my son was conceived. For a while we didn't know if my Dad would get to even meet my son. Thankfully they did meet, and for 16 months my son lit up my father's life and brought everyone joy through a difficult treatment process.
After my Dad died I began to question the way I viewed the world. I began to think. I rediscovered love. I began to think less about myself and more about the joy of being. I began to write new songs and re-write old ones.
And so here I am. Giving it another go, this time without any expectations or specific goals. I went into a studio last week and recorded some new stuff. The songs are my work and I can't wait to share them... The new stuff I've posted here are rough demos from the studio - the piano sounds will be re-recorded, the mix will be polished up and the overall sound of each song will take more shape over time.
Stay tuned, I'll send updates when there's news to share. Thanks for your interest.
Jason Spiewak
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