“I play guitar as my primary instrument but I grew-up playing the Alto Saxophone and I was really, really good at it; I was like first chair. I loved it but once I picked up guitar, I kind of dropped the saxophone and after I picked up the guitar, I really started focusing on songwriting.”
There you have it; a case of rock ’n’ roll claiming another victim but not so fast, because in the case of Country artist and Lavallette resident Jessie Haines; it was a life-changer. Currently on the road in the Southwest of the U.S.; a journey which she described as “liberating,” Haines is highly enthused about her soon to be released full-length album titled, “The Phoenix” and new beginnings.
Recently, she took the time to discuss those beginnings, her songwriting, some personal moments and more.
“I'm a country music artist in New Jersey,” she began with a laugh. “I've been a musician my whole life and I started playing guitar when I was 16 and the first three songs that I wrote, which was really soon after; I'm self-taught on guitar and I just very quickly started writing music and the style of music that just naturally came out of me was very folk and singer-songwriter based and it's just the natural genre that popped out after those first couple of songs. I started trying to follow a trend and I started trying to write popular music and I'm definitely very influenced by pop melodies, that's why I'm pretty squarely in the Country/Pop genre but it's just the way it comes out; it just comes out as country music. I mean, it's not premeditated, I don't try to do it that way, it's just how it is and I think it is partially stemming from a lot of my influences and the music that I love that I grew up listening to like The Allman Brothers and Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers; they have a lot of soul in there. The Eagles are one of my favorite bands; even artists like John Mayer. All of these artists would be considered Pop artists but when you really listen, there's a lot of Country, Folk, Blues and Soul influences.”
Country artists in New Jersey, albeit, not as rare as they used to be; aren’t as plentiful as other areas of the country (Pun intended) and the list of artists she mentioned is missing something; Country music artists. So; how do those influences affect or do they affect her songwriting?
“We don’t have anybody like The Allman Brothers around now and even the Eagles writing; it's so infectious and I think that's where I always go as a writer. I write all of my own songs and this album that I have coming out; I'm releasing it song by song and each of the songs happened naturally. I've also been practicing melody writing for a long time so, I think I feel like I'm finally at a place where the songs should be and I feel really proud of them. I think it's all sort of in the DNA at this point,” she said as if grasping for the right words. “I also spent many, many, many years as a cover musician playing in bars and restaurants and that experience of playing three to four hours by yourself as an acoustic performer, playing all of the best music in the world really; all the music that's won Grammys; it just kind of goes into your DNA. I would say that at this point it's all an influence. I mean, even Anita Baker is one of my favorite artists of all time and that's in there. So, there's soul in there and it's the kind of thing that you don't think about when you sit down to write; it’s just a part of you.”
“I have never labored over any of my songs, it's like an expression of my emotions and it's truth, it's honesty, it's real feelings, it's my real emotions and it's super authentic,” she continued. “I sit down in moments when I feel almost overwhelmed with an emotion and it has to come out somehow, either you're going to cry or hurt, you're going to journal or you're going to pick up a guitar and start to play and see what comes out. Country music is very story driven and it's very much about having a beginning, middle and an end to a story and I think the way that I write definitely honors that tradition; not too far away from like how Bruce Springsteen approaches music; it’s an emotion, it's a moment and you're also communicating this thing that happened to you and the way that you're feeling. I really try not to get too poetic when I write, my lyrics are pretty straightforward; it's like, this is what happens, this is how I feel and it's important to me too that the songs resonate with the listener because it's all part of a healing experience. I think that's the main purpose of this music that I've written on this album; is to heal me and to help heal others. I mean, even on Instagram now, people are posting what they did that day; you know? Like, “7:00 AM I woke up and did this” and then they show you what they did the whole day; people are very interested in sort of getting on the inside of a day in the life and having that sort of shared human experience. I think that's really what it is about; connecting.”
Ah yes, “Connecting” with a fan base, specially your own is huge but Haines is looking for a connection that goes deeper than one on a mass scale and she’s hoping that “The Phoenix” will enhance those chances. So, with that in mind, she and her support system have a plan in place.
“The full album is called “The Phoenix” and I think a lot of people know or maybe they don't but the Phoenix is a symbol and the symbology is rising from the ashes. So there is a really cool piece of artwork that's on the front of the Phoenix that my friend Micca Kelly; who's a New Jersey artist painted and it is very, very cool. We're releasing the album song by song by song so there's eight tracks on the full album and we just released track number three which is “I Love You;” so, there's five more coming up and then we'll drop the whole collection which will be out on Spotify and on iTunes and you can have the whole collection and that'll be out somewhere in the future.”
“I'll tell you about the singles but first let me tell you about the full album. So, the full album is a concept album and it follows the arc of a toxic relationship and the way I wrote the songs was in real time. So, they're all written in chronological order and in real time, in my real life when this stuff was really happening and for anyone who's been in a toxic relationship or who currently is in a toxic relationship; I think it will resonate. The way that the arc of the album goes is, the very first couple of songs are about living the single life, going out having fun, being a party girl. There's a song called “Little Black Dress” and it's a boot stomper about going out and having a good time. There's a song called “The Way You Kiss” which I released and that's about meeting a person and feeling all of the fluttery feelings of lust and attraction and you know, you just wanna kiss them and those are the first two songs. The third song that I just released is called “I Love You” and “I Love You” is, we had gotten together, we were in the relationship; at first I didn't want to talk to the public about the song but I slept on it and I talked to my team and they were like, “Yeah, we think you should talk about what this song is really about” and it appears to be a love song and in a way it is but when you really listen to the lyrics, it's really about emotional abuse. So, it's really about when you're with a person and they're gaslighting you, they're stonewalling you, they are mad at you and you don't know why. They won't talk to you but you can't leave because you're addicted to the cycle; you feel like you love them because half of the time it's really great or at least you think it's really great and the other half of the time it's really, really abusive emotionally. So, it's about that push and pull and back and forth and that sort of going around the toxic abuse cycle and it's not the happiest of concepts but it's the way that the song came out and it's melodically very beautiful and it's got sort of that sweet melancholy aspect to it.”
“It’s weird to be sharing such an intense experience but I also feel an obligation,” she continued. “Honestly? I really wavered about talking about all of this because it's painful stuff. I feel that I'm a spiritual person and I really feel like this is a huge part of my calling because I think there's not a lot of dialogue about what this is; you know? They're starting to be more talk about it now. I’ve been seeing some artists talk about it like actress Anna Kendrick is talking about it, I see Kelsea Ballerini talking about it, I think Adele has talked about it; there are more artists now coming out and talking about emotional abuse because it's prevalent and it's invisible.”
Concept album? A true rarity in today’s era but as you read; Haines isn’t shying away from telling sensitive stories or taking chances as she begins to gather herself and move her career forward and as we see, “The Phoenix” seems to be an apt title or the album. So; is it difficult for her to perform such emotional songs in front of an audience?
“It's getting easier,” she said with a large laugh as if a weight had been lifted. “From a performance perspective you have to stay in it, you have to relive it and be there but there's also a self-preservation aspect like, I can't allow myself to get into a depression over it on every show; you know? I just feel special and grateful to be here and that's the most important part. Honestly, it's an honor and a privilege to have been given this craft and these gifts so that I can make these songs and share them out.”
Part of sharing her music is to tour; sometimes with a band and well, sometimes you just have to go at it alone.
“I bought an Airstream and I am Airstreaming across the country,” she said proudly. “Right now I'm doing some traveling, I'm doing some more songwriting; this album is done but there's always going to be another album so, I'm just doing the damn thing man (laughs). I'm just living, I'm traveling, I'm setting my eyes on some new sites and doing some hiking, some interviews and meeting people. I actually met someone today in town; I'm in far West Texas right now and she's a music photographer. So, we're going to go do a photo shoot in the desert; when you're in the flow, things just start happening.”
“I’m just getting started; we just started releasing last summer. I'm not a new musician but I'm brand new to the scene with this project. I'm emailing with The Stone Pony right now and we're talking about maybe The Wonder Bar or House of Independents so, there is a show brewing somewhere in the Asbury Park area and hopefully more than one. I'm affiliated with the Crossroads in Garwood and then we've got some other stuff cooking in Michigan. So, it's kind of early in the year but there's a lot of lines out right now. The show is full band and it is a rock'n'roll, soul band with electric guitars, drums and the whole shebang! This band kicks total ass and it's just a high energy fun experience. Our show is an hour and we’re doing the whole album and a handful of covers.”
To discover more about Jessie Haines, please visit https://jessiehaines.com/.
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
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