10 Questions with ... Jackson Michelson

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/JacksonMichelsonMusic
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/JackMic

Curb Nashville's Jackson Michelson was born and raised in a small town in Oregon, but quickly made a name for himself across the West Coast by touring 250 nights out of the year for the past five years. His hustle eventually landed him a record deal with Curb Nashville, bringing him to Music City. Michelson has been hard at work this year, visiting Country radio, continuously playing shows, and now gearing up for his debut single, "Rollin'," to impact Country radio on Monday, October 9th. Michelson recently opened up to All Access about how he became so passionate about Country music, the amount of work he's put in to get to where he is, and how he strives to put his own unique spin on Country music.

1. You were raised in Corvallis, OR. Tell us a little bit about growing up; how did you become attracted to Country music?

Corvallis is the "Grass Seed Capitol Of The World," so a lot of people think of Oregon as just a bunch of crazy hippies - which there are a bunch of crazy hippies - but, there's a lot of farm land; a majority of the state of Oregon is agriculture. So, I'm from the "Grass Seed Capitol Of The World," where there are grass fields everywhere. I grew up playing music in the church; I loved music, and playing in a band setting really connected with me. I caught that bug at the age of 12 and never stopped playing music, and I started writing my own songs. My mom loved Country music, so when I started writing songs, they naturally came out as stories. There's a guy who came into my hometown - he didn't have a record deal - but, my mom's buddy played drums for him, and we went out and saw him at the county fair. He was playing all of these amazing songs, and I totally loved seeing Country music live for the first time. He then went on to get a record deal in Nashville and blew up - it was Collin Raye. I saw him when I was like 5, and at that time, he was in a band with his brother called "The Raye Brothers." But, I just caught that bug at a young age, and my brother was a singer/songwriter, so I'd tour around and sell his CDs. I just absolutely loved live music, writing songs and seeing how they connected with people, and people showing up and having music mean so much to them, and having your music mean something to them. It really connect with me, and I knew from a young age that it's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

2. Do you have a specific person, song, album, or event that has greatly inspired your image and your music?

Growing up, listening to Collin Raye's music was a huge thing for me, and just listening to Country radio; I listened to [KRKT (99.9 Cricket Country)/Portland] growing up. I loved the stories and how music made me feel something, so I'd say Country radio had a huge part to do with shaping who I am as an artist. Also, that live connection of when you're playing shows, you kinda create moments by doing something that only might happen once and trying to not have a formula - just get up there and play your songs and see what happen. With my whole story, the live show has been the backbone of the whole thing. Before I signed a record deal, I toured around 250 shows a year for five or six years. I really kinda found my sound and who I wanna be as an artist and who I am as a man, and now getting the opportunity to share that on a big scale is pretty amazing.

3. Obviously, every Country artist's dream is to sign a record deal with a major label in Nashville, which is what you have accomplished to do with Curb. How did you know Curb was the right team for you?

They had expressed interest and had showed up randomly to some of my shows on the West Coast. Then, having conversations with them and them really believing in me as the artist that I was, instead of saying, "Hey, you should fit into this cookie cutter and match with this sound," they took who I was and said, "We love what you're doing, and we wanna be a part of that." So, Mike Curb actually came out to one of my shows a couple years back, and just by having a conversation with a legend like that, who's accomplished so much in the music business and is a great man. He said some words to me that made me feel like Curb was a great family to fall into; they believed who I was and didn't try to make me into somebody else. I'm really thankful for the opportunity to be with Curb Records.

4. As a new artist signed to a major label, radio tour is a must. Can you talk about your experience with radio tour? What has been your favorite part about it? Any funny stories you want to share?

My experience with radio tour has been really fun, actually. Artists talk about it being super long and growing - and, it is - it's a lot of early morning flights, sometimes two flights a day, sometimes three flights a day going city to city and not having much time to do anything other than tackle radio and connect. That has been my favorite part: getting to meet great people - there are so many Programmers and Music Directors, and even getting to play for listeners. That's what I love about Country music; it really is all about the music. Any time I can show up and have people wanting to hear my music, or talk about my music, or even talk about other artists' music has been a blessing. I've really liked it! What's been weird for me is that I've kinda been building this whole thing on the West Coast, so almost every weekend, I'm flying back to the West Coast - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, maybe Thursday, I'll have radio tour in the Northeast or in Texas or in the Midwest or wherever. Then, I fly back to the West Coast to play two or three shows, then I fly back to Nashville on Sunday, and the whole thing starts over every week. It's been a 9-month long radio tour, but it's been really exciting being able to go everywhere, connect with so many people, and share my music. To have the opportunity to put a song out on the radio is pretty incredible, so I'm thankful, and it's been great to meet so many amazing people.

5. When you were in the office, you blew our minds with your loop pedal. Seriously - you somehow managed to make dog barks and cat meows sound amazing. Can you explain how you adopted such a talent?

Honestly, I kinda saw it as a way to be able to show my skills as a musician, a producer, and an artist, to be able to create a track and show how my brain works a little bit. I'm so passionate about music; I sleep music, I breathe music, I kinda live music. So, I love being able to show a little bit of a different side of myself. I didn't invent the wheel of the loop pedal by any means; there's a lot of great artists that use a loop pedal, but I feel like I've been able to put my own twist on it and have a lot of fun with it at the same time. I wanted to do something that was challenging for myself. I was sitting in a meeting one day, and they were like, "Do you wanna bring your band out on radio tour, or what do you wanna do?" and I was like, "Well, I'd like to do something different that people may have not seen in a conference room." So, I came up with the idea that if I could find a small sound system and put my loop pedal inside of a suitcase that weighs less than 50 pounds so I can fly it for free - I thought it was a good idea. It was pretty crazy; we fit the whole thing in a suitcase and had my double guitar case, and we fly with it everywhere. It's been really fun to take it in to opening for other acts - we can do it in any venue. I don't think many people have really seen it in the Country genre, which has been really fun to bring that and open a few people's eyes. It's also been really fun for me to create live on the spot like that.

6. You also mentioned during your All Access visit that you spent a majority of the past few years touring any chance you could get in order to gain performance experience and create a fan base for yourself. Describe a Jackson Michelson show for us! How do you keep the crowd engaged?

I would say that my show is fun - I like to keep it fun, light-hearted, and spontaneous. My goal is to not only for you to leave my show and like the music and connect with the songs, but as an artist, I like to communicate who I am as a person and have people leave knowing me a little bit better than when they showed up. I'm definitely spontaneous and off-the-cuff. We might stop in the middle of a show to bust out some random throwback song, or even freestyle a song on the spot to create moments. My favorite shows are when something happens that only happens that night; when you can tell it's everybody living in the moment and enjoying being a part of the music, whether its onstage or in the crowd. We're all there for the music, and we're all there for the experience, so I try to keep it fresh every night and change things up. I don't do things necessarily the same all of the time. I like to create moments and have fun; I want the show to be just as much fun for me as it is for the crowd. If I can accomplish that, then everybody wins.

7. You've opened for big names - Blake Shelton, Lee Brice, Hank Williams Jr., and more. If you could put together your dream tour - who would be on the road with you?

I would have to say that it would be a mix of artists; I would put in Willie Nelson, because I'm a huge Willie Nelson fan. So, Willie would have to be out there. Just to hear him sing "On The Road Again" every night would be incredible, and "Georgia On My Mind." I'd have to throw in Keith Urban, because I'm obsessed with his guitar playing - he's a hero of mine. "Golden Roads" is one of my favorite albums ever released. For my dad, I have to put Boyz II Mean on the bill, because he's obsessed with them. They definitely have to be in there, which is a definite change in the lineup. Let's put Brian McKnight in there, too, because he's one of the greatest vocalists of all times. To even hear him sing the National Anthem knocks his socks off.

8. Your debut single, "Rollin'," is impacting Country radio on Monday, October 9th. Tell us the backstory of this record.

For two years, I was flying back and forth from Oregon to Nashville; I'd save all my money and buy a round-trip ticket every month. My family and I were just living off of all the money I made off the road. So, I'd save up the money, fly to Nashville, and sleep on my manager's couch for a week. I'd write two or three songs a day, and I'd write with anybody who would make time to schedule to write with me. I really grew as a songwriter during that time. Before then, I was just writing be myself. Through a random connection through my buddy named Moke in California, he was really good friends with a guy in Nashville named Dan Couch, who's written really big hits like "Something Bout A Truck" and "Hey Pretty Girl" by Kip [Moore] - he's an amazing songwriter and great guy. So, he cleared his schedule on the night of the CMA Awards, because I was flying in, and he was about to hit the road, and the only night he had open to write was the night of the CMA Awards. He was like, "Man, I'll just skip the CMA Awards and let's write." I was super nervous, because I hadn't really written with anybody - at that point - who has written current hits on the radio. So, the night before, I had a sold-out show in Sacramento - I think I was playing with Jon Pardi - and after we were done, I went back to the hotel room and had to get an idea to bring so that I look like I know what I'm doing. So, I sat up really late at night and came up with an idea for a melody. I was pretty excited about it, but super nervous to write with Dan. I flew into Nashville and drove down Music Row, and Music Row was dark because everyone's at the CMAs at Bridgestone. I rolled into the writer's room right at end of Music Row; there was one light on, and it was Dan waiting to write with me. We sat down, and he asked what I wanted to write, so I told him, "I got this idea... It might be the worst thing you ever heard in your life," and all that kind of stuff. Of course, everyone's like, "This might not be right, this might not be good, but what do you think about it?" So, I played it for him, and he said, "I think this sounds really cool, unique, and different. It sounds like your sound, and it's different than everything else out there, so let's chase this idea!" Sometimes you write with people, and it's a little bit of an awkward session, but with Dan and I, we clicked the first time we wrote, and this song came out. It's crazy that, two years later, I've written well over 100 songs, and there's something real special about this one. Playing it live is so much fun; people are singing it back, almost immediately. It's super fun to be a part of, and now, I'm so blessed to have the chance to put it out to the radio. I'm pinching myself. It's a dream come true!

9. As a new artist, you have worked super hard to create a fan base, sign a record deal, and release great, catchy music. For a Country artist looking to get to where you are now, what advice could you offer?

Play every opportunity you can - if you're playing for seven people at a casino, and people are yelling at you to turn it down so they can hear their slot machines, or if you're playing a sold-out crowd. The nights where you feel like no one's listening are the nights where you start to figure out who you are as an artist. It's a pretty amazing thing and an honor when people do show up to hear what you have to say, and they do wanna hear you sing, and the songs are connecting with them, so they get to sing back. It's so easy as an artist to look at other artists, almost overwhelmed with the pressure to be doing "this and this and this" to get to where I wanna be. For me, my story is pretty much backwards; I didn't move to Nashville until after I signed a record deal and toured for years. My encouragement would be that your path is your path; play every opportunity that you can and write every day. Music is a joy, and if it ever stops becoming fun, reevaluate why you're doing it, because it's called playing music for a reason.

10. With 2017 wrapping up, what do you have in store for the future? An album, a tour?

I've been in the studio for the last year and a half making this album. I think we just finished it up, and I'm so excited! We've been playing the songs live for over a year, so people are showing up singing these songs off of Facebook videos, and I'm like, "Oh my God, I can't wait to release this music!" So, that's gonna be coming out, but mainly, I'm focusing on the single, "Rollin'," right now and going out to spend as much time with my friends at Country radio as possible.