An accomplished individual in the alternative music scene, Jesse Lawson is a veteran of the alternative music scene. Serving as Sleeping With Sirens’ guitarist for multiple years and success as an independent songwriter, Lawson’s musical journey as has been quite prosperous. Recently, Lawson opened up to us about his time as a solo artist.
Where did you get the idea/inspiration to start your solo project?
“It’s always something I have wanted to do, I’ve always been a songwriter, and wanted to have a project where I made all the calls; Where the songs would sound exactly as I heard them in my head. I also wanted to touch on the producing side of things, so not only did I write the songs how I wanted, I got to make them come to life!”
In order to fund your new project, you started an Indiegogo campaign. Did you ever think that fans would support you so greatly in your new adventure?
“To be honest, I had no idea what to expect! Ha I knew I couldn’t do it on my own, and a friend of mine worked for Indiegogo so he gave me the idea of giving it a go! So I went for it, and was lucky enough to have such amazing fans to make it happen!”
Your first full length album, Projections recently came out, what were the creating and producing processes like?
“I have a typical way of writing, I start with acoustic guitar, then I’ll start writing melodies, and last is lyrics. After that I’ll kind of imagine how I want the song to feel for the listener, what vibe or feel should the song as a whole portray. After that we get in the studio. I’ll change things if need be – lyrics, melodies, sometimes even the key of the whole song! I love being in the studio, it’s by far my favorite part of the whole process.”
What would you say has been the most difficult part of your career for you all personally and collectively?
“I would say doing everything on my own. I’m in charge of setting up photo shoots, ordering CDs, setting up studio time, making sure my records are on every music outlet B.ing an independent artist is a lot of work. Thank God I have a manager and booking agent. If I was doing that as well I would be extremely stressed out, and right now I’m just normal stressed out. Haha”
How did you, or do you continue to, overcome these struggles?
“I just know that hard work pays off, if I give up I did all this for no reason. I’m excited for my future and the journey to come. It will be a ton of work, and I’m willing to dive in!”
What is the one dream the moment at which point either personally or collectively you would be able to say yes I’ve achieved this, I’m living my dreams?
“I’ve been blessed, I’ve reached that a few times by playing to massive crowds, touring in buses (not 15 passenger vans), charting highly on Billboard Top 200, music videos on TV, ect. I would say my next dream is to have a studio of my own and constantly be recording other bands, writing with/for bands, score a movie soundtrack, and put out my own records whenever I want. It’s a big dream, but I’ll get there.”
What’s the next step for Jesse Lawson?
“I just got off another tour with a band called Curses, we did 10 dates in Canada, good time. Right now I’m focusing a lot more on the producing side of things, I’m also going to get more into the Co-writing with other bands as well. I love song writing, it’s a art that I study and something I respect. A lot of bands have so much talent but can’t write a song, I want to be there to help and teach them the ways.”
You can follow Jesse Lawson on all things social
Interview By: Alex Shimalla
