Jason Maxwell is a singer-songwriter & recording artist known for his high-energy performances & approachable personality. Jason’s unique approach to posting creative content online coupled with his eagerness to engage & interact with his listeners has helped Jason garner global viewership with +70 million views across social media platforms. Jason has been featured on several editorial playlists including Spotify’s Country Favourites & Live Country playlists, Spotify’s Country Hits station, Apple Music’s New Music Daily & New in Country playlists, Amazon Music’s Breakthrough Country, Certified Country & Fresh Alternative playlists & YouTube Music’s The New Crop playlist. We caught up with him to discuss his career and his recently released track “For Now”.
Jason, thanks for taking the time to speak to us about your career. For those unfamiliar with you, how and when did you decide to fully embrace music as a career?
First of all, thank you for taking the time to ask and listen! I grew up in Toronto and my entire childhood revolved around sports, particularly hockey. Music had always been a huge part of my day-to-day life but my dream of becoming a “rockstar” was definitely influenced by the movie “School of Rock”. Immediately after watching the movie, I wanted to play the drums and guitar but my parents weren’t too thrilled with the idea of hearing drums banging and crashing throughout the house so we mutually settled on guitar. I first picked up the guitar when I was 12 years old but I didn’t really take the deep dive into the music world until my final year of university. I joined a local band to play rhythm guitar and sing background harmony – after a year or so I had the realization that I wanted to be the lead creative sharing my own artistry with the world. I recorded and released my first EP that Summer and ended up touring and performing all across Ontario. Later on that Fall, I applied for an emerging artist program at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, TN and I was fortunate and lucky enough to be approved which led to the first of several trips to record in one of the world’s most renowned studios.
Which artist has been the most influential on your career and why?
I’d have to say that Russ has been the most influential on my music career. Russ is on the complete opposite spectrum from the Country genre but his business-minded, calculated approach to navigating the music industry as a whole is admirable and inspiring for an independent artist like myself. I feel like we have similar mindsets and driving forces that motivate us. I’ve learned so much from Russ’ transparency and experiences in his own journey that I’ve been able to apply it to my own career path.
You have performed as a supporting act for several notable artists including The Washboard Union, The Reklaws, Chad Brownlee & J.J. Shiplett. Looking back at your many performances, has there been any significant moment that has significantly shaped your appreciation, professionalism, and attitude towards the music industry?
I’ve definitely seen both sides of the music industry’s professionalism – I’ve seen situations handled with the utmost professionalism and I’ve also seen the extreme opposite. In a way, experiencing both the best side and the worst side is what shapes one’s appreciation and attitude. It’s easy so easy to get caught up and sidetracked over trivial issues but I’ve found that maintaining a level-headed mindset and focusing on what’s within your control is the best way to approach any situation in the music industry.
You have featured on several YouTube, Amazon, and Spotify Editorial Placements and supported some celebrated iconic musicians, but what is your proudest achievement to date?
The editorial recognition is certainly an incredible achievement that I value immensely as a stamp of industry validation but I’d have to admit that my proudest achievement is that I’ve been able to genuinely connect with strangers through my music. It’s a wild concept to imagine making real-life connections with people I don’t personally know but they are introduced to me through a tangible, sonic representation of who I am as a person. The fact that I’ve been able to connect with people through live shows, posting on social media, or even through radio or playlist discovery is something that I’ll never take for granted. I’m beyond grateful to have found people who vibe and resonate with the art that I create.
As a singer-songwriter, can you share with us your creative process when producing new material?
It definitely varies in the sense that there’s no strictly regimented process or approach. Sometimes I’ll have an idea or a specific lyrical phrase I want to build the song around – other times I’ll have writer’s block content-wise and instead I’ll work out a vocal or instrumental lead melody to build the track’s feel and groove around. For me, there’s no such thing as a words-first, music-second or vice-versa – I find I write and produce my best songs when I find the type of sonic energy that genuinely and passionately resonates. Once I find that space, I always try to build the entire soundscape around that core foundational feeling that ultimately gives the song its life. My methodology isn’t necessarily conducive for an efficient production line of manufacturing songs but it’s certainly an effective methodology for producing quality songs over a quantity of songs.
To date, what would you say have been your biggest challenges as an artist?
My two biggest obstacles to career advancement as an artist are most definitely my lack of vast financial resources and relationships with key industry decision-makers. The barriers to breaking into the mainstream commercial music space as an artist are undoubtedly high but little by little over the years I’ve slowly been able to chip away at finding a workaround for both of these obstacles.
You’ve just released an original track “For Now”. Please tell us more about the track and its origins.
The song was inspired by a past relationship that ultimately failed – very much a case of ‘right girl, wrong time’. A year or so after our relationship ended, I noticed she had moved on to someone new and my initial reaction was to immediately question whether her new relationship was as serious or meaningful as her previous relationship with myself. It was a challenging process writing “For Now” – the challenging aspect was the unnerving awkwardness of opening up to my co-writers Elias Edlund and Shawn Moore on a subject that still stings and communicating the story in such a manner that’s more negative/ toxic than it is positive/happy with respect to emotional health. Most writers/artists want to write/record songs that will perform well commercially and there’s an industry-wide unspoken assumption that negative/toxic songs are less likely to succeed in the commercial space. I want to write and record the best songs I can create and I’m less concerned with which boxes the songs will fit into – I want to create timeless music so in the long run I feel like it’s better to create something genuine and relatable opposed to creating something that merely ticks the boxes of today’s criteria checklist. Once Eli, Shawn, and I were in agreement on the song’s concept and writer/listener perspective, we were able to write the lyrics with relative ease.
What other projects are you currently working on?
I’m planning to release an album this Summer/Fall that’s already mixed, mastered, and ready to go but I’m already planning ahead – I’m currently in the process of narrowing down demos and selecting songs to record for my next album. I’m also currently trying to convince the Netflix “Full Out 2” movie director to bring me back for “Full Out 3” if the movie series gets renewed – fingers crossed!
Where can our readers find out more about you?
- TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@itsjasonmaxwell
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/itsjasonmaxwell/
- YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/JasonMaxwellMusic/videos
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jmaxwellmusic/
- Website – https://www.glacierbayentertainment.com/talent
- Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/440tHgigiHuHb2k4XjwT14?si=ePJb3fUjTmaWqBiygDdfhg
- Apple Music – https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/jason-maxwell/642020621
- Amazon Music – https://music.amazon.ca/artists/B06W2MXRKK/jason-maxwell?marketplaceId=ART4WZ8MWBX2Y&musicTerritory=CA&ref=dm_sh_DBNiCgltzxubsuAQrex474uKt
Images
- Jason Maxwell performing at The KEE to Bala opening for Chad Brownlee, Bala, ON – credit Scott Burns 1
- Jason Maxwell on the Pedestrian Bridge, Nashville, TN – credit Stu Weinber
- Jason Maxwell performing at The KEE to Bala opening for Chad Brownlee, Bala, ON – credit Scott Burns 2
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