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We are chatting with Jake Walters today. Welcome. What is your musical background, and how did you get started in the industry?
I have been studying music since I was 8, starting with piano lessons, and then adding in voice. Later, I spent a lot of time doing local musical theatre productions and camps, and fell in love with the art of storytelling and tapping into the human experience. In high school, I went to a teeny tiny charter school, and we had no theatre program, so I joined the teeny tiny choir, and discovered the vast world of classical music. I also started a band, now called Idle Lights. I performed with them all over my hometown, and even a couple of neighboring cities. I got my Bachelor’s and Master’s in Classical Voice, but my real, bleeding heart is in writing and singing pop music.
How would you describe your musical style or genre? Are there any specific influences that have shaped your sound?
I would say that, at its core, I make pop music. But I do think that I have a pretty wide variety of musical influences. I grew up listening to kind of two ends of the spectrum, with the R&B greats on my mom’s side, like Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, and Classic Rock on my dad’s side, like ACDC, Queen, and Zeppelin. Nowadays, I really find myself listening to artists who I think elevate the pop music genre, like Björk, Kimbra, Arca, and countless others. I think this blend of exposure has really led to a craving for creating a real broad sound in my music, trying to capture something that everybody can relate to. On my Spotify, in my bio, I say that my music is “pop music that changes it up a little,” and that’s really what I’m trying to do.
Can you walk us through your creative process when writing or composing music? Where do you draw inspiration from?
I find that I’m often ruminating on a concept, or series of concepts. My last album was really focused on shadow work, and I think that’s because it was written during the lockdowns, so I had a lot of time to spend with myself. My latest music really is focused on dissecting our post-modern, late-stage capitalist world, and I think that is because of my move from my hometown of Tucson, Arizona, to this huge city, Los Angeles. I like to think I am a pretty perceptive person, and so I observe these things around me, and they churn around a bit inside, and then I find myself writing lyrics about it.
Sometimes, the music comes first, though. I might want to be conveying a certain mood or image. Or, maybe I want to make people dance, or maybe I want to make people think. Sometimes both. In fact, this new music I think falls more in line with that. I wanted to basically make “folk music from an alien planet,” and then my lyrics just kind of ended up being a bit punk and dystopian, which I am fine with! Haha.
What have been the most significant milestones or highlights in your music career so far?
A couple of years ago, I spoke with a local group in Arizona, called Music Against Teen Bullying, and I played some benefit shows for them, both solo, and with the aforementioned band. As someone who was bullied in school, I really felt empowered in the hope that music could provide someone else with the same power and voice that I provided me.
I also opened for a band called Geographer, whom I have loved since I was in high school. That was pretty surreal.
Share some memorable experiences from your live performances. What do you enjoy most about performing in front of an audience?
Honestly – the first thing that came to my mind was the very first performance I did, when I was like 15. I just remember being so nervous, and so unsure of what would happen. I had done plenty of musical theatre shows, but never anything that was just ME and my music. But I remember walking onto the stage, and just melting away into the music and the words. Just like with theatre, my job was to deliver those two things, in an honest and meaningful way. I always try my absolute best to do that, and I remember feeling so much lighter, and electrified, once my set was done.
Have you collaborated with other artists or musicians? If so, can you tell us about a particularly meaningful collaboration and its outcome?
Yes – I have a song called “Holy Water,” which I co-produced with a Phoenix based producer named DaboyRuff. He had done sound for me for a show, and we had just kinda kept in contact. I heard this demo he had made, and just got a total sexy, insane adrenaline rush. I was instantly attached to it. I had the lyrics almost instantly, and I added just a couple bells and whistles to make it sound a bit more like me, cut the vocal, and it was ready. It was the first time I really got crazy excited by something that wasn’t in my own hands from its conception, and it was really fun to be able to meet someone halfway and create something together, rather than alone. I still jam out to that song all the time!
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in the music industry, and how have you overcome them?
I think those goes for almost all industries, but the imposter syndrome, and propensity to compare yourself to others is so real. Whether that be comparing the loudness of your master, or the actual integrity of your music, it’s so so so easy to fall into that trap, and come out thinking you aren’t enough. I’m a dreadful perfectionist, so I really feel this hard. But those intrusive thoughts simply aren’t reality. For me, I just try to constantly remind myself that nobody else is me, and I am not anybody else. The work I am doing is mine, and the very fact that I’m doing it at all is enough. I don’t think I’ll ever NOT compare myself to others, but there’s also a certain balm in knowing that it’s something that plagues us all. Nobody is alone in that.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are just starting their musical journey?
I think it would be similar to what the last question discusses. I would say definitely, LISTEN to a TON of music. Absorb it. Hate it. Love it. Everything. When we are babies, we learn everything by observing it from somebody else. Be a baby – watch and learn. Try new things, make mistakes, and be excited about those mistakes. I think the only way to really fine-tune something is to get it wrong 99 times. Because then, that 100th time, may just be the right one! But also – there’s no such thing as right or wrong. In fact – scrap everything else I just said. There’s no such thing as right or wrong when you’re making music.
Is there a specific message or emotion you hope to convey through your music, and what do you hope listeners take away from your songs?
The message I want to send is that it’s okay, and its beautiful, to honor the darker things within you. I think in our lives we are taught to be peachy keen about everything. But life does not work that way at all. We have so many feelings, us humans, and I think that’s freaking beautiful. Allow yourself to give the not-so-savory parts of yourself space. It’s like – my dad always used to say that if you have a wound, there is something about letting it air out that makes it heal better. Air out your own wounds, because that’s the only way they will REALLY heal.
Where can we listen to your latest release and follow along on social media?
My newest music, and all of my previous releases, can be found on most streaming websites, but particularly Apple Music and Spotify. My most recent release The Eighth House I. Folc is up now, and can be found at those places! Here’s a link! https://open.spotify.com/album/2BZtmYpB1Y6wMpJcrIMBiN?si=YYuitn7QRK-p7IzUNYmb_Q
Follow me on instagram and TikTok here! I post all the time, and sometimes things can get pretty silly on my TikTok! 🙂
