Jessica Meuse – Halfhearted

By starrymag | June 17, 2018

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) If Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin had a baby it would probably be Jessica Meuse.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) I was actually born and raised on 90’s country out in Texas. So, I grew up listening to Shania Twain, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride and even some of the guys like Tim McGraw, Trace Adkins and Tracy Byrd. So, I kind of grew up in that vibe of country music where it had that hint of outlaw. It’s much more pop now. I kind of reminisce about 90’s country. I also have that rock edge because between country my parents would flip between that and old school rock n’ roll like Rolling Stones and Tom Petty. So, a lot of those older rockers like Fleetwood Mac.

Q) Talk about the message behind your single “High.”

A) the message behind the song is that I was dating this guy by total accident and he was just one of those misery-loves-company types. He wanted to bring you down with his misery and he always kind of nit-picked and he always found something wrong with something that I said or had done. So, I wrote that song about how I dealt with him. You self-medicate and do things to distract yourself from the inevitable death of a relationship that just isn’t working. So, I wrote that about him.

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need to have music before you can create lyrics?

A) For me, a lot of times a song will just kind of hit me. A lot of times it’s not even that I’ve set aside time to go and write. It’s just that something hits me. I had a song hit me while I was in the shower. I had to turn the shower off, put a towel on and go write the song. I think it is one of the songs on the album. Even with “Love Her Better,” I was stuck in a car because I got locked out of the studio. It just kind of slapped me in the face because I had just gotten out of a relationship and I was really mad. I was really, really mad because he cheated on me. So, I was like, “I hope he loves her better than he loved me.” That was the song. The whole thing just kind of wrote itself. Then, there are other times where I have all these voice notes and there is a little snippet of things here and there with lines and trigger words in my notes on my phone and I’ll make myself write something. That’s usually a hit or miss, but I kind of have all different ways that I write; however, my favorite is when it just kind of hits me.

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

A) As for the actual production, my manager is a producer as well. He’s in LA and I’ve been in Alabama and currently on the road. So, between my travels when he was doing all the final mixes in LA he would send me kind of progress reports and I could say, “I want more of this” or “I want more guitars” or “Can you bring up the background.” So, I did get full creative say and we did see eye to eye on pretty much everything. When he has an idea that’s usually an a really awesome one and when I have an idea we try to build off of that. It’s very synergetic.

Q) What can fans expect from a live Jessica Meuse performance?

A) When they come see me live they can expect my witty attitude. I’m very sarcastic and there is a lot of dry humor in there. I think that’s one of the things my fans like about me. I’m just real and a normal person. I just happen to be on stage singing with a guitar and my job is to make music, but I think I’m very relatable and I like to make them all feel special. It’s not like I’m looking into a sea of people. I’m looking at each person and my fans get that and that’s why they’ve stuck around waiting for this album for such a long time.

Q) What songs off your album are you looking forward to performing live?

A) Hmm. Well, they are all really fun. I genuinely love each and every song, most of them not for the same exact reasons. There are some you wouldn’t expect. Like the song “Halfhearted” is a little bit of a rap, which just kind of happened. It was one of those ones that just fell out of the sky and hit me. I haven’t performed that one live yet, but I’m looking forward to it. Then, I love singing the song “High” and “Love Her Better.” There are a lot of brand new ones that I just haven’t had a chance to sing out yet and I’m really looking forward to singing them.

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from your album Halfhearted?

A) I want my listeners to hear my story and understand who Jessica Meuse is through that because I look at this whole album as like a musical storybook of my life in every hardship and obstacle. Every bit of blood, sweat and tears to get to where I am today. In that, there is a message of personal strength that I want people to take from it because we all have times when we’re down and there isn’t always someone there to pick us back up. And I want to be able to show people that even in your moments of weakness you can be your own strength. That’s kind of the story of my album and what I want people eto take from it and use It in their lives in any way that they can.

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform?

A) I just performed at Brat Fest in Wisconsin and that was super fun. It was like ninety-five degrees out, but it was really awesome and there were hotdogs everywhere. [laughs]

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song?

A) Brent Smith from Shinedown. If I could do just a little stripped down, acoustic something with him…That would be the most amazing thing to mark off my bucket list ever and I would cry.

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to?

A) That’s easy, It’s Shinedown. [laughs] I’m in love with Shinedown. That’s my favorite band, ever. I actually just saw them in concert and they had a new album come out so I’ve kind of been hooked on that.

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

A) Nowadays social media is one of the prime tools, if not the prime tool, to connect with your fans. It’s very good for promotional purposes and getting information out like where you are going to be and when you are going to be there. It makes it so much easier to not only get that info out, but to connect with your fans on a more personal level.

Q) What would you like to say to the Meuse Mafia?

A) I want to tell them thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can never find enough words to tell them thank you and I could spend the rest of my days saying thank you. And I probably will because without them I could not do what I do. I couldn’t be doing this radio tour and playing all these shows. I’d have to have a normal person job and I learned early in 2017 that I suck at those. So, I have to say thank you to my fans. They’re amazing!