Interview with Jaga Glassman!

Welcome to Kick Acts. Tell us a little about yourself and your band and were you can be found at on the web.

Hi, nice to meet you. Thanks for taking the time to interview me Kick Acts Magazine —really appreciate it! I started out a few years ago fronting a little jazz band in San Diego called the Cedros Jazz Trio. We took our unique Jazzy/Pop sound and played out at all the local venues, like the San Diego Polo club, The UCSD Faculty Club, and various local restaurants and community events. I sent out live recordings of our performances to industry people, hoping for an opportunity to get our sound out there to a larger audience, and my prayers were answered when I was invited to come out to Nashville by the Tyler Music Group.

So it was that in the Spring of 2010, I found myself at the Sound Emporium Studio, on Nashville’s famous Music Row recoding beautiful jazzy/country/pop music with Nashville’s A-listers backing me up. As Michelle Gawley, of TMG told me,” you’ve now been to the top of the mountain…there’s no going back!” And… she was right!! There was no going back! I Loved the Nashville music scene, and the amazing musicians I met! I went back several more times, and after a long, heartfelt talk with producer Will Smith, and then later with Sound Engineer Taylor Pollert, I decided I couldn’t leave Nashville without putting my heart and soul into making a Jazz CD.

Having had such success in Nashville, and continuing on with my growth as a singer/songwriter, I sought out the great songwriter Jeff Blue of Atlantic Records/ Rock Shop Music group, and decided to try out my voice in the Pop genre, co-writing and singing three Pop songs with Jeff Blue and Mike Gonsolin. This was my first Hollywood experience, and I loved every minute of it! There was admittedly a little culture shock, when Instead of Nashville barbeque for creative music writing breaks, I found myself going out for the Hollywood mainstay of raw sushi… and we swapped the time-honored Music Row recording studios for Mike Gonsolin’s Multi-million dollar in-home studio. I must admit though, it was here in this cozy studio that I really learned how to write music!

The final piece of the puzzle, the business side, finally came into play only four or five months ago when I met Maurice Carmon of MLyrics, and learned that one could actually make some money in this business! It was April, and I had just finished shooting my first Music Video in Memphis with the amazing Joe Spike Yung. My husband and I were enjoying a little time at Memphis’s grand Old Peabody Hotel, and as I’ve come to realize… very fortunate for us… Maurice lived an hour outside of Memphis and agreed to make the drive and meet with us. My husband and I proceeded to bombard Mr. Carmon with questions for over an hour, which he graciously answered… the theme of which was ‘”How does one make any money in this business?” I now had all this great music, and even a music video, but had yet to receive a real royalty check. After that meeting, and many, many more conversations to come, I started to learn that one HAD to take care of the business side, that It wasn’t enough to just put some great music out there. One had to have a budget ,and a team with the right connections! In just the few short months that Maurice has been onboard, I am charting in the TOP 40 CHARTS for JAZZ, and am in the TOP 20 in the INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION, both of which are quite an honor! I am up in over 200 radio stations, and I just had my first radio interview! I feel like my music is definitely getting out there.

Http://www.reverbnation.com/jagaglassman

http://www.facebook.com/jagaglassman

http://www.twitter.com/jagaglassman

http://www.Soundcloud.com/jagaglassman

http://www.instagram.com/jagaglassman

http://www.linkedin.com/jagaglassman

http://www.sofiremusicent.com/jaga-glassman

 

Who are your musical heroes, influences & why?

One of my greatest musical influences would be John Lennon, not only for his musical composition, but for his world view of peace…

 

Do you have any advice for someone just getting started in playing music? Any pitfalls they should avoid?

This is a rewarding, but very tough business to get into, and make any kind of a living with. My advice to anyone getting started is to make sure you have a unique, one-of-a-kind sound that adds something to the world of music. Don’t let anyone try and tell you that you should try and sound like someone who’s making it. I had one publisher tell me that to move my music he needed me to sound more like Adele. Now, why would I want to do that? Adele sounds like Adele, and is doing great being herself! Be your own unique self—it doesn’t get any better than that! Also, while you’re making that great sounding music, please make sure to put together a budget to promote your music! If your music doesn’t make it past your family and friends, you’re not going anywhere!!

 

 Do you have any other hobbies other than playing music? Collect stamps? Collect hats from off the side of the road? Draw pictures of boobs?

I am also a visual artist in the genres of Oil painting, graphic Arts and Photography! What can I say? I’ve got that part of my brain in high gear! A few years back, I had a gallery showing of my Artwork at the UC San Diego Faculty Club, while my band entertained them with our music! Best night of my life!

 

“Shout It Out Loud”. It’s were you get to talk about whatever you want to talk about. So go ahead and “SHOUT IT OUT LOUD”!

Hey, I’m all about the creative process! Whether it be music, art, your career, your family, do it all to your best ability! Bring out your creative soul and spirit in everything you do, and don’t ever let anyone try and control you. Your creativeness is God’s gift to you, and your gift to the world.

I like to think of myself as a renaissance woman. I bring my love of Music and Art into every aspect of my life! Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me, God bless!