Common Jack
John Gardner, known as Common Jack, unveiled his new single “I Don’t Mind” on December 4th.
Co-produced with Harper James (Eighty Ninety), the folk-pop single is about learning to let go of things that are out of our control and finding a sense of peace with where we currently are in life.
“It was inspired by some really difficult experiences I had with the "music industry", which convinced me that at the end of the day, I should really just be making music for myself and the people I love,” explains Gardner.
After spending two and a half years on the Once Broadway tour (based on the movie Once, starring Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová), Common Jack released his original music in 2016.
“I Don’t Mind” follows the independent release of Common Jack’s EP Canyons in the Dark released earlier this year.
Stream “I Don’t Mind” on major streaming platforms now.
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
My name is John. I grew up in a small valley in Virginia, surrounded by lots of farmland. My mom was an opera singer and my dad was a dentist who was passionate about learning music. So when I was young, there were always instruments lying around. By the time I was in middle school, I was passing the time by teaching myself these different instruments - piano, guitar, mandolin, ukulele, harmonica. After graduating high school, I ended up studying Acting in college in Ithaca, New York. That's how I found my way to the world tour of Once. I moved to NYC after leaving Ithaca and through a series of auditions, landed myself a role. For anyone who isn't familiar with Once, it's a stage show based on the movie with Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova where the actors are also the orchestra. Many of the people on stage end up playing 7 or 8 instruments throughout the course of the show. So for me as a musician, it was a dream come true to do travel the world with that show for 2.5 years. Although I loved acting and performing in that way, I had always nurtured a dream to become a songwriter and make a life recording albums of my own. So with the newfound community that Once introduced me to, it seemed like the universe sending me a big sign, screaming "it's time to take the leap!" So I did and I haven't looked back since.
When did you start feeling connected to music and art?
I can't remember a time where I didn't feel deeply connected to music and art. Given how musical my parents were, it was always a part of daily life. And even when I was really little, I always gravitated towards the artists that were represented in culture. I never really cared about being a football star or anything like that. I wanted to be the lovable weirdo in the corner scribbling lyrics in a notebook.
Do you remember a specific time in your life where music made a huge difference?
Like many of us, I tend to find comfort in music during the hard times. The loss of a loved one, a break-up, a time of high anxiety - that's when I can most tangibly feel the difference that good music makes in my life. A good example is a few years ago when I discovered Mt. Joy. They were just breaking, I think they only had like 2 songs out. And I was dirt poor, struggling to make ends meet, working as a dog walker in the Upper East Side of NYC with the dogs of super wealthy families. One day it was snowing like crazy and I was really underdressed for it. So I was pretty miserable, dealing with all the emotional turmoil that financial stresses bring up. That's when I found Mt. Joy's song Astrovan. And it blew me away. To this day, the line "Angels smoking cigarettes on rooftops in fishnets in the morning with the moon still glowing" does something really powerful to me. I hope I get to meet Mt. Joy one day so I can say thanks for that.
What did your experience on the Once broadway show teach you as a performer and as an artist in general?
It taught me persistence and consistency. Doing 8 shows a week for more than 2 years wears you down if you let it. There were times when we had spent every off day that month on a plane to the next city or we hadn’t seen our families in a long time. We had to keep putting one foot in front of the other and find the passion to get up on that stage again. It helps that the music we were performing was amazing and that the audiences were really receptive. But that was a big lesson I took away from that tour. Also, we were playing so many different instruments and were actively encouraged to learn new ones, so my musicianship really benefitted from being left to roam like that.
What gave you the confidence to be an artist and release your original music?
I don't know. I'm not sure I actually do have the confidence to do it. It's just something I'm so drawn to that it feels like I don't really have a choice. I think I would release music whether anyone listened to it or not. For me, making a song and putting it into the world is the most fulfilling experience there is.
How did things change for you since your first release?
Now I understand how a recording studio works, which has made me a smarter artist. That's one thing I tell everyone: if you don't know the basics of producing, engineering, mixing, and mastering, do yourself the favor of teaching yourself those basics. Knowing that totally changed the way I approach recording. With every release, I’ve also learned more about what’s really important to me as a songwriter. Every release has some really healthy moments of introspection. I always check in with myself to see if this is all still worth it. And it is :)
How would you define Common Jack, the artist?
That question is a moving target for me. I’ve tried answering it with genre vocabulary, similar artist vocabulary, and all sorts of stuff like that. I fail every time. One time I had a blog describe my music as “understated hot chocolate yumminess” so maybe that? Honestly, I think the answer is best framed by how successful I am at making songs that connect with people. Regardless of genre or any of those other descriptors we like to use, we all listen to music to feel an emotional connection, to feel our humanity recognized, right? That’s what I hope I can accomplish.
"I Don't Mind" is your new single. What's the story behind this song?
In the most optimistic way I can put this, it's the story of me giving up. I had just hit a wall, trying to get "industry" folks to notice me and give me some sort of thumbs up that I was on the right track. I was placing my own self-worth in the hands of others who were never going to give me what I was looking for. In the summer of 2018, I was really struggling emotionally and had this epiphany that I was doing this music thing for all the wrong reasons. I wasn’t having any fun anymore, which was the whole reason I started doing it in the first place! So one night I sat down and started noodling on my guitar and the lyric “I am done spending all my money trying to find serenity” just kind of tumbled out. There was something so clean and honest about it. I was hooked. That became the first line of I Don’t Mind and within 15 minutes, I finished the song and texted Harper about setting up some studio time. It was such a refreshing experience writing that song, coming from the emotional place I was in. It felt fun again.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process?
For me, the music almost always comes before the words. I always write on just one instrument, usually guitar or piano. I try as hard as I can to avoid thinking about arrangements until I’m a couple of days away from a session at Degraw. I find that the more open-minded I can walk into a session, the more creative our choices will be because I don’t have an idea of what the song “should” be set in stone. Once we’re in the studio, Harper and I are usually pretty good at letting the song lead us in making production choices.
How was it like to collaborate with Harper James? How did you guys meet?
It’s impossible to put into words the love, respect, and gratitude I feel for Harper. We met each other through a mutual friend in 2015 and have been making music together ever since. Working with him never really feels like work. It's easy. And we challenge each other to be better than we are. In addition to being one of my great friends, he’s become a mentor as well. Not sure he’d agree with that but it’s true. I've never worked with someone who has been so willing to let me ask questions and shamelessly try to learn what they know. I'll always look up to him.
What made you want to release "I Don't Mind" as a single?
I didn’t have money to record anything else haha. I wish there was a better answer than that but that’s the only reason this isn’t part of an EP or album....yet....
What do you like the most about this song?
I love how sparse it is. The writing behind the song feels emotionally stripped down, so it made a lot of sense to have the arrangement reflect that. It was scary to make that choice though. I love huge wall-of-sound arrangements, so this felt like a risky move.
As an artist, what are the biggest challenges? And what is the best thing?
I had a teacher who said it best. The biggest challenge is keeping the Work separate from the Business. And what he meant by that is that right now, artists need to wear multiple hats unless they’re a huge star on a major label; they need to be artists, writers, marketers, graphic designers, managers, creative directors, stylists, social media managers, etc. That’s the Business. But all of those things only become necessary because of the Work. In other words, sitting in your bedroom sifting through your experiences and your emotions to make something that connects to other people, which is a squishy and pretty weird process for a lot of people. In my past experience, if you let the Business dictate the Work, the Business will kill everything beautiful about a creative process. Finding a way to keep the creative side protected is so important. As for the best thing, it's getting to put things out and have people say they identify with it! There's always something pretty surreal about that happening. It's fuel on the fire.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry?
There are so many things that should be criticized because the industry is still such a boys club and artists are still so underpaid. But I think we’re (slowly) heading in the right direction. Streaming services - say what you will about the royalties - have gone a long way towards shifting the balance of power and democratizing things. There's still so much work to be done towards that, though.
What does songwriting make you feel?
Remember the way we all felt at the end of The Lion King (the original) when Simba and his crew took Pride Rock back from Scar and Simba walks up to the top in the pouring rain and the orchestra swells? Then he roars and everyone at Pride Rock starts celebrating? The feeling I get whenever I see that scene is how songwriting makes me feel lol.
What do you want to accomplish as a human being?
As a musician, I want to quit my day job and play Newport Folk Fest one day. I could die happy after that. As a human, I think I'm always striving for a mindset of acceptance in the face of things that are out of my control. Easier said than done, but still worth a shot.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
If everyone read the book The Overstory by Richard Powers, the world would instantly get better. The sooner we get away from seeing each other as individuals who are disconnected from each other, the better.
2019 is slowly coming to an end, what lessons did you learn?
I learned how to make a practice of self-forgiveness. I learned how to stop taking myself so seriously all the time. I think I’m in the process of learning to slow down and take a look around. Life has started feeling very temporary to me this year, so I think I’m feeling the need to step back, take stock, and just have fun more often.
What did you achieve this year?
One of my big goals of 2019 was to find likeminded people to bring on board and help take CJ to a wider audience. I was lucky enough for that to begin happening. We're starting to build a small but mighty team and I am so proud of the work everyone is doing as well as the way we're moving things forward on our own terms.
What are your goals for 2020?
To send Trump packing.
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