This week’s Local Spins on WYCE guest performed in-studio. Story, video and full radio show podcast, featuring new tracks from Flint Eastwood, Valley Girl, Otis Blueswell Jr. and more.
Tapping into Different Sonic Directions: Singer-songwriter Jared Sjoblom plans to release a full-length album in February. (Photo/Anna Sink)
THE ARTIST: Jared Sjoblom
THE MUSIC: Diverse, soulful indie-folk
WHERE YOU CAN SEE HIM: 10 p.m. tonight (Saturday) with Brother Adams at Grand Haven Brew House in Grand Haven; Jan. 23 at Party in Your Parka 2016 at Muskegon Winter Sports Complex inside Muskegon State Park
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With soulful melodies, a voice that recalls the resonance of David Gray and lyrics that allow him to work out his frustrations, singer-songwriter Jared Sjoblom showcases the sort of infectious, head-turning music that’s tough to get out of your head.
Part of a Fertile Scene: Sjoblom performing at SpeakEZ Lounge earlier this week. (Photo/Anna Sink)
“I like to keep things a little rough around the edges, a little drudgy,” says Sjoblom, a one-time punk rocker who also likes to layer his music during recording sessions with “surfy vibes and synths and electronic drums.”
And as a recent returnee to West Michigan, he’s found a welcoming environment for his witty, well-crafted indie-folk songs, performing them regularly from Grand Rapids to the lakeshore.
“I’ve been scooped up. People are so gracious, really accommodating, really supportive. It’s like family,” he says, contrasting it to the “relentlessly stifling” music scenes he’s found as a musician in Chicago and Washington D.C.
“I think it’s one of the most conducive environments to write music in and just sort of get your legs underneath you that I’ve seen.”
A native of Muskegon who grew up and graduated from high school in Virginia, Sjoblom picked up a guitar at age 12, started writing “skater punk rock” songs at 13 and immersed himself in home recording at 15. He returned to Michigan after high school and started playing as a solo artist in the Holland and Muskegon area, with “a lot of live looping.”
FINDING INSPIRATION AGAIN WITH A PUSH FROM R.J. NORDLUND
Eventually, he moved to Chicago and became “uninspired” by music. But when he moved back to West Michigan about a year ago, he was encouraged by friend and musician R.J. Nordlund, frontman for Nordlund and the Nomad Assembly, to perform again. Nordlund even sold him an acoustic guitar.
Since then, he’s gotten more active in the region’s music scene and is recording a full-length album, “Beach Babe,” with plans for releasing it digitally in February. Sjoblom also has joined Holland’s Brother Adams as a percussionist for some of the trio’s live shows. He’ll perform a solo set and then join Brother Adams at 10 p.m. Saturday at Grand Haven Brew House in downtown Grand Haven.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE (Dec. 4, 2015)
He visited Local Spins on WYCE this week to talk about his music and perform on the air. Listen to the full radio show podcast (which includes the debut of tracks by Valley Girl, Nordlund & The Nomad Assembly and Otis Blueswell Jr., plus songs from Nobody’s Darlin, Rick Chyme & Nixon, Lipstick Jodi, Billy Strings & Don Julin, Flint Eastwood and Rochelle & The Spoilers). Watch a video of his performance of “Gentrification” below.
“When I write for my live sets, I try to make soulful melodies and lyrics that can kind of grab at you a little bit, maybe little controversial, so to speak, or kind of sarcastic,” he says. “There’s message behind it, but I don’t take it that serious. … Writing songs about things that frustrate me maybe helps mellow me out a little bit.”
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A multi-instrumentalist who plays drums, bass and keyboards in addition to guitar, he grew up listening to the music of his parents, including James Taylor, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, The Beatles and Motown stars. He says he cut his teeth on “melodic punk bands” such as Bad Religion and Lagwagon.
In Studio X at WYCE: Sjoblom
“I’d say my biggest influence as a songwriter would be a blend of Paul McCartney and David Bazan of Pedro the Lion,” says Sjoblom, who moved to Grand Rapids a month ago. “The music I am making right now, I feel, is a mash of so many different influences and directions.”
“I have a hard time locking down one sonic direction and hope to display this in my album, allowing the songs to take on many different vibes and instrumentation while the writing becomes the bridging device between tracks – things from acoustic driven folk, vocal heavy and layered rhythms and soul, to surfy synth pop.
“It’s been really fun tapping into each of these avenues and finding ways to make them all exist happily together.”
VIDEO: Jared Sjoblom, “Gentrification” (Local Spins on WYCE)
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