Golden Mixtape

A couple of months ago Jackson Reed dropped The November Gales, and with that came a handful of shows. An anxious person he planned to allow the shows to help him work on that, but felt that playing alongside the bands he’d booked would definitely help him out in the long run. That’s just a portion of what came up when we exchanged words; him in Canada, me down in the South Bay. Now continue reading for more love notes to the past, traveling through time and more.

Kendra: Why did you release The November Gales a month early in October?

Jackson Reed: I wasn’t really waiting on anything… it felt like it was ready to put out. Plus I was finishing up a one year music program and it felt like the next step.

Kendra: In all seriousness, the lyrics to your lead single “Generation Vietnam” seemed to be a love note to a time you and I could only ever hear stories about. Am I close?

Jackson: Yeah pretty much. It’s on the line of wanting to actually be a ‘60s song and then trying give the listener a feeling that takes them back. I hope it works in one way or another.

Kendra: If you could’ve been a young adult then instead of now, what kind of life do you think you’d be living?

Jackson: I’d be a hippie. Burning ganga in the park, playing bongos with my chums, y’know.

Kendra: What do you think of people who say nostalgia’s all fine and great, but you have to live in the here and now?

Jackson: It’s totally true. I think nostalgia is really cool, and makes people feel comforted, but you have to look forward. You’re not really going to get anywhere or advance yourself if you’re always looking back.

Kendra: Staying on topic, what’s the item in your house that never fails to make you feel nostalgic?

Jackson: My white stratocaster. It was just passed down through my brothers.

Kendra: Will you be playing outside of Canada anytime soon, perhaps in early 2017?

Jackson: I think it’s really expensive for Canadian musicians to leave, but on the other hand we are blessed with a lot of grant programs. Maybe a tour where I just don’t make money and go play house shows or something. I’d pick up my friend Brooke Johnston from Deadplant Records and we’d go together. She has a really awesome DIY network of teenagers doing really cool stuff.

Kendra: Going off your own “Goodbye Endless Summer,” if you had to make a mixtape saying adios to the warm weather – what five songs would have to be on it?

Jackson:
Joni Mitchell – “California”
Woods – “Cali in a Cup”
Mommas & the Papas – “California Dream’”
Michelle McAdorey – “Two Tickets”
Kimya Dawson – “The Beer”