Author: ML1

• Thanks for taking the time to talk with us today. Let’s start with the latest single “Breathe”. Where did this song come from? This song was written on a mountain top in Nicaragua. I was helping the community with donations such as clothing, guitars, and music lessons. I was also surfing and songwriting.
• Will it be included on an upcoming album? The Breathe album has been in the works and should be forthcoming in 2021. It will include 10 tracks and I also have a bundle of additional singles to release over the coming year. 
• We hear some very strong pop sensibility in your songs but at the same time the instrumentation is rooted in acoustic instruments. How did you come up with that unique sound? I like to hear organic tones and my family played a variety of instruments so I was always around unique natural sounds. I’ve always liked beach music you can feel rhythmically combined with raw instrumentation. 
• You are known for playing the ukulele, where did that start for you? Do you have any ukulele influences? I started playing ukulele after learned in guitar and traveling to Hawaii for an extended time. I was really into folk music and was searching for a sound that was authentic, healing, and not completely stuck in a single genre. 
• When did you realize that you were a musician? How did you get started? I learned piano when I was younger from my mom which gave me some basic skills. I started to learn the guitar in my early teens and had a lot of influences thanks to my family. I learned the harmonica and the ukulele not too long after the guitar. Being able to play guitar and harmonica at the same time and take the ukulele anywhere you wanted was the best thing ever. Growing up in the south, I was around many types of music and cultures. Initially, I took guitar lessons and was fortunate to have a few great teachers. During my time in Oahu, learned ukulele tips and played traditional songs daily with the locals. 
• Where can people find out about your upcoming shows and releases? Everything is on the website www.samsimsmusic.com and the events page gives details on upcoming shows www.samsimsmusic.com/events . There is also a mailing list signup on the website homepage. You can sign up to get news on new music, shows, and special events. 
• What’s next for you as an artist? I am planning to release the Breathe album (10 tracks) and also rollout some singles over the next year. There’s a lot of new music so it’s really an exciting time! There are a few acoustic shows this spring, and the band plans to resume performances (conditions permitting) in the 2021 timeframe. As the pandemic subsides, I’m glad to have more time to be creative and finish recording new material. 
• What do you do when you’re NOT working on music? I fit a lot into everyday overall. Yoga, meditation, hang out with my family and my wife, go surfing, swimming, or paddle boarding, occasionally sell real estate, and work in IT. 
• What sort of non-musical influences do you have? Nature, love, life experiences, stories, friends, family, travel, and culture. 
• Before we go, what do you want to say to fans of the music? Thank you so much for listening and continuing to support the music!

We enjoyed Michael Jaskewicz’s new album so much we had to sit down and learn a little more about it.

• Okay let’s start with the album title “Crooked Tree” where did that come from? – Crooked Tree started with my own personal infatuation with trees, especially the crazy odd ones that take such strange shapes as their limbs continue to fight towards light, and how humans are affected in the same way. At the time I was writing the song a dear friend of mine, Big Ed, was suffering from terminal cancer and my thoughts of him started intersecting with the song that was beginning to form. Ed was extremely tall and honestly stood a little crooked as life and cancer was ravaging him, coupled with his huge personality when he walked into the room there was no doubt everyone looked his way. It was always like the record skipped, and he always made you feel like his entire day’s purpose was to see you. As I thought of his pain and suffering aligned with the intense light of a human being he was, he became the Crooked Tree in my mind and the words started flowing. I wanted to paint a picture of how beautiful he was, how life had taken its toll on him, and how in reality we are all Crooked Trees. Our flaws make us beautiful. We should not bear shame for the mental and physical scars we have from enduring life. We should revel in them, and revel in that beauty in others. Share in those flaws together and together we heal. It was no doubt in my mind the album should be named Crooked Tree in Ed’s honor, as well as the honor of all that see beauty within the tragedies of life.

• I hear some classic rock influence in there as well as some blues. What bands and artists actually influenced you?– I am a huge Grateful Dead fan. Jerry Garcia had a touch and emotion in his style that genuinely moved me the moment I first heard him. I am also a huge Allman Brothers fan as well as Warren Haynes, Government Mule, and Phish. But I also truly enjoy singer songwriters as well. Artists like Ray LaMontagne, Amos Lee, James Taylor, Nick Drake, Citizen Cope, Joni Mitchell, Jorma Koukenen, the list can go on and on. Lastly having come of age in the early 90’s, bands like Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, and Radiohead all had a massive influence on me as well.

• How did this all start for you? – In the process of writing songs I began creating demos for my band, Cosmic. In turn I realized I also have a different side of me musically that I wanted to express, so I began using the demos I created as a basis for an acoustic solo album.

• Are you playing any live shows? – Yes. All of my upcoming shows in all projects and collaborations can me found on my website www.michaeljaskewiczmusic.com/tour

• What kind of guitars do you play? Fav brand? – My electric guitar is a handbuilt custom Becker. The Becker brand has since dissolved but the builder, Ryan Martin, has moved on to form his own brand Magic Wand. Ryan has built guitars for multiple famous guitarists in bands such as Moe., Umphrey’s McGee, Disco Biscuits, and many more. He is currently building me a new guitar that I am hoping will be completed early next year and I couldn’t be more excited! My acoustics consist of both Martin and Breedlove guitars.

• What’s next for you as an artist? – such a tough question in the world of COVID. My passion is to write and play songs. I’m praying venues make it through to when things do finally open up, and I am praying to have a part in the music scene when it does. I can’t really ask for or plan for much more than that.

• What do you do when you’re NOT working on music? – When I am not playing music I try to spend every waking moment with my wife and kids. They sacrifice so much for my dream in music, and I am so blessed for their love and support.

• What sort of non-musical influences do you have? – Everyday people. I am fascinated by our differences, I am fascinated by the strange, and I try to take on life with a curious attitude. I especially take interest in people who live to serve and help others. To me those are the true stars in this world. In the second song on the album, Where Are The Angels, the “Angels” I am referring to are the social leaders I feel we are so badly lacking these days.
  
• Before we go, what do you want to say to fans of the music? – Be kind to each other. COVID has been the ultimate revealer of fragile minds and fragile relationships. I suffer greatly from depression and anxiety. Most of my life I have been ashamed of it. But the more I have been open and honest, the more I find people like me and I am inspired by their stories, and I truly hope I might inspire someone in kind. Take the time to realize that people are afraid and hurting right now, and a person in pain does not necessarily act in a logical way to a healthy mind. If you’re feeling happy and well balanced, reach out to others who may not be and try to be understanding of their mindset. And if you’re not feeling happy and well balanced, reach out to people. It’s ok to say you are not ok. You are not alone!