From the bubbly, more light-hearted indie tune “Left Your Coat Behind,” to the slightly raw and modern blues rock melody of “Dreaming of My Life,” all the way to the Queens of the Stone Age-esq tune “Walking in the Rain,” Jesse Daniel Edwards music features a variety of dynamics.
The Northern San Diego-based songwriter recently released his band’s debut album “American Dreaming” on Orange Cologne Da Vita Robot Records. They are currently hitting the road in support of it.
In each song on the album the band’s sound fluctuates. Some of the more consistent elements in the mix are the simple and straightforward backing rhythms that are colorful and upbeat. The flowing guitar riffs are complimented with catchy and soothing vocals. The tone is ever-shifting for Jesse Daniel Edwards; the meaning and drive of the lyrics usually paint a picture like his song “Heartbeats in the Dark.”
The Daily 49er talked with Jesse Daniel Edwards personally to find out more about his history as a musician and his bands sound.
How would you describe your music personally, and what would you say your biggest inspirations are?
Jesse Daniel Edwards: It’s very much dark, indie rock, but not depressing. It’s very lyrically driven. Big influences would be the music of the ‘90s, like The Flaming Lips, M. Ward, also a big fan of Elvis Costello. I feel like that’s all kind of wrapped up in the music, but we all kind of put our own spin on it too, and we really focus on lyrics and harmonies where some of those bands haven’t.
Is there a message that you are trying to send with your new album “American Dreaming,” and what are some of the lyrics about on that album?
JDE: I woke up one morning, and I realized that in like three million years the sun is going to die; life on this planet, what is going to happen to humanity at that point you know … Anything that we do in our lives can be meaningful, and you get to choose what is meaningful, and if you meet someone that you really care about and choose to love, that person becomes your whole world … Every song in “American Dreaming” is basically about that… “Cleaning Up My Life” is… one of the lines lyrically is: “And if there is a reason to get out of bed, I haven’t found it yet” but the rest of the song, although I feel it sounds very disillusioning, but the message is: you can get of bed for any reason you want every morning. That’s the message.
How long have you been a touring act?
JDE: I started touring with my family—my families band—when I was very young. I was seventeen. We started playing a lot of little gigs around, so I guess it’s been around 12 years traveling with music. We did it for seven years.
How does the writing process work in your band?
JDE: In the Fall, I feel very inspired, so I write a lot of songs. The guys I play with in the band are very inspiring. The first time we ever wrote together we had this writers block, because we didn’t really know each other very well, and this kid that lived next door put this black cat in this trailer when we were practicing. They were playing a game of ball, and the cat was a kitten, and it kept getting in the way. They opened the door and just chucked the cat in, so we wrote a song about black cats, and it happens to be a very popular live song. So basically we just draw from everything and whatever inspires us at the time.
What inspired you to start writing music?
JDE: To be honest, it’s something I’ve always done; it’s something I’ve always done with my family. We grew up in the mountains in the country; we didn’t have television. We didn’t have video games. It was a very remote location. The population was under a thousand people. But we did have a bunch of old instruments that were left to us by our grandparent so we would, you know, learn the instruments we practiced, and we all loved to sing, and when you have nine people in your family it’s very easy to start harmonizing, and eventually, we started to figure “Oh, let’s write our own songs,” and it just kind of took that turn, and it’s something we all kind of just enjoyed writing together. It’s a way of communicating and bonding.
On Oct. 23, Jesse Daniel Edwards and his band of the same name will take the stage at The Prospector along with The Smart Brothers for a night of easy-listening indie rock music.
Attendees must be 21 years or older. The show will start at 10 p.m. and will cost $5 dollars at the door.