Jason Singer, the driving force behind the project Michigander, spoke with host Jill Riley about his new album Over Before You Know It, staying present through the ups and down of life, and performing at The Current Happy Hour Series.

Listen to the full interview in the player above, and find a complete transcript below.

Interview Transcript

Jill Riley: You're listening to The Current, I'm Jill Riley. Well, The Current Happy Hour Series continues this afternoon at Utepils in Minneapolis. The event kicks off at 4 o'clock with a DJ set, and then taking the stage at 6 o'clock, a performance from Michigander. And Michigander — it's a band, but also the main vehicle for singer-songwriter Jason Singer, and Jason Singer is on the line. There is a new record dropping tomorrow from Michigander. But first, I want to say welcome and hello, and a welcome back to Jason Singer. Jason, how are you?

Michigander: Hey, I'm doing well.

Jill Riley: Hey, I love the fact that you're performing in Minneapolis the day before the album comes out. It almost feels like an album release party for you. The record is called Over Before You Know It, and of course, I want to talk about the record, but also I want to talk about how busy you're going to be this fall. But to start out, Michigander, the moniker of your project, but it's also a band. Could you talk about that a little bit?

Michigander: Yeah, it started out as just me wanting to have a moniker for my project when I first started, years ago. I felt weird telling people — they're like, "What's your band called?" and I'd be like, "Oh, it's just my name." So I decided to call it something. It's always been kind of a revolving cast of characters with people playing and touring, and it has been pretty solidified over the last couple years. The sound of my community and people around me is what Michigander is, even though it is my brainchild. I guess I'm the tastemaker of the thing, but yeah.

Jill Riley: I like the term driving force. You're the driving force.

Michigander: That sounds awesome. That's powerful. I like that.

Jill Riley: So one who is from Michigan, which you are, is a Michigander, but I do know that you are now based in Nashville. When did you make that move?

Michigander: I think I moved here like five years ago, four years ago. It's been a minute, so I’ve lived here for a while. Really enjoy it. A lot of my people have moved down here with me, and we're just making music and meeting people, making memories, and having a good time. I do very much miss the Midwest often, though, especially the weather.

Jill Riley: But you must carry that with you, though. I feel like there is a Midwestern spirit that once you have, it doesn't matter where you go. That you just don't shake that part.

Michigander: Yeah, I try to always be a nice guy, and direct. I think people in the Midwest, they're always honest and we maybe don't have manners, though. I think people in the South have manners but aren't very nice.

Jill Riley: Okay, all right.

Michigander: That's my hot take of the day.

Jill Riley: Could you talk about recording the album? It sounds like you have a lot of great people around you in Nashville. Where did you make the record, and who did you make it with?

Michigander: Yeah, I made it with all my friends, and made it in a couple little studios here in town. I made it with the guys who tour with me, and friends that have been my friends for a long time, and also some friends I haven't known very long. And we just worked really quickly, and wrote it quickly, and recorded it quickly, and trusted our instincts. And I've never been more excited or proud of a collection of songs.

Jill Riley: When you say that you wrote it and recorded it quickly, what do you think it was that made that process so quick?

Michigander: I had a deadline.

Jill Riley: That helps.

Michigander: I've never had a deadline before, but this time we designed it. Let's have a deadline. Let's finish everything. Let's book the tour to make sure everything's good, so everybody holds up their ends of the deal, and then that's kind of how we had to do it. The other thing is, I just felt like it was so important to just trust your instincts and not second-guess yourself, and I was really adamant about chasing that vibe and feeling.

Jill Riley: Okay. Well, the record is called Over Before You Know It, and the title track, because there's a song on the record called "Over Before You Know It," funny enough, I started thinking about a quote from Ferris Bueller, who once said, "Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Michigander: Yeah.

Jill Riley: And I wonder if there is a little piece of that that made its way into the inspiration, at least for the song and the album title.

Michigander: What's crazy is I hadn't seen that movie until after.

Jill Riley: Oh, really?

Michigander: Never seen it, I had never seen that movie. I'm trying to watch 300 movies this year. Just a stupid goal of mine, and I watched that the other day, and I was like, "Oh my god, this is crazy! This is exactly what I've been saying." So I don't know, I love that movie now. I don't know why I had never seen it.

Jill Riley: Oh my gosh, that is so funny, that like that was on your mind, and then —

Michigander: I love that you quoted that. I was just watching it one night, I think I rewound it, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, that's what I said, that's it. That's the thing.”

Jill Riley: That is funny.

Jason Singer: It is so crazy that you bring that up.

Jill Riley: I think that quote isn't about like stopping what you're doing and giving up. It's really about some gratitude, maybe being a little content at times, but maybe not to fall into contentment. What does that mean for you? I mean, what have you experienced that really made you get into that kind of state of mind or that thinking?

Michigander: I think for so long I just was very delusional and wanted everything to be — I thought right out of high school I'd be headlining arenas and selling out, you know, and these things. Obviously that's been a long time since high school, but I feel so... I really struggled with a lot of anxiety and depression over the last couple years, and a lot of traumatic events in my life, that are pretty publicly known, but I had to slow down and just realize, we're not promised tomorrow. All we have is today. All we have is the journey. So, this is what we have to enjoy, and this is what we have to — this is what we need.

Jill Riley: Yeah, I agree. I was looking at the album artwork, and just the quickest description, it looks like it's a house kind of sinking into a grassy hillside, and I wonder what does that imagery represent for the album?

Michigander: Well, you're the first person to ask about it, so that's exciting. You're gonna get my rawest answer. I don't have this one planned.

Jill Riley: Okay, well we'll work it out together.

Michigander: Yeah, yeah, I love it. I think that part of the cover art to me signifies that you spend all this time building up a life that you never truly get to enjoy, and by the time you do, it's gone. You know, it's sinking into oblivion, and the grass could be green, the sky could be blue, but the house, the life you built, that doesn't last forever. The world will outlive you. Yeah, it's strange, but that's what it means to me. We had a couple different ideas about it, and that's that's where we landed on the cover.

Jill Riley: Yeah. So the album artwork of the new record Over Before You Know It. It is out tomorrow, but as I understand it, at The Current Happy Hour event this afternoon/ evening, that you are going to have some copies of the vinyl that people can pick up, a little bird-told me that. So I want to give people a heads up.

Michigander: Show up early.

Jill Riley: Jason, as we go out now, I know you've got a busy fall. You had mentioned booking out the tour. I know you'll be back in November at the Fine Line. I want to talk about the song "Freaking Out." It's such a great riff, and so I want to go into it here as we're wrapping up. Can you speak a little bit about the inspiration for the song for "Freaking Out"

Michigander: Well, thank you for complimenting the riff.

Jill Riley: I love the riff.

Jason Singer: That means a lot to me. I'm really happy about that. You know the true story behind the song is I wrote this song for another artist for their record. They passed on it, or they were going to record it or something, and they didn't end up making it. So I talked to her and I was like, "Hey, could I have this song? And she's like, "Oh yeah, you should take it." I was bummed she wasn't cutting the song, and I changed a few things about it and made it my own. I mean, it is my song, but it just is now a Michigander song, and it spoke so much to me and was like an idea that I brought in, including the riff. And it's just a song about how life is equal parts good and equal parts bad, and you can't really have one without the other, and it's important to realize that you're not alone in how you feel, and the journey is all we have.

Jill Riley: Well, I gotta say, Jason, in a way, I'm kind of glad she turned it down so that you could really make it your own.

Michigander: Me too.

Jill Riley: And that we know it as a Michigander song. Well, let's take a listen to it as we go out, Jason Singer. Looking forward to seeing you this afternoon at Utepils, and so thanks again for being part of this and kind of having us a part of the record release eve of your new album.

Michigander: I'm so honored that you guys care about it. I've been a long-time fan of The Current and everything you've done. I'm very, very stoked that you guys are being part of this.

Credits

Guests – Jason Singer
Host – Jill Riley
Producer – Nilufer Arsala
Digital Producer - Natalia Toledo

External Link

Michigander – Official Website