SF Music Speaks: An Interview with Jeff Jernigan
Jeff Jernigan is a Bay Area singer/songwriter who has been performing in the Bay Area since the age of fifteen. His six-song solo-debut album (Six Ways To Say One Thing) offers a glimpse into the strength of his musical skills and the way that they’ve been influenced by his love for “lone-traveler tales” and Americana folk music. Not one to slow down when the going gets good, he’s wrapping up work on his follow-up album The CrownHate Reason. In this SFV interview, Jeff tells us about what it’s like playing in the city, where he spends his time and what his goals are for the future. He’s playing live in the city tomorrow at SNOB starting at 8 p.m.
What are the basics of your musical history? I first started performing as a musician at the age of fifteen, probably a lot sooner than I should’ve as I’d only been playing for a few months and my complete repertoire of music was skiddish renditions of Nirvana and Weezer songs that I’d attempt to play at Super Bowl parties and whatnot. When I was 17, I began performing original music at local bars and pretty much anywhere else that would have me. Since then, I have been performing up and down the California coast as a solo musician.
If you had to sum up your sound, what would you say? Well, I think it’s fair to say that on Six Ways to Say One Thing, I had some roots rock/ reggae influences, but I’ve always been interested in “lone traveler-type songs,” you know? Something that you could hear in a movie where someone would be crossing this expansive desert or something. I think that’s where I get my indie/ americana/ blues and country influence. I’m a huge fan of bluegrass and folk music and with this upcoming album I’ll be working on adding mandolin, banjo, and probably some brass.
What can you tell us about your solo-debut album? How does the work on your upcoming release differ from that? With Six Ways To Say One Thing, I feel like the album was necessary for me to get some things off my chest about a 6 year relationship I went through and the difference between that and the aim of this next album is that I’d like to write new material where the songs can take shape with other mediums. I’ve thought about co-writing a play and producing a show where the audience can witness the play and have my performance take on the part of a narrator for the story. I’m still in the writing phase and have a long way to go before all that, but this next album I’m hoping will be more of an experience and have a lot of different instruments that I’ve never worked with before; so I’m really excited about the headaches I’ll get with the arrangements.
How did you get to where you are today? Good question! I’d say it’s been a long process in evaluating my development as a musician and as a person. In fact I’m pretty much convinced that I’m still figuring that one out. I’ve done a lot of changing over the years and feel that change is the one constant thing in my life and in my music, so in a way I just try to accept things as they come. But I’d definitely have to say that songs don’t always write themselves. Without a doubt it’s taken a lot of time, persistence and receptiveness for them to take shape.
Does playing in the city differ at all from the shows you play in the surrounding Bay Area? Not so much, though the parking is usually more of a pain in the city than the surrounding areas, but I will say that when I cross over the Bay Bridge and I’m heading into the city I tend to get a little more amped than usual for the shows. For some reason or another I feel like the city has been a great home to some really well-known bands and I feel almost obligated to tear it up and am truly grateful about playing at some of the same stomping grounds as the greats.
Do you have a favorite SF venue? The Fillmore and the Great American Music Hall are probably my two favorites. Slim’s is great too. But I’ve seen so many great bands play at these venues; most notably My Morning Jacket at the Fillmore on New Years’ Eve… absolutely phenomenal. I think that the thing with venues like these is that they tend to have more of an intimate vibe about ‘em and allow the audience a more personalized experience and the feeling of that they are here now and that this moment is shared between only them and the band.
Where can you be found when you come to spend time in the city? I love spending time in North Beach, and feel that it’s more of a place that I feel home at than in any other part of the city. Mostly cause of my early fascination with Kerouac and the Beat generation but I’m a pub kinda guy and North Beach is seemingly always open with some tucked in the cuts type of bars. But I also dig spending time in the Mission. You never know what kinda shit you can get into there.
Where do you want to be (musically) a year from now? In a year from now I’d like to be finishing the follow up album and be on the road, but right now my focus is mainly on growing my network and fan-base in the Bay Area. I’ve grown up here and this place is my home and I’m trying to see who else is out there making something happen within the communities.
If there was anything that you could make sure your fans knew, what would it be? I’d like to let them know that I couldn’t have made it this far without them, that if it hadn’t been for them I would have quit a long time ago, and that I will carry them with me to whatever ends of the world I go to. Their love and support have been a huge part of my inspiration for music and passion for life and I hope that I’ll never let them down.
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