On a cloudless Wednesday in Omaha, Neb., rising star Jason Reeves prepares for his impending show with a quick bite from a local indie coffee shop, followed by some aimless strumming of his favorite guitar. He takes a seat on the vintage (or just incredibly old, asparagus-colored polyester) sofa, guitar in hand. The late afternoon sun casts a warm glow throughout the room, one that illuminates Jason’s face almost as brightly as when he talks about the woman he loves. Cliché recently caught up with Jason on the third stop of his tour featuring music from his new album “The Lovesick” to learn just what inspires him, from love, to leaps of faith, and everything in between.
Cliché: When did you start making music?
Jason Reeves: I started making music when I was 17. I got a guitar for my birthday and started writing songs… they were just all very bad! I had played music before that, just not made it. I didn’t do any band, but I was in every choral thing I could do. It was really fun, we had a great music program and we won three Grammys while I was there. It was very inspiring to be a part of because it was really challenging, not just goofing around. We were very serious and it taught me a lot.
C: What else inspired you to follow this path in life?
JR: When I discovered the sixties. I was really moved by that and I wanted to write songs. I was turned on to it by Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Pink Floyd; they are the three main artists that really started me going. I’m not sure why it took me until I was 17 to discover the 1960s, but for some reason they maybe try to keep that away from kids. They don’t want us to know about drugs and art and good music.
C: Do the same sorts of things still inspire you today?
JR: Yeah, I think it’s probably the best there has been yet in terms of art and the human spirit so far. I don’t think we’ve really gotten back to that level. I’m trying to hopefully someday go there again. And there are moments and pockets of it, we’re not just lost or doing a terrible job at it, but I think the sixties were really special.
