My new single, the first music I’ve put out in 2 years, is called Meet Me at the End of the World. I’m really excited to share it with you. Take 4 seconds and presave it on Spotify here. Thank you!
The first time I heard Jordie Lane sing was at Folk Alliance in Montreal, maybe 8 years ago. He was warming up backstage with powerhouse duo Freddy and Francine, the three of them shaking the stairwell with vocals as big as a plate of poutine. That song, Black Diamond, has lived rent free in my head ever since, and made me a lifelong fan of the man who wrote it.
Cut to a year ago, I ran into to Jordie midway through a springtime run, mine not his. He was just leaving our local watering hole, Urban Cowboy, and waved me over. I thought it was nice of him not to make a comment on the ridiculously short shorts I was wearing (freedom of movement OKAY) and pretty quick we were discussing his new album and the music video he needed for it.
A few days later I, along with Jordie and his partner Clare, were spreading ourselves all over the infinity wall (look it up) at a local production house. I filmed the video for The Changing Weather and edited it together a few days later in a hotel room in New Bedford Massachusettes (don’t ask). The video turned out as awesome as the song, all credit due Jordie and Clare — for coming up with the concept and knocking the set design and costuming through the roof. Here’s that video, for proof.
All this to say I’ve been looking forward to getting Jordie on the podcast for a long time. He did not disappoint.
In the intro I talk about some of his accolades and rave reviews, but what I want to focus on here was the candor with which he approached such delicate subjects as his mental health, as well as what we might call the evolution of his inspiration and approach to songwriting. The section on his process is alone worth the listen.
I also shared a few things about my approach to staying organized in a whirlwind of constant obligation and limited time. As well as my desire to provide a good mental and emotional foundation for my daughter, and how that intersects and maybe competes with my desire to make good art. Also I guess Zuzu pooped on me the morning of the taping, which for some reason I felt was necessary to point out.
Somewhere near the end we play a song together — Jordie’s original, from his latest album Tropical Depression, called “Empty Room”.
Here are the chapters from the conversation. Feel free to look them over and see if something jumps out. They are all hotlinked in the description over on YouTube.
If you get something out of these conversations, please follow on Spotify or Apple, or subscribe on YouTube. My goal here is to inspire you to keep moving forward with your own creative work by sharing insights and experience from the folks doing it at a high level.
Cheers. korby
00:00:00 Intro
00:04:53 The contrast between outward appearances and inward reality
00:06:04 The concept behind "Tropical Depression"
00:08:14 The pandemic's impact on Jordie's mental health
00:10:10 How not being able to travel can increase anxiety
00:11:25 Jordie's decision to make his struggles with anxiety a part of his "official" album rollout
00:12:58 Korby's take on the podcast space as a reflection of culture's demaan for authenticity
00:14:43 Jumping on the authenticity train is also possibly inauthentic
00:16:01 Timeline of the album's creation and release
00:19:05 How did you finance your record Jordie?
00:20:32 Getting in and out of your own way as an artist
00:23:43 Korby's recollection of filming Jordie's video for "The Changing Weather"
00:23:59 The fundemental tension between confidence and its opposite
00:25:04 Getting pooped on as a new dad
00:26:17 Korby use of music as a means of trying to be loved
00:27:42 The imprtance of being in a good headspace to making art
00:30:12 Korby quotes Leonard Berstein's newborn baby quote
00:31:12 Dostoyevsky's claim that in order to make art you have to be both sensitive and in pain
00:33:11 Jordie's perspective on working in film and tv
00:36:04 The fraught romance of touring
00:38:01 The importance of low overhead to creative freedom
00:39:18 Jordie loves the improvised element of on stage banter
00:40:43 Jordie's advice to Korby about banter with a full band
00:42:55 A sudden glimpse into Korby's organizational efforts
00:44:03 The necessary discipline of a self-employed artist
00:48:20 Why Jordie got a shelter dog
00:51:13 The "42 Steps" of making the podcast
00:52:37 Jordie sets up "Empty Room"
00:53:42 Jordie and Korby perform "Empty Room"
00:58:03 A compliment and an inquiry
00:59:51 Jordie's current process for writing songs
01:01:35 Co-writing and trepidation
01:02:15 How Maya Angelou and John Prine write
01:02:56 More detail on Jordie's "waiting" approach to songwriting
01:05:11 What seperates those who create from those who don't
01:06:06 How Meet Me at the End of the World was written
01:07:53 The process of writing is more important than the end result
01:09:20 Suddenly Jordie and Korby are going to try to write one
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