Meet Jesse Norell

We recently connected with Jesse Norell and have shared our conversation below.

Jesse, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

I used to write songs constantly from about age 15 to age 25. After feeling like I was still at square one in terms of a music career, I took about 15 years off from writing and releasing albums, so I know what it’s like to NOT keep that creative spark alive. I was teaching guitar but I thought my writing days might be over. Then my daughter came along… she was born with Down syndrome and a serious heart defect. Our family struggled as she endured heart surgeries, ear surgeries, a feeding tube, and a whole bunch of other medical challenges. When she was finally healthy, it felt like telling the story of her journey (and mine) through music was something I HAD TO DO. Like I didn’t have a choice. So I wrote and recorded an album called Aorta Borealis with the help of my friends. I got on local TV and Good Morning America to talk about the project, but as quickly as the attention came, it left.

So at that moment, I had the choice to go back into hiding for another 15 years, or find a way to keep going. I decided to record the songs I sung to my kids when they were little, but I thought it would be funny to do them in the style of Green Day or Rage Against the Machine rather than The Wiggles. I eventually called it Riffin’ Griffin and started a band to play the songs live. After I recorded the songs I sand to my kids, I wrote new songs for the project. I’ve heard some people say that their best songs started as a joke or as a prompt to write the most ridiculous thing you can imagine. I live in a perpetual state of getting to write songs to make people laugh and dance and play their air guitar. Nothing is off-limits, nothing is too cringy… I embrace it all.

How do you overcome writer’s block?
As a songwriter, I’ve lost less ideas to the wind since I moved from paper and pencil and rhyming dictionaries to my phone. I always have at the ready the ability to record ideas via audio, video, or text. I write down every lyrical idea that I think could be good (text), every vocal line that could turn into something (audio) and every guitar idea that might be interested (video). When I need an idea, I start scrolling back through and start working on the first thing that grabs me. I rarely find myself staring at a blank page or screen, unable to write something. There’s already too much music in the world to force myself to say something if I don’t have anything to say. It’s ok to let the inspiration come to you, but you have to do what you can to foster it and be ready.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I write, sing, and play guitar for an arena rock band for kids called Riffin’ Griffin. I’ve always felt like the energy of rock music fit really well with the rambunctiousness of childhood, but the lyrics are often incomprehensible or inappropriate for kids. I get to write and record music to address the needs of families who feel like there is a void in terms of high energy music that they can all enjoy together.

Riffin’ Griffin has released two albums so far, 2024’s Raising a Ruckus (a silly collection of songs I wrote and recorded with my kids) and 2025’s Drawing the Silver Lining (a collection of more heartfelt songs designed to encourage kids and help them see themselves in a positive light). We try to release 10-12 songs per year so stay tuned at RiffinGriffin.com or on your favorite music service.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The most important skills you can have are a love and passion for what you’re doing. Creative endeavors are often not what pay the bills. Art and capitalism are often at odds with one another. Honestly, there’s very little about music that feels easy to me, but I love it so much that it doesn’t really matter. I love working with kids just as much as I love music so I don’t feel like I made a compromise when I became a children’s musician.

Practically, the things that helped me the most were:
1. Getting comfortable with making demos and recording myself.
2. Being able to refine and edit a song until it became something I’d actually want to listen to.
3. Taking however much time was necessary to surround myself with the right people to do the things I couldn’t do myself (playing drums, mixing, filling out the live band).

Be patient with the process, watch lots of YouTube tutorials and get comfortable with your wonky system of doing things. Making music is a slow process so settle into it.

Bonus advice: celebrate every small victory like a huge win. If you only celebrate the huge wins, you might not do enough celebrating.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

For people who don’t have set work hours and/or are trying to balance creativity and working and parenting, it can feel overwhelming. What I’ve told myself is that anything I get done creatively while the kids are living at home is a bonus. I was legitimately going to wait to start making music until my kids were all grown up. During this time, I’m learning and taking steps forward, and it’s ok that our social media numbers (or whatever) aren’t great. It’s more helpful if I compare myself to where I was previously rather than comparing myself to other people who have found more “success.” We’re all on our own journey and I’d rather take my own path than someone else’s.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Photos: Laurel Goulson
Album Artwork: Corby Ortmann

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