We’re looking forward to introducing you to Will Jackson. Check out our conversation below.
Will, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Tottenham Hotspur performing much better this year than they did last year. I’m a massive Spurs fan…
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a producer and mixing engineer, who works with a wide range of artists. Recently I’ve been doing a lot of singer songwriter stuff, which is great fun.
I’m also the producer and drummer for the new band, Lightlines. Fronted by ex-Union J member, George Shelley, we’ve spent the last 6 months recording our debut album. 2 singles released to date (as of doing this interview). Some great stuff to come.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
I think my old drum tutor Steve Taylor gave me a lot of good advice in this area.
He told me how things are in the music business and in times where I needed it, told me to get my act together, letting me know what it takes to make it in the business.
I act upon a lot of his advice to this day, and pass it on to other people wherever I see the need to.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
That it’s not about the mistakes you make, it’s about the action that follows. I remember playing a gig in my early 20’s, drumming with an originals band on an important EP launch gig. The gig started well, then I made quite a bad mistake halfway into the first song.
I capitulated after that. I was so obsessed about being perfect and making no mistakes that I was putting a pile of pressure on myself. It was very unhealthy. I could not wait to get off the stage that evening.
On reflection though, I realised that the mistake really didn’t matter. We all make them, we’re human. What I vowed to do from that moment on was not to let mistakes define me, to carry on regardless, taking mistakes in my stride, and even learning to appreciate them. Some weird wonderful stuff can come out of a mistake! Plus they can actually make things sound/look/feel a lot more fruity sometimes!
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I wrote an E-book on this! I think a lot of musical artists hinder/reduce their own success by self-sabotaging actions that work against them and their career.
Such actions include over-fixating on their music, being paralysed by analysis on often minor details, which then can greatly delay release times or sometimes even releasing at all.
Another issue I’ve observed is some artists deleting their previous releases, because those previous releases are no longer “worthy” or represent the true “sound” of the artist. In reality, those tunes once were very much “worthy”, and represented how you thought and felt in that moment in time. That’s what makes them special.
It’s also true that if someone comes across you on the streaming platforms, and sees you’ve only got one song to your name, they’re probably not going to be as impressed as they would be if they could see a body of work.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
Yeah, back to performing again. I remember the gig where I probably played (drumming) the best I ever had up until that point, to a large, captive audience.
I did of course really enjoy the gig, but what I noticed was, to my surprise, I really wasn’t that fussed that all the people who saw me that night would have most likely had a really good opinion of me.
It’s something that most of us musicians crave most, to be well-considered, accepted as a great player.
In that moment though, I realised having that wasn’t all I thought it would crack up to be. It taught me a valuable lesson to play for enjoyment and connection, not someone else’s approval.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://willjacksonmusic.co.uk
- Instagram: willjacksonmusicuk
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