Chicago – Jackson-X, the alter ego of Jackson Begley, is a 17-year-old high school senior from Oshawa in Ontario, Canada, who began singing at age three. “I remember that my dad would play cassettes in the car, and I would sing along to them.” Begley’s father noticed he was actually singing along on key and thus began fostering a love for music. Around the age of seven, Begley took up guitar so that he could start writing his own songs, but it’s been during his teenage years that his career has started to take foot.
Best New Bands chatted with Jackson-X to learn more about the singer-songwriter, his fight for his brother Max, and his dreams and aspirations.
You’re finishing up your senior year of high school. I imagine juggling school and music can be a bit of tough, so what is your schedule like? Do you write and practice after school, on the weekends, or both?
Basically, in all honesty, I don’t have much of a social life. I spend like 99% of my time locked in my basement, working on music. (laughs)
Take me through your songwriting. What inspires you? Do you begin with a chord or lyrics?
The way most people write songs, they have a melody that comes into their head, but it’s different for me. I start with a chord change that sounds cool, and then I write a melody that fits over that. Then I have one part. Other parts of the song then sprout out of that idea.
In Chicago we have a lot of bands made up of kids still in high school or fresh out of high school. They play a lot of house parties and DIY venues since they’re underage. Do you guys have that in Oshawa? How do you get your music out there?
In the area where I live, there’s this community of other musicians that are like me, and on the weekends, I go to a bunch of open mics and perform there. Occasionally, some of the places that the open mics take place will be like, “Hey you did a pretty good show there, wanna play music night on Saturday?” So I play most of my gigs at pubs and open mics and whatnot.
Let’s talk about “Don’t Bring Me Down.” You wrote this song for your brother Max. Will you tell us about that?
Two summers ago, we received a letter – my grandmother received a letter in her mailbox – that was from a person, some disgruntled neighbor, who said Maxwell was a nuisance to mankind and all these other horrible things. Around that time, I was in the middle of writing a song, so that event, that happened to my family, inspired me to keep writing that song. Up until the whole letter thing happened, it was just your average pop-punk song, but the letter inspired me to make it an anti-bullying anthem.
How did your brother feel about the song?
One time we played the song in the car for him. He really likes his car rides because he cranks music up and listens to it. So we played it for him in the car, and he just loved it!
Nice! I was checking out your facebook page and reading some of your posts. Some of them revolved around autism and legislation. You seem very vocal when it comes to social and political matters. I hate to bring up your age, but it’s very impressive for someone so young to be so vocal. You’re using your music as a vehicle for political activism. Are there specific artists who inspired you to do this, or did you just realize you have a voice and can use it?
Normally I keep my political views and music separate… but I guess with political activism, I feel as a young person in today’s world, it’s good to be aware of things that are going on around us and not just let it go in one ear and out the other.
I also saw on facebook, you listed bands like the Black Keys and Queens of the Stone Age as inspirations. I definitely hear that in songs like “Love the Night,” but in other songs like “Wake Up” and “I’m Going Under,” there’s more of a pop-punk feel, similar to, say, Fall Out Boy. I know you just mentioned pop punk, so clearly you listen to it. I’m wondering, as you’ve been getting older, have your musical tastes been expanding? What’s been inspiring you lately?
Well, lately, I’ve been influenced by a lot of orchestral and classical symphonic music. I feel like it’s good to have a knowledge of classical music, as a songwriter, because then you have more of a musical ear. It enhances one’s songwriting.
What dreams and goals do you have for your music career?
That’s a question that I get a lot. When people hear I’m a musician, they’re like, “Oh, you’re a musician, so you want to become all big and famous.” That’s not always the case though. I don’t feel I have to be famous. I can still have a career in music, be behind the scenes. As long as I’m in the entertainment industry, that’s alright by me because at least I’m doing what I love.
Ultimately though, would you like to be a touring musician?
Oh yes, that’d be great! If that happens, that would be awesome!
The awesome Jackson-X has been working on a new EP, so keep your eyes open for new material from the Canadian rocker! You can keep up with Jackson-X on facebook and Twitter.
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Best New Bands is pleased to present our third cycle in a series of articles about worthy artists that came to us via our Artist Discovery program with ReverbNation, the website that provides over three million music industry professionals with powerful easy-to-use technology to promote and prosper online. Look for additional artist profiles in the weeks and months ahead!
Sarah Hess
After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.
You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.
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