Some people just have music in their blood, and it’s safe to say that Jamie Jackson is one of those people. Ever since she can remember, she has been singing—whether it be to the radio or as part her church choir—but the chanteuse didn’t publicly share her gift with the world until later in life.

Now, Jackson heads the avant-garde pop outfit Hot As Sun with her husband, WAZ, and journalist-turned-musician/visual artist Deborah Stoll. The trio recently released its debut full-length album, Night Time Sound Desire, and is in the process of planning a tour. Jackson, WAZ and Stoll were nice enough to chat with me about the album, their musical aspirations, and the most monumental show they’ve played. 

Katrina Nattress: Your debut album, Night Time Sound Desire, just came out. Are you excited?

Jamie Jackson: It feels great. We worked on the record for about a year, from start to finish, so it’s very exciting.

KN: You wrote and recorded the album in your basement, and Jamie you produced it. Tell me about this process.

JJ: My friend David Green moved some gear down into the basement and co-produced/engineered with me, so it was the perfect setting to wake up/eat/sleep/drink the record for 30 days.

KN: Did you ever feel you needed to step away from the record?

JJ: All the time, definitely! And music as well. I was reading books and watching movies when I had the time. You can become really obsessed with the process. You feel really close to the songs and you hear them in your head, but getting there sometimes is tricky…in the end it’s all worth it.

WAZ: David had a few other projects going on, so there were a couple points when we were in the thick of it where he’d disappear for two weeks or even a month, and during some of that Jamie and I kept going, and other times we would take a break and try to get perspective on it. When you’re in it so deep, it’s really difficult to see it for what it really is because you’ve spent so much time with it.

KN: Jamie, do you have experience producing albums?

JJ: The only experience I’ve had producing is our EP, so it was really a learning experience. I worked at a recording studio, but not as a producer or engineer…so I was around the process a lot but I never dove in and engineered or produced. With the EP, it started as an experiment on Garage Band, and then we popped out on the other side and we really enjoyed the recordings. We signed a record deal with Last Gang, and I really wanted a producer to come in because I was scared, but Chris really encouraged me to continue what I was doing because he really liked the EP and wanted to keep that sound. So it was scary but we dove in, and I learned so much. I felt like I was ready to produce the album by the time the album was done [laughs].

KN: Your influences are quite varied from pop to gospel to hip-hop. Who would you say are your musical heroes?

JJ: There’s so many, really. I don’t really know where to begin. When I was young I listened to The Beatles, I know everyone says that and it sounds so cliché, but the band Hot As Sun came from the B-side of Paul McCartney’s solo record, so there’s definitely that influence. But there’s also the Beastie Boys and Harry Nillson, I love his crooners. The gospel doesn’t really come from an artist as much as I grew up and my dad was a minister, so when I was young I was in church and hearing gospel choirs. The thing that really inspired me was the vocal harmonies and group vocals. I love harmonizing, so that influence came from more real life stuff than an artist.

KN: What albums inspired you to make music?

JJ: Can I think about that and come back to it? I want to make sure it’s the right answer.

KN: Jamie, you started singing at a young age. How old were you?

JJ: In diapers [laughs]. In the south, when your dad is the minister, you’re in church three to four times a week, and you live next door to the church, so you’re always in it.

KN: Was music something you always knew would be a part of your life?

JJ: Yeah, I think so. I didn’t think I was ready for a long time, and I waited until I absolutely couldn’t do it, particularly in the writing process. It came out later in life for me, but I just felt like I needed to wait until the time was right. Oh and I have the album for you. It’s Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys.

KN: And why?

JJ: There are some of the greatest songs ever on that album. The harmonies and the production on that are the things that drove me the most. I used to love listening to the album and harmonizing with it and learning all the background parts. I’d pretend like I was the backup singer.

KN: You’ve all lived in Los Angeles for a while now. How do you feel about the music scene here?

JJ: We have a great support system here. On Monday night, we played a show with a local band called Mirror Talk, and it was so nice because you’re going through the same things. You’re rooting for each other and checking out each other’s setup. I think maybe there is a competitive side here in L.A., but we’ve been lucky to be around some lovely bands here in town.

KN: You’ve played shows with some amazing acts like Gotye and Foster The People, and you’ve played interesting venues as well, like underground pool parties and such, so what would you say has been your most memorable show to date?

Deborah Stoll: It’s hard to categorize what’s the most awesome or the most exciting, because I think something that’s really inspired us is collaborating with other musicians and also other artists—visual artists, light artists, directors. The pool party was a great case-in-point where we met somebody who was in a water ballet troupe, and that just instantly triggered an idea to do something with them. And that turned into a show. For me, not coming from the music side, L.A. is so inspiring…everybody is trying to create something, and I think every show that we do, we really try to think of some way to collaborate with somebody that we admire and we think our fans will enjoy as much as we do.

JJ: I think the most memorable live show for me was probably our very first live show, because I was scared shitless. Foster The People were on the verge of breaking, but I didn’t really know who they were. We got there and setup, and it was sold-out so the room was packed…that was really just a really thrilling evening that I’ll never forget.

WAZ: It was so packed that everyone was forced to listen to our music. No one was there for us, because it was completely sold out for Foster The People. But it was definitely my [most memorable show] as well because playing for people who don’t know your music is really exciting. You have a chance to win them over.

 

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