Jace Everett

TheCelebrityCafe had the chance to speak with Jace Everett, writer/singer of the theme song for HBO's hit True Blood. His latest album, Red Revelations, is a smoky, searing blend of blues, country, and bourbon-flavored rock. Bluntly honest throughout the interview, the Texas-twanged singer revealed intelligent insight into life, music, and why he prefers Kierkegaard to keggers.

TCC: The intro to True Blood -- pretty intense! The imagery and your music make for a powerful ride. Are you a fan of the show?

JE: I am a fan. I thought the intro was awesome: it was ridiculous and sexy and fun. I liked it.

TCC: Since I saw in your Twitter bio that you're annoyed at being "the True Blood guy," I promise that'll be my only question about the show.

JE: (laughing) Nah, I don't mind at all being that. I was just being a prick.

TCC: Who did you listen to growing up?

JE: Oh, everybody. I'm a fan of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Elvis...all those guys were playing at home.

TCC: Who are you listening to right now?

JE: Right now I'm listening to The Roots, one of their older ones, Game Theory. I'm also listening to Chuck Prophet's Let Freedom Ring!.

TCC: Wow, that's pretty diverse. Do you like mixing up genres?

JE: Yeah, I don't like anything that's too pure. I think it's the American way, to bastardize things. So I like to do that with my music, take a little from everything.

TCC: How did you get started playing guitar?

JE: (chuckles) I started to make up songs and pick up chicks, same reason as everyone else I guess. I actually started out playing bass and moved onto guitar. It's kind of hard to front a band when you're playing bass, though, so I play less. I'm pretty busy right now so it's less frequent, a little here and there.

TCC: Are you enjoying your growing celebrity status?

JE: Uh, sometimes. Don't get me wrong, the fans are wonderful. Now, every once in a while you get one that's a pain in the ass, but that's how it is in anything you do. Overall, I'm extremely grateful.

TCC: You talk a lot about spirituality in music. Tell me about that.

JE: I grew up profoundly, profoundly religious...Evangelical, in the diamond buckle of the Bible belt in Texas. I guess I've always been attracted to things older than me (although as I get older, those things are becoming fewer).

You know, I don't like bullshit, I don't like wild parties. To me, I'd rather stay home and read Kierkegaard than go to a frat party. That's more fun.

TCC: I don't think I've ever heard of Kierkegaard as fun...

JE: Yeah, that's just what I would rather do.

TCC: I read that you're trying to incorporate intelligence, power, energy, spirituality, sex, all into your music?

JE: I don't think you can incorporate all that into each song, but all those themes, yeah. How do you do that all at once? I have no f***in idea, but I'm trying to figure it out. I'm trying to make it happen and it's fun.

TCC: What's the closest you've come to that so far?

JE: I think Red Revelations came relatively close. It started with this Brill Building, block-by-block song writing approach, but the band I played with got in the studio and changed all that. I worked with some amazing people, very luck to have worked with those guys.

TCC: I listened to your first single, That's the Kind of Love I'm In, and it sounds like pure country, pretty different from Red Revelations. What happened between then and now?

JE: I didn't write the first single. The producers had big plans to make me a mainstream country act, and it didn't work. Now, there's a whole lot of that record I believe in, I'm not ashamed of any of it, but it's a younger, less mature time. I'd never been me yet, but then I moved up to Nashville, went through a divorce, got f'd up in the head a little, tried to figure things out. That's what lead me to where I am now.

TCC: You cut Old New Borrowed Blues as an acoustic live album. Would you ever do that again?

JE: Absolutely. It was easy, and it was cheap. It took about eight hours; it was an enjoyable experience, all about the songs. I think of it as a musical sorbet: after the first album, it helped cleanse the pallet, and without it I wouldn't have been able to make Red Rev.

TCC: Do you have any insight into the future for musicians as they fight to work independently of big record labels?

JE: I wish I did. My goal is to own my own material, like Ray Charles did. That's where the money is at. Now, I'll still have to tour just like everyone else, but I want control over my own masters. I still have to partner with people that know marketing and other things because that's not what I do. But I trust the people that I started with, and I hope it all works out.

TCC: What's been your favorite places to play?

JE: King Tut's in Glasgow (Scotland) was a lot of fun. It kind of depends. The next place I play might be my new favorite. I do like two kinds of gigs: the more intimate, concert-feel places, and the sweaty, dirty rock and roll clubs where you feel like you've got to fight your way out of.

TCC: How many of those have you had to play??

JE: It's been about 50-50.

TCC: Are you working on anything new right now?

JE: I think we're going to slip back into the studio sometime in August. It'll be a continuation of Red Revelations, but not the same. Something heavier, closer to the bone.

TCC: Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

JE: Yeah, don't do it!

TCC: Really?

JE: If you're compelled to do it, and you sincerely want to make music, then go for it. Just know that you're going to have to work very, very hard. But if you're doing it to become a star, then you're doing it for the wrong reasons. You've really got to check your motivations.

TCC: What message do you want your music to give?

JE: Depends. I think it's more important to have the vocabulary to state an idea. Messages change, it's more about the ability to communicate. I'm not a preacher anymore, now I want to listen.

Catch Jace on tour:
June 5: Highline Ballroom, New York, NY
June 11: Exit/In, Nashville, TN
June 15: The Cedar, Minneapolis, MN
June 17: Englert Theater, Iowa City, IA
June 18: The Blue Shop, Burlington, IA
June 19: Canopy Club, Urbana, IL
June 22: Martyrs, Chicago, IL
June 24: Nathan P. Murphy’s, Springfield, MO
July 22: Santa Monica Twilight Concert Series, Santa Monica, CA