We caught up with him at The World Cafe Live prior to a packed show. He spoke candidly to us about his sources of inspiration and love for his fans. He is currently on tour in support of his latest album released on Warner Brothers Records.
Please enjoy his biography courtesy of Warner Brothers Records.
Though his debut album has only been available online and at his shows, singer-songwriter Jason Reeves has already made a splash with The Magnificent Adventures of Heartache (and Other Frightening Tales), which has sold briskly since the 25-year-old Iowa City native released it himself by posting the tracks on his MySpace page in August 2007. Reeves' hook-filled songs of love, hope, heartbreak, and renewal, matched with his engaging tenor voice, propelled him to become the No. 1 MySpace Folk artist (unsigned) for nine months and made him a fixture in the Top 5 Acoustic (unsigned) and Top 20 Overall (unsigned) categories.
In addition, Reeves was named one of the Top Indie Singer-Songwriters of 2007 by iTunes, which also dubbed Magnificent Adventure one of its Top Folk Albums of 2007, giving it a five-star review after it debuted at No. 2 on the iTunes Folk chart. The beauty of Reeves' songs and the album's grassroots success impressed Warner Bros. Records, which signed him to the label's roster in July 2008. Warner Bros. Records will make a physical CD of Magnificent Adventures widely available at retail for the first time, introducing the music to the wide audience it deserves.
But despite the fact that his music will become commercially available on a nationwide scale for the first time, Reeves' story remains as pure as it ever was. The son of a Maytag worker and a food stylist, he began his own musical adventure as a teenager after discovering folk legends Bob Dylan and James Taylor. Transformed, Reeves spent the next few years honing his own writing skills before dropping out of college and moving to California to pursue his music in March 2005.
Now part of a new generation of musicians reminiscent of the 1970's Laurel Canyon scene, Reeves paints beautifully sophisticated portraits of life's most vulnerable and exhilarating moments."Reaching" mulls over whether to abandon the familiar in order to plunge headlong into the risk and potential reward of the unknown. "Pretty Eyes"idealizes those perfect moments when one is in love, while "Never Find Again" reminds listeners that perfection is all too fleeting. What is most striking is that Reeves accomplishes all of this with memorable melodies and radio-ready hooks that seamlessly complement his warm vocals. With a range of subjects from the feel-good love anthem (and first single), "You In A Song," to the dreaded but familiar feeling of being told a lover wants to be "Just Friends," Reeves' music is instantly relatable — an accessibility that is winning him legions of new fans.
The spiritual Iowan refuses to take the credit, insisting that "all songs exist in the atmosphere, and artists are on a romantic search to pull them down and give them life." Despite a busy schedule that has included a July 2008 tour and sold-out performances at Hollywood's singer-songwriter haven The Hotel Café, Reeves is giving life to lot of songs these days, both for himself as well as others. "Whether you're writing for a girl or a guy, you have to capture the voice of the artist singing," he says.
One voice that Reeves has successfully captured is that of singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat, whom he met during a recording session with her producer Mikal Blue. Caillat, whose father Ken is Blue's studio partner (and co-producer of Fleetwood Mac'sRumors), Reeves, and Blue hit it off and soon became inseparable — writing songs and recording together every chance they had.
"Mikal and Colbie were the only people I knew in L.A.," Reeves says. "We spent a lot of time together going to the beach, the mountains, and the woods, and playing guitar and writing songs." The songs, inspired by the beauty of the California coast, formed the foundation for Reeves' first EP, Hearts Are Magnets, as well as for Caillat's platinum breakthrough album Coco, for which Reeves co-wrote ten tracks, including the smash singles "Bubbly" and "Realize," and the upcoming "The Little Things."
With his story exploding on a daily basis, Reeves takes it all in stride: "I'm just a simple boy that believes in love and dreams."
You are now Tuned In to Jason Reeves.
On the web-
www.myspace.com/jasonreeveswww.jason-reeves.com
