Americana/folk-rock singer-songwriter Jonathan Paull Gertler sat down recently with @skopemag to talk about his music around the release of his stellar and nuanced new album, “No Fear” (out now).
@skopemag: Your new album is amazing. We really love one of the singles, “I Wish I Knew.” What inspired it?
Jonathan: Thanks for those incredibly kind words. “I Wish I Knew” came out of me fooling around on an electric guitar. I was trying to find that Hendrix-like chord sound that had both strength and the open feel of acoustic chords, and the opening riff just came about. As is often the case, a lyric phrase lent itself rhythmically – “I wish I knew” –and the song started. There’s an element of the disaffection of T.S. Eliot in it, but it is about what all of life is: opportunity, choices, conflicts, and doing the right thing. No specific inspiration – just a flow of chord patterns and lyrical snippets until it made its point clear.
@skopemag: You’re originally from the New York City area and now call Boston home. How did those two places play a part in your music and your overall sound?
Jonathan: New York was clearly where all the influences of folk and rock both started in me – ranging from concerts in the park and the Fillmore East, to the acoustic duos in Central Park near the Bethesda Fountain. Musical sensibilities started there. Boston is all about being able to bounce from the great intellectual and cultural atmosphere of the city to the extraordinary nature that surrounds us from ocean to mountains. Also, the progressive sensibilities and the value system that are embodied in this city and state are part of me completely. I am very much still of New York but a diehard New Englander for decades now.
@skopemag: How would you describe your music?
Jonathan: I hope it is an unusual blend of thoughtful lyrics and melody that grabs and surprises and also speaks to the lessons one gets to know only after a lot of mileage in life. And it’s clearly deeply rooted in acoustic frames.
Americana/folk-rock singer-songwriter Jonathan Paull Gertler sat down recently with @skopemag to talk about his music around the release of his stellar and nuanced new album, “No Fear” (out now).
@skopemag: Your new album is amazing. We really love one of the singles, “I Wish I Knew.” What inspired it?
Jonathan: Thanks for those incredibly kind words. “I Wish I Knew” came out of me fooling around on an electric guitar. I was trying to find that Hendrix-like chord sound that had both strength and the open feel of acoustic chords, and the opening riff just came about. As is often the case, a lyric phrase lent itself rhythmically – “I wish I knew” –and the song started. There’s an element of the disaffection of T.S. Eliot in it, but it is about what all of life is: opportunity, choices, conflicts, and doing the right thing. No specific inspiration – just a flow of chord patterns and lyrical snippets until it made its point clear.
@skopemag: You’re originally from the New York City area and now call Boston home. How did those two places play a part in your music and your overall sound?
Jonathan: New York was clearly where all the influences of folk and rock both started in me – ranging from concerts in the park and the Fillmore East, to the acoustic duos in Central Park near the Bethesda Fountain. Musical sensibilities started there. Boston is all about being able to bounce from the great intellectual and cultural atmosphere of the city to the extraordinary nature that surrounds us from ocean to mountains. Also, the progressive sensibilities and the value system that are embodied in this city and state are part of me completely. I am very much still of New York but a diehard New Englander for decades now.
@skopemag: How would you describe your music?
Jonathan: I hope it is an unusual blend of thoughtful lyrics and melody that grabs and surprises and also speaks to the lessons one gets to know only after a lot of mileage in life. And it’s clearly deeply rooted in acoustic frames.
