Rising Stars: Meet Jameson Gerdon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jameson Gerdon. 

Hi Jameson, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, I’m Jameson! I’m 25, was born and raised in the Seattle area, and I love eggs. Yes, I consider loving eggs an important part of me. lol 

Ever since I was a little kid I was interested in music. I remember sitting in a booster seat at a restaurant and instead of being engaged with my family, I was totally lost in the music that was playing. My love for music continued to grow over the years and when I was 12, I got my first real acoustic guitar. (I had some toy instruments while growing up.) From then on, I started playing every day and would make up my own little idea, not full songs or anything significant, but I just enjoyed creating new ideas. My dad began to notice that I was making up little guitar parts and one day he came home with a drum machine, USB microphone, and cakewalk recording software. My parents aren’t musicians but my dad was very encouraging and gave me the tools I needed to start recording my ideas. This was the start of my songwriting and production career. 

I was attending a co-op school and during my freshman year, they offered a recording class at a nearby studio down the street. I immediately signed up and by the end of the first day of class, I was hooked. The teacher was so enthusiastic about music and the creative process and was so encouraging. I still remember when he played “1901” by Phoenix over the studio monitors and I was blown away. The sounds were huge and impactful and the quality and detail of the sound were otherworldly to me. (Fun fact: 1901 is the reference song that I listen to whenever I’m in a new studio space or using new monitors or headphones.) By the time the song was finished playing I had committed to myself that I was going to do this for my career. I wanted that feeling to be my life. So, I began to work towards that with every decision I made. Throughout high school, I was making instrumental music for stock music sites and was continuing to learn the art of writing and production. 

In my last two years of high school, I was enrolled in a “running start” program where I was able to attend Shoreline Community College for 2 years and received my AA in Audio Engineering. I then was able to transfer to Northwest University, a private university in the Seattle area, to receive my B.A in Audio Engineering in 2017. 

While attending Northwest I met one of my best friends, Noah Pearson (REST), and we started songwriting and recording songs together for school projects. Working on these projects started to show others on campus that I had something to offer and I ended up helping out with numerous projects and playing in multiple bands. These connections are what eventually led me to make the move to Nashville. 

After college, I got a job as an Audio/Visual Tech for a Seattle company and moved into a management position which then led me to move to Chicago in early 2019. I continued to pursue music throughout this time, but my job had really taken priority. When the pandemic hit, I was furloughed due to being in the events business. Although it was a hard time, it was a blessing in disguise. I finally had time to think and assess my life, dreams, and goals and I decided to move back to Seattle to regroup and start fresh. 

As soon as I got back to Seattle, I had multiple friends and mutual friends that were looking for a producer and I happened to move back at the perfect time. So, my production career started to slowly grow. I was able to produce a couple of days a week for clients and would also do Uber Eats delivery driving to survive. I was driving a lot and started getting into podcasts, particularly “And the Writer Is” hosted by Ross Golan. This podcast became my “go-to” listen and I would continually get inspired by the stories I was hearing about how all these notable songwriters and producers came to be who they are today. I started to notice a theme in these stories. It was Nashville. I heard Nashville come up too many times to count. One day in August of 2020 I was driving and listening to this podcast and Nashville was mentioned again. It finally hit me that I needed to go there if I wanted to pursue production and songwriting for real. So right then and there, driving on the interstate, I decided I was going to move to Nashville in the Spring. I worked even longer days delivery driving to start saving up and by Spring 2021 I was ready to make the move. I packed up my car with everything I had and made the cross-country drive and officially moved to Nashville on April 15th, 2021. 

Since moving to Nashville, I’ve been able to go full-time into production and songwriting and freelance A/V work. It’s been a journey with lots of ups and downs but I’m proud of where I’m at and I’m so excited to see what the future holds! 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s not always easy being self-employed and working in a creative industry where work can come in as quickly as it can leave. But over the years I’ve learned that the key to having consistent work is through genuine love for the people that I’m working with. This goes for any field of work, but with artists, I think it matters even more. People simply want to feel heard and valued. If I can listen to my client’s stories, make them feel valued and cared for, and on top of that provide a quality product (song, production, mixing, etc.) long-term repeat business is developed through these genuine relationships. 

Another constant struggle is mental health. At least for me, it’s way too easy to become overwhelmed by seeing what everyone else is doing online and feeling like I’m not doing enough or questioning whether I’m “good enough”. I’ve struggled with anxiety my whole life but I’ve realized that working for myself has actually made this aspect of my life even more difficult. I’m having to learn to set boundaries for myself so that I can stay healthy. I’ve been taking the time to learn more about myself and what I need. Because if I’m not well, it’s almost impossible to be there for my friends, family, and clients. Eating well, having a sleep routine, having dedicated “me time” each morning, and weekly therapy are key to me staying healthy. It’s a constant learning process and not always easy to stick to my goals, but it feels good to always be working towards a healthier lifestyle. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I love the entire music creation process, but specifically, I love production and songwriting and that’s what I focus on in my career. 

I produce pop, indie rock, singer-songwriter, RnB, and since moving to Nashville a little more country and folk-pop. I pride myself on being a “moldable” producer and writer. I just love making music, no matter the genre and I have the ability to get in a room each day with completely different writers and artists and help them get their ideas in their heads out into the world. It’s a really rewarding process and I love that every day is totally different. One day I could be writing a pop song with Coleman. Ex @, the next, I might be writing a quirky indie rock track with Hannah Smith @HannahSmithMusic, and another day I might be tracking acoustic guitars for a singer-songwriter or Americana song with Rest @abandcalledrest or Jeremy Walton @JeremyWaltonMusic. 

I believe that music is best made with friends and because of that, I only work with people I have a genuine connection with! People are the most important part of music and I believe that you can feel that throughout the music that is made. Humans have this ability to feel authenticity, and if the music being made is forced or made in an uncomfortable environment the listeners can tell. 

I work out of my townhouse studio and I love creating a laid-back environment for my clients. Every session I usually start off with having conversations over coffee or tea (shoutout to Honest Coffee Roasters!) and we spend some quality time just talking about life or our dreams and goals. Then we’ll get into either writing, recording, or mixing depending on where we’re at in our creation process. I also love to cook, so depending on the day we might take a lunch break where I’ll cook something up for us to eat. I take pride in creating a comfortable, homey environment where my clients can be themselves and let go of any insecurities they may have coming into the session. We can create professionally without taking ourselves too seriously. 

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I think losing my day job due to covid was actually the best thing that could’ve happened to me. It gave me the push I needed to jump outside my comfort zone and really go after what I’ve always wanted for my life. 

Creativity never stops. Even though the world shut down, the creatives didn’t. This actually accelerated my growth as a producer because everyone had more time to pursue their creative passions which in turn gave me more opportunities which then allowed me to make the move to Nashville. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jamesongerdonmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesongerdon/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJRSaQILYMF1RDLiW_7dAqw