We were lucky to catch up with Jackson Theuer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jackson thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I think about this question a lot, because I have a social circle that pretty evenly includes creatives and people with regular jobs. It really occurs to me when I see certain people I know, and internally I think: “There’s really no way this person could’ve been anything other than an artist.” They are so abundantly and naturally creative and artistic, it’s constantly flowing out of them without them even trying. From their hair, to their clothes, to the way they talk about things and their skills, it seems like some people were truly born to be an artist. I’m not one of those people.
I feel like I really could’ve been anything in this life. I’m intelligent and was good in school, so I could’ve easily been a doctor, a lawyer, a finance bro, or a teacher. And I know this isn’t far off because that’s what most of the people in my family are. I’m the only one in my family that decided to have a career in music (or even anything remotely creative). My teachers in school told me I was good at writing and should pursue that as a career, so that certainly could’ve been a possibility. In this lifetime though, I believe I just had the right collection of experiences throughout my childhood to influence me into being an artist. At a certain point, I became really passionate about music and from that point on, there was no way I could’ve been anything else. Any other career would’ve just been me clocking in and clocking out. Music is my REAL passion and something that I deeply care about, so it’s the only career that would keep me happy and fulfilled long term.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Not many people know that Heretixx used be a duo. It started in 2015 out of my college dorm room with a buddy of mine. We won a DJ contest to go and open for Steve Aoki at a music festival with our very first mix we put out, and soon became one of the campus favorites to DJ at parties. After college though, my buddy decided to go into finance and not continue to DJ, so I took over Heretixx as a solo act. The name came from a desire to do things our own way, like the heretics of medieval England who practiced their own religion secretly out of defiance against the wishes of the monarchy. The official motto of Heretixx is “Stick to the script, make your own movie.” It refers to my desire to succeed of my own accord, outside of the traditional label system (all of my releases have been independent) despite how much more challenging that road might be, in the hopes of maintaining creative control and ownership of my music and my brand. I like to think of myself as a small upscale steakhouse, as compared to say, McDonald’s. There’s no way I’m going to compete with them. I’m not going to have “billions and billions served.” But everything I make is going to be handcrafted, made with love and passion from quality local ingredients, and the service will be outstanding enough to attract repeat customers for years to come.
Outside of producing my own tracks for Heretixx, I also “ghost” produce for other much bigger artists in the EDM world. I think of it as a way to hone my skills and enhance my network at the same time. Even though I forgo formal credit for these works in exchange for money, It’s still a fun way to experiment and get opportunities to produce styles outside of my main genre. I’ve become a very versatile producer, as I started out making Hip-hop and later transitioned to House, and I’ve produced Reggaeton, Pop, Drum and Bass, and UK Garage as well.
Still, my main focus now is growing the catalog and brand of Heretixx, collaborating with artists and producers that I respect, and consistently giving my fans the best musical experience they could ever dream of.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think society really needs to do a better job at making music and the arts an actual sustainable income source and viable career for all of the people involved. Right now, there are too many middlemen in the industry who are hoarding all of the wealth created by leveraging the creative works of all of the artists, songwriters, musicians, engineers etc. and not giving the actual creators their fair share. Spotify, Livenation, and other massive companies like them have broken business models that make streaming and touring extremely unprofitable for artists,(save for the megastars such as Taylor Swift) while padding their own pockets immensely. Aside from backing legislature forcing these companies to break up the monopolies and ensure fair compensation for creatives, another good way to support artists is to simply buy from them directly. Buy music, merch, concert tickets, and whatever you can from an artist directly to ensure they are getting 100% of the money they deserve. Songwriters are another group that throughout history have been overworked and underpaid. Artists, producers, and labels need to do right by them to give them points on records they work on as well as a writer’s fee for each song. My biggest fear is that if society does not do enough to support these groups, that the arts will die out and music as a career path will become too unsustainable to even attempt. AI will make music cheaply so that the big companies can churn out hits and make huge profits off of artificially made songs that they own all the rights to. If you don’t want human artists to go away and want to be able to see your favorite act live in concert some day, make sure to support them directly in every way possible.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

This might be an obvious answer, but for me, the most rewarding aspect is the music I create and the relationships that come from it. First of all, the sense of satisfaction I get from taking a a song from nothing to a completely produced, mixed and mastered finished product is unparalleled and is even better than performing it live. It’s a really hard thing to do well, and I take pride in ensuring the work I put out is always the best it could possibly be. But other than the music itself, the thing I enjoy the most about being an artist is the friendships that come through collaboration. Having a good friend that knows you well is one thing, but I feel that other artists and musicians truly understand me on a deep level, more than any other type of person. Even though I have friends that I’ve known for way longer, if they’re non-musical, the whole music thing is kind of a mystery to them and since it’s such a huge part of my life, I don’t really have much else to talk about with them. It’s not just talking shop either. When it comes to other artists, we’re all on the same journey together and so we can relate to all the trials and tribulations that come with being an artist, from the work/life balance, the lack of a social life, the struggle to make ends meet, and above it all, our passion for relinquishing raw emotion and energy through music and creating the best music we can. I truly value these friendships made over a shared bond like music. Making music with someone is a fast track to getting to know them deeply, and when you make a song together, it’s almost as if you’re creating a child together and bringing it into the world. It’s really such an honor to have that kind of close bond with so many great people. I feel like few people in adulthood have this many close bonds with others outside their family, so I really cherish each one of them and hold them dearly.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.heretixx.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heretixxofficial/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heretixx
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/heretixx
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@heretixxofficial

Image Credits

D. Jacob Miller