We recently connected with Ja’son Manwill and have shared our conversation below.

Ja’son, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

At the age of seven. I watched a piano player play the Wind Beneath My Wings on an Acoustic Upright Piano. When I heard him play and watched his fingers move on that ivory I was blown away. I decided that day that I wanted to learn how to play that song and much more. Two weeks later, I set down at the same piano he was sitting at, and played The Wind Beneath My Wings from start to finish, and from that point on, I had the rush of playing and performing for people and audiences worldwide.. It was something that I was ready to do, and right after that; I learned, Bass, Guitar, and Drums. I played my first Public Performance two weeks later, and did not stop until the Brain Injury in 2009. 7 years later, I took the stage again after Rehabilitating myself and started coming back to life both musically and professionally. After COVID I was inspired to record a song I first played and performed in 1995 to a live audience called “Despair”. For 12 years I was told that I was not a good songwriter and I could not create good music, and that is why the music was never released or put out. In 2021 “Despair” , my high-energy rock single got nominated for a Grammy® and that inspired me to really focus on my music once again. I realized at that time, that I did not need ANYONE’s Approval or Denial. I am an Artist, That is who I am, That is what I Do, and because of that, I have an amazing creative life path both personally and professionally.

Ja’son, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was never told to practice the piano. I did it myself. I did it because I LOVED it. It was not work for me to practice the piano, it was a joy and still is today. It makes me feel happy and it gives me SPACE, to create and to write and compose as well. Before 1993, no one knew that I could play piano, let alone write a song that would not leave a dry eye in the house. In 1993 I graduated Middle School and 8th grade. At my 8th grade graduation my father got a band to play and perform for the audience. Two days before I was still trying to put the words together to tell my parents how much I appreciated them and everything they had gave me up till then. The night before I was at a gym, and the gym had a acoustic piano. I set down at that piano and wrote the words to my first song and then I wrote the music as well. This all came to me in less than an hour. As I was setting there with the ivory underneath my hands, I felt the ivory and hear the sounds and felt the black keys and started creating what we will call the “Graduation Song”, it all came together. Putting a fusion of Guns N Roses, Elton John, Billy Joel, and a Twist of Lime, I created a song that was like no other, and expressed all I couldn’t find in verbal words to communicate to my parents and those in attendance that night. To imagine this, think of a melody on the black keys and minors thrown in here and there. It melted a blues, modern, rock, infusion that allowed me to show my inspirations and pay homage to them in the song itself. Today I write songs for Artists, Television and Film, and perform live whenever I get the chance. I LOVE the audience, their vibe and the communication they give back to me, when they sing back the lyrics and are smiling in the crowd. I am most proud of the persistence, tenacity, and drive that I have now. After the Brain Injury in 2009-2016, I have more passion for life and music than ever before. I want to help artists all over the world. I also am most proud of the fact that I came through it and lived. I conquered. I am ALIVE and I am going to make up for lost time now. If you are struggling with your music, and your art, and you can’t get back up; I HEAR YOU. I have been there. I did it, and so CAN YOU. I rehabilitated myself as an Artist, and If I can get back on stage again after 14 years, being a vegetable, having 100 Gran Mal Seizures an hour, not being able to walk or talk; YOU can too. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. As an Artist, you have many people that want what’s best for you, or so you think. Yet, you need to find people that will align with your goals, don’t have ANY ulterior motives, and will be loyal to you, and have enough Ethics to call you when you are out of line. That is a True Friend, and that is what Musicians need. My Mission is to Rehabilitate 100 Musicians in 2024, and Help them get back to life, the same way I did in 2016. Help them get their music distributed worldwide and see them WIN once again.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Absolutely. There have been many. However, I know that the best advice I have ever received as an Artist, Musician and Entertainer would be “The 10x Rule, By Grant Cardone”. In that book I learned how to truly market myself as an Artist and what it takes to really Promote, Promote, Promote. What you think is the effort is really not even close. By following the Chapters in 10x Rule, I was able to Promote, Market, my Brand and in turn get nominated for a Grammy®. His follow up Audio book, “The 10x Mentor”, gave me the other tools needed and exercises so that I could take my Dreams and Goals and Targets to a whole different level. I learned you have to Think BIGGER than you have been taught, and that sometimes what other people teach you online does not work. Statistics do not lie. If you graph your stats as an artist you will see what needs correcting and you can handle and correct that and improve that. As an Artist/Musician/Composer/Songwriter/Singer, you are in SALES. You sell yourself everyday. From putting out a song, to selling from the Merch table, online store, promoting your new single, on air with radio personalities, to being on stage and asking the audience to purchase your latest release, you are SELLING yourself and your Brand/Image. If you don’t learn how to sell yourself correctly as an Entrepreneur and Business Owner you will miss out on many things. “The 10x Mentor audiobook gave me the confidence to market myself and also to see myself for the first time as a Billionaire.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, it’s the Fans. To be able to Create something, release it, and then see the fans smiling and mouthing your lyrics and seeing tears of joy in their eyes as they are singing the song, or when your in the VIP meet and greet area and a fan comes up to you that has traveled 1-2 days to see your show; there is no words. That is priceless to me. I cherish that. I welcome all of them. I call them my “Up Late Last Night Nation® Family. I do this for them everyday, and I record new music for them and stay up late many nights to give them what is needed and wanted. In addition, I look to them to find new material, Merch, setlists, song selection and so much more. I cater EVERY performance I do to the audience. I will ALWAYS do this, as they are the WHY of Me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jasonmanwill.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonmanwillofficial/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasonmanwillofficial
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmanwillofficial
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejasonmanwill
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jasonmanwillofficial?sub_confirmation=1

Image Credits
These images are all mine. © 1995-2023 Jason Manwill Music, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.