We were lucky to catch up with Jesse Gillenwalters recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jesse, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had started sooner?
I started making music very young. I starting learning guitar at 14, and by 15 I was at the least creating godawful demos on my computer. But I didn’t start really trying to make actual songs until I was 17. To be honest, I’m grateful how young I started. I think the years between ages 17 and 23 were absolutely crucial for teeing up my adult musician life.
Jesse, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started making music in the basement of my house in Binghamton, NY just because I had a vision for something that didn’t seem to exist yet. Not that I’m some visionary or anything – a lot of my music’s sound can be traced to other bands and such, but I wanted to make something I conceived as unique. That was always the initial motivation.
As people have started listening, I think they’ve glommed onto this approach in the form of it affirming their own originality. What I’ve learned about my music from hearing my fans talk about it is that it seems to give people permission to be themselves. What more could I ask for?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I think at the moment, these are pretty goofy. If they weren’t so environmentally damaging, then it wouldn’t be nefarious at all. But at the moment, the value of these seem extremely nebulous. I’m sure in time there will be a more commonplace use for NFTs. At the moment, I’m good on the sidelines. That aside, my fans are not really pro-NFT, and so I’m happy to keep them happy by staying aside for the moment.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
A lot of people think music is the cutesy side-project to your actual life that’s pure fun and no real investment required. For me, this is my -main- story. Almost everything I do is in the context of making music and growing my fanbase. Any time I’m not doing that feels like an aside to me. I’m putting tons of hard work and loads of investment into my music on a literal daily basis – and many others are.
Contact Info:
- Website: basicprinter.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/basicprinter
- Facebook: facebook.com/basicprinter
- Twitter: twitter.com/basicprinter
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx_rU9NkqNiqTSFalOOJkJw
Image Credits
Hannah Gray Hall Kira Hooks Christine Harazim Zach Pigg