We were lucky to catch up with John Moran recently and have shared our conversation below.

John, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Aside from music school, some of the most valuable educational experiences in my field came from playing live music, in bar bands, indie rock projects, joining bands, and learning new songs.

After studying production and guitar at Berklee, I played in small town bar bands on rowdy nights, the kinds of places where there’s no stage and you’d get hit in the teeth with a microphone any time a drunk college kid fell onto the stage from dancing too hard. Back then I’d have to tape my setlist to the back of my guitar because it was getting stolen so much. Those were fun shows, and they taught me a lot about performing, but more than that I learned how to play a ton of songs in all kinds of genres. When you listen that much, that intentionally, and internalize every song, you learn how music is supposed to sound.

John, 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’m a music producer based in Los Angeles. I work with artists to take songs from an idea to a completed vision, building new worlds within their artistry and identities. I have a little recording studio and play guitar, bass, and keys. I’ve always loved writing and recording – I started with a little plastic tape recorder when I was still in preschool. I was a Catholic school kid and I know those songs were some odd combination of The Beatles meets Sunday School music. I wish I could find those old cassettes.

When I work with artists, I like to try things that are new for both of us. One of the best parts of a collaboration is the disagreements you have, because they push you into new creative territory. You and your collaborators need to be excited about the work, and if they like idea A but you like B, you can always find an idea C that feels not like a compromise but an adventure. You arrive in a place you would have never explored on your own.

Now, I have my own artist project under the name jawnmo, and I write songs, engineer, and produce for artists that I think are exciting. I’ve been working on an album called Sad Disco – upbeat dance tracks with depressing lyrics – that has been a fun world to explore. The first single, Lonely One Last Time, is already out, and is one of my favorite songs I have ever worked on.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In the music industry, you need to be an entrepreneur in every area of your life. Starting businesses and losing businesses is something that happens a lot, especially in the business of owning and licensing intellectual property. The runway needs to be long because the returns on your investments are so often delayed. It’s more like planting a crop and waiting for it to bear fruit than anything else.

I managed professional recording studios in Silverlake that have shut down. I started a record label that has dissolved. I’ve fronted and been part of so many bands that have never taken off. At this point, I’ve been using the name “Defunct Organizations” as a joke name in the credits of my work, because so many of the organizations of which I have been a part now fit into that category.

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

No one says this, but I love that I am able to spend time being awful at my craft, and if you are a creative, you should, too. Listen, everyone wants to make something great, but people get so self-conscious about making something that is subpar that they become too afraid to try at all. I think something that early stage artists often look past is the fact that we have to spend time making things that are bad in order to make things that are good. And that we can spend time making bad art is such a privilege.

We’re in it because we love the act of doing it, and if you can approach the act with a sense of childishness, curiosity, a willingness to experiment with the bad, the ugly, and the awful until you find the things that are good, great, and excellent, then you have the right approach.

I just picked up my old clarinet from middle school, an instrument I was never good at to begin with, and I found that nothing had changed in the years since I last played. More often than not, my playing sounds like someone who is surprised to find they have just stepped on a duck, but I expect to be bad, and I love that I can even spend an hour doing that. I’m a long way from a feature on the next Andre 3000 album, but any good sounds that come out of it are a small and unexpected delight.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jawnmo.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jawnmo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jawnmo

Image Credits

Victoria Cunanan, Marc Gleckman