We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful JR Redford. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with JR below.

JR, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The risk of fully being yourself… Is there a risk? What’s the risk? Let’s examine..

Since we were born, people, situations and social constructs have been pushing us through directives and suggestions of how or who we should be… Some of this is good, some of this is just someone else’s baggage or our own mis-perception… If we don’t make an effort to become aware of such things, they begin to become part of our unconscious programming or “who we are.”

Why does this matter for art or music you ask?

When friends in the past have vented to me about “writers block” or “creative blocks” I always felt a bit guilty or confused… like.. “why do I not know what this person is struggling with?” But over time, as I began to know myself better, I realized something very profound… The “block” is us… it’s our own mind. The reason I couldn’t relate was because long ago I realized that the more you care, the more blocked you get. The solution is to get out of your own way.

The first step of creativity is full acceptance.. If I’m not fully accepting of the song or music I am “hearing” then I am asserting that I know what is best and that The Universe is wrong or a liar! This doesn’t mean that I keep every fish that I catch, but it means that I don’t argue with what I’m catching – I just make a decision whether or not to keep it and I keep fishing. Why? Because creating is a blissful act when we don’t judge what comes out.

When you see a tree, you don’t argue.. It’s just a tree. Art is no different and I believe when we remember this collectively we will see another golden age of musical creativity.

This doesn’t mean that I will be received by others, it means that I will be free from the chains of having to meet the needs, wants or expectations of others and guess what? THAT IS WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO SEE. They want to see people being their best and most genuine self. This requires a letting go of “knowing” or having opinions on what that is exactly.

I’ve taken this “risk” for as long as I can remember and sometimes it’s scary, but I sleep well at night knowing that I never tried to please or cater to anyone and in doing so I shine a light for others to do the same. Take that leap. Be yourself.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a guitarist and singer by trade, but I have always written songs and had the inspiration to make records out of the things I write.. I just released my second full length album “Reflections” in April under the name JR Redford and I’m in the process of making another.

I make what I call “guitar heavy psychedelic singer/songwriter” music. It has the ramblings of Pink Floyd, Radiohead, John Mayer, Wilco and a few others. I’ve always been a serious guitarist but I’ve also always had a love for great songwriters and I’m a 90’s kid so I obviously love that era as well as all the 60’s and 70’s rock…

The main issue I’ve had is that people don’t seem to resonate with Earthy music anymore.. I believe my stuff to be Earthy and kind of spacey at the same time.. It’s not easily compared with any of the popular styles of the day.. but I could really care less.. I make music because I love making music, not because I want followers or fans on a social media website that literally uses creatives and pays them nothing. Streaming pays almost nothing. Why fret over nothing?

I just keep doing what it is that I do and if any fires start or my stuff gets recognized that’s just icing on the cake. I may never have commercial success (who knows?) but I’m happy and that’s what matters to me.

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

Get therapy. Meditate. Work through your own emotional problems. Stop allowing other people to think for you. Record labels (or what’s left of them) and marketing teams know that we are all deeply unhappy and they capitalize on this by shrinking your attention span and making you feel that if you’re not like everyone else, then you are inherently wrong or bad.

This is not the full truth. An ecosystem survives and thrives on DIVERSITY – not on everything being the same! If we want answers we need only look at Mother Nature. When I look at an industry of music/songs/genres/artists that all have the same chords, same topics, same sounds, same look and same marketing tricks, what I see is something that is unhealthy and not properly balanced.

But we can’t blame the business people or the marketing teams – it’s US. We are collectively allowing this and it’s hurting creatives. If it wasn’t working for them to pander to us and dumb it all down, then they wouldn’t be doing it. We are the problem. We must look inward.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I was taught that everything is hard work and everything has to be difficult, if it’s not difficult and it’s not hard work then your’e not getting any benefit.

I almost killed myself over this concept and I made my self very unhappy.

Especially in creative endeavors like making records, playing an instrument or any other art form, hard work will get you to the door, but something else has to let you in. We can knock, but we don’t get to decide when the art happens or when the art will be recognized. We can only get ourselves to the door.

For years I knocked, I banged on the door, I screamed, I yelled, I panicked and did all types of absurd things thinking it would make a difference. It didn’t. I only wasted my energy. Frankly, asserting myself with this lack of wisdom brought me only unhappiness.

When I started asking the question “What does Art want?” That’s when I started getting some answers.

The answer? LET GO. Stop forcing things. Stop “trying” and start “being.” This was not easy to realize, but I really don’t have control whether I make a great album or whether I can finally play that guitar lick I’ve been working on. What I have control over is whether or not I show up every day and give it my best. So why should I worry about anything?

I think the greatest creatives have had a profound respect for the craft and the ego-deflation it takes to walk through The Gate of Musical Enlightenment and these are the people that I admire.   

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jrredford.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jrredfordmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jrredfordmusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jrredfordmusic

Image Credits
Cameron Flaisch