We were lucky to catch up with Justin Dawson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Justin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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?
I would say there are two ways I learn and grow as a creative musician. One by doing deep listening to music that I like and analyzing every part in my head and being able to sing it back. Sometimes it could be as simple as one melodic phrase and trying to sing it back or as complicated as a rhythm I’m trying to feel without counting or someone’s whole solo. The other way I grow is by spending time on my instrument (the acoustic bass) and working on technical exercises, transcriptions and learning songs. To answer the rest of the questions I would say the main obstacle that stood in my way at the beginning of my career and sometimes still today is myself. In order for me to play my best I need to trust myself and be able to trust what I’m hearing and interpret it in seconds and adapt. This requires me when I’m playing to have self confidence in what I’m doing in the moment and to have confidence in the other musicians around me as well. If I’m confident in myself then I stop thinking about myself and start manifesting ideas from the subconscious and that is where I feel I can truly create and loose myself.
Justin, 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 playing music when I was 5 years old. I started on the violin playing classical and bluegrass. When I was about 8 I started playing in a band that would play at retirement homes every Saturday. The leader required everyone to have there parts memorized so it put a fire in me to practice. Years later when I was in high school I started picking up the acoustic and electric bass. Playing acoustic bass in my school orchestra and jazz band and playing electric bass in my church on Saturdays and Sundays. I would say that is the basis of my roots as a musician and how I got into the industry. I’m no longer religious now but I would be remiss if I didn’t say how much the church is a giving place for amateur musicians to practice and get better.
I would describe myself now as mainly a freelance supporting musical artist. So most of my work comes from backing up musicians whether it be an instrumental musician or vocalist and interpreting their music so that I can make it sound the best I can. A lot of that is mainly listening to how the musicians around me sound and connecting dots so I can find the roots of their musicality in order to best find my place in the music to make it sound the best. For example I played with a saxophonist from out of town and he sent a huge set list of songs that have lots of different recordings. From analyzing the songs he sent I realized he drew a lot of influence from another famous saxophonist “Cannonball Adderley” so I mainly listened to the recordings that featured Cannonball. When it came time for the hit the standards and such that we played we’re all in the same key or vibe/groove Cannonball plays in. So I adjusted to make my sound fit in with that sound while also bringing my own interpretation to the mix. I never want to sacrifice my own sound or how I feel the music, but at the same time the instrument that I play (the bass) is meant to be a supporting role for a reason. A foundation for others to jump off of and find their way back.
One of the things I’m most proud of now is the jam session I run on Monday nights at the Lounge in Northside. To have musicians from different backgrounds come up and find a connection to where they can grow and create in real time is amazing and beautiful and so humbling. Everyone comes from a different place so it’s exciting to see how someone will interpret the music.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
We can support artists and musicians by going to their shows and buying their art. There’s a lot of musicians at the top level who are making so much money, but in every city in America there is opportunity for musicians to make a comfortable living. It’s up to the people in those cities to see what is going on around them and support it. That’s how cities develop their own sound. Live Music has always had a role in society and I think especially since the pandemic people are realizing how important it is to see it more and more.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I believe that because music is mainly taught from a technical point of view at an early age people become discouraged very easily and have an idea that music is very hard. Why is it that we assign scales as one of the first exercises for someone to learn for music, but in visual art we give someone pencil and paper and tell them to create and use their imagination? We need to do the same for music. I’m thankful that my first teacher put me in a band and we were playing in front of people. That was the fire I needed to keep practicing and to continue to use my imagination. We need to be able to teach music from a creative place first and teach the technical and craft side of music as a way of achieving what the student is hearing so they can execute it efficiently without playing bad technique mainly so they don’t hurt themselves. If more of this happens I think we will find that everyone is creative in one way and has something to say musically.
Contact Info: