We recently connected with Justin Talbot and have shared our conversation below.
Justin, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I grew up going to a ton of local indie, hardcore, shoe gaze shows around Ventura county and immediately fell in love with music. Between the ages of 14-18 it was the only thing me and friends had to look forward to in our small suburban town, every weekend there would be some new obscure band in town playing along with other local bands at a diy venue or at some house show, some of my favorites being Modern Color, Joyce Manor, Mullholland, etc. Each night felt like a little adventure for us, being in a room with a crowd of people all singing the same lyrics, feeling the same vibe, skating in parking lots between sets, then going over to a friend’s house afterwards to hang out, it all kinda felt like a coming of age movie. The ability of bands/artists to create that atmosphere that carved out a lot of experiences in my youth really inspired me, I knew in those moments that I wanted to make songs that invoked those feelings. I had spent the next few years learning how to play guitar and write songs, eventually I started a band with my friends but it wasn’t until I had moved to Seattle at 20 that I really started learning how to produce and write my own material.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I go by the artist name Juni Calluna, I went to school for music learning jazz guitar initially but found myself learning how to produce on my own time and loved it. I ended up leaving school and spent more time writing and producing while playing guitar for local Seattle musician JUL!ET outside of my day job, which eventually encouraged me to leave and start working on my own music as I started getting better at my craft and felt more confident getting my songs out there. My music is targeted towards the hopeless romantics (like myself) with the themes often being based on love, nostalgia, longing, and falling out of love. My biggest inspirations come from Omar Apollo, Dominic Fike, Del Water Gap, etc.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Honestly the best thing you can do in your community is to go out to shows for local acts, buy works/services from local artists, and encourage your friends, family and peers to do the same. Back in my hometown you would see a lot of the same people at every show it didn’t matter who was playing or what venue it was at, people would be there to support. Ultimately it created a little community of people with shared interests, you would have photographers who would get more work by meeting more bands in need of good live/studio shots, digital artists and clothing designers who would get work making merch/art covers. Everybody gets a chance to work and make connections while enjoying live music, making new friends, and gaining memorable experiences. I think if you could have something like that in every town with the same energy from listeners and fellow artists alike, you’re bound to see create more opportunities for all sorts of artists across the map.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Don’t let others put you down or discourage you for any creative pursuit. When you first pick up anything your bound to end up with a lot of failure and rejection, its just a fact, nobody can be a virtuoso when picking up an instrument for the first time or a professional artists when first painting on an empty canvas. When I first picked up guitar at the age of 16 I was awful, I had no rhythm, I could barely hold a chord down with my lack of finger strength and the songs I wrote were lackluster. I got a ton of shade for it from peers, friends and family members along the way. I annoyed many people whenever I decided to pick up a guitar and mess around for countless hours but I just couldn’t stop. Regardless of what anybody told me or how they looked at me anytime I tried to show them anything I wrote I just kept and moving forward and constantly getting better to now where I’m doing live shows and have people asking to co write after hearing my work. I think everybody has the ability to become a great artist it just takes a lot of hard work and the drive to get better.
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Image Credits
Sophie Shomaker
Will Harvey