We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Porch Light Apothecary a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Porch Light, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

We generally like to approach our albums and song writing from a place coming from the heart. We strive to write songs that are not just words and music, but that are deeper than that and have the potential to really reach someone in a special way. Some of our songs, including a couple on our upcoming release “Stillness in the Fire”, have come from loss, and grieving close to us or injustices we see in the world around us. That of course means they’re not always the brightest, happiest songs, but we’ve always felt if we can in any way help even one person out there through a tough time, we’ve done our job.

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

We’re a 3-piece indie rock band based in Raleigh, NC. We all came together back in 2014 from different backgrounds. Brent Jordan is a North Carolina native that had spent many years recording and performing as mostly a solo artist. Brent released three solo albums prior to Porch Light Apothecary and has had his music included in several documentaries and films, including having his song “Thrift Store T-shirt featured on NBC’s hit television series, Scrubs.

Jason Elliott grew up in Mississippi where he spent many years playing drums and percussion in the bands Hogleg and the Puerto Rican Rum Drunks, which experienced a good bit of success in the southeast, including playing many festivals and shows at places such as Tipitina’s and the House of Blues in New Orleans. He has also spent time playing with various other bands both back in Mississippi and in North Carolina.

Brandon Whitesell moved down to North Carolina from Michigan with a friend during his college years. They have had an ongoing recording project since arriving in North Carolina, releasing music under the names Onlooker, which had a few songs featured on the Haunting of Cawdor soundtrack, and All Fours. Brandon has also recorded and played with Chapel Hill’s Erie Choir, as well as other artists over the years.

We all took different musical paths to get there, but the real magic happened when we began playing together and Porch Light Apothecary was born. It was more than just the fireworks and chemistry that came from our musical collaboration, too. It was also the personal connections and friendships that were immediately formed and have been strengthened over the years. We have become like a secondary family for each of us. Our musical relationship has strengthened, too. Over the years, our songwriting has become more collaborative and complex. We’re constantly trying to add new elements to our songs and broaden our musical boundaries.

What sets us apart from a lot of artists is that we write songs that don’t feel empty, but that reach down in you and tugs on your emotions. We hope this comes across in our upcoming release “Stillness in the Fire”, set for release in early July 2023.

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

For us, it’s probably writing songs that trigger emotion in the listeners and has the chance to touch someone in a meaningful way. It’s very rewarding when you feel like you’ve created something that really connects with someone and helps them through whatever they’re going through in life at that time.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

That’s a great question and one that’s not easy to answer as it’s really difficult for musicians to thrive and support themselves through their music these days. Probably the biggest thing society can do to support musicians is to go out to venues and support their live shows. That and purchase their music and/or merch, either directly from the artist or from sources where the artists get most of the revenue.     

Contact Info:

• Website: www.porchlightapothecary.com
• Instagram: @porch_light_apothecary
• Facebook: @porchlightapothecary
• Twitter: @P_L_Apothecary

Image Credits
Sam Bennett, Peter Braverman