Jade Jackson’s second album is here — and it’s attracting national buzz
Update, 12 p.m. Friday: Santa Margarita-based country singer-songwriter Jade Jackson released her sophomore album, “Wilderness,” on the Los Angeles-based label Anti- on Friday.
The album release garnered a feature article by the L.A. Times, which proclaimed that Jackson “may be the next big country-rock star” in the headline.
Anti- has records by Merle Haggard, Tom Waits, and Mavis Staples to its name. The album was produced by Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness, who also oversaw Jackson’s first effort, “Gilded.”
The album is available on all major platforms.
Original story, May 5: Jade Jackson has released the visuals for “Bottle It Up,” the first new music from the San Luis Obispo County roots artist in two years.
The song is the lead single from the singer-songwriter’s sophomore album “Wilderness,” which was produced by Social Distortion front man Mike Ness and slated to be released June 28 on Anti- Records.
The song, an upbeat country-rock track, came to her as she was running near her Santa Margarita home.
A bright guitar starts the song off before drums propel the track forward.
“Bottle it up the way we feel right now,” the chorus proclaims. “Whenever I get lonely gonna drink a little down/Bottle it up, the way you’re holdin’ me/If ever I get lonely, gonna pour myself a drink.”
“I got into a meditative state and started singing it repetitively,” Jackson told the Los Angeles Times in April. “The sound of my feet hitting the ground became the beat and the song just came to me. I got home and wrote it down — the whole idea of trying to capture the moments that aren’t going to last forever. The video was very special to make too — it reflects the feeling of just trying to capture those moments.”
The music video was filmed in Pioneertown, the former spot in Hollywood for filming Westerns and was directed by Matt Bizer. Shots from a recent gig at the town’s bar and restaurant, Pappy & Harriet’s are included, as well as Joshua Tree during the golden hour with her love interest.
“Wilderness” is the follow-up effort to Jackson’s critically acclaimed debut album “Gilded,” which was also produced by Ness.
The pioneering punk rocker owns a farm in Morro Bay and his wife, Christine, went to school with Jackson’s mother. Christine heard Jackson at a Kreuzberg Coffee Co. open mic and pestered Ness into working with her.
Once he watched video of Jackson and listened to her demos, Ness told The Tribune in July 2018, “I couldn’t deny that there was some significant songwriting in there, especially for a young person. Her voice did not sound like a 25 year old. It sounded like an old soul singing.”
Ness’s son, San Luis Obispo native Julian Ness, recently joined Jackson’s band as a guitarist. Jackson said the addition of Julian has helped carry the sound carved out by Ness on her records to live shows.
“That was the one piece we had trouble getting right,” Jackson told the Los Angeles Times. “But now that Julian’s in the band, I don’t have to worry about what I hear coming from my right.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2019 at 2:58 PM.