Interview with Jackie June (Singer/Songwriter)

By Sonia Schnee | Posted Friday, March 18, 2022

South Amboy singer/songwriter, alt-pop recording artist Jackie June just dropped a brand new single, “Falling Apart”, today. Written and recorded in collaboration with artists April Rose Gabrielli and Kulick, “Falling Apart” marks a sonic departure from Jackie’s previous music, while still being true to her penchant for deep, meaningful lyrics. As Jackie explains in her interview (Part 1 was filmed in March 2021, Part 2 in March of this year), while the subject matter of her songs may be serious, she likes to couple them with an upbeat, driving pop melody while also eliciting joy through refreshing and — as we’ll see with “Falling Apart” — playful music videos. Listening to Jackie June’s music, audiences are reminded to stop, reflect, and appreciate the beauty of the things and people around them.

Be sure to follow Jackie June on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) for up-to-date announcements about new music and show dates, and check out her YouTube channel to catch the official music video for “Falling Apart” which will premiere later this month.

To learn more about Jackie and the inspiration behind her music, watch our interview above or read the transcript below.

(Video and transcript have been edited for time and clarity.)

PART 1: March 2021

For first-time listeners, how would you describe your sound and your musical influences?

JACKIE JUNE: I think that my music is generally like pop-rock. I think sometimes people hear a little bit of a country influence depending on what the song is. I don't know where it comes from, but I do love country music. My influences tend to be a lot of pop artists and singer-songwriter-type artists.

Nice! And you're from around Toms River?

Yes. So I grew up in Toms River, but now I live in South Amboy, so Middlesex County.

Congratulations on the release of your music video for "Afterglow." It's a beautiful video. Beautiful lyrics. Where did you film it?

So we filmed the performance scenes up at Debonaire Music Hall in Teaneck. So shout out to David over there who's amazing and allowed us to use his space. The beach scenes in the video were over at Sandy Hook. So we went during sunset and got really lucky in capturing the most beautiful sunset, which we were really hoping for.

That shot is really gorgeous -- the colors and everything. It matches the colors in your hair, too.

It was literally pure luck. The filmmaker/director was Bart Lentini, and he had the idea to go to Sandy Hook. He's like, "I'm telling you, if it's a really good night, we're going to get really good shots" and I was like, "I trust you", and he nailed it. It was really perfect.

How did you and Bart meet up? Did you know each other before this?

So, probably a little over a year ago, I released a song called "On the Move", and at the time I was considering doing a music video for it. I wasn't really sure, and I had seen some work that I really liked. Taylor Tote had a video called "Heart's a Boomerang", and I had reached out to her and I said, "Hey, who did your video?" and she referred me to the woman who did her video. I reached out to her, and she introduced me to Bart. We talked a little bit. COVID happened, so no video, but as the year went on, I remembered that I loved his work and I reached back out to him and said, "Hey, how can we do a really cool COVID-safe music video?" We worked really well together. He was awesome to work with.

Who were your bandmates on stage?

So, I actually borrowed people from a bunch of different bands. So on the bass is Jamie McClanahan of The Victory Drive. On the guitar is Chris Laurie, and he's in the band Triple Addiction -- these are all Jersey bands -- and on the drums is Jimmy Meyer of The Dives. Fun fact: Jimmy Meyer is also the co-writer of the song, so we wrote it last summer [2020] via Zoom during COVID and all that good stuff.

How did you and Jimmy meet?

We somehow connected on Facebook because I guess we had heard each other's music. We had never met. We talked about a potential collaboration at some point and obviously, COVID happened, but we were like, "You know what? Even though we've never met and it's the middle of COVID, let's write something." So we actually wrote the song before we ever even met in person, which was kind of crazy.

Who produced the song? Where did you record it?

So that was recorded up an Audio Pilot Studio by Rob Freeman of the band Hidden in Plain View. They're a really awesome band, and he's such an incredible producer and just musician and person in general.

"Afterglow" has such beautiful lyrics. Thank you for including them underneath the music video. It's really a nice thing to be able to follow along!

Thank you, I felt really proud of these lyrics, and I think there are a lot of things that sometimes can get easily missed, or maybe my inflection, or the way I sing something. It happens all the time with music. There's misunderstood lyrics and stuff. So I was like, "You know what? I'm going to put these lyrics in the bottom." There's a lyric video, but I didn't do anything crazy with that, so I figured I might as well include them.

How would you describe this reference: "I dance with Marilyn, Norma's cutting in. How can one girl have two smiles?" What is that a reference to, for those who don't know?

That is literally one of my favorite lines in the song. I am a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe. I have pictures of her all over my music room in here. So when I was writing with Jimmy, I was kind of just looking around my room and I was looking at Marilyn and I'm like, "Oh man, I love her", blah blah blah, and I thought it would be interesting to incorporate her somehow in the song. Her birth name is Norma Jean Baker, for those who don't know, so the idea behind that line is, number one, the song is about kind of going a little crazy during -- I mean, for me personally, it's quarantine -- but it could be anything for anyone, where things are just raw and you just feel like you're going bonkers. I think that the imagery of having these two personalities in one person kind of combined, to me just seemed like a cool visual. I think it also shows that there's always going to be a little bit of two sides to how someone feels. I thought it was a good representation for feeling that way.

You also released another single during 2020, entitled "Can't Quit You", which you co-wrote with Jes Hudak. Tell us a little bit about that. You have a little bit of co-writing history with her as well.

Yes, I do. Jes Hudak, she is my mentor and I love her to death. So quick back story about Jes. I started off as her vocal student a few years ago, and this is before I had even started even thinking about writing. We were working together and she said, "Try songwriting, I feel like there's this artist within you and I think you should do it" and I was like, "You're nuts, I can't write a song." She really motivated me, and we wrote my whole first EP together, my EP "Wildflower."

We kind of came back together early-2020, maybe even by the end of 2019, and we started writing "Can't Quit You" together. It kind of came about because I had been having such an emotional roller coaster about, "Do I want to keep doing music? Do I not want to keep doing it?" There's just always this constant battle as an artist about whether or not you should even try. So funny enough, the song comes off as a love song, but it's really my love song to music, about how it doesn't matter what's going on and how much sometimes it can hurt, being an artist and really trying to do this thing, I just can't quit it. So I always love writing with Jes. She's the reason I do this. She's awesome.

What can you tell us about the music video? It's really beautiful. I got teary-eyed while I was watching it.

So, with a release during COVID and quarantine, there was really no opportunity to do any sort of music video. I thought, wouldn't it be really cute if "I can't quit you" kind of has like this double meaning? It's a love song, but for me personally, it means one thing. For someone else, it could mean something else. So I thought it would be a cool idea to reach out to people on social media -- friends, family, anyone who is interested -- to submit a really short clip of them showing me something that they could never quit, or something they just couldn't live without.

I got some really cool video submissions of people who like to run, so they're running, or there's people with their kids, and there's people with their girlfriends or their boyfriends, or eating chicken wings. I mean, just all these really cool ways that I feel like people were able to get creative. I just loved it and it came out really cool. I'm very proud of that video, so I'm really glad you liked it. It was really important to put out something that was really like a feel-good kind of thing. I think everybody has had some kind of loss, or hasn't been able to do the things that they can't quit, the things that they can't live without, and I like to think it was a nice little reminder for everyone to be like, "We still have these things. We're still going to be able to do them. Let's just have a little fun." Shout out to Ryan Hanratty of Frosted Green Productions for the editing. He did a great job.

In October 2020, I saw on Instagram that you were interviewed for a documentary about the New Jersey music scene. How did that happen?

So, this is cool. His name is Fulvio, and he is a filmmaker/documentarian. He's been interviewing musicians of all types and of all genres of people from the past and the present. Initially, I think it was going to be a movie documentary, but so many people wanted to be involved in it that I think he's going to make it more into a series now. Big shout out to Rory D'Lasnow, who's a singer/songwriter here in Jersey as well. He made the introduction. It was a really cool project and was excited to be a part of it, for sure. It's called The Jersey Sound, and I've been following them on Instagram and been following Fulvio. He's still out there and he's still meeting people and filming and interviewing. I'm excited to see when the videos start to come out.

Speaking of Rory, you also did a livestream with him sometime during the pandemic, in Asbury Park was it?

Caroline Davidson opened up a beautiful art and music-type studio in Asbury Park called Ghost Harbor Creative. She has an adorable little stage in there, and obviously, with COVID, it was hard to make it a public event, so she had the idea of coming up with livestreams recorded from Ghost Harbor. So I met with Caroline, and we set something up for me and Rory to perform there, and we did kind of a back and forth set, like a mini songwriters round. It was a lot of fun. It's a great place, and people should definitely check out Ghost Harbor because they're really doing a great job supporting the art scene in Jersey.

Do you come from a musical family or are you kind of a trailblazer?

My mother did a lot of theater growing up. My mom has a beautiful singing voice, but she didn't really pursue that. My father, he's a music fan, but not very musical. But my father's family is very musical. A lot of them live out in California and do a lot of singing and performing. My aunt's a belly dancer -- like a famous belly dancer. It's crazy. So she does all of that, and there are a lot of vocalists on that side of the family. Definitely artistic people.

Looking back, what have been some of the highlights that you've experienced as an artist so far?

I would say there are probably two really specific moments that stand out for me. No, three. I'm going to say three. The first one is playing a Sofar Sounds show in Atlanta last year, which first of all, it's so cool to play a Sofar show. I always heard really great things about how engaged the audience can be at a Sofar show, and they were not kidding -- very attentive and welcoming and just such a cool experience that I won't forget.

The second thing is there's an adorable little girl named Olivia who actually used my song "Chasing Nightmares" in her dance routine for her dance competitions. So that was really cool to see. I have the video up on my YouTube. She's so talented. So that was really cool.

The third thing that really stands out as being like a super highlight for me: I played a show last year -- again, this is right before COVID -- in Baltimore, and there was a little girl sitting with her parents, probably about 5-6 years old, she really little, and after the show, her father came up with her and said, "I just want you to know this little girl has been listening to 'Chasing Nightmares' over and over and over and over again. She found you on a playlist on Spotify, and we saw you were randomly coming to Baltimore, so we drove 45 minutes to come see you." I started bawling because I'm still such a small artist, you know? To even hear, number one, that anybody would even come that far to see me is crazy, and then people who I don't know, that's cool, too. To be completely out of New Jersey and have that happen with like... I think I cried for hours after that. I would say those are my highlights, for sure.

That's always a great feeling to know -- in any profession -- that what you do means something to somebody, and that that's how they're spending their downtime, their free time. They're connecting with something you created.

It's literally crazy. I've only been doing this for about three years, and I'm just a local artist here in New Jersey. So the fact that people want to hear it and it's not going on deaf ears, it's just one of those things that keeps you going.

Are there any words of advice or encouragement that you would give to people -- and not just artists, but really anyone -- who are trying to wrap their heads around how much the world has changed and are trying to stay productive, or just stay mentally healthy? What would you say to them?

Oh man, I wish I had the answers because I'm still working on it myself. I think, personally, what's helped me is I think I allow myself the time to take a break if I need to, instead of forcing it. So for me, specifically when it comes to being creative or trying to put this pressure on myself to write a new song that I think is great, I think sometimes it's OK to tell yourself, "You know what? I need a break right now. There's no pressure. The song will come when it comes," and I think that's with anything that anyone wants to do or create. Just let yourself off the hook a little bit and be kind to yourself because I definitely think it's hard when a lot of things in the world right now are out of our control. The only thing we can control right now is ourselves and how we handle it. For me, it's been working on being kinder to myself and not putting so much pressure on myself to create. Also, I've actually been journaling a lot. I find that it can be very therapeutic, especially in these times where, although we have social media and we have video chats and things like that, it still does feel lonely and disconnected sometimes. So I think it definitely helps to write things down and get it out.

Is there anyone who you'd like to give a shout-out to, whether it's family or friends or other artists or favorite restaurants that are closed or business or anything?

I think it's important to think about supporting independent artists and independent music, but also local mom and pop businesses. I think right now they are the ones that are hurting the most. So my shout-out is to all those who have been pushing through when it's been a difficult time, when it's hard, and just a shout out to all the people who've been staying strong and pushing through and still creating. I know it's been hard, too, as a musician, with shows canceled and we're trying our best. So shout out to all the people that are struggling and doing their best.

PART 2 - March 2022

I saw that on Instagram that you had posted a little sneak peek clip of your new single, "Falling Apart." How long has this song been brewing, and how did it get to where it is now?

That's a very good question because I feel like this song has been the longest journey of all my originals. During 2020, when we were obviously all in lockdown, I found myself not super inspired, but there was one day where I just got this melody and idea in my head for a song, and I would play it on the piano over and over again, and I knew that this would be a really catchy chorus. I had lyrics ready for it and everything, but no matter what I did, I couldn't finish the song. So I just kind of put it on the shelf, put it aside and was like, "Whatever, maybe I'll finish it another someday."

I had already been familiar with April Rose Gabrielli's music prior to all of this. She was in a bunch of different rock bands and we had connected a little bit on social media at some point. When I first started doing music in 2018-2019, I had always been a big fan of her writing and her music, and so she released her first solo single called "Do You" and as soon as I heard it, I was like, "You need to tell me who produced this. This is just incredible. I love it. I've been trying to figure out a way to take my music to a different... I don't want to say a "different level" because that sounds so cliché, but literally try and go a little bit more outside my comfort zone." She was like, "Oh, actually, I produced it, along with Kulick" and I was like, "Well, how do I work with you guys? I need to find a way to make this happen."

I brought them the chorus, the melody that I had, and the lyrics that I had, and I went out to see them for a week --  they live out in Pennsylvania -- and we just spent the weekend finishing the song, writing and producing and recording it. Everything was done in two days. I was just so proud of it, and it was just such a really good experience working with the two of them because I absolutely admire them as artists, but as writers as well. So I a lot of fun.

I love the lyrics, "I keep on falling apart in all of the right places, taking my time to find the right pieces." What can you tell us about the lyric-writing process? What initially inspired it? Was it something from personal experience?

It definitely came from a personal experience. I'm trying to be to honest and more vulnerable when I talk about the stories behind my songs. Around that time, I had just been diagnosed with an eating disorder, and I felt very confused. I had been doing a lot of reflecting about how it took me this long to kind of figure out what was going on and how hard the work was and the healing process was. So the idea behind the song was that, yeah, sometimes you have to fall apart and you have to break and you have to do all these really hard things in order to get to a better place and to be, whether it be in recovery or whatever it might be, that your struggle is, right? Sometimes you just have to pull out that splinter. It's going to hurt, but afterward it's going to be a lot better. So one of the things I wanted to do with this song was show that it's OK to feel vulnerable. It's okay that we have to suffer and struggle and all of those things. But I wanted it to be uplifting and empowering, that it's worth it.

That's a beautiful message. Thank you for sharing that.

A great thing about music is the way that it can make people feel less alone, give them a sense of belonging, and keep them pushing through. I know music has helped me get through some really tough times. It's just such an amazing medium in that way.

It also is a testament to your artistry, that you can write/create something that can bring people in. It's kind of like you give your listeners permission to just sit and stop and reflect on the things and the people that they have in their lives, which I think is really important to soak up.

That makes me so happy to hear that you hear that because I feel like that's something I've been working on for myself. I think I've always been very good at just being like, "OK, I don't need to feel sad. I need to find something to make me feel better, or what is the point of feeling this feeling," right? I feel like I have been working really hard to embrace that. Embrace those feelings, allow yourself to feel them. It's OK. We don't have to sit in them forever, but there's nothing wrong with having them. A lot of times, I write these songs as my own sort of therapy to remind myself, "OK, you know, Jackie, it's OK if you're crying right now. It's OK if you're having a tough time right now because you know what? It will get better. This is all part of life and you're going to be OK." My music, I feel like there are these very serious topics, but I tend to make the music and production... I like it to be fun and uplifting. There is that pop element. This song, it's just such a serious topic, but I have made it very playful, which you'll see in the video. I took a very emotional, serious topic for myself, but things can be serious but you can still laugh and you can still be playful regardless of that, you know? Hopefully, that will come across in the video.

Yes! How did you meet the director? Who came up with the concept for the music video?

So his name is Tom Flynn, and he is amazing. He was actually a referral from April Rose Gabrielli and Kulik. They both have worked with him for some of their different music videos, and when I saw the work that he had done, I was like, "Oh my God, I have to work with this guy!" We had a call about the song, he listened to the song, I sent him lyrics, gave him some understanding about what my intentions were behind the song and what it meant for me, and he was like, "I have this crazy idea. You're either going to love it or you're going to hate it." He kind of gave me the idea, and then we worked together to flesh it out a little bit more. But yeah, it was mostly Tom. I just thought it was great because it kind of has that whimsical feeling, that kind of vibe that I go for.

The people that were in this video were all friends of mine. Some are other musicians in the Jersey music scene. They were really good sports. It was a very cold day. It was late fall or early winter. I want to say like November or December. So yeah, it was very cold. I felt terrible. But they're all good friends.

Where did you film? Is it filmed in New Jersey?

Yeah, actually it's in my neighborhood, in South Amboy.

How did you find the costume for the main character? Was it handmade?

Oh my gosh, no. We bought it online.

Who is the actor who's in the costume?

So, he is going to create a reveal video that I will post on social media so you can see who it is. He's an amazing guy and really knocked it out of the park. To be able to do any sort of acting while wearing a head like that, it just shows he did a great job.

Tell us more about April Rose and Kulick.

They are like the dynamic duo. I swear, they make magic when they work together. They're both touring musicians. April's actually in Kulick's band. She plays the keys and backup vocals. She also has her solo project, which is going incredible. Her song "Do You", which was her first single, was charting on Billboard Hot A/C [Adult Contemporary] Charts and things like that. They're both just amazing, and I feel so incredibly blessed and lucky to have had the opportunity to work with them, but also to now say they're my friends. They're just really great people.

When we went to write this song together, when I went out to Pennsylvania, it was maybe October. I honestly was really forcing myself to do it. I had not been very inspired. I had not really done much with my music in a while. I released some covers last year, but for the most part, I hadn't released anything original in about a year. I was like, "I'm going to do this. You're going to work with new people. You're going to. It's going to be good. It's going to be good." I left that weekend feeling so re-inspired and feeling like, "OK, I still love this, thank God!"

Where did you record “Falling Apart”?

With them. They co-wrote with me, produced, mixed, mastered -- all of the above. They're very multitalented people. They have a home studio, and it's amazing and beautiful. It was just such a great experience, and it was a very comfortable experience, too. I think sometimes when you're in these more formal big studios, it can be very intimidating -- at least for me. I felt very comfortable being there with them, and it was just really nice. They have this adorable dog named Ellie who made it even more fun. It was really a great experience.

Do you have any other songs/projects in the works?

It's funny, I feel like in the past -- because I started doing this whole music thing so late in life -- I felt like I was rushing everything and having to get the next song out and the next one, and this and that. I feel like I'm at a point now where I'm like, "You know what? That's exhausting." If I get a bunch of song ideas in my head and I decide to record and release them, great, I will do that. But for now... I mean, I definitely have a phone filled with melody, ideas, and concepts and things, but nothing fleshed out. Everything is really just in lots of little pieces, and hopefully they'll turn into something kind of like "Falling Apart" did, where it just kind of started with a little piece of a couple of things and then it came to life when I found the right collaborators. So, we will see.

The music business, whether it be on a local level or a global level, moves very quickly and people can forget about you very quickly and people want to hear the next thing right away. But you know what? Putting the pressure on yourself to keep up with that just takes a lot of the joy out of what you're doing. For me, I do this because I love it, and if people listen to it, that's a bonus. If people want to play it, and when it comes to a show, that's a bonus. But I just don't I don't want to feel that pressure, you know?

Is there anyone new who you'd like to give a shout-out to?

I have to give a huge shout-out to April and Kulick. You guys need to check them out! April Rose Gabrielli and Kulick. They are both incredible artists that are releasing just such great music, and they're also really wonderful people to support and they have been so supportive of me. They've really changed my way of thinking with a lot of stuff in music that can sometimes make you feel a little bad or make you feel a little bit knocked down. They are just so uplifting, talented, wonderful human beings. So, everyone, check them out! They're great.

Last year, you mentioned some of the career highlights that you had. Have fans still been reaching out to you?

I actually just saw a family friend last night and her daughter was like, "I told my friends that I know a singer." The little kids are just too cute. She was telling me, she's like, "I love your song 'Wildflower.'" I think she's 8 years old. Just hearing that, especially from little girls, I just wish I had someone like that in my life, especially with music, growing up as a kid.

Yeah, that is so important for little girls to have positive role models.

I noticed from this interview and also from your last one, you're so modest. For the caliber that your music is at in terms of the lyrics and the melody and the artistry, really, you have some bragging rights. You've got really solid work that you've put out.

Oh, you're going to make me cry now.

Feel free to brag. You've earned bragging rights!

Thank you. I'm definitely very proud of myself. I never thought I would be able to do any of this, let alone write originals, record them, and share them with people. So it's just... To me, I'm just very proud of myself.

I'm so excited for the music video for "Falling Apart" to drop and see what people's responses are.

Me, too! When you listen, you're going to know it's Jackie June song, but it's definitely taking it to a different place, which I'm really excited about.