Today we’d like to introduce you to JJ Jackson.
JJ, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Music and drawing were my first inspirations as a dandelion-headed kid growing up in rural Northern Michigan (NoMI). I spent my time mostly drawing Ninja Turtles, playing kitchen concerts on the pots and pans, or walking around in the Huron National Forest, pretending I was a National Geographic photographer. That was actually the first job I ever pictured myself doing. Why a seven-year-old was already thinking about what job they want as an adult, I couldn’t tell you.
Maybe it was from watching TV and movies, or how I saw my parents run a flooring business, so that we could afford to live amongst NoMI’s beautiful land. We all know land isn’t free – it requires work, payment. We live in a system that requires obedience and subservience. This has never sat well with me. Many people give up an authentic life for an illusion of safety. I’m not one of those people.
I’m an eternal rebel, sometimes to my own detriment. As soon as someone tells me to do something, I don’t want to do the thing. So, all the while growing up and hearing the messages about – “find your place in society,” “do something that brings value,” and “find how you fit within the American Dream machine” – always pushed me to question why we’re told to fall in line and fit in. I’ve always had a sense that there’s more to life, than following a script that’s told to us.
Still, even with my tenacious rebelliousness, I got sucked into the charade. When it came time to go to college, I tried to pursue my authentic passion of music, but I wasn’t accepted into the CMU music program, only because I didn’t have a lot of experience with sightreading music. I thought it was odd that the institution didn’t want to teach me the ONE thing I was inexperienced at, but alas, life was taking me in a different direction. So, I pursued another passion of mine, writing, but in the “safe” way of pursuing journalism, that I thought would give me a stable path as I got my own chunk of the American Dream.
I did it. I graduated with a journalism degree and got a job working for a local newspaper. It was actually a journalist’s dream. I had free reign to write about anything I wanted, including columns and editorials, which was a privilege normally only provided to veteran journalists who’d been in the game for decades. I had that privilege right out of the gate and it still wasn’t fulfilling enough to keep me believing in the American Dream. I found myself always pushing away the urge to want to play music, so that I could go do my reporting, and the fact that I only made $12,000 in my first year as a journalist made me rethink where my life was heading.
Doing everything America told me to do, following the so-called Dream, failed me. I realized that this country only wants us to fall in line and be good servants, not stand out and follow our hearts. So, I gave up The Dream and decided to only follow my inner guidance system. This led me and my band mates to buy a 32-year-old Fireball RV and set out on a trip to find ourselves and try and make it big as a rock band. We spent over a year traveling the country, playing music and adventuring, and learning just how vast and diverse this country is. We played music everywhere, from street corners, to dive bars, to the infamous Whisky-a-Go-G0, in Hollywood. We played hundreds of concerts and put out a handful of albums, including a hip-hop collaboration of over a dozen artists. It was quite the radical sabbatical from our former lives.
Despite the success we were having as a band, it didn’t translate into making a stable living inside the layered structures of America. I was the last of the band mates to go get a “regular” job, and even then, I couldn’t just go get any job, it had to feel aligned. So, I started working as a music teacher for a California music conservatory. There, I quickly rose up to become the general manager, faculty administrator and lead teacher trainer. I discovered I had the knack and love for teaching music. I love inspiring people, in general.
I led a great teaching career at the conservatory, until I decided to go out and start my own music school, Jackson Music Program, in 2019. Over my 20-year teaching career teaching more than 15,000 lessons, I’ve developed a holistic program that makes the benefits of music easy to attain at any age. My program helps parents teach their kids music, so they are comfortable engaging with music and getting its many benefits throughout their lives. My flagship service is the Toddler Tunes series, combining a live group class, free online videos, and a kids book, “The Lion That Lost Its Roar: And learned to play music instruments,” where I got to combine many of my passions: music, drawing and writing.
A few years ago, I moved back to NoMI, and now I teach students virtually all over the country to keep spreading the benefits of music. I want to empower people to live fulfilling lives by giving them tools to stay connected to themselves, others and the values that are important to them. Music gives us the chance to find comfort within ourselves and to explore ourselves and what it means to be human. Music brings us closer together and the more people that welcome music into their lives, the more we can make the world a better place, one song at a time.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Anyone that says they’ve had a smooth road are either lying or have lived the most rare of upbringing – healthy and privileged. That says a lot about our society. I’ve encountered many struggles and challenges along my life, starting with trying to learn about myself as a youth with no perfect sources. Growing up is weird for everyone, because we grow up in a society that injects meaning into our lives from the day we’re born. As kids, we’re not taught how to be a fulfilled human. We’re taught how to fit-in and be of value “to society,” a system set up to perpetuate stability amongst cosmic uncertainty. No one knows what’s going on being a human on Earth. We’re all trying to figure it out together.
In America, we’re forced to try to pick a career too early. We expect kids to define their life paths before their brains are even fully developed. It’s no wonder that myself, along with most others, struggle to find purpose and meaning inside blurry pursuits of “career,” another idea implanted into our programming to give us the meaning around why we should view ourselves only as valuable members of society. For me, this meant too much early evaluation about what I should pursue with my life, especially which job.
After the economically-unsatisfying experience of following The American Dream to become a journalist, I needed to make a change, but that meant confronting the challenge of finding the courage to leave with my band mates in the Fireball RV and venture out, unprotected by any safety net, in pursuit of my dreams. No one thought it was a smart idea. It’s not what we’re told to do. We weren’t falling in line with the usual program. Instead, my two friends and I with $1,500 between us left Michigan in a 32-year-old RV to travel to California. It wasn’t easy to find showers, or bathrooms, or food. We left in 2009, so cell phones, the internet and traveling climates were way different than today. Three adults in a 22-foot RV meant that someone was always sleeping on the floor. There was no personal space and the RV could only drive at a max speed of 45 miles-per-hour, but we were determined to see the country, spread our music, and sell a screenplay.
We also wanted to help out others that we met and had to make sure we didn’t get taken advantage of while on the road, which happened to be at the same time as the beginning of the 2008 recession and the landfall of Hurricane Ike in the Gulf. We wanted to go help in the hurricane cleanup, but we had already ran out of money by this point, so we looked online for ride share opportunities. We eventually met a couple guys who said they would pay for gas if we gave them a ride. Plus, the guys said they had jobs waiting for them and us, if we wanted. It turned out, they just meant going to a temp agency to look for work. Instead, we signed up to volunteer with FEMA to do cleanup work. However, FEMA never called us, so we ended up helping more people by just going out into the streets, walking door-to-door and helping others.
It felt good to help, but we still needed to find a way to make a living from scratch while still traveling. We worked on a rescue farm for a bit, then reverse-hitchhiked the rest of the way out to California. We gave rides to some other travelers, who paid for gas in exchange. The only other way we afforded expenses was by playing music. We booked some concerts and played on any street corner we could. We eventually made it to Hollywood in hopes of selling the screenplay that I co-wrote with a band mate. The first night we pulled into town, we tried to park on a neighborhood street corner for the night and were rousted by the cops within hours, quickly learning how no city in America will let people sleep in their vehicle. It was a rude welcome to being out West, and pressured us to keep traveling, rather than stay to sell the script.
My band and I made it to San Luis Obispo, CA before we ran out of gas pursuing another gig opportunity we found on Craigslist. Once we got there, we got ghosted by our contact and found ourselves broke in another new city with no support system. So, we did what came most naturally – play music. We parked our RV in the Home Depot parking lot for months and would ride into downtown, four miles, on our bikes with our music instruments strapped to our backs. We’d play music on the street and whatever money we made was how much we had to eat with for the day. We were technically homeless and always one step away from being destitute, but we were still following our dreams.
The thing is, dreams usually don’t pay the bills, let alone pay for a place to live. So, as we kept playing music, gradually, we started to get into more regular jobs. This led me to finding a love for teaching music. I added that into my hodgepodge career path and went on a new social and economic adventure of working in service to others in a heart-centered industry. This is a weird thing to do in America. Music education has got huge moral support from society, but not much financial or structural support; so the music education industry has been limping along for decades, trying to innovate and grow with little societal support in which to do so. This is the void that inspired me to start my own music education business, Jackson Music Program.
At the start of building my business, I was also getting wrapped back into the pull of the American Dream messaging telling me to start a family and build a legacy. I got married and tried to start a family, as well as balance running a new business and keeping my passions alive. The struggles, exasperated by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, led me to getting divorced, quitting my band and moving back to Michigan. I packed up my dog and all my music instruments, and trekked back across country, teaching virtual music lessons from city parks and hotel rooms.
I made it back home to NoMI, where I opened a physical music school for a few years. Recently, I closed the brick-and-mortar school to focus primarily on virtual lessons and group events. I’ve written an exciting memoir about my radical sabbatical traveling the country in an RV, as well as a kids book that is part of the introductory stage of my Jackson Music Program. I’ve hosted many fun summer music camps, including a popular one on musical theater. I’ve been directing the Mio Elementary School Winter Concerts for the last few years. I just finished a new screenplay and am writing a new book called, “Grow With Music: A family guide to music wellness.”
All the while, I’m still trying to balance following my passions as a creative person and helping empower others through music, while still dealing with the fact that I have to market my music program, in order for it to be able to impact others. I have conflicting views about marketing. On one hand, I’m fascinated by the psychology of it; but it also disgusts me how much advertising and marketing is about psychological warfare. That bothers me, so I usually avoid marketing. It’s an example of the things I have to manage in my psyche as a creative person and entrepreneur in America. Instead, I focus on being a good music mentor and helping people get as much music wellness, as possible.
Looking to the future, even at age 40, I’m still trying to figure out who I am. I’m trying to stay aligned with what’s important to me, even as I deal with the fear being thrown at me by the media and the government. I feel the fear, just like everyone else, but I won’t be guided by it. I won’t be distracted by the fear of the unknown. I embrace the opportunities that the unknown brings.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m most publicly known for my Toddler Tunes kids music class. It is a play-based group class that teaches music fundamentals to kids, with an emphasis on joy, connection, and accessibility, Toddler Tunes helps families make music part of their everyday lives. Toddler Tunes is the introductory part of my full-spectrum Jackson Music Program that makes the benefits of music accessible to people of all ages.
As a music educator, I specialize in teaching children who are often overlooked by traditional music teachers, especially those with unique learning styles. That, combined with how I can teach any instrument to any age, has led to great anecdotal success with my program. I plan to release a music learning kit for toddlers soon, and one of my life goals is to build a science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) fun center that is music-themed.
As a music artist and filmmaker, my work has always been experimental and explorative. I make what I call “hybrid music,” a seamless blend of different genres, that is powered by emotional songwriting. My latest single is an indie rock song called, “Grifter Man,” accompanied by the most intensive music video I’ve ever produced. My most recent short film, “My Phone,” is a suspenseful, 21-minute drama with only two characters: a guy and his phone. I wrote, directed, filmed, acted, edited, and scored the film, myself. One of my solo music albums that I’m most proud of is my 2022 album, “Ascend.” For this, my tenth solo album, I “walked the walk” by putting music wellness in-action for myself to help heal through my personal challenges of 2020: divorce, health problems and being broke again while moving a new business across country. The album is a mix of different genres: blues, soul, rock, ambient, and psychill. This was also the first album where I challenged myself to include multi-part vocal harmonies that I’m very proud of accomplishing (and without auto-tune). Most of my personal work can be found on YouTube, under the channel name, “Syndetic.”
As a writer, I’ve always been drawn to stories of growth, discovery, meaning, connection, resilience, and rebellion. My current non-fiction book I’m writing, “Grow With Music,” is meant to be a guide for families on how to harness the benefits of music, as well as detail my philosophy on how to use music wellness to make life more enjoyable and the world a better place. My latest screenplay I just finished, “Free Luna Dog,” is about a broken man who breaks his dog out of a kill shelter and takes her on the run from the authorities to hold onto the last bit of real connection and companionship he feels in life, challenging him to confront his own self-made prisons.
Overall, as a creative artist, my rebellious nature is one big thing that sets me apart from others who have fallen into the latest trap of the American Dream messaging, “that everyone can be successful as a digital content creator.” That’s obviously untrue, just look at how many YouTubers and TikTok stars are out there. Most of them are not raking in the cash. I’ve never created something because I wanted to fit into a social media trend or the latest mainstream marketing avenue. Those are among the things that are ruining all creative industries. I try to stay connected to my inner guidance system and always follow where the spark of my creativity is leading – that, to me, is the meaning of life.
Here is a list of my notable accomplishments:
✔️ 2024 Host of Heritage Days Talent Show
✔️ 2024 Wrote, Produced, Directed, Edited, Scored, and Acted in the Short Film, “My Phone”
✔️ 2023 & 2024 Director of Mio Elementary Choir Concert
✔️ 2023 & 2024 Wrote, Produced and Directed Original Musicals, “The Biggest Prize” & “The Real Me”
✔️ 2023 Opening of First Physical Music School
✔️ 2022 Book, “The Lion That Lost Its Roar: And learned to play music instruments”
✔️ 2019 Opening of First Online Music School
✔️2018 Book, “Urban Campers: Finding Home on the Road During the American Financial Crisis”
✔️ 2018 Most Valuable Employee at TCM
✔️ 2017 Wrote, Produced, Directed, Edited, Scored, and Acted in the Short Film, “Being With You”
✔️ 2017 Wrote, Produced, Directed, Edited, Scored, and Managed the Podcast, “The SLO Sound”
✔️ 2017 Produced, Directed, Edited, and Scored the Short Film, “Killing Sugar: Lost 140 Pounds in One Year by Quitting Sugar”
✔️ 2014 Excellence in Teaching for the T.A.P. Method
✔️ 2013 Book, “Free Your Flow: Music career training kit”
✔️ 2013 Teacher of the Year at TCM
✔️ 2012 Most Valuable Employee for the T.A.P. Method
✔️ Played in 13 bands and performed hundreds of concerts around the country, including the infamous Whisky A Go Go, in Hollywood
✔️ Produced and co-produced 23 albums
✔️ Filmed, Edited and Produced Music Videos for the Bands, Rockers Collective, Explode the Machine, Ashes to Light, and dozens of others
✔️ Hundreds of journalistic articles published for The Clare County Cleaver newspaper and True North magazine
✔️ Numerous screenplays completed, including the features, “Free Luna Dog” and “Regenesis”
✔️ Studied music at Central Michigan University and the teVelde Conservatory of Music, in CA, where I then went on to be the general manager, faculty administrator, and lead teacher trainer
✔️ Low student attrition rate, with some students continually in music lessons for up to 14 years and still going
✔️ Plays over 12 music instruments, including drums, guitar, bass, uke, piano, vocals, mandolin, banjo, violin, cello, dulcimer, and tongue drum
How do you think about luck?
The idea of luck is a matter of perspective. On a meta level, “luck” is the name we give to occurrences where awareness and willingness converge. It’s the meaning we give to moments where we have clarity about our unique selves and how we fit into the larger collective consciousness of humanity. It was pretty lucky that my band mates found an RV we could afford, a week before we were set to hit the road. At the same time, we only came across that opportunity because we were aware enough to notice the RV sitting for sale on the side of the road in our small town, and we had the willingness to entrust the RV with our lives and our mission.
That said, there are times I can look back on that were very much a matter of luck, synchrony, synchronicity, or a combination of all three. Times like when our RV busted a fuel line and the auto shop we happened to pull into had a mechanic that was a fellow musician. So, when we told them about our radical sabbatical, he fixed the fuel line in our RV for free, so we could get back out on the road. Who knows where our path would’ve led if we had gotten stuck in that town.
It seems pretty lucky that I kept driving by this random music conservatory in California, keeping me interested in what it was about. It was also my own awareness that kept me noticing that piano in the window, and my willingness to go talk to the owner that led to a decade-long career where I developed many new skills that inspired me to start my own music program.
It seems like bad luck that I wasn’t accepted into the CMU music program while going to college, but it led me to pursue other things, like journalism, graphic design and filmmaking, that I might not have otherwise done. Plus, it gave me more motivation to be a musician.
Ultimately, I think luck is a psychological concept we use to help make sense of our chaotic lives as humans, a concept wrapped up with many others.
Pricing:
- $75 per hour (music lessons and wellness)
- $60 per 45-min (music lessons and wellness)
- $45 per 30-min (music lessons and wellness)
- $150 starting rate (music birthday parties)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://JacksonMusicProgram.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JacksonMusicProgram
- Twitter: https://x.com/jjhasvoices
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JJJacksonMusic
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/syndetic
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@JacksonMusicProgram
