Q&A With: North Jersey Native Jason Erie, On His New Album 'Tiny Fires'

DUMONT, NJ —Jason Erie's next album, "Tiny Fires," is out March 25. Erie lives in Nashville and was born and raised in Bergen County. The Dumont native talked to Patch about his New Jersey roots, storytelling, genre, and more.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Patch: So when I was listening to (the song) 'Tiny Fires,' I said, 'this fella sounds angry, and he sounds sad.' But in that song, I felt like you you had it reined in pretty well. And I was like, 'Okay, I wonder, vocally, if he's really gonna let go.' And you kind of did on a couple of songs, but it felt like maybe there's still something simmering in there that you didn't necessarily push out all the way. Does that make any sense?

Jason Erie: It does, yeah, for sure. You know, I think with any record that I've done, it's a constant progression. When I first started recording this, and writing this record, it was pre-pandemic, 2019. And it was going to be and looked like a very different record than what it became. And with everything that transpired over the next few years, and when I was writing that I wanted to get that out, and I thought it was important to just speak my truth through this. And I think what I was trying to convey, really, was the overall feelings and emotions being isolated. And, you know, whether it be in quarantine, because of the virus, just from the overall state of America. And feeling that isolation. I think, what you're what you're hearing and feeling from that was meant to happen. And part of it was actually happening in my mind.

P: It feels like, maybe during the current pandemic, you kind of stopped and looked around and said, 'Okay, you know, what's going on? Where did we used to be? Where are we now?' And, and you were kind of wondering about your place you said, I think in the third song, the line is 'I fear life has no meaning.'

JE: (That song is called 'The Bathtub') and and I was sitting in my bathroom, getting ready for the morning, and looking at the outlets. In my bathroom, realizing, you know, I live in a 1940s house in Nashville. Realizing that the outlets are more grounded. Thinking about, you know, how isolated people must feel in this moment. And, you know, really feeling that in that moment, where 'I fear that life has no meaning.' But finding meaning in your life, within the people and places that you are around and are around you. And that's what I have found through the pandemic and tried to find through this record, it was therapy of some sort, trying to speak that into the open so that I could find comfort in the people that were enveloping me in love. I did find that they were there. Especially my wife and son. Kind of going inward, instead of outwards. As you know, being a touring musician, we are constantly paid to go out on stage and perform. for people. And when that was over for time, you know, you kind of lose yourself and what everything has meant for you in the last couple of years. And being able to look inward was very important through the process. So definitely through this record I have found more meaning in my life and was able to speak what my fears were, and get over them.

P: I'm happy to hear that, because I felt that you maybe seemed tired by the weight of the world, but buoyed in the knowledge that we're all gonna press on, that we all have to press on. Is that accurate?

JE: You know, I think that's the truth. And I think we are all, no matter what you want to say, or what people want to think your political ties you have, or you know, where you are on the spectrum. We're all in this together, whether it's pandemic or just, in general. I've taken comfort in knowing that, and finding that again, and realizing, taking a step back and realizing that the world is not revolving around what it is that I'm doing anymore. It revolves around what we are doing collectively, that's definitely something that I've learned throughout.

P: So, can I ask you about the song 'Sins of my Father?' I was wondering, whose point of view that was from, it sounded autobiographical.

JE: Sure, sure. It was definitely through father's point of view. My father is also a New Jersey native. Grew up in Norwood, New Jersey, and is a son of a blue-collar, Italian-American family. One of eight kids. Had a rough go of it in the beginning, and, you know, (he's) proud of that fact. And I'm proud of him for persevering through all of that. He's open about his story, and I thought it was something I wanted to put down on paper, to kind of keep in record somewhere, that his life, which I think we all realize through this entire thing, you know, even how insignificant we we may feel — those little stories, first-person viewpoints of the world are what matters. And I think that it was important just to speak it into existence and put it on record.

P: Thank you for answering that. I was curious, did you really see a two headed duck at the State Fair (as referenced in the song 'Meadowlands Fair?')

JE: That duck, man, that song...it was a rough one for me to write actually. The Meadowlands Fair, yes, there was a two-headed duck at the state fair. I wrote that song, again, based on someone else's story. That was a newspaper article I read some years ago, that was a little girl's family searching for (her). And they ultimately found her in a sideshow at a local fair. And that was a true story, unfortunately. That did happen. But again, I, I like to draw on—What inspires me is not always the prettiest stories and the happiest things in the world. What I like to do is, and what I draw inspiration from, is the truth. Whether it's dark, or whether it's happy, I think it's important just to continue to tell the truth through all of this. You know, whether it be mine or someone else's (story), and I don't want that little girl and her story to happen ever again. You know, so (that's) my little part in it is speaking that story and putting it into a song.

P: So that made me think a bit of genre. What you're talking aboutkind of the the uglier stories and you even said it. 'Here's to America the ugly,' right? In the opening song?

JE: Yeah, yeah.

P: And I feel like that, when you're thinking about Nashville, the country or folk genre that (song) speaks that to me. But I was curious, if you categorize yourself into a genre, or if there's a genre you don't want to be categorized in.

JE: I would say, though I appreciate country music's history and what it has brought to the table, I think modern-day country is definitely something that I don't feel that I fit into. I come from the coffee shops in New Jersey, you know, growing up and playing folk music like I used to listen to, and still do. Ani DiFranco and people like that, that were coming up in the New Jersey and New York scenes. They were telling their truth. You know, I think there's a long lineage of folk artists that have done that well. So I would definitely describe what I am attempting to do is continuing that truth of folk people. So folk, or people like to categorize it as Americana, as you blend rock and roll and country influences into it. So I would say that is probably where I lie. But I like to say whatever project that I'm currently doing is open for interpretation. And I don't like to be tied down by genres, which many artists will say. But I truly do believe that if I want to make a rock and roll record, or a folk record or a disco record, I want to be able to do that. And I hope that fans of mine, and people that are within the same music industry respect that. And I believe that they do.

P: Kind of in that vein, do you think you write for a particular audience, or do you not necessarily consider that?

JE: If I was saying that I don't write for that particular audience, I would believe that that was half true and half a lie. And I would say that I write primarily what I want to be writing, and I tend to fall into a certain category. And that is a certain audience that does pick that up, people that are searching for songwriters that speak truth into music. And so I do write for that consumer, but because of what I want to write that I am writing for them, if that makes sense.

P: Are you planning a tour, or maybe holding off because of COVID?

JE: Yeah, we were planning a tour. We were going overseas, of supposed to be, this year. But it was all canceled before things got a little bit better. So we're gonna hopefully pick that back up in 2023 and go over to Europe. We're looking to -- starting in June, we'll be playing some dates around the country up until the end of the year. So we have some things coming up, hitting a few festivals. The real push for this record for touring comes primarily in the summertime and the fall. I would have liked it to have happened sooner, but we just didn't know what was going on or was to happen.

P: The album will be out on all major platforms, right?

JE: Yes, it'll be out on all major platforms on March 25.

P: And will there be physical copies as well?

JE: Select stores will have physical copies. Wirebird Records is the record company putting this record out, they're a national-based record company. So it'll be in select stores, but they can also go to my website, which is JasonErieMusic.com, to purchase anything that I do have.

P: Do you have any particular plans to play back in Bergen or have any events there?

JE: Yeah, were booking right now. So the game plan really is for the fall to come back up north, we'll be in New York City and the surrounding areas. To book something in Bergen County, it's kind of a strange thing that I have. I'm from there, you know, would love to play there, but, the music venues there tend to be a little more geared towards rock and roll. And so, I feel like the people from Bergen usually take the trip over to New York City to come see a listening room, but I'm always searching for something in New Jersey to play, maybe in Montclair or down the shore as well. Hopefully, we can get back up there shortly.

P: Was there anything else about the album that I didn't ask you, that you wanted to say?

JE: The one thing I will say about being from Bergen County. I grew up in Dumont, New Jersey, which I'm proudly from. My roots are there and kind of come to be on this record. There is a song called "If I Knew Now What I Knew Then" on the record that is about that. Anybody from Dumont, New Jersey would listen to that song and know what I'm talking about. Pre-9/11, growing up there, being in the music scene there was a wonderful place to grow up. Blue-collar town in Bergen County. And I just want to want to say that to whoever reads this from Bergen County, know that I'm trying to tell the story of the folk version of Americana,, the Northern Americana side of things. I definitely want to press that, and hope that some readers see that.