Making Music With Jake Haws

Here's a gritty blues rock song I recently submitted for a car commercial. It's got stomps, claps, distorted guitar, bass, cymbals, hi-hats, and organ. Hopefully it has the type of tough attitude they are looking for.

This week I'm breaking apart a song from my new album called, "Invisible." It's influenced by Ben Folds, Coldplay, Slowreader and The Flaming Lips. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

This week as the year wraps up, I'm sharing my favorite albums from 2018. There was a lot of great records that came out and I honestly had a hard time narrowing it down to just ten but I did and here they are. Featuring music from Pinegrove, Lucy Dacus, Parquet Courts, Emily Brown, Gorillaz, Leon Bridges, Kasey Musgraves, Matt Weidauer, First Aid Kit and Glen Hansard. Visit jakehaws.com for more.

So you may have noticed it's been a few months since I've put an episode out and there's good reason for that: I've been finishing my album! And now the long awaited day has come that I'm sharing it with you. This album is many years in the making and one of the most difficult projects I've worked on. I started recording some of the songs back in 2014 and other songs were written and recorded as recently as a few months ago. There have been many starts and stops stops along at the way as I've tried to figured out what I want to say and what this thing should sound like. There's rock songs, folk songs, piano songs, electronica songs and everything in between. There's songs about death, grief, disagreement and anxiety, but also hope, patience and love. As I thought about what it should be called, I came up with the title, "Good Grief," which references Charlie Brown, a character I've come to relate with more and more as time has gone on; someone who wears his heart on his sleeve as he experiences many of the th

This week on the podcast, I break apart a brand new song I recently wrote and recorded called "Moving On." This is my best attempt at making a radio friendly pop song, influenced by Justin Timberlake. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics, pictures and more info.

I recently went on an awesome trip to Nashville for the first time, including a stop in Memphis. I talk about, among other things, our visit to the Bluebird Cafe, the Grand Ole Opry, Sun Studio, Graceland, and recording at the Third Man Records vinyl recording booth.

This week, I'm featuring a brand new song I just recorded called "Little Bird," which will be on my new album coming out this October. This song was influenced by a San Francisco band called The Dodos.

This episode, I'm joined by music therapist, Emily Sanderson. She performs a few tunes and talks about her career in providing therapy through writing songs and performing music with her patients. We even write a song together as if I was a patient! It's a fun and informative episode you're sure to enjoy.

This episode, I'm joined by local blues legend, Brother Chunky. He plays a few tunes, then we talk about how he got started making music, the ups and downs of playing in a band and recording his new album. After that, we even write a record a new song together about going to Nashville. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

This episode, I break apart an old, slow song I wrote influenced by the indie band Low.   Visit jakehaws.com for more episode and music.

I'm joined this episode by singer/songwriter, Kimberly Knighton. We talk about how she got started playing music, including taking songwriting classes, her time in Nashville and finding her voice as an artist. She performs the songs: Better Now, The ABCs, and We Don't Have To Save The World.

This podcast, I'm joined by Severin Bozung of Seve Vs. Evan. We challenged ourselves to write a song about being picked last in gym class. We ended up with a fun synth-pop tune called "The Underdog (Swervy Courage)."

In this episode, I'm joined by singer/songwriter Iris (aka Britney Holman). We talk about how got started making music, her time recording in Nashville and hearing her song at a Victoria's Secret. She performs 3 original songs: Love?, Let Go, and Blue Sky. Listen to more of Iris' music at officialirismusic.com.

For this week's episode, I'm joined by Tom Brinton. We challenged ourselves to "write a song about another band." We ended writing a song about the first time Tom heard The Strokes and appropriately titled the song, "The First Time I Heard The Strokes." Listen to our conversation writing the song and the process of recording it in this podcast. For lyrics and more info, visit jakehaws.com.

For this week's episode, I break apart a brand new song I just recorded called "Flawed," which will be on my new album coming out later this year. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

Today’s episode is about a song I wrote back in high school called "Based On a True Story." It's influenced by a Radiohead tune, "Bulletproof... I Wish I Was" from their album, The Bends. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

I'm joined by professional guitarist and friend, Mike Fjerstad. We challenged ourselves to "write a song based on an abbreviation." We chose "BRB" and came up with an epic story about a sci-fi romance involving a time warp. Hear our conversation writing the song and process of recording it in this week's episode.

This one is an oldie written during high school. At the time, I was digging the mandolin sounds on R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" so I tried to use that as a template. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

I was recently apporached by someone to record Depeche Mode's song "Somebody" in the style of Blake Shelton to be sung at his wedding.  Visit jakehaws.com for more details.

My attempt to write something in a Bossa Nova style. Influenced by the Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz track, "The Girl From Ipanema." Visit jakehaws.com for more.