JShell, who counts such artists as Genesis, The Beatles, The Who, Rush, Queen, Journey, Billy Joel, Iron Maiden, STYX, and Phish as key influences, produced, wrote, and arranged all 15 tracks on In My Head while playing all the drums, bass guitar, keyboards, and providing lead and background vocals, rhythm and lead guitar, and percussion. In My Head also features mastering by Grammy Award-winning Randy Merrill of Sterling Sound (Paul Mccartney, Foo Fighters, Imagine Dragons, Muse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Harry Styles and many, many others).
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hello JShell. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
First and foremost, I’m ambitious and determined and I never back down from a challenge. In order to make an album where I am playing all of the instruments and writing and producing all of the tracks, plus making a video for each of the 15 tracks, I needed to be the most ambitious and determined that I’ve ever been and it paid off.
Who inspired you to make music?
I was inspired early by watching music videos on MTV and listening to The Beatles. Music has been at the center of my world for as long as I can remember. When it came time to actually make music, I joined a band with two of my best friends, both of whom were extremely talented and made me want to be better.
Your latest release is 'In My Head'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
A few years ago, after being in bands my whole musical life, I decided that I wanted to realize my dream of following in the footsteps of artists like Prince, Lenny Kravitz and Paul McCartney and try and do everything mostly by myself. I think the entire process was a bit unusual as I’m the only drummer, bass guitar player and keyboard player on the album, in addition to playing guitar and singing lead for the first time. It was also unusual that in addition to being able to have some very special guests appear on it - like Steve Hackett from Genesis – I was able to include very close friends and family members who all made amazing contributions.
Can you shortly describe each of the tracks that are on the album?
The album opens with “Crawl” which is just me and I believe represents who I am as an artist, which is combining a catchy melodic tune with prog rock elements that take it to another level. “You See Me” brings in a little bit of a Billy Joel-vibe and features Matt “The Mattch” Daus on lead guitar which he absolutely shreds. “Big Apple Boogie” is one of two instrumentals on the album and is basically stands for what life is like living in New York City. “Chain of Events” goes down the prog rock rabbit hole a little more and features guitar shredding from Jake Cinninger of Umphrey’s McGee, an amazing and popular “jam band” in the USA. “Haunted” features amazing vocals by Karen Abrams and Sofie Jane as well as guitar shredding by Fernando Chirinos and sounds like it should be played in a haunted house. “Under The Gun” is a straight-ahead rocker featuring the uber-talented Scott Metzger on lead guitar (he plays in a different popular USA jam band called JRAD). “You Do You” is the track that features Steve Hackett and because Genesis is my favorite band, I tried to make it sound like something they would have approved of. “Don’t Ask Why” is the heaviest rocker on the album that once again features Jake Cinninger and should be played loud. “Delusions” is the single I’m currently promoting which is just me with additional vocals by Sofie Jane and it rocks (there’s a pattern here…). “Thursday” is a song I wrote in memory of my father and features my brother D$Clip duetting with me on vocals as well as guitar acrobatics by Scott Metzger. “That’s The Key” is my attempt at a reggae/ska/gospel thing and features the amazing Katie Jacoby, who is the lead violinist with The Who, on electric violin. “In My Head” is the title track that features my lifelong friend Marisa Wildwood on co-lead vocals as well as a flute solo that evokes Jethro Tull. “Meant To Be” is the centerpiece of the entire album; it’s almost 9 minutes long and is “meant to be” a prog rock epic that again features Katie Jacoby absolutely killing it on electric and acoustic violin. “My Last Request” is just me and is my saying a possible goodbye to the music industry. The album closer is the other instrumental “Big Apple Boogie (Reprise)” which ends on a cliffhanger and represents the energy my music brings to the table.
How do you stay up-to-date with the latest musical trends?
I surf the internet and I have a bunch of go-to music blogs where I read up on the latest and greatest new artists which, I think, includes me!
What makes you different from others?
As I said earlier, I’m playing all the instruments and writing and producing all the tracks. It’s solely my vision without compromise. I also think my singing voice is unique. People may or may not like it but at least you’ll know it’s me.
What’s an average day like for you?
There’s no such thing as an average day. I try to do everything “above” average. But on any given day, I’m running 5 miles, lifting weights, listening to all types of music including rock, hip hop and R&B, trying to write songs and having a pint or 3 at the end of the day.
Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans.
My main social media site is Instagram (@jshellmusic) where I chat with fans. They can also reach out through my website at jshellmusic.com
What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
You have to be consistent, persistent and relentless. Nobody is going to hand you anything in life.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now I’m 100% focused on promoting IN MY HEAD. Over the next month or two I’ll be doing as much press as possible to promote the album and the new single DELUSIONS. After that I’ll release another single and do the same thing. I hope to play live shows and even do another album if they make sense and I don’t actually retire from the music industry. We’ll see…