LOCAL STORIES
January, 2 2023
Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Asher.
Hi Jordan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to a drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area and a young woman from Potosi, Wisconsin. We moved to Shasta Lake, C.A. near Redding when I was four years old. All was good until around 15 years old when my reality did a complete 180. I didn’t know, and couldn’t have then, but my father suffered from undiagnosed mental illness issues. He suffered from bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia and was self-medicating most of his life. He spent my whole life sober until one summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school when he became addicted to methamphetamine. This caused my parents to split, and I ended up homeless for a time as a result.
I spent the next two years on my own for months at a time in an abandoned home with no working utilities, no food, and no way to go anywhere until a friend from school let his parents know my situation. They took me in, and I lived with them until I finished high school. After graduating, I moved to Arizona and worked various jobs to pay the bills. My biggest goal was to own a home, and I successfully did end up buying a house at age 21. A year later, I sold it and used the funds to put myself through The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences, a school specializing in record production, studio engineering and mixing music business, and live sound engineering. I then moved to Nashville for an internship at East Iris Studios. After, I received a phone call from a friend in San Francisco who was working with a young guitarist (Miles Schon – son of famed Neal Schon, guitarist and co-founder of Journey) who was looking for a vocalist. So, I moved back to California and was part of some very creative and fun musical endeavors with really talented people. One of those people was Alan Parsons’ touring drummer. After some time, he introduced me to Alan, who became my music mentor and the producer I collaborate and record with for my own work.
Alan gave me the first cut of my career in 2019. He not only wanted to record the song I wrote but asked me to be the performing vocalist on his album. Soon after, he asked me to join him on his global tour as a featured guest lead vocalist. To date, we have recorded five songs together, two of which are collaborations released under his name with me as the featured artist. Currently, I am developing my debut EP which Alan will be a producer and engineer.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
From a musical journey perspective, yes it has been smooth. I have always been fortunate to learn from and be around some very talented and genuine people, some have even taken their time to invest and contribute to my development musically. Even with the complications of my personal family life, one thing I am so thankful to my father for is the way he exposed me to great music in my childhood and his lessons in work ethic and dedication to my goals. He taught me how to dream, as he was a dreamer himself, and how to go about “serving the song.” However, from a general life perspective, no I would not say my life has been a smooth road.
There were a lot of bad circumstances I dealt with, with a lot of lessons to be learned. I focused first on survival, and then later struggled to overcome the idea that I am defined by where I came from and what I endured. I had to learn that I have a choice on who I wanted to be, and who I would become. Rewriting the trajectory of my life was the hardest thing I have ever done, with a lot of unlearning and relearning to embark on. It required undoing every belief I ever had and understanding that I wasn’t my thoughts or traumas. After all that, I was finally able to ask myself the question “What are my dreams?” Then I had to learn how to commit to believing that I was worthy of those dreams and invest in my goals.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a singer and songwriter living in Nashville. I specialize in being a recording artist who writes and collaborates with other musicians. I believe that if you want to create something bigger than yourself, the only way to do that is through collaboration. I’m most known for my work with a famed engineer, producer, and recording artist Alan Parsons (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Hollies, and more, including The Alan Parsons Project).
Over the past two years, while most professional musicians were navigating the halt of the music industry in touring, I was able to record a collaborative release with Alan which became the title track of his life in concert Blu-ray, DVD, and special edition vinyl “The NeverEnding Show – Live in the Netherlands”, as well as three solo singles to continue my career as a solo artist. I just released my third single titled “Beautiful Torture” in September.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Well first off, I think that even taking the time to read this interview is supportive. People can interact with me further by following me through my website and social media platforms. They can reach out to me, and we can look at working together or at the minimum say hello to each other.
Contact Info:
Website: https://www.jordanashermusic.com/
