Grown and Speaking the F*** Up; BabyJake on his Journey to Beautiful Blue Collar Boy
At 6'5" and covered in tattoos, Jake Herring is not exactly what you'd picture when you hear the moniker “BabyJake”; his music is hard hitting–raw, honest, and shaped by unique life experiences. I spoke with Jake about all aspects of this new album, and how life led him to this space of honest, raw and hard working music.
Sitting with Jake on a cafe patio, we chatted about the photoshoot that had just taken place. He chuckled at the idea that things just happen by chance and how he felt everything happens for a reason. This led us to discuss how the location our photo director picked for the shoot was actually where he took the first photos for the album.This kind of serendipity has been a constant thread throughout Jake's career, propelling him into stardom with his breakthrough single “Cigarettes on Patios” in 2019 which has garnered him a certified-Gold record. He signed with Scooter Braun's SB Projects under Republic Records in 2019, but ended up leaving. Since then, he has released an impressive catalog of 20 singles and EPs, along with 6 albums. His latest work, "Beautiful Blue Collar Boy," represents the culmination of these experiences and artistic growth.
Image Courtesy: @lemonymaya
When starting this dialogue, we immediately dove into the writing process for the album;
Strike: What was your writing process for this album?
Jake: The writing process kind of varied. Some of the songs are from 3 years ago, some of them are from the week of recording the album. I’d say I just took some old ideas and new ideas, so the entire process took maybe a month or two and the mixing process took a month or two. My writing process always varies though, sometimes I'm writing the lyrics first, sometimes the melody first, sometimes the chords first, sometimes I write with a full band, sometimes just me, so it really varies.
J: I executively produced this album myself so six out of the ten songs are produced alone, for the remaining four I produced with some co-producers. I think that in the past I’ve been a lot less hands-on, and the more I’ve developed into a producer/writer, the more the writing process has gone in that direction of “I dont know what the fucks gonna happen”.
S: Is there anything specific that motivates you to write music? Anything specific you need to write a song?
J: No. Absolutely not. I just write, I write all the time–everyday. I’m actually very blessed in the form of writing, I don’t really know why. About maybe a year and a half ago I stopped giving a fuck, I think really is the only way I can describe it, and now I can just write all the time. That doesn't mean it's not hard to finish songs or that I don't have to revise lyrics, I just don't have that struggle to write or come up with ideas. I think that writing has always been my strong suit but I used to overthink it; now I don’t. Now I just let it come out.
Image Courtesy: @lemonymaya
When asked about the sound of this album, Herring put an emphasis on the individuality of this album’s sound;
J: “For a long time it sounded old. Like I was pulling from the old, and referencing the old, and nowadays I'm just making music that I like. The new album to me sounds new; it doesn't sound old. It may have hints of the old stuff, maybe hints of the 60’s and 70’s and the 90’s or whatever, but to me it sounds new. When I listen to it I’m like ‘this sounds like I just wrote from the heart and I just wrote like I used to write’ which was just not giving a fuck, and just being like ‘I’m gonna write a song that I like not thinking about what genre it is, not thinking about if its too new, too old, whether it fits into a pocket.’ The more you start to limit yourself in that space, the more you fall into saying ‘he sounds like so-and so’.You cannot listen to my album and say I sound like anyone. We referenced things for sure, like Mama 212 sounds like Blur, and that was intentional, but the entire album doesn't sound like one artist and it never will. That’s not how I write, that's not how I reference music, and I’m glad I’m back in that spot where I’m not really thinking about that stuff. I’m just thinking about if I like it and then comes whether the audience likes it, but it starts with me, which is really important.
S: Which song are you the proudest of lyrically
J: Cattle Dogs and Prairie Sheep might have to be my final answer. Just because that might be some of my best writing, and I love the switch up in that one, and the hook. The hook is, “If you’re on the record/ Then I’ve got the time./ I don't wanna hurt you/ but I'm feeling kind./A long conversation a billion miles away/what’s the point?” That’s such a relatable line to me. I’ve been in long distance relationships, specifically writing about it in that song, and being like what is the point of this shit? Its a long conversation – a fight we’re in, but also a long conversation because you’re fuckin three thousand miles away. We can’t get through this. There’s a lot of lines in this song that I think I did a tremendous job making it artsy in my own way.
S: Which song are you the proudest of instrumentally?
J: Don’t Hurt Me So Bad. I’m most proud of Don’t Hurt Me So Bad in general because to me, first of all John Mayer put it on his Sirius XM channel which was crazy. And then the guy George Collins, who is a great friend of mine, an amazing guitar player, we wrote that solo together me and him. He just got written up about it in Guitar World because of it which was like a dream to him. To be like I made a record that helped someone else reach a dream of theirs, like that makes the whole song worth it for me. Aside from all that, before all that happened, I think the song instrumentally is amazing . It was all the different musicians from different walks of life that I put together on this song, probaby 5 or 6 different musicians, and to see how it all just came together so naturally like, so so well. That was one of the last recordings I did for the album, and to see how much I had improved through that process was just so amazing and made me so proud. Writing wise, I usually dont write complex songs, like Mama 212 is only 4 chords the whole fuckin song, alot of these songs are only 4 chords the whole fuckin song, but the chord progression in that song, and how many chords there are, like my buddy John was saying, it gives Paul Mcartney vibes.
S: Can you speak on the title of the album?
J: The reason why I named this album Beautiful Blue Collar Boy, is because I look at this [music] now as making an honest living. Before it was chasing virality, now its like I dont really give a fuck about that. Obviously it would be great to go viral, obviously it would be great to have moments that pop off, but what matters more to me is that I'm building an honest and one hundred percent invested fanbase that understands that I’m putting all of myself into this shit.
Image Courtesy: @lemonymaya
We moved to Herring’s foray into alternative music, notably, his journey through genres and spaces;
S: In a world where we are seeing more and more pop stars try their hand at other genres for virality, the migration from pop to alternative, and from Los Angeles to Nashville, is one that you've been very upfront about. This transition comes across as a very genuine change. Can you speak a little more about that experience?
J: The change from pop to alternative started in Los Angeles. In LA, I already had another album that was already done that's called Cheers to the Oddball. That's 11 songs that’s been done for a long time, about 2-3 years, that I’m just saving for the right time. It's still modern, but it's 60’s, 70’s vibe.
J: Me revolting against lawyers and the system and realizing how fucked up of a situation I was in kinda swung me so far anti-label and anit-like music that I really revolted against pop music in that sense too. I don't have an issue with pop music anymore, and at that time I saw the inside workings of how everything operates, especially in LA, especially in Pop, and I was like ‘fuck this fake shit.’ So I started switching the genre before I moved to Nashville. I moved to Nashville for practical reasons, not even sonic reasons. I moved to buy something, to start to build equity, and I was sick of how expensive and restrictive LA was, especially during the pandemic. That's why I moved, and then I found the scene here; I had no clue there was a scene here
J: Nahsville has a really upcoming alt scene, and it's proved to be very helpful for me and my transition into the Alt. space as well as having so many musicians around me that kinda cultivate that space versus pop where you only need yourself and a laptop.
S: Is there a difference between who you are comfortable navigating the world as vs. who your industry is comfortable seeing you as?
J: No, absolutely not. I’m just not capable of doing that; I’m such a normal guy which goes back to the title, this is just who I am. If I wasn’t doing this I’d be with my dad selling shrimp. I can’t put on that persona, that stage persona. Jake is Jake and what you're gonna get is what you’re gonna get. Anytime I can show someone who I am , I think that is my selling point, in all aspects of life. In press, in music, in relationships, in brands, just emphasizing that I’m a normal guy who happened to have a good voice. Music means everything to me but it's also not everything, you know?
Image Courtesy: @lemonymaya
S: “How do you think you’ve grown as an artist?”
J: I think I just grew up. From starting at 19 to being 27 now, I just needed the time to grow up and realize what I wanted. Now I just care about everything; for this album I knew the color palette was red white blue and black, everything is going to be these colors. Now that it's out those are the colors I’m pushing; I’m being really strategic in what I wear and how I look because I want to present myself as what is really me. I used to buy shit because I thought it was cool and it referenced so-and-so, but now I’m focused on what is really me, which is a hard thing to ask. Once I started to ask that question in music and in life, that's when everything started to come together. The more that I started to trust these hairs on the back of my neck, the more everything started to click. When I left republic records, I cleared house, and when I did that I made the decision that I was only gonna work with people whose first words to me are “I love the music”. That’s what it needs to start with, not ‘we can make you this much money’ or ‘we can do this’ or whatever. It needs to start with ‘do you love music?’ You shouldn’t even have to ask, it should be the first words out of their mouth. I would even say some of the people I work with now wouldn’t be working with me if the music wasn’t great. Like we would have never gotten to the point we’re at without it, because now they understand me. I piss them off all the time, now because they speak my language, they understand why I’m such a dick and an asshole. I’m only a dick and an asshole because I care so much.
With the Beautiful Blue Collar Boy tour gearing up, we wanted to hear about Jake’s plans for the performances, and what he wanted out of this tour:
S: How do you approach touring right off the album? What is your mindset going in and what do you want out of it?
J: There’s a couple of things. First, I don’t want to forget to push and promote the album while on tour. I think there’s no better time to go on tour than right after the album, it should be after the album. Mentally preparing for a tour is making sure all the bandmates are in a good space and well rehearsed. You would rather pay more money to make sure everyone is comfortable than have to work that shit out in the first couple of shows. Not that’s not to say the first couple of shows are gonna be perfect, however, you want to put as much prep in beforehand, staying sober, and knowing our physical limitations. The key is to treat every day like it's any other one. Stick to your schedule, follow your routine, because that makes everything easier, and you stay ahead. You stay on top of it, and you stay ahead. I want this show to feel just theatrical enough. Like I want you to start with the theater and you’re like “oh, this a show” but you end with “oh that was a great concert”. I want this to be a big show because you’ve got to make it a big show even before you’re big. These people who are big now, like Chappel Roan were probably making it a big show even when she was playing a 250 cap room. You have to already prepare for that and we’re taking steps to do that.
S: What can we expect?
J: I’m going to be playing a lot of songs that I haven't played, ever. I haven't played 239 live ever, I’m going to play that, I haven’t played Blue Cellophane live in 5 years, but I’m playing it on this tour. I haven’t played Funny Thing About Love ever, and I'm playing that live on that tour; I’m bringing a lot of old songs back but also playing the entire new album, it should be an hour and a half long set.
S: In past interviews, you’ve said “When live music starts up again, I really want to be engaged with the crowd. I want my fans to know I'm within arms reach, and that's most important to me”(via OnesToWatch interview). How have you made good on this statement?
J: I’m not a naturally extroverted person, I’ve just learned how to be an extrovert through life, and performing music was never something I looked forward to. To be honest it scared me, but then I started doing it, and I just caught the bug and now I’m just addicted to it. Like I love this, I love getting on stage, I love getting in front of people, I think it's the number one way to market your music, I think it's the number one way for you to get heard, I think it's the number one way to grow your relationship with your fanbase. That being said, there is nothing more I want to do than show my fan base that I am right there. Relating back to the title of the album, Beautiful Blue Collar Boy is an album about being a normal human; the body of the album and why I named it that is because I want people to know I am just a regular human, and I’m just a normal guy. So now on tours, I incorporated this about a year ago, I always close by saying, “What’s up guys, thank you so much for coming! I’m BabyJake and I’m gonna be at the merch booth taking photos for free. If you want photos, if you want something signed, if you just want to say hi!” I’ll take photos with anyone who wants to take photos, I’ll sign anything anyone wants me to sign, I’m right here. You get your time with me. As an artist, it’s my responsibility to show these people that I fucking care, and I think that maintaining that connection is more important to me than anything else.
Image Courtesy: @lemonymaya
As our conversation wrapped up, Jake's passion for his music and the journey he's been on was palpable. His latest album, "Beautiful Blue Collar Boy," is not just a collection of songs; it's a reflection of his growth and authenticity as an artist. With a unique sound that defies categorization, Jake invites listeners to join him not only on the album, but also join him in a kinship centered on the love and dedication to the music. And for those eager to experience his artistry live, he’s hit the road on an exciting tour! Fans can look forward to an unforgettable show filled with raw emotion and powerful performances. Don’t miss the chance to see BabyJake bring his music to life—check out the tour dates and get your tickets now!
Jake is out on tour now with the new album. Purchase your tickets, merch, and vinyls now !
Be sure to check out Baby Jake's latest music video for his song from the album, "Don’t Hurt Me So Bad"!
Strike Out,
Isabella Preston
Isabella Preston is the Copy Editor and a Writer for Strike Magazine Chattanooga. You can find her at imp.preston@gmail.com or on Instagram at @bellapresto0o
