by Zach Fraley
Photos by Caitlin Tomlinson
Nature constantly inspires artists to create something beautiful. Some sketch gushing waterfalls or seemingly endless prairies onto blank canvases. Others sit outside for hours, alone with their thoughts, waiting for their next stroke of genius. For Portland native Jackson Boone, nature supplied an ideal recording location for his second album, Natural Changes, in the form of his grandfather’s old beach side cabin.
“That’s what gave us the name ‘Natural Changes.’ We were in a beach house, which was an awesome environment to record in. I’ll never record in a city again for that reason. I’ve been going there my whole life, and it’s a dream come true for me to record there.”
Both albums present an ethereal tone that reminisce of starry nights and moonlit strolls on an untouched field. From an early age, Boone knew that type of music is what he yearned to give the world. “I’ve known very clearly that I’m a singer/songwriter since I was 13 or 14, and since age 15 I’ve been writing batches of songs every six months. I just continued to grow into songwriting.”
Originally opting for the traditional rock band setup, Boone left to become a solo act upon entering his mid-twenties. This new foray has allowed him to explore the hobbies he’s picked up over the years. “I’ve been playing in bands for eight or nine years, and two years ago I decided to go solo because all the bands I was in broke up. I got really into metaphysics, spirituality, and aliens. When I was in my early 20s I got really into psychedelics, and I think that’s what sculpted the images and language that go into my songs.”
Boone entered the solo phase of his journey near the end of 2013, when he began recording his first album, Starlit, in the basement of a buddy’s house in Portland. Upon its release in September of last year, Boone and his band mates left to record Natural Changes in between trips to the beach visible outside their living room window. After a successful experience with his makeshift studio, Boone can’t wait to try it again. “[It was a] dream come true. Ineffably positive. We would wake up between 8-11 a.m. and we’d record from 11 to two or three in the morning. We took breaks to go surfing as well. We’re going to the same beach house in January to record a new album with mostly the same players.”
One look at Boone’s Facebook profile is all it takes to discover his passion for a wide variety of genres. With over 100 listed influences, he keeps his musical palate well fed. However, Boone warns that a unique sound is an important step to establishing yourself as an act. “If you listen to a load of John Lennon, your music is gonna start to sound like John Lennon. As a musician, you need to be careful what you’re consuming, and as a person too. If you listen to too much of the same thing, you’ll probably sound like that. In finding your own voice, you have to be abstract and expressive in a way unique to you.”
On top of recording his second full-length album and setting up a 23-city tour to promote it, Boone also has his hands full with a wife and baby girl. Though excited to promote his new music, Boone hopes he can still catch most of the early stages of his daughter’s development. “I have a lovely wife and a lot of help from our family. It’ll probably be more challenging with me away, and that’s the hardest thing about touring. She’s 17 months old, so this is an important time in her life and I don’t want to miss too much of it.”
Natural Changes is set to debut on September 11th, with his tour beginning today in Portland. Though his tour will skip Philadelphia this time around, Boone is itching to make it to Pennsylvania as early as spring 2016. “We’re coming through in early-to-mid April of next year, when we’ll be playing a nationwide loop that’s stopping at all the major nationwide cities. Nothing’s booked yet, but that’s the plan.”
