Communion is one of the more promising additions to Madison’s lively concert scene. The monthly show, in only a few months’ time, has boasted lively crowds and awesome lineups including Tennis, Willy Mason, and ON AN ON. December’s Communion, to be held tomorrow night, will have blues/Americana troubadours Rosco Bandana headlining and Madison’s Jeremiah Nelson opening the show.
Jeremiah is a talented singer/songwriter who’s received press from venerable outlets such as The A.V. Club. Nelson was kind enough to talk with Jonk Music about his latest musical happenings, the Communion event, and his relationship with electronic music.
People have labeled you one of the more “talked about musicians” in Madison. What does it mean to be a part of a smaller but vibrant Madison music scene?
“That’s funny; I wouldn’t consider myself that at all but I love this town and I love how musically saturated it is for its size. To be totally honest, I’ve felt way more disconnected lately, mainly just because I haven’t been playing out much.”
You’ve toured sporadically and of course played Madison plenty of times, but you’ve mentioned that you don’t feel immense pressure to rush things with music. Considering you balance songwriting with your work as a graphic design student, what’s your attitude on making a living with music?
“I’m all about making a living in music but it’s really nice to have other sources of income. In music, my confidence is all over the map which can make it hard to focus and tends to lead to lots of revisions and rewrites. I take my time with my own stuff because it’s the only way I can work. I actually enjoy the supportive roles in creative projects as much if not more than being the primary contributor. Working on Dietrich Gosser’s new record this last year was a great experience. I brought a lot of ideas in but at the end of the day he was making the decisions. I like work like that; it feels like it serves a purpose. I kind of fell into the design thing after doing some work for friends and really enjoyed it, so I decided to attempt it on a more legit level. I noticed a lot of similarities between the design workflow and audio mixing, so it seems like an intuitive progression.”
You posted on your Facebook that you have a new electronic record in progress. It seems like you play tons of instruments and you’ve jumped around stylistically in the past, but what is it about electronic music that has your attention right now?
“Yeah, I never really planned on making electronic stuff; I think it just sort of happened as a result of starting from scratch with a laptop instead of a guitar. The more I sit with that stuff, the more it becomes clear that it’s going to be its own project. I’m hoping to get a new set of that stuff ready to perform later next year. I guess it’s something I started doing because of how different it is than traditional songwriting, and it can be composed without hinging on lyrics.”
The Communion “club nights” thing has taken off around the country and the ones in Madison have done quite well. The idea is to help foster creative sensibilities and promote local acts. What’s your perspective on an event like Communion?
“I went to the last one and it was packed. It was like five bands. I think it’s great. I hope they continue doing them.”
Your 2011 release seemed to gain a bit of steam on formidable sites (like The A.V. Club). Did you feel any pressure to release something quickly afterward? Or was the exposure an opportunity to really take your time with your next project?
“I don’t know. It was definitely encouraging, but I think back then I was pretty burned out and needed some time to recharge and do other stuff. I’ve got something in the works now that is starting to resemble an EP so hopefully that be coming out early next year.”