Jason Reeves just typically chilling with an iPod and a phone awaiting USU concert

By Whitney Schulte

September 29, 2008 | Portland? Check. Seattle? Check. San Francisco? Check.

These three cities are some of Jason Reeves' favorite places to perform. When most people think of those three, they get the laid-back, "chill" vibe. This is also the vibe I get when talking to Reeves on the phone Thursday afternoon.

Having just released his newest record, The Magnificent Adventures of Heartache (And Other Frightening Tales...) in stores since Sept. 9, Reeves was selected to open for Yellowcard Tuesday night at Utah State University. Although he's not sure how he was chosen, he is sure to deliver a great show.

Reeves moved to Los Angeles from Iowa several years ago when his producer, Mikal Blue, scoped him out on the CD Baby Web site. His manager then called Reeves to travel to California to record a demo.

When I called Reeves, the first thing I asked him was what he would be doing right now if he wasn't doing this phone interview. He said he'd be lying in bed as he was right then, but instead of being on the phone, he would be sleeping.

Reeves usually loves to play in bigger venues. He likes drawing bigger audiences, which happen to be full of mostly younger crowds. When I told him my mom even keeps his album in her car, he replied with, "All ages come out to the shows. Some are older, but I won't call any of them old people, because that would be mean."

When he is on tour, he always travels with his iPod and something to write with. He doesn't like to fly, so he loves traveling around the country on his tour bus. He says he "gets to see every detail of the earth, up close."

Before he goes out to play a show, he is never nervous. "No anxiety, just fun," is his motto. Reeves says, "I have no set routines, besides drinking lots of tea. I act like a little kid and run around with my friends."

Besides being an amazing singer, Reeves also writes his own music. He thinks that as a musician, that's a better way to be connected to songs. Reeves also knows people can tell it means more to the singer when he or she is performing. When he writes a song, he says, "Sometimes I can just tell it's not a song for me to sing and I pass it on. But other times, I'll write about my own experiences and then it's something I need to sing about."

When I asked Reeves if he could choose any artist in the world to write for, he said he'd choose James Taylor. When I jokingly threw out Britney Spears, he laughed and replied with a "maybe."

Speaking of other artists, Reeves is also one of Colbie Caillat's best friends and songwriters. Mikal Blue introduced the two when Reeves moved to Los Angeles because he needed people to hang out with. Reeves started writing songs for Caillat, and also started recording music with her.

His favorite song he wrote for Caillat, Magic, is the first they wrote together, and believes it has a "good sentiment" for them both. The two musicians both believe in keeping music real, which you can see from their MySpace headline: "Our music is raw and imperfect, but honest."

During the interview, I read Reeves some comments his fans had left him on www.cdbaby.com. One fan who saw him in concert in April said, "Jason's music touches the soul, and when he sings it feels like I go off to another world." Reeves seemed so happy to hear the comment, he was a little speechless at first. He made a fast recovery and said it was amazing and overwhelmingly incredible. He feels very lucky and thankful to have such great fans.

Another fan comment talks about the album being one you can play from start to finish every single time. This is exactly was Reeves is hoping for.

"There's so many records out there with one hit song with lots of crap around it," he says. "I wanted there to be a reason to have the whole record, not just follow the trend of downloading one popular single on iTunes."

Reeves wants people to be able to take what they want from his songs. "People could possibly have even more of an idea of what I'm singing about than I do," he says. "And sometimes, they might not get it at all."

One thing is clear, no matter what Reeves is doing, singing or writing, he loves music.

"That's what I do and that's what I love," he says. "It's a necessity, I've got to do it."

If you want to hear more of Jason's music before Tuesday night, check out www.myspace.com/jasonreeves.

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