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TWENTY MINUTES LATER

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j solomon On His Latest Single, "Winnebago Baby"

j solomon On His Latest Single, "Winnebago Baby"

AN INTERVIEW WITH J SOLOMON ON HIS LATEST SINGLE, “WINNEBAGO BABY.”

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“WINNEBAGO BABY” IS OUT! HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT THIS RELEASE? 

I really like this song. It's cool to genuinely say that. I feel like all musicians have to say that about the songs they release, whether they think it or not, but I'm very, very happy with how it turned out. 

 

HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR THE SONG? 

The real, honest response is that I was listening to the new era of Tik Tok songs—the short, catchy ones that hit you and then they stick in your head for a long time. I thought to myself, “I could do that,” and so I was like, “Okay, I'll write one of those.” I wrote what turned into “Winnebago Baby,” and then it turned out to be completely different from a Tik Tok song because I had to put my own little spin on it. I slowed down the tempo by 30 beats per minute and I put it in a waltz time signature, so it really doesn't even read like one of those songs, but the intention was for it to be one of those little catchy guys.  

 

WHAT WAS YOUR WRITING PROCESS LIKE? 

 So the writing process is always kind of similar for me, although I've been trying to shake it up. For “Winnebago Baby,” it was a lot of me walking around and trying to go about my daily routine—maybe take a shower. I'm always trying to think of catchy words or little phrases that stick. I felt very trapped writing it while living in Pennsylvania. I wanted to get away subliminally and Winnebago is just such a fun word. The writing started like that. Then, I grabbed my guitar, found some nice chords to go with it, and flushed out a nice acoustic version of it. As I was doing that, the idea for the arrangement came. I'm very fortunate to have met some very talented musicians and engineers over the past couple of years. We were all able to work remotely from our own bedroom studios. 

 

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS? 

We were working on the song right down to the very last minute. We wanted to get it submitted, so it could be released on the day we wanted. My favorite part would probably be connecting with Sammy, who plays the trumpet on the song. I've never met him in person, but he's a really great guy. He was super helpful and absolutely killed whatever trumpet part I gave him. 

 

DID YOU DO ALL OF THE ARRANGEMENTS ON THE SONG?  

Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't say I'm sitting there with sheet paper writing it all down, but yeah, the ideas are in my head. What works best for me is having conversations with my collaborators. For example, I worked closely with my friend Jackson who did the background vocals. Being able to talk through ideas works better for me than trying to write down parts and send them to people.  

 

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE LYRIC?  

My favorite one lyric is, “baby, it's rock and roll,” because I think it's so cheesy and cliche, but it makes me feel like a bit of a rocker.  

 

ARE YOU INFLUENCED BY ROCK MUSIC AT ALL? 

I'd love to be the person that says, "I grew up on Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley,” but the reality is that no, I did not grow up listening to those artists. Over the past couple of years, I've grown a very deep admiration for people like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, and Julian Casablanca of The Strokes. 

 

THE SONG IS ABOUT BEING ON THE ROAD, SO IF YOU COULD ROADTRIP ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? 

I would go from my home in Pennsylvania all the way out West and all the way back. The song was a little bit inspired by a trip I took over the summer. My girlfriend and I spent a little time in San Diego, and we took a couple of road trips throughout California, Nevada, and Arizona. That was a little taste of road tripping, which let me make up a whole story about doing something that I never really did. 

 

WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM LISTENING TO THE TRACK?  

I hope it's a song that people can listen to with their friends. It's a road trip song for sure, but maybe it's a dance in your room song, too. I don’t know. I just hope people enjoy it and that it sticks in their head. And I hope they come back for more because I want to release music and have an audience to listen to it. I’m hoping to release a couple of singles over the next few months to a year, and then gear up for an album at some point when I have something of substance to say. 

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 YOU CAN FIND “WINNEBAGO BABY” ON STREAMING SERVICES LIKE SPOTIFY AND APPLE MUSIC. GO STREAM THE SONG AND MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW @TWENTYMINUTESLATER ON INSTAGRAM AND TIK TOK FOR MORE MUSIC RELATED CONTENT.

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