Jackson Perrin
::Thoughts::
What you wish you knew vocally at 17?
That patience isn’t related to stagnancy. At age 17 my voice was in, what I call, a vocal plateau. I thought that I would never be able to sing higher or ever “better”. I frequently practiced but never felt like I could get past this. It didn’t help that my teachers and music directors at the time would tell me I just needed to wait “until I got older” and my voice would start to “set”. I wish I could have known that there are specific tools to work specific skills that anyone wants to build and that there is always work to be done.
What has been your most memorable singing moment?
I still fight against stage fright. Personally, I think it’s an ongoing battle as a performer. In one of my live performances in the city, I discovered that I was able to rely on the technical practice I had put into my voice, as opposed to worrying if everything would “happen” correctly or much less come out. What became clear to me in this moment, was that I was able to focus on the lyrical and live presentation of my songs because of the work I had done in my practice - even while fighting with nerves.
What should the world know about singing?
That as singers, there isn’t “one way” to express something. I feel like we’re consistently fighting opinions that are presented to us as absolutes. What I’m not saying is to ignore what’s been written on the page. We have to work with what’s written, but for example, to say one “has to” take away vibrato to sound like they’re in a “pop style” or you must hit a certain vowel with a specific shaping, cuts out collaboration. We can find majority cases but there’s never “one way”. Hence the countless creators and innovators of pop singing we’ve witnessed through the years.
What’s your favorite One Voice theory, concept, or technique?
Hands down this has got to be the Weight Theory. It’s been a game changer when needing to switch between different styles of music, and helping me express a particular lyric alongside a pitch. To me, weight is like having a collection of different guitars with multiple tones and qualities, but where you can switch between guitars in the middle of a phrase or even note.
Highlights
New Works or Composers you've worked with?
Ryan Scott Oliver - "Darling"
Douglas Lyons - "Concerts / Pete(her) Pan"
Gigs and Locations
Rockwood Music Hall
Mercury Lounge
Laurie Beechman
Bowery Ball Room
Band and Albums
Jack & the Beanstock
"You Got Me All Wrong - EP"