Today we’d like to introduce you to Jien.
Hi Jien, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Sure, thanks for asking. Music always had my interest. Even back when I was at Southwind Elementary and going through music class playing the recorder. I noticed that everyone else hated that class while I found it fascinating, and always tried to get those little colored yarned strings to show your mastery haha. Of course, in public schools, there’s a certain stigma with music and it not being “cool” so I had to pivot to playing sports, which I became pretty good at.
Throughout grade school, I always tried to learn new songs that I’d heard while fiddling around with a keyboard, but it was just for fun for the most part. I didn’t pick up a guitar until about 2015, my junior year of college at Middle Tennessee State University – which is known for its musical influence and being right next door to Nashville. I started learning chords and played along to my favorite songs.
As I got older and a little bit better, my buddy Victor who’s in the band Mesa Riot told me I should start writing my own songs. That was about 2018. So I guess you can say it kind of began there with writing and recording. My music is just about my life experiences and things that come to mind while I play around with chord progressions. I started doing acoustics sets at local bars and here we are. Trying to keep it going. Thanks for listening!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road is ongoing. And definitely not smooth. And a lot of potholes just like those Memphis roads haha. There are a lot of struggles, man. Writing, working on vocals, exposure. I’m always trying to get better and my inner critic always beats the hell out of me. Sometimes I do wish I had taken music lessons as a kid instead of playing sports, but that’s alright. We’re here now and I’m pretty happy with the music I’ve released and what’s to come.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m probably most proud of just going out there and doing it. Learning from others and getting better at my craft. My music has a lot of Country Pop influence so it’s a lot of acoustic sound to it. I’ll sometimes bring in my buddy Brian Downing (who’s a beast on the strings) and Roger Porter (drums) and we’ll jam out to see what we can come up with. A producer that I really enjoy working with, Patrick Burkholder, also gives me some great advice when we’re in the studio. All in all, I’m really happy to make good music and share my story with people.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
It’s all about luck. And I’m pretty lucky to meet the people I’ve met to help me along the way. Bad luck’s needed too haha. Just so I can learn from the bad times and what not to do in the future. I’m pretty hopeful for better luck in the future, though. In the meantime, I’m still going to do the bar shows and keep writing music.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/jienmusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jienlito/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jienmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJP3XbrgE8mvKUgwcKO41ZQ
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0q1c9om3eFU1f3SVmz9FyZ?utm_medium=share&utm_source=linktree
