THAT ‘GOOSE BUMPS ON YOUR ARM CONNECTION’
A CONVERSATION WITH JASON CORBETT OF ACTORS
ACTORS has been on tour non-stop since their Artoffact Records debut It Will Come To You was released in 2018, reaching the likes of Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Poland and more; even playing the world’s biggest Goth festival, WGT (Wave GotikTreffen) in Germany last year. The vinyl version of their debut album, It Will Come To You, is on its third pressing, and has they have attained 30,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Needless to say, ACTORS is making quite the impression on the music industry.
“Hmm…. well, it’s got elements of ‘80s retro, ‘80s post punk, but it’s firmly rooted in the present.”, articulates Corbett on the style of ACTORS. “We’re not a revivalist band but there are definitely elements of old rock music, The Cure, the darker music from artists like that. But yet, the production tech and the overall sound is very modern on what he would interpret the style of.”
Corbett has been playing music since he was a teen; paying his dues with many bands, long hours on the road and playing to empty venues. “In Seattle before the record came out we played to about 11 people, we got paid in pizza. Then about eight months later we went back and sold out a 300-capacity club with people singing the lyrics back to us” answers Corbett.
“For me, what I like about that isn’t the ‘oh look at me on stage, I’m famous’; that doesn’t appeal to me. I’m so excited about the process — I love connecting with people.”
Corbett is all about human connection and creating an experience that ACTORS fans and new listeners will find unique.
“In Chicago, on one of our last tours in the US, we were getting asked for an encore, and we played the encore songs already and I thought ‘oh geez, what am I going to do?’. I just put my guitar down on the stage and said I’mgoing to come down there and give everyone a hug. And it lasted for like over an hour of just hugs.”
With any musician you go to watch perform, there’s always this level of disconnect. Yes, they’re on the stage in front of you playing, but there’s an element of acknowledgement that’s missing. Along with the mysterious aspect of who are they really?
IT WILL COME TO YOU ALBUM REVIEW
ACTORS doesn’t want that to be the case with them.
“With the kind of music we’re playing, there is a gap. There’s this brooding mystery, black and white, feels like connection is unattainable” Corbett expresses.
Living in the age of the Internet, people have mixed feelings about platforms like Spotify and the capability that anyone can upload music at any time.
“I think it’s really exciting,” exclaims Corbett. “I feel like it’s an absolute movement and a revolution of music. I know a lot of people stuck in the old school through process that think its negative. ‘Spotify doesn’t make you any money’ and this and that well people used to tape songs off the radio and share tapes and CDs. Then not that long ago, people were downloading songs and not paying anything for them. So Spotify has created that to monetize it for artists”
Platforms like Spotify not only help artists get their music out there, but they also allow them to see where their fans are to help them plan accordingly for tours. In ACTORS’ case, Corbettfeels that examining their online presence was a great way for them to see where they should tour; and took them to the likes of Germany, Poland, Czech Republic and more.
“For me, there was one trepidation in terms of how close or how connected our online personals were, but I found right away once we started touring all the promoters and people we knew were like ‘wow you guys are so nice’. And I thought ‘oh no is that a bad thing?’ We’re wearing black, leather, and the music’s moody and we’re super nice, is that going spoil the magic? But then I thought, no it’s enhancing it. We embrace it. It makes the whole process and experience that much more richer for us and hopefully for our audience.”
ACTORS are not only making an impact through their music, but their attention to human connection and interaction makes their art that much more memorable and unique for any listener.
“When I’m making a song, I’m being true to myself and listening to what the song wants to be. But also, I cant be so self indulgent that I’m going to alienate listeners” states ACTORS frontman and guitarist Jason Corbett. “I feel if you trust yourself and go with the flow, that’s when the real art and the real music truly happens.”
“That ‘goose bumps on your arm connection’ when you hear music that really speaks to you — that’s what I’m striving to share.”
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