Hopelessly optimistic, that’s how JAWNY would describe his sound.
We had the chance recently to chat with singer songwriter Jacob Sullenger, also known as JAWNY. We covered everything from his upcoming tour to how he describes his sound and everything in between.
With over 1 billion streams globally, JAWNY has built his career by intuition, letting his music evolve naturally as he grows personally. Born in the Bay Area, and raised in Philadelphia, JAWNY first picked up a guitar at age 6. In his early 20s he began writing his own songs, one of which was “Honeypie” which garnered millions of streams. In 2020, JAWNY signed to Interscope Records and has since released two projects and various singles. Today, he released his most recent single, “true.”
JAWNY is headed off to his second headlining tour, but this time there are quite a few more stops to make. The tour kicks off in San Diego, CA on March 3rd and wraps up in Phoenix, AZ on April 12th. In between those dates he makes an additional 23 stops in various cities around North America. Supporting JAWNY on this tour is Los Angeles singer songwriter, Wallice. Check out the dates below to see if he’s making a stop near you and grab those tickets!
When asked about his favorite part about touring, JAWNY said the shows, admitting it’s probably every artist’s favorite part. He continued on to say “97.99% of a tour is spent off the road so I think the best memories I have on tour are just those off days or that down time. If you have a good crew around you, you begin to make all these memories because of how much time you spend together. Some of my favorite memories are just going with the crew to a restaurant that my drummer looked up on yelp. We all get to tiredly enjoy a meal and talk about how tired we are but also talk about how insanely grateful we are to be tired because this is a thing we all love to do.” He’s a huge fan of Wallice and is excited to tour with her and make new memories with the whole crew.
Like anyone, JAWNY’s taste in music is constantly changing. He’s collaborated with artists like Spill Tab, which he said was an amazing collab because they’re good friends, and Beck. He thinks a JAWNY and Wallice crossover would make for some cool music as well. In his ‘dream’ list collab column lives The Gorillaz and Joji. He noted how different Joji’s music is from his, but he’s a huge fan and is intrigued about how the two worlds would come together. He also talked about how his answer for that question is always changing because “that’s the cool thing about music, you’re always hearing new things and discovering new people so the list just continuously grows.”
JAWNY is a name that sticks out and is unique, but before JAWNY was JAWNY, he was Johnny Utah. If you recognize that name, you’ve probably seen the movie Point Break starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. That’s where JAWNY got the inspiration for his first stage name, however because of trademark issues, it had to change. Johnny Utah was a popular name on social media, so JAWNY had to be unique with how he was spelling it. He landed on @jawnyutah and when he was thinking about pivoting to a new name he thought why not keep that weird spelling of JAWNY, and now here we are. He was angry at first but quickly fell in love with JAWNY and now would never want to be Johnny Utah again.
Like we mentioned earlier, hopelessly optimistic is how JAWNY would describe his sound. Even his sad songs have a semi-uplifting feel to them, like you’re getting to the other side of something. He does a great job pairing some heartbreaking and crushing lyrics with uplifting beats that you want to move. He stated, “it’s like you’re getting over something or getting that feeling out because who wants to sit around and continue to feel sad? Like if I’m sad, I want to feel sad but also still feel like I’m moving to the other side of it.”
When asked about how his sound has changed throughout the years he said, “just like a chef or painter, or even working an everyday job, as you grow older you kind of perform that job or task a little differently. So I think as I grow and navigate through life I gain more experience and I feel like these new experiences kind of reflect in my music.” He continues to chase what makes him excited and translates that into his writing. Right now, he admits he feels like he’s at a really pivotal change where he’s trying to push himself to make songs that make him feel a little uncomfortable, not in the process of making it but rather in sharing it with the world.
His early influences include Green Day, Weezer, and The Killers. Growing up in California near the Bay Area, it was difficult to not have those bands be a huge influence. When asked about who his current musical influences are he answered “It was easier to point at bands back then and it’s harder to answer the question now because we’re in a different landscape with streaming and stuff. Now there is a playlist and you don’t save an album, you save an artist.” He continued on to say the industry is just constantly evolving so it’s hard to say who inspires him. He gets inspired by various movies and shows these days.
Emerging back into the music scene post covid shutdown was proven tough for a lot of artists. After not being able to tour and connect with fans, some artists lost momentum. On August 1st, 2022 JAWNY put out his first single in a long time. After not releasing music for a while, we thought “Strawberry Chainsaw” was an amazing song to break back into the music scene with. JAWNY agreed and had a lot to say about the single, “I think it’s inviting. I think it’s not over the top, but it’s not underdelivering. I think it’s just a good, happy, upbeat song that would be a great introduction for people to my music again. They may have not heard it in a long time, I did go a very long time without releasing music.”
JAWNY said the lyrics came naturally to him, it took him about 20-30 minutes to write the song, which started as a note in his phone. He had the idea of two completely opposite things coming together because “that’s kind of what love is. It could hurt you, but it could also be the best thing ever. It’s just a song about love. About how love can be awesome but love can also be scary, beautiful, wonderful, terrifying all at the same time and that’s a beautiful thing.”
Every artist has their own method to write their songs, for JAWNY, he has a quicker writing process in the beginning. “I personally don’t think a song is worth it if it doesn’t come fast. I feel like that means I’m thinking too hard. Granted, finishing it can’t always be that way, it can definitely be a longer process. But if a song isn’t striking and resonating with me then it’s not worth it to me.” He does realize that’s not the case for everyone and agreed that deeply profound pieces of music take time, but so far he said he’s not really writing songs like that.
JAWNY’s recent music videos are filled with fun, vivid imagrey and we highly recommend watching them if you haven’t. When asked about his favorite part about making them JAWNY stated “What wasn’t my favorite part? It’s like playing adult dress up. You get to play in this crazy universe that you’ve somehow been given money to make. It’s the coolest thing ever. It’s just fun, I like it a lot and I hope it rings true when other people see them because we had a lot of fun making them.”
JAWNY has a lot to be proud of in his music career so far. Some of his highlights include working with Beck and performing at the French Grammy Awards. His last headline tour was when it hit him that there are people around the world that listen to and love his music. He admitted he lost his footing a little bit during the COVID shutdown. “Obviously COVID was terrible in general, people died. That’s first, everything I’m acknowledging after is definitely a first world problem and none of this actually matters, but yeah it was very scary as an artist. When the world shut down I didn’t know what to do and I think that is why I didn’t put music out for a little bit of time. I think I was figuring everything out and figuring out my footing again.” JAWNY was thrilled to be touring again when the shutdown was over and now he’s getting ready for a major headline tour.
We closed out the interview asking about what advice he has for someone trying to break into the music scene. He said there are core values that stand the test of time when trying to become a musician – don’t pay attention to what’s around you and don’t try to sound like what’s around you. He then explained that if you’re a painter, don’t just paint like what’s around you and if you’re a chef, don’t just cook signature, well-known dishes, put your spin on it. He goes on to say do what you love and just because someone else doesn’t see it or get it, doesn’t mean that it’s not good or true to you. “I just think that’s what makes art so special, making it unique to the individual and that’s how art gets pushed forward. Don’t get caught up in what’s popular. Chase what makes you excited.”
JAWNY just released a bittersweet new single today called “true” via Interscope Records. In typical JAWNY fashion, there’s a playfulness always lurking underneath—no matter the topic—with jaunty hand claps pushing the song along to its swaying sing-along conclusion. We love this song and it’s become an automatic favorite.
We cannot recommended JAWNY’s music more. With upbeat tracks and catchy lyrics, he’s nearly impossible to dislike. Check out if he’s coming to a city near you and secure your tickets, he’s definitely one to watch!
All things JAWNY: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Twitter
Buy tickets to see JAWNY live here!
Subscribe to Beyond The Stage to stay updated on all things music!
- New Raffaella Single Featuring Samia, “Man of Your Dreams” - October 13, 2023
- 2023 All Things Go Music Festival Lineup Revealed - April 18, 2023
- 2023 Governors Ball Announces Exciting Lineup - January 19, 2023
