Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Jesse Palter

Jesse Palter is embarking on a new chapter in her career that’s unapologetically her. Now an independent artist, Jesse is in the driver’s seat, taking the lessons she’s learned and channeling them into her craft, as evident in her new single, “Better Days.” We caught up with this rising talent to learn more about her, her career, and “Better Days.”

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Jesse: Music has been the through line in my life from as far back as I can remember. My parents have eclectic musical tastes, and they exposed me to so much of it at an early age—I sort of fell into it. I was bitten by the performance bug. I had an innate desire to be on stage and a knack for improvising my own melodies and lyrics. It was a mix of nature and nurture. The muscle was there, but my parents fostered those tendencies with piano lessons, musical theater lessons, performing arts summer camps, and dance classes, etc. By the time I discovered songwriting, everything clicked.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Jesse: My two closest collaborators have been incredibly influential on my career: Mike Jellick, who was my music director for many years in my jazz groups, and Sam Barsh, who I founded my electro-pop-soul band, Palter Ego, with. It’s important to note my immediate family’s support, encouragement, and dedication is the primary reason I’m still pursuing a career as an artist after all these years.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout the years. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Jesse: That’s very kind of you to say. Thank you. What I’ve learned from my experience is that this career is about the long climb, the small victories, and not so much about one big break.

I can appreciate many of the moments that felt pivotal: working on original music in Nashville with the legendary Andrew Gold; my time spent in LA when I was signed as a developing artist to the Bass Brothers’ production company; recording my first full-length album with my jazz quartet and the subsequent time on the road upon its release; playing the Detroit Jazz Festival for the first time, playing the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York for the first time—fun fact: I played in a McDonald’s parking lot for a grand opening event the following day, which felt like a rather jarring juxtaposition; moments with my collaborators as well as by myself when a spark of an idea became a full-length song—I still am amazed at how that happens; performing in Israel at the Red Sea Jazz Festival with Palter Ego; moving to LA to further pursue my songwriter career; getting signed to a record label and that whole process of releasing that record; and the writing/producing/release of my first single becoming an independent artist again are a few moments that really stand out. But it’s really all about the work—all about the creative process. That’s the stuff that keeps me coming back for more, despite the peaks and valleys that come with this territory.

PC: Tell us about your new single, “Better Days.” What inspired the track?
Jesse: “Better Days” is my little quarantine bop. I had just parted ways with a record label. I was untethered and getting back in the driver’s seat of my career as an independent artist. I wrote the song very swiftly and organically with Jake Bass over Zoom. The whole thing pretty much fell out of me in a stream-of-consciousness manner—the melody, the lyrics, the whole nine. I used that song as an exercise to reclaim some control over my artistry and saw every detail through from conception to its release. It’s a testament to perseverance on the other side of one iteration of a dream as well as creation despite the challenges the music community has encountered in the midst of this pandemic. Without overthinking it, so as to not give myself a chance to talk myself out of it, I dreamt/coproduced/conceptualized the rollout and ultimately released that song in a few weeks. It was a very visceral experience, and the support from the musicians that collaborated with me was one of the most uplifting and empowering moments I’ve experienced in my career these last several years.

PC: You’re embarking on an exciting new chapter in your career. How does this next body of work differentiate itself from your previous releases?
Jesse: I’m taking things day by day right now. I’m not overplanning or overconceptualizing, because how the hell can you right now? I’m working to unlearn all of the things I’ve been told throughout the years about who I am—or who I should be—as an artist that have perhaps made me more cynical and dimmed my light. You know, the things told to me by people who clock out at five p.m. and leave my head spinning in the wee hours of the twenty-four-seven job that is an artist’s pursuit. I’m participating creatively in all of the things that feel like an internal “hell yes”: the songwriting for myself and other artists, the singing of both pop and straight-ahead jazz, writing what’s honest even when it’s messy and emotional and hyperbolic and vulnerable and occasionally TMI, as long as it’s brutally true to myself. I’m collaborating with new friends, collaborating with old friends, and trusting myself when it feels like I need to get an idea out by myself. I want the next chapter to be unapologetically me.

PC: As we look ahead to the rest of 2020, what does the year hold for you?
Jesse: I have new music in the can, and I’ve been in writer’s mode, so stay tuned. I have some surprises in store in terms of releases.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Jesse: Taylor Swift’s entire discography. But is that a surprise?

PC: First album you bought?
Jesse: Jewel’s Pieces of You.

PC: First concert you attended?
Jesse: *NSYNC and Janet Jackson.

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Jesse: Joni Mitchell’s Blue. I felt every word, melody, chord, layer deep in my bones, and I’m transported right back to hearing that music for the first time every time I listen to that record. I remember thinking to myself, “What the heck is this? I want to evoke that with my music.”

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Jesse: Sydney Opera House.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Jesse: My HumidiFlyer travel mask for plane rides, disinfectant wipes/sanitizer—I’ve been disinfecting and sanitizing like it’s going out of style since long before COVID—and a single-origin pour over every morning to turn my brain on.

Make sure to follow Jesse on Twitter and Instagram. Pick up or stream “Better Days” today.