By Erin Kalejs
For the last few years, modern country music has been accused by traditional critics and fans as being no longer “authentic” with most pop-country songs tending to sound indistinguishable from one another.
Some blame the rut that modern country is finding itself in on swapping out fiddles and banjo tunes for hard rock riffs and hip-hop beats creating the simultaneously loved and despised “bro-country”.
Country singer-songwriter, JaeCe Simon’s single “I’ll take the Cowboy”, tries to strike a balance, she sings standard country lyrics “I can tell ya now nothing gets a girl’s heart racing like worn out Wrangler jeans, his long hair peaking out of his Stetson”, while the studio musicians behind her play their fiddles and steel guitars to a catchy upbeat melody.
It’s a more pop version of traditional honky tonk song, that breathes new life into modern country music.
I have to admit the first time I heard JaeCe Simon’s music my first thought was “what a pretty voice, I bet she’s from Nashville.”
It was to my surprise or perhaps ignorance when she told me she’s actually a California native but clearly one who lives and breathes country, which is pretty much expected when you grow up in a family of country music fans or in other words one where everyone owns a cowboy hat and pair of boots.
As she told me “there’s different parts of California where they embrace the country lifestyle. It’s funny, I do feel like somehow I am from the south and it’s where I want to end up.”
However, a country musician from Cali shouldn’t be that unusual when you take into account the fact that California produces country stars such as Jon Pardi and Brett Young – two of the hottest acts in country right now.
Proving that California’s music scene is more than just indie, rap, and hip hop, as JaeCe explained “California has a lot of country fans and there’s a lot of different country hubs really close to where I live. I think that also sets me apart. Instead of having to go to Nashville straightaway like everybody else I can also be out here and build my own audience.”
Although, like most country artists, JaeCe plans to eventually head up to Music City “Nashville is essentially where you want to be for sure,” she says with a grin.
In the latest episode of Small Talk, we discussed the inspiration behind her newest heartfelt song “Beaches in Tucson” and how she’s putting her own spin on traditional country music.
A lightly edited transcript of that portion of our conversation follows.
The Curve: When did you realize you had musical talent and wanted to pursue a career in music, was there a specific moment?
JaeCe Simon: In second grade I figured out I could sing and in third grade my Mom put me in guitar lessons. But I had also been singing all throughout growing up but when I entered my college years I put singing to the side and didn’t really have an interest in it for that gap of time but I always felt like I would come back to it and that’s what I would end up doing with my life.
So about a year and a half ago my cousin, who is a producer, randomly invited me one day and was like “we should try songwriting together” and I went up to his studio without having written any songs before.
When I stepped into the studio I was like “this is so cool” and I felt like I had finally found my path.
TC: Why did you choose to go into country music over pop or other genres, what do you love about country music?
JS: I’ve been raised on country music and I just love it so much! My whole family lives that country lifestyle so it’s something that I’ve always related to and I feel like it’s just ingrained in me.
What I also like about country is what the songs are about and how they’re put together, it’s just very relatable for a lot of people, and you can be very honest in your songs.
TC: In a recent interview you said that your fans can expect your music to have a “true country sound”, what do you mean by that? What does “true country” mean to you?
JS: That’s a good question! I feel like right now there’s pop country and then there’s country and a lot of the pop country is what’s being played on the radio.
But I feel like that truer country that doesn’t have much of that pop sound is becoming very popular again, like what was played in the early 90s and 2000s.
So that’s what I meant, is that I want to accomplish that type of sound, and I want to be true to myself as an artist and not try to be something that I’m not or just make more pop-county because that’s what’s “in”. I want to stay true to my sound, and that sound is a more traditional country sound.
TC: Your first single “I’ll Take the Cowboy” was released back in December 2022, what was the inspiration behind it?
JS: I wrote that song with my producer, Angel Ramirez, it started off with me in my room late at night and I got a little something going on the guitar, and that first verse kind of just wrote itself.
I was thinking about the kind of guy who is my type and that I’d want and that’s how the idea started, the line “I’ll take the cowboy” is what first came to me, and I knew I wanted that to be the title. When I thought of that title, the theme that I wanted that song to be was clear to me like “I’ll take him if no one else wants to take him, like that’s the kind of guy I want.”
So I brought what I had written and that idea to Angel and he helped me finish it and we wrote the whole song pretty fast. He’s amazing with melodies and producing and was able to bring it to life and make it what it is.
It was really fun to record, and I’m really glad that it was my first single. A lot of people really liked it and I was not expecting it to get the reaction that it got so it was really cool.
It’s a very stripped down song, and it’s heavy on that fiddle. I think that’s what makes it sound quite traditional.
TC: Your latest song “Beaches in Tucson” came out back in March last year, and took a different direction. It’s more emotional and personal, tell me about how it came together, did you consciously want your next song to be a different style to the first?
JS: I had been writing lots of songs so it wasn’t necessarily like today I’m going to sit down and write my next song that I’m going to release. So this one was just like any of the others but my boyfriend at the time, he also writes songs and he was sharing some song titles with me that he had and was trying to form into songs.
One of those was Beaches in Tucson and right when he told me it I already had an idea about how that storyline could go and how the song could sound.
I was trying to explain it to him and he was like “I don’t know if I can write that!” So I asked him if I could take the song and write it, so that day I took it home and started working on it.
When I first heard Beaches in Tucson my first thought was, “well there are no beaches in Tucson” and my next thought was it could be related to relationships, like how some things aren’t meant to work out, like you can’t bring a beach to the desert so that’s how that thought process came together.
That whole idea really related to my life at the time, just how some things aren’t meant to be, and all those lyrics came from the heart. When I brought it to Angel and he heard me sing it he also saw that it could be turned into a moody, little sad song that gets you in your feels.
So we recorded a demo, and I started crying and I just knew that this song felt different and special to the other ones that we had been writing and I knew on that day that this should be the next song I put out.
I had already released a lighthearted fun song, I thought it would be nice to release a different sound that’s more emotional and shows a different side of me as an artist.
TC: We’ve talked about your love for 90s country, in general who are the names that come to mind when you’re thinking of your musical influences?
JS: Shania Twain, because I grew up listening to her a lot but also Miranda Lambert, the Dixie Chicks, Brooks & Dunn, and I’ve really gotten into George Strait in the past year.
TC: Even though you’re a California native, you do sound like you’re from the south when you’re singing, do you have to try to put on the accent or does it just come naturally?
JS: I’ve been told that it sounds like I have an accent before, it’s just my voice! [laughs] I think it’s because I’ve been listening to country music since I was born, so it just comes out whenever I sing.
TC: Do you think it might be a challenge trying to break into Nashville since you’re not from the south?
JS: I think it’s changed since there are now a handful of very successful country artists that are from California like Jon Pardi.
I’ve already connected with a few people from Nashville through social media and it doesn’t matter where you’re from, if you’re good then you’re good, you just have to get a fanbase and audience to listen to your music.
TC: What do you think is the most misunderstood thing about country music for people who don’t listen to it?
JS: I feel like with country, you really have to focus on the lyrics and what the song is saying. Even now I’ll listen to songs I’ve listened to my whole life and I’ll pick up on something new that was said in the song that I’ve never paid attention to or perceived.
Most country music relates to real life, real situations and I feel like if people took the time to focus on what the song is saying they’d be able to relate to it and love it too.
TC: I love asking country musicians this, if you were going to convert somebody into a country music fan, what’s the first song you would show them?
JS: I really like witty songs so I would show them “The Chair” by George Strait. It’s about him trying to get this girl to sit next to him and the song is basically one long pick up line.
I’d show that one because it makes you focus on the lyrics and it’s just a beautiful song about him just trying to get this girl to sit next to him. But really there’s just so many songs.
TC: What’s next for you?
JS: Right now I’m trying to write as much music as possible, I’m hoping to put out some more music and make it out to Nashville and try to sing at more live shows.
For more with JaeCe Simon, including discovering her unique sound and why California has a burgeoning country music scene listen to the full episode below.
You can follow and listen to JaeCe Simon’s music on Instagram, YouTube and Spotify
The Curve Magazine 