Michigander’s newest EP release, “Everything Will Be OK Eventually” dropped on all platform’s March 19. After spending two years working on it following the release of his previous EP “Where Do We Go From Here” in 2019, artist Jason Singer said he was, “relieved, exhausted and excited” that his new music was finally being shared with the world.

Singer is back to playing socially distanced live shows after an entire year of not performing in front of a live audience. Coming full circle, Michigander will be playing a show in Detroit on May 7, the city Singer had always dreamed about living in. Now, in the heart of his new home he will have the opportunity to play live for his people, a feeling both artists and concertgoers have missed this past year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the live music world slowly begins to reopen, the excitement to connect with artists and their music is at an all-time high. Here at the Grateful Web, we value this connection and that is why we sat down with Singer to talk about the meaning of “Everything Will Be OK Eventually” and what is next for Michigander.

Grateful Web: With the release of “Everything Will be OK Eventually”, along with your livestream later today what are three words that describe how you are feeling?

Jason Singer: Relieved, exhausted, excited.

GW: How excited have you been to get back to playing live music again & being to play your new music for people? Especially starting off in Nashville this past week and looking ahead to your show in Detroit.

JS: It was emotional. It was weird to finally be in a room with people again, and to play some of these new songs. But some I haven't even figured out how to play solo yet because we barely just figured out how to play them as a band. Like, getting ready for tonight. And yeah, but it felt really cool to play my oldest songs and my newer songs. So it was just, it was unforgettable. Definitely.

GW: It’s clear through your lyricism and sound that the pandemic impacted the way this EP was created, can you tell me a little bit about that and how the time alone impacted you as an artist?

JS: Yeah, I think at first, like everybody, I was like, I'm going to play music, and I'm going to be so productive during this time off. I was fortunate to have some money set aside to not be super worried about it. I mean I was worried but I knew I've got to just work on music. And then I quickly realized that all the music I was writing was focused on the end of the world. And I thought, wow, this is gonna be really boring and this isn't going to age well. So I decided to try to not write a ton and just kind of work on the music I already had. And so that was the whole thing. I just wanted to be kind of sparse, talking about COVID times, in a way, you know, I didn't want every single song to be about like, oh, man, everything shut down. Everybody saw everything, but because I didn't think in a year or two from now, that's what everyone's gonna want to be hearing. I didn't want people to hear this song to be like, oh, this was from 2020. I was very intentional about trying not to date my songs so quickly.

GW: You mentioned that this was the first time you implemented sounds you didn’t think would necessarily be replicable to a live audience, can you tell me how challenging yourself with this freed up creative space for you as an artist?

JS: Oh, yeah, definitely. I feel like I'm so excited for what else I'm going to do with music. Because I feel like I really opened up a lot of opportunities, like a lot of space for me to try new things with this album and I didn't ever feel that way before. So this time, I'm just really happy about everything so far. But I'm just really excited for what's next.

GW: As I read your bio it noted that this new EP “soundtracks chasing a dream until it’s real” for you. can you tell me a bit about how it feels to go from putting 43 cents in your gas tank to get to gigs, to where you are now? Are you living your dream?

JS: Yeah, it's pretty surreal. I just had lunch with a friend and he used to watch me play when I was first starting when I was busting in my hometown. He got to come to the Nashville show and he was just, he was just telling me about how cool it is to see how far I’ve come. And I have a long way to go. I always want to stress that. I don't think I've arrived in any way. And I don't think I'm even close to where I want to be. Just the journey has been awesome. And I'm stoked to continue the journey.

GW: So you originally kind of debuted in 2014. Right? When did you decide this is what I want to do? Have you loved music forever? Or kind of how did it come about that you were like, I kind of want to be a rockstar?

JS: I always wanted to do music. And there was a time where I did want to be like an actor. And I just did like community theater in middle school. But I think once I got to high school, I think I was in eighth grade - and I was like, I want to be a musician. I want to do this. And then literally just told people, they would ask, “what's your five year plan?” I would say to win a Grammy. I mean, obviously, I'm not that person anymore. I don't want to, I mean I can't say I'm a lot more humble without sounding not humble. But I have been humbled many times by a lot of different situations. And now I'm just grateful to be where I'm at now. But it's so cool. It's just really neat to have songs on the radio and be able to travel. And I'm even talking to you and talking to press people, like every day for the last couple of weeks has been so cool. I love every minute of it. And I'm just thankful.

GW: Yeah, and your story is really amazing. And I can definitely see you've got a long way to go just as far as how big you dream. I guess one of my questions would be if you could give a piece of advice to someone who you know was in your shoes and they want to work in a creative space like this, what's a piece of advice that you would want to give them?

JS: Keep going, just keep doing it is like the easiest way. I mean, as trite as that sounds, like that's, that's the thing to do. Just keep doing it, and do it a lot. And make sacrifices to get what you want. spend all your money driving to a show. If you think it's going to help you out. Just keep doing it. It's kinda like the best, easiest advice I can give.

GW: And with the new album out and everything, do you feel like the songs on there and kind of encompass who you are as an artist right now?

JS: Yeah, I think I think so. I think just that what I made on this record is what I needed to do right now. But I think it got a lot of things out of my system, as far as production ideas go, I use a lot of samples and stuff. But now as I'm writing, like the next stuff, I'm kind of gone back to, I want to write these guitar songs that are just that people can sing along too easily. So that's what I'm thinking. That's the direction I'm trying to head in again. I've already started working on what's next. Since I had so much time to finish up this, the next thing is already getting worked on, which is super exciting. I've already been back in the studio, recording the next thing, which has never been something I've had the time to do. So I got a little head start.

GW: As I was listening through, I really identified with headlights, just on a personal level. So I was hoping you could just tell me a little bit about what inspired that track specifically for you?

JS: That song was something I had started before, even way before ‘Where Do We Go From Here’ EP came out. I had worked on that song and just could never get it right. It was just this idea that I had, I had the chorus and I had some verses. But the main thing was I had this musical idea with all these pianos beeping and bopping and looping and all this stuff. I loved it and I just couldn't finish it. So my guitar player Jake LeMond, he co wrote that one with me to help me finish it and it wouldn’t have been done without him.

GW: What's next for you? What are you looking forward to as the world gets to listen to the sound that “Everything Will Be OK Eventually” has to offer?

JS: I'm hoping that this music will be the soundtrack that people use as we return to normal and as the world kind of heals and stuff. I'm hoping that people will listen to this music 5-10 years from now and go “Man this takes me right back to when we were starting to get things figured out and getting to where we don’t have to be more locked in our houses for a year.” And I think I mean, I don't think we're there yet. But I think by the end of this year, we'll be in a much different place. Like, post COVID, hopefully, and just socially, I think the world will be in a better place. And I'm really excited to see how that is, I'm just excited about it. But as far as other things go, I'm hoping that we get to tour by the end of the year.