#jadhammoud

JAD. Jad Hammoud (JH) is an Ottawa singer-songwriter who has gained experience playing many stages in Ottawa and surrounding regions, both solo and as the frontman of the defunct band, Tall Trees. We chatted about the importance of honesty in song-writing, his many influences, and his love for other local artists. Read on, and then check him out at an upcoming April gig opening up for John Wozniak (of Marcy Playground) at Pressed! 

VITALS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jadhammoudmusic

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jadhammoud 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jad_Hammoud

Latest release: Monster (Single, January 2017)

Upcoming shows: April 22, 2017 - John Wozniak, Jad. 7:30PM. $20/$25 doors. Pressed Cafe, Ottawa ON.

SA: How did you get your start in music? JH: In a van in 1999.  I was either three of four, and The Backstreet Boys had just released "I Want it That Way". My mother was driving around the city with my twin sister and I in the back seat and the song came on the radio, so I started singing along. Apparently, as far as children go, I was fairly decent. Just to make sure she wasn't giving me too much credit, being my mom and all, she phoned a friend of hers to listen in and give his opinion (it wasn't illegal to use the phone while driving yet). He agreed with her, and it just went from there. It was unusual for me to not sing. I was always practicing, in a sense, and everyone in my life had come to know me as a singer or musician. I've always known that music is what I wanted to pursue, so when the time came, I ended up in the music program at Canterbury High School, where I specialized in vocal performance. University's been somewhat convoluted, but basically I've continued studying music there. Music has always been a significant and essential part of my identity. So I guess I owe it all to the Backstreet Boys?

SA: What bands would you cite as biggest influences on your sound? JH: The Backstreet Boys. 

No no, I jest. I like to listen to a lot of diverse music, so I'm usually very influenced by whatever I'm listening to at the time. 

One of my favourite artists of all time is Elliott Smith. I could honestly do an entire interview on why his music means so much to me and why I see him as one of the best songwriters of our time. Musically and lyrically he is so sophisticated but also knows how to maintain that sophistication in the simplest of songs. There is something about his music that transcends the surface of the human condition and undeniably evokes a very profound wave of emotions and in a way forces us to feel, process, and accept them. I will always be most connected to him and his music until the day I die.

Mother Mother has also always had a big influence on me, since I first heard "O My Heart" back in 2008. Ryan Guldemond is one of the most incredible songwriters of our time since Elliott Smith. Quote me on that. I guess you literally are. I've been lucky enough to meet the band several times over the years and I'm determined to open for them one day and get mentored by Ryan. It's going to happen. Another GREAT band is Vancouver's JPNSGRLS. I opened for them a couple of years ago, and have kept in touch with them. Their frontman, Charlie Kerr is an incredibly creative and clever lyricist, and he's been a sporadic mentor to me. He's releasing a solo album on April 21st under the moniker Matt and Sam's Brother (do yourself a favour and check him out).

I have to also mention Frank Ocean. He is a visionary. He is another true artist. Channel Orange and Blond(e) are masterpieces. Okay, before I get too invested, some other artists I adore (in no particular order) are Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent (Annie Clark could curb stomp me and I'd be grateful), Grimes, Father John Misty, Leonard Cohen, Broken Bells, The Black Keys, Alex Turner, Wilco, Mac DeMarco, The Cure, David Bowie, The Strokes, Simon and Garfunkel, Arcade Fire, Anderson .Paak, The Smiths, Nirvana, Nick Drake, Bon Iver, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Gabriel Fauré and the list just goes on and on and on. I will undoubtedly have more come to mind within seconds of completing this.

Oh, and Freddie Mercury. That man was a gift to this world. Never forget. I just love music.

SA: Thus far in your career, what has been your biggest success? JH: I don't think you can ever prepare for the feeling that comes with seeing a crowd lined up down the street waiting to see you play. This was in the summer of 2013 when Tall Trees was still around and we hosted an album release. We had just graduated high school, and we rented out an entire hall in a church for the show. I remember designing and printing a small run of t-shirts and stickers, getting in touch with media and doing interviews, as well as renting light and sound equipment -- basically tons of effort went into organizing and preparing for it. I should give a special shout out to my friend Ben Compton -- he designed the poster for the show and the album artwork. He is an incredible, unique artist and I highly suggest you familiarize yourself with his work when you have the chance. Anyways, the turnout was overwhelming. I think something like 250 people came out and packed the room. I've never felt something that special. 

We played Folkfest (now known as City Folk) right after that, and tons of people came out to that as well. It was so beautiful.

As far as a solo act goes, it would probably be the time I played a bar in Kingston packed to the brim with students singing along to my songs. But honestly, things are just beginning and the best is yet to come.

SA: On the other hand, what is the biggest challenge you have faced, and how have you dealt with it? JH: By far, being alone. After Tall Trees had come to a discreet end, I felt lost for a long time. Coupled with being painfully unhappy in university, I became very depressed. I felt that I could no longer write. I stopped listening to music, I stopped playing music, I stopped going to shows, I just lost my entire sense of self. This lasted for about three and a half years, and even now I'm still getting back to being at 100% again. So I guess it's something I'm still dealing with, and to be honest will likely always be dealing with. I feel like artists are never satisfied with their work, because in the process of creating it, they improved. I'll always be working on myself, and I try to find solace in knowing that it's part of my personal and artistic growth.

SA: How do you approach the song-writing process? JH: I wish I knew the answer to this... I don't have songwriting figured out, so songs are sort of born via differing methods and out of a need to write . More often than not a song will come to me as one or several fragmented ideas that I will develop and eventually synthesize into some sort of finished thought. Sometimes the music comes first, and other times lyrics will come first. Occasionally, I'll be blessed by Apollo (haha) and everything will come to me all at once, resulting in a song that writes itself. In the case of the song I'm currently working on, I had the music more or less figured out and let it sit and occupy my mind for a couple of weeks, slowly adding ideas here and there. Only now, after some recent experiences have I managed to put words to it, and even then I'm not 100% satisfied with them, so I'll be editing and rewriting both the lyrics and the melody until it's something I'm happy with. 

Honestly, it never happens quite the same way each time... I'm very contemplative and introspective in a sense when it comes to writing. I like to search within and feel things out so that I'm not only effective in the communication of it all, but more importantly I'm affective, vulnerable, and honest. That's more important to me than anything. At the end of the day, it comes down to sitting down and just writing and working out your feelings. You can never get better at something you don't do.

SA: What are your thoughts on the Ottawa music scene? JH: Short answer: it's complicated. Slightly longer answer: it's really complicated. Long answer: This city has a lot of incredibly talented, skilled, and hard working artists. It lacks the means to nurture these artists and encourage their growth and development. At the same time, there are a lot of great resources for artists in the city, such as OMIC, Megaphono, City of Ottawa grants, OAC grants, and independent venues that support local music. The city is doing a lot and things are happening so Ottawa is well on its way. I have faith in that. I think the rest needs to happen on an individual level. Artists need to develop a genuine sense of community with each other. I'm only one opinion, and it depends on who you talk to/who you surround yourself with, but there is also an unspoken, overarching sense of competition, and it's kind of hostile. Hearing "I support you!" or "I want you to succeed." seems to come with a small asterisk attached to it that says "...as long as you're not more successful than I am". I think that for the community to truly thrive, artists need to genuinely support each other and work together to build something that everyone benefits from. Again, it depends on who you talk to. Don't get me wrong, I love this city and there are people who will absolutely disagree with me, but this is just my opinion based on my experiences and I feel I have to be honest about that. Nowhere is perfect, but Ottawa is working on itself to get better, and things can only go up from here. 

SA: In your opinion: What is the best song you have written? JH:  Oh god...I pretty much hate every song I've written. Not really, but I sort of go through this cycle where I'll write a song, think it's good, then feel it's pretty mediocre until enough time has passed and I come to realize it's actually good. There are a few songs that are very close to my heart...from the Tall Trees days, I'll always have a soft spot for "Girl On My Mind", "Cheers to You, My Stone Cold Queen", and "Marionette". As for the newer solo stuff, I'm really fond of "Knuckle Sandwich". It's a little dark but I think it's one of the most honest songs I've written in a long time. It came to me all at once and I wrote the entire thing in an hour or two.

SA: How has your song-writing changed, or evolved, between your experience in past projects, such as Tall Trees, and your solo work? JH: I was around 16 or 17 when I started Tall Trees, so I think that while I felt mature in my writing, I was still approaching things from a somewhat naive place. I've always been a very emotional, sometimes verklempt person, and so if anything my connection to that contributed a sense of maturity to those songs. Since Tall Trees, I feel I've undergone a lot of personal and artistic growth, especially after having been unable to write for the past several years. I am very aware that I am still metamorphosing today and I've come to embrace that, and in fact it excites me. 

I would say that the biggest difference in the way I approach writing now would have to be in the way I view songs and the process. When I was younger, I always wanted to be cool, and I wanted my songs to be cool. I approached them honestly, but I was also preoccupied with wanting them to be cool and the verse-chorus structure was almost too present. I thought that songs had to be that way. Now, I think of songs as thoughts that we need to communicate, or things we need to disclose out of a profound visceral need. They are the things we have to say because withholding them would be too stressful on the soul. Some are observational, others emotional, some just to make a point. Following a strict structural guideline is not nearly as important to me as it used to be. I let the songs come and be what they will be, rather than trying to make them fit some preconceived notion of what constitutes a "good song". Art is art -- it is fluid, subjective, and will be what it will be. Good art is art that's made honestly and from the heart.

The last thing I'll say is that I'm no longer afraid to be completely honest in my writing. I used to hold back a bit because I thought people may find certain notions off-putting, but now all I want to do is be completely open and use that to connect with people in a way that transcends the surface. Growing up, I was always told I was too sensitive for a guy (social constructs are the worst) and I always wore my heart on my sleeve. I have felt unwanted, unlovable, and so very small. I have a lot of feelings, and an incredible amount of love for people -- I want them to feel loved. I want to do away with the notion that having feelings and being honest about them is a bad thing. 

I just want to connect with people, and hopefully affect them in a way that they'll hold on to until the end of their days.

SA: A question for fun: If you had to pick your favourite local band in Ottawa, who would you choose and why?  JH: So far, my answers have been long-winded, so I'll keep this one short and sweet. I like a lot of local bands, but recently I've been really into this local artist Trails. She's very young, but her music is so mature, honest, and unapologetic. I wish that I had been able to write that way when I was 17. A lot of love and respect for her.