Exposed Vocals Interviews singer-songwriter Jackie Paladino

Born in New York and raised in central New Jersey, Jackie Paladino is a singer-songwriter whose voice has been compared to the likes of Corinne Bailey Rae, Billie Holiday, and Adele. She was introduced to the piano at the age of six, and developed her understanding of storytelling and performance through off-Broadway theatre, dance competitions, and musical vocational school. It wasn’t until Jackie returned to her birth state to attend the music theatre program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts that she discovered her true calling. “When everyone else was memorizing lines to songs and stories, I was writing my own stories through song, belting out the tunes of Ella Fitzgerald, Duffy, and Alicia Keys along the way.” Always an avid reader of poetry, she found herself delving deeply into the works of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, entranced by the precision and mystery of their word choice. As an artist, Jackie Paladino seeks to combine this sense of lyric perfectionism and her urgency to “mold the ugly into something beautiful” along with the power and soul of her favorite songstresses.

So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

I was born in Staten Island and grew up in the suburbs of central Jersey.  I wish my parents had never left New York because I have fallen in love with every borough here.  I was born an artist.  The courage to take the first step to become a musical artist stemmed from watching my talent crush in high school, Donna Missal (known for her killer cover of Hotline Bling), pursue a career in the music industry.  My love of songwriting stemmed from my desperate urgency to overcome an eating disorder and dark depression.  Writing songs was what truly allowed me to heal and made me want to inspire other people to overcome their own demons too.

How did you come up with going solo under your name instead of a moniker? What was your inspiration behind it?

There wasn’t much inspiration behind using my birth name as my moniker.  I went through a phase of trying to come up with stage names…I love the name “Maya” and almost changed my name to “Maya L’amour” or “The Illusion of Love.”  But whenever I would change my name people would reach out to me and tell me that my name suits me and to be proud of my heritage and who I am.  So Jackie Paladino it is.

What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

I think online music sharing is great!  I love that there are so many platforms available to share music today that allow us to reach a wide audience with the touch of a button.  I think my biggest fan right now lives in Mexico, and that wouldn’t have been possible for an independent artist before the Digital Age.  I give away free downloads for a limited period of time because I feel like if there are people who care enough about my music and its message to stay on top of its release date, I need to show my gratitude.

Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Just get out there and start doing it.  Write songs, play shows, collaborate.  Read books, be nice to people, and don’t burn bridges.  Choose people who believe in you instead of people with an impressive resume as your teammates, but most importantly, don’t rely on anyone else to do the work for you.  Have a strong, unwavering belief as to why you do what you do (do not make that reason fame) and pursue it as relentlessly as someone you love.

Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Yep, I make mistakes!  I actually have a song called “We All Make Mistakes” that would suit this question.  I made a mistake a couple of weeks ago with an acoustic performance of my song “Daddy’s Money.”  I just got so emotionally choked up that my fingers forgot what to play next.  I think the audience appreciated my honesty and vulnerability during that moment and they supported me to keep plugging along.  Life is full of contradictions: sometimes our vulnerabilities reveal our greatest strengths.

Does anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

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Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

We write what we know!  Almost all of my songs are autobiographical.  Romance is a strong source of inspiration as it is with most writers, so naturally I find myself writing about various types of love, however unrequited, unhealthy, lustful, or hopeless it might be.  I don’t want to be one of those singer-songwriters that only write about romance, though.  My song “Who’s Gonna Love Me” is about how we all have to love ourselves before we can love anything or anyone else in our life and my song “We All Make Mistakes” is both an apology for wrongdoing and a cry for compassion and forgiveness.  Mostly, I like to use songwriting as a portal to say what I need to say when the door is closed and I have no other way of communicating with them.  We can’t always win in real life, but we can win in our songs.  I’m not sure if I have a usual process.  A lot of times I’ll just be walking down the street and a melody will hit me and that generally becomes the chorus of the song.  Then I’ll go back and write other parts of the song…then cut some out, then add some back in. It’s very much like a sculptor chiseling away at marble.  You keep what you want and kill what you don’t.

What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

I don’t actually own an mp3 player – no embarrassing songs here J

If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

I don’t even know what I’d do.  Shit, that’s an unfathomable amount of money to me.  I’ve always worked.  My parents have always worked.  I think I’d have to start with paying off my copious student loan debt, buying some fancy gifts for my family for putting up with my bullshit, maybe asking my brother (a financier) advice for investment opportunities, then hitting the road for a vacation.  A trip to India would be nice.  I’ve had a lot of Indian boyfriends and have been aching for an Alanis Morrisette-inspired “spiritual awakening” trip.  I’d like to donate to charities that support cancer research , AIDS, and depression awareness.  Maybe “To Write Love on Her Arms.”  Maybe I’d start my own record label or non-profit.  Publish a book.  I definitely wouldn’t spend too much time traveling though.  I have too many goals.  My work is my life.

What are you working on musically, right now?

I am currently working on finishing my “Broken Soldier”, debut studio EP.

How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Guerilla marketing.  Anything goes.  Consistency and a human connection are key.

If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

Amy Winehouse in London.  Anywhere in London.  It doesn’t have to be on a stage, it could be on a sidewalk in the rain.  God that would be a dream.  I’ve adored her since I was little and her documentary broke my heart.  She was such a passionate, fiery individual who represented so many contradictions and at the very core of it, just wanted to be loved.  Her story is a tragic one and in some ways, I see a lot of myself in her.

So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

In addition to Broken Soldier, I am in the process of recreating an EP that I was working on with my now ex-boyfriend.  He showed me so much light and brought out a different side of me which is reflected in the EP.  It’s frustrating to me in this digital age how easy it has become to erase someone from your life entirely.  You can defriend someone off of Facebook and untag them in all of your photos and pretend they were never your world.  I just don’t think it used to be that easy.  What I love about music is that it’s so much more permanent than anything else in the world.  In the heat of our breakup I had to fight for our songs, and I told him that he doesn’t have the right to decide how the death of our time together would be preserved.  If breakups are a death, then music is the preservation, the eternal ash of the magic you once shared.  If only there would be a resurrection, you know?

If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Acting.  Or writing.  But probably acting.  I used to do a lot of acting when I was younger and had the opportunity to perform as Wendla in Spring’s Awakening off-broadway when I was 17.  It’s always been a joy of mine.  It’s all storytelling.  It’s all healing.  It’s all art.

Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

Britney Spear’s first album with her hit single “Baby One More Time.”  I remember running around my house, jumping on couches, singing into hairbrushes and sometimes microphones, screlting before I knew what screlting was.  I think I bought my first cropped t-shirt the next day.

How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Oh it’s definitely a juggle.  Some things take precedence over others at times, and vice versa.  It’s not easy.  I’ve had to sacrifice a lot in terms of spending time with family and friends.  There are only so many hours in the day and only so much energy to expel.  I’ve learned to surround myself with artistic, productive, positive people and that helps a lot.  It’s inspiring to work with and be surrounded by fellow creative hustlers who devote their life to their art.

What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?

My name in lights at MSG.  World peace.  Pokemon Go-Go-Gatchet.

Kidding.  But probably two EP’s and at least one more music video, if not more.  Hopefully will be launching a crowdfunding campaign to launch my own record label and nonprofit as well.  Dreaming big.  I can’t do it alone though.  I need your help!  J