Thinking of a way to give the music from Peoria musician Jared Bartman the credit it is due has been no easy task. In fact, two records from Bartman, I Refute Technology and Jersey Shore, have been at our
disposal for well over a month now, getting repeated plays on iPods and hummed during bus rides- but had still gone unspoken about. Reason being? Bartman is a musical wild card that we just didn’t know how to play.
Undoubtedly one of the most unique and diverse sounds we’ve heard on a local level, between these two albums alone, Jared has established himself as a musician almost beyond our reviewing capabilities.
From the art house experiment that seems to be I Refute Technology, we get four tracks that go everywhere from singing a swingy, pretty tune in French, to a chaotic choir of distortion. Of Montreal comes to mind, particularly in opening track, “I Refute Technology (Hypocrite Version)”.
From the opposite end of the spectrum comes Bartman’s conceptual full-length, Jersey Shore, which takes on a cabaret style, with little dashes of other genres tossed in for good measure. The darkly dramatic “I Shall Not Care” is carried by a dry, melancholy voice and minimal back up, while “Honeybee Polka” is a fast paced fusion of accordion and middle-eastern melody.
Taking us by surprise once again is “Guillotine King”, in which Bartman pulls of vocals not too far off from the likes of Jason Mraz or Brendan Benson, delivering a song we can see easily taking a spot on pop charts. Guitar, tinkling piano, and muted horns are the base for this catchy tune, its lyrics contrasting its pop qualities with lines like, “Guillotine king/The morning mob will lead me to that scaffolding/Chin up, darling/My head and neck were meant for parting” 
In fact, all of Bartman’s lyrics break the mold of songwriting one might expect from a young musician, proving to be intelligent, biting, and extremely articulate. So many elements of Jersey Shore’s composition seem to be the product of someone far beyond Bartman’s 21 years, and we can only imagine what extra time to grow as a musician will do.
Recently joining ranks with a few others to form the record label, Evening’s Empire, Bartman has plans to put out his first release through the label in 2011. Until then fans new and old can look forward to catching Jared live, particularly this month as he makes his first East Coast tour along with good friends and fellow musicians, Goodnight & Good Morning.
Bartman was kind enough to share some stories about his songwriting with us via email while he finished up his semester at Bradley University and prepared for the upcoming tour.
Reviewsic: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands/musicians, past or present, who would they be and why?
Jared Bartman: Bela Bartok, John Vanderslice, and St. Vincent.
Reviewsic: What are your top three musical influences?
Jared Bartman: My top three musical influences are probably the Beatles, John Vanderslice, and John Darnielle from the Mountain Goats.
Reviewsic: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?
Jared Bartmen: Cello. I really like the cello. I was renting one for a couple of months and teaching myself out of a book, but I had to give that up because I’m a poor college student. I’m really looking forward to immersing myself into that when circumstances allow.
Reviewsic: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?
Jared Bartmen: John Vanderslice’s “Romanian Names”, Nico Muhly’s “Mothertongue”, and Dirty Projectors’ “The Getty Address”
Reviewsic: If you could work with one person in the music industry (musician, label, producer etc), who would it be and why?
Jared Bartman: I think it would have to be Scott Solter. He was such an intrinsic part of some of my favorite records ever made, and I’m just a big fan of his production style and original music.
Reviewsic: Who was the first band/musician you saw live?
Jared Bartman: Weird Al Yankovic. I was in sixth grade, and thought I was pretty rad at the time for seeing that show.
Reviewsic: Who are three of your favorite local bands?
Jared Bartman: Dastardly, Good Night & Good Morning, and Teenage Rage. These are band I have played with and love.
Reviewsic: How did you get your start in music? Any past projects you’ve been a part of?
Jared Bartman: I started guitar, piano, and singing at a young age, and continued with guitar and singing up through the present. Piano became very important for me at the tail end of high school, and I’m currently a piano concentration for my music major. I started playing accordion during my freshman year of college. Songwriting has been a focus of mine since around the 8th grade, and I’ve always wanted to make records and perform. I’ve been playing in bands since junior high, and eventually struck out on my own in college.
Reviewsic: Tell us about your most recent album, Jersey Shore- is there a particular creative direction behind it? What was the process of making the album like?
Jared Bartman: Jersey Shore is very much a conceptual album, in that I purposefully wrote the songs within a very specific narrative framework. It ended up being sort of a melding of fiction and autobiography where the line between truth and fiction is hopefully very blurred for the listener. Making the record was a hallmark of my young life, though it was also a very trying process. Recording while I
was working and in school was very difficult, and we recorded the album over the course of five months at Pogo Studio in Champaign, Illinois with Mark Rubel. Working with produer Mark Rubel again was a dream come true, and I have many fond memories of the creative energy that Mark brought to the project. I collaborated on the musical arrangements for the songs with percussionist Aaron Kavelman and multi-instrumentalist composer Erik Juhl. This collaboration proved tumultuous at times, but was overall a very fruitful and rewarding experience.
Reviewsic: How would you compare yourself as a musician now, as opposed to when you first began playing?
Jared Bartman: My musical and lyrical vocabulary was much more limited then. There’s still an unfathomable amount of room for improvement, obviously, but I’m happy with how my progression from album to album is shaping up.
Reviewsic: What are some of your favorite venues and/or cities to play?
Jared Bartman: The city I play most in now is Chicago, and my favorite show I’ve played in that city was at the Empty Bottle opening for Richard Buckner. My other favorite city to play (since I haven’t been that far out of the Midwest yet) is Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
Reviewsic: What are the best and worst music moments so far in your career? How about your most memorable show to date?
Jared Bartmen: My best musical moment may have been performing my album “Jersey Shore” on September 25, 2009 with a chamber orchestra of friends in front of my biggest crowd to date at Dingeldine Concert Hall in Peoria, Illinois. My worst musical moment was probably my sophmore year of college when I ate shit all over the first movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Opus 2, No. 1 at my end-of-
semester piano recital. I knew that sonata like the back of my hand, but for some reason could not at the time get over the fright of performing the piece of this venerated classical master. My most memorable show to date was opening for John Vanderslice at the Canopy Club in Urbana, Illinois in April of 2008. JV is an all-time musical role model to me, and it was such an honor to share the stage with him.
Reviewsic: If you were to record an album of strictly covers, what are a few songs you would include?
Jared Bartman: Hmm. Probably a version of Blind Willie Johnson’s “Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dyin’ Bed”, John Vanderslice’s “Trance Manual”, the Catholic hymn “Dona Nobis Pacem”, and Bob Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather”. For a few years now I’ve wanted to record a performance of Bela Bartok’s “Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm”, but I just couldn’t do those pieces justice, not that I think I can those other songs justice either…
Reviewsic: What are three words you’d use to describe your music to someone who’s never heard it?
Jared Bartman: 21st. Century. Music.
Reviewsic: What are your plans for your music in the next year? Any specific goals you’d like to achieve?
Jared Bartman: I’m planning to go on tour in May to the east coast with my good friends Good Night & Good Morning. In September, hopefully I’ll be playing at the Pygmalion Fest in Champaign-Urbana and undergoing a larger Midwest tour. I’m pushing to release another record in March of 2011, followed by another tour which would hopefully take me to other places in the US I haven’t toured!
Tags: Album Review, Interview, Local Music
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