Meet Jon Worthy | Artist/producer/songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon Worthy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
I contemplate giving up pretty much everyday to be honest. Tryin to pursue music as an artist, producer, songwriter, or whatever it is you do, is so difficult and draining. And with social media you are constantly being reminded of what other people are accomplishing who may be your peers. And while you want everyone to succeed, in my opinion it’s very unhealthy to see what everyone is doing all the time. To constantly compare yourself against people and have feelings of jealousy, inadequacy, fear of failure is exhausting. So it’s a tough era to stay mentally sound. But the alternative to giving up is nothing. If you give up you will not truly succeed because if you give up then what you want most deeply has no chance of happening. Some people are ok with compromising. Maybe you find some other way of living that satisifies you and you come to peace with that lifestyle and that is great. But if you truly want something in your life, then there is no option of giving up.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think what sets me apart from other people is I have developed in to a jack of all trades. Moving to Nashville I didn’t comprehend that music was anything other than a band gets together, plays shows, goes in to a studio and records, and releases the music to be played on the radio. That’s literally what I thought it was. I had no concept of producing, mixing, mastering, marketing, distribution, social media, etc. And after spending 10 years in Nashville, I feel like I have earned a honorary PHD in music. Now I produce/mix/master for my own music as well as for other people. I understand that it takes an exhausting amount of time planning worthwhile social media content and marketing ideas. There is so much that goes in to trying to break through all the noise and it is different for each individual person. I got to this point by just observing, learning, practicing, and putting all the skills I gathered in to use.

It has not been easy. I have spent a lot of money along the way, been fired from various gigs, had bad shows, broken down on the side of the road in a 20 year old van several times, been towed 125 miles, been told I suck on social media, and I consider quitting every single day. The only advice I can give is to keep going and never give up. Everyone fails in some capacity. That’s how we learn. The key is to learn from the failure and do your best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

I have learned that no matter how good you think you are or how good you really are, a lot of success is based on who you know and the relationships you build. Building relationships is something I have always struggled with. I deal with people very transactionally and unfortunately I have been unable to build a solid community which is key to success in music. Most successful artists, producers, engineers, songwriters all have people that champion for them and introduce them to people. That is how new relationships and serious business ventures start within the music industry. I have never really had that so I am often fending for myself. So I suggest you do your best to build yourself a community of friends and people that have mutual opportunity to benefit from the relationship.

I want people to know that my music comes from the heart. It is pretty much always music that starts from a place of some emotion or experience. I want them to know that I don’t think I was born with amazing musical talent, but honed and learned my skills over time with practice and repetition. I want people to know that I am just being honest when I say I think about giving up everyday and that just like pursuing any other dream, it’s a lot of ups and downs.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take them to Hattie B’s for hot chicken, 5 Points pizza for pizza. Then we’d go to Rosemary for some drinks. If there was a Nashville SC game that weekend, we would go to the game. I’d take them to La Tereza for margaritas and a nice Mexican meal.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shoutout Kiki Halliday. When we met I was in full artist mode, touring and playing over 100 shows in 2019. I had a big year of shows booked in 2020 with over 70 booked in February. And then of course everything shut down, my shows were cancelled, and I lost a lot of my identity. Kiki had been recording her own vocals for quite some time in her own home studio. She recommended that I get a little home studio set up which I eventually did during the heart of the pandemic. Learning the recording process and having that outlet at a time when all I knew as a musician was taken away from me was a huge savior. I was able to take all that creative energy and turn it in to creating and producing songs. And now post pandemic, in a time where shows are harder to book and make money off of, my main source of income as a musician is from producing songs for money. We also started writing music together during the pandemic and eventually started a band called KJ Wild. Together we have played shows in Portugal, Israel, Spain, Germany, Canada, and many US cities.

Website: www.jonworthythebends.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/jonworthymusic

Twitter: www.twitter.com/jonworthymusic

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jonworthymusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrWIXmLqL6eAFQ7f0M-u5qQ

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jonworthymusic?_t=8hL13HadKqR&_r=1

Image Credits
Photos by Brent Mcquillin and Adam Settle