Q: I love the soundscapes in “Catch 22.” What inspired you to write the song?
Jordan (Jaye Madison): Thank you so much! This song was written at 2am in the first apartment we leased in Nashville after graduating college. We were closer to our dream than we had ever been but it still felt so far away. It was our first taste of real adulthood. We had no safety net. It was just us, and our love of music. Being 22 is such an exciting and overwhelming experience that you can’t have happen twice. You get one shot at it. It was inspired by the feeling of running out of time while also only being at the beginning of a long journey.
Madison (Jaye Madison): Yeah, were we crazy to have big dreams? Should we give up before even trying? Should we keep our head down and just pay our bills? What was the point of any of it? We had jumped into the deep end and our life vests had deflated. It was a time of questioning and self-discovery. Now looking back on it, we are both glad we didn’t give up back then. We would have missed out on so much, and look forward to what is to come.
Q: Walk us through your writing and production process in making “Catch 22”.
Madison (Jaye Madison): The words flew out of Jordan’s pen as if it just wrote itself. The lyrics were written in about 30 minutes. That’s what happens when you live a song before you express it. It’s a magical moment. She had the idea of the chorus melody and brought it to me and I sat down at the piano to make her magic happen. She is the queen of piecing together melodic ideas with the rhythm and chords. Then we started harmonizing together on it. The entire writing process probably took about a month of going back and forth to make sure it was saying exactly what we wanted it to say musically.
Jordan (Jaye Madison): Our producer, Mikal Blue — a Grammy winner — can you even believe it?! And, Dean Dinning of Toad the Wet Sprocket, worked with us closely on the project. It’s so amazing to have such talent and experience co-producing us. We are so grateful for them and love the relationship we’ve built with them. We just LOVE them so much! Dean always says the best songs tell you what they need if you just listen. That’s exactly what they did. They listened. Sounds simple, but it’s actually very difficult to find creative partners who listen and understand what is best for a song, with no ego involved. Working with them was such a rewarding experience. Mikal is known for really focusing on the vocals and that was the most important piece for us. We didn’t want to be lost in the mix. We wanted our harmonies to be in perfect blend and at the forefront. They both did an amazing job of creating the best instrumental backings and space in the track to let the vocals and lyrics shine.
Q: I love your vocal delivery! What first got you into music?
Madison (Jaye Madison): You are so kind! Thank you! We have always been drawn to music. From the time we were around 2 dancing around in the living room, banging on pots and pans, and humming Sesame Street songs, it’s always been something we gravitated to. By the time we turned 7, we were participating in community musical theater, and we just couldn’t get enough of it. We were part of musicals almost every summer until we graduated high school (Shoutout to Beaumont Community Players!). High School was when we figured out we wanted to take an unusual path. We had made Texas All State choir for classical singing in our Senior Year and we could have majored in classical music (Shoutout to Lumberton High School!!). We decided it wasn’t for us. We wanted to write our own music for radio and forge a path in Nashville. It was scary moving 12 hours away from home, but it ultimately changed our lives for the better.
Q: What has been one of the highlights of your music career so far?
Madison (Jaye Madison): Well, walking into Revolver Recordings in Los Angeles for the first time, for sure. We feel our lives changed for the better at that moment. Jordan and I were in town for two weeks to record our album. Surrounded by platinum records hanging on the wall and the most amazing creative energy you can imagine. We knew we were going to create something powerful. Having someone like Mikal Blue believe in your music is a surreal moment, let alone for a debut album.
Jordan (Jaye Madison): It was like living a literal dream every day. We want to keep working hard so that living in that creative energy is something we don’t ever have to step away from again. When you get a taste of your dream coming true, it makes up for the countless rejections and roadblocks you experience as an artist. There really is no option other than to keep going and watch this story unfold.
Q: What has been, so far, your favorite song to perform and why?
Madison (Jaye Madison): I think we’d agree that our original “Underestimate Me.” We get such an amazing audience reaction. It’s an underdog anthem and everyone at some point has once felt underestimated. It’s that song you imagine singing to a stadium full of people holding up flashlights and waving their arms. It’s such an empowering ballad, and everyone can relate to it. It’s like taking back every moment you ever felt small or unseen and reclaiming it as victory. We all need those moments.
Q: What would you like to say to your fans out there?
Jordan (Jaye Madison): Thanks for sticking with us so long. We plan to be writing music for you for a long, long time. We plan to build on each experience. Tell your friends about us!
Madison (Jaye Madison): For anyone new just now finding us, WELCOME to our twinspirational journey! We love you! Thank you!
Interviewed by Katrina Yang
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