Introducing Stephen Jerzak

Stephen Jerzak is a 17-year-old solo artist from Lacrosse, Wisconsin who has recorded his own music, made a professional video, and has toured all across the country without the assistance of a record label. Proving once again the sheer power and influence of social networks such as Myspace, Jerzak has gained an impressive following over the past year. Recently in the Los Angeles area to record a new album, we caught up with the Stephen to find out more about this remarkably talented young singer / songwriter…

At which point did you want to become a solo artist, and who were some of your early influences?
I became solo when I was 15 years old – after I had been in a couple bands; I just decided that I couldn’t really work with people that well – so I decided to take it on for myself. Influences – I used to listen to classic rock music and then got it all changed and then I listened to pop music and then I started writing pop music.

Who were some of the bands you use to listen to?
I use to listen to AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Three Days Grace, Godsmack – and just a whole bunch of rock and roll bands on the local radio station. And then I kind of transferred over to more poppy bands like All Time Low and all kinds of stuff.

So were you in any bands prior to the solo project?
Yeah, I was in two local bands. One was called Under Age, and we were just 12-13 year olds playing classic rock covers. And then I was in another band – Fail To Be Fair – with a couple of my friends – and that’s when I started writing my own music.

How have social network sites such as Myspace helped or hindered your career?
Myspace is the whole thing – for sure. It’s pretty cool to be one of the people to blow up on Myspace and to have the connection with everybody through the Internet – and to be able to reach out to people and put up music and have everybody go “Oh, I like it!” and buy it – it’s so crazy! I never thought that would happen just from being from Wisconsin. I’m not even close to any of the popular music areas.

In Wisconsin, what is your local music scene like there?
The local music scene in my hometown Lacrosse is pretty small. There’s not really much of a scene. The scene that is there is more of a metal and hardcore rock and roll kind of thing. Pop really doesn’t fit in that much. I didn’t really have much of a following in my hometown, just because there were so many other people who were into different kinds of music. That’s why I started my Myspace, and got in touch with other people that did like my music.

What were some of the highlights of the Bromance Tour, and was that your first all-out tour?
I headlined my first tour ever – which was awesome! We went out with Breathe Electric, Romance On A Rocketship, and Chase Coy. The highlight, I think, was when we went to Texas – and all the shows in Texas were sold out, which was awesome – it was so cool! It was so packed and so sweaty and so fun.

Were you nervous headlining your first tour? That must have been quite a responsibility.
It was definitely weird, because I had never toured before. I just kind of got the hang of it though, after the first couple of shows. A couple of shows we switched positions – in Wichita Falls for instance, Breathe Electric had a great following there, so we swapped and he headlined that day. It was kind of like Bromantic – we all got along and we all compromised when it came down to it.

What advice would you give a young band about to do what you did – go out on the road for the very first time?
The only advice I would have is don’t stop doing what you’re doing – if you’re on Myspace and you do talk to people and you get a lot of buzz – don’t jeopardize that – take advantage of it and work with it. And when you do go out, don’t forget anything on the road. Don’t forget equipment, because we did that a lot. We forgot a whole bunch of clothes and a whole bunch of equipment. So don’t forgot anything – make a checklist and make sure you’ve got everything.

How scary was it to do the part in the video Cute where you get hit by the car?
Oh dude, that was all green screen. It was pretty cool. We just went into the green screen and I just jumped around and acted like I got hit by a car. And then we added the effects in after. And it turned out really great – it looks like I actually did get hit.

You get thrown around all over the place in that video…
Oh yeah, the music video is totally fun. It’s definitely not your average music video since it’s like 7 minutes long and there’s a whole, really big story. It was more of a fun music video than a serious one.

How much input did you have on the making and writing of that video?
Oh, I did all of it. The producer Jay Ness, he had the idea of the party scene in the middle of it with Darth Vader and all that other stuff. All the other scenes were generally all my ideas, which was cool. I got to do what I wanted.

As far as you know, has Taylor Swift heard your cover of White Horse?
(Laughs) Man, I really don’t know. I hope so. If she does, she better talk to me. That would be cool. I don’t know – I wish I knew.

What did you think of the Kanye West incident with Taylor Swift at the VMA’s?
Oh man, I had the swine flu actually – and I was lying in bed watching it and that happened – and it broke my heart. I would freak out if that happened to me. I’d be like, “Dude, get off the stage bro!” I don’t even know. It was very surprising! I felt for her – like for real. Seeing her face and it was like, “What do I do now?” It was really sad. I got a little heart squeeze there.

But she got to say her speech in the end…
Yeah, for sure. Beyonce rules!

What song would you say is the most embarrassing song on your IPOD?
I have The Lion King theme song on my IPOD – and the intro one too.

Are you into Disney movies?
Oh yeah! Disney movies rule! They are like the coolest. I wish they still made them like that – all the old school ones like Snow White – all the cool cartoons. It’s all 3D now.

Tell me about some of the new songs you are recording.
This record is called Smile, Happy Looks Good On You. It’s coming in late October / early November. I did a lot of co-writes on this record, which was cool – I’ve never co-written before. I co-wrote a song with John O from The Maine – and John Fields who produced The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus. So that was cool sitting down and working with those big people – and just the connection of working with other artists – because I had never done that before. All the stuff is super different from my old stuff. It’s much more mature and more poppy and less “Cute” – I guess. It’s definitely going to be a “next level” record, and I’m really excited.

And who is producing it?
Ian Kirkpatrick – he’s right there. He’s great!

Since you are now 17, how supportive are your parents of your career so far?
Super supportive. At first, when all of this was happening – all I did was sit at home – I never went out with friends or anything. But as soon as the touring opportunity came, there was a lot of tension in the house. “Oh, you can’t go. You’re too young!” It took them a while to understand that I had to. But once they did, it was great! Even now, I’m flying everywhere and going everywhere – and they’re cool with it. My dad used to be a musician too. He was in a bunch of hair bands and played bass in the 80′s. He was a big reason why I started playing guitar – so it’s cool for him to understand what I’m doing – because he wanted to do it. It’s definitely a plus. And my Mom is just kind of like a mom – “I miss you. Come home.” But she’s still supportive and is totally into it.

Has Never Shout Never ever heard any of your covers of their songs?
Never Shout Never and I have a very interesting relationship. But yeah, he has. He’s heard all of my music and I’ve heard all of his. We’ve talked.

So how crazy has it been to be inundated by messages from girls who like you and your music? And is it possible to answer all that mail?
I do answer most of my mail. It does take a long time. I have like 800 unread messages right now or something in my mailbox. My process is kind of just starting with the top, and deleting all the ones that say, “Hey, what’s up” and “Hey, you’re cute.” I delete all those. Any ones that are over a couple of paragraphs I respond to, which is a lot. I get a lot of people that really write. I respond to all those – and respond to all the comments I get that are worthy of getting responded to. And that’s definitely a really big part in being so Internet popular – just keeping the communication between the fans.

Would you do a duet with Jeffree Star?
Yeah, for sure, I would. Jeffree Star is a totally different style of music and he has a totally different fan base. Hooking up with somebody to do a song in that different of a music world is very good, I think, for me just because it would be exposing me to his fans.

And I wouldn’t need to ask about you wanting to do a duet with Taylor Swift…
Oh, dude, no way – of course I would!

Is your friend Joel Tock still drumming for you?
Joel is not drumming for me anymore. We had a couple of problems on tour. We had to part ways, but he’s still my best friend. You gotta do what you gotta do. He recorded all of my beginning music – everything up until now he’s recorded – and I’m super grateful for that! I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without him. I’m still helping him out and he’s still helping me out.

I heard he played Darth Vader in the Cute video? That costume must have been pretty terrible to wear…
It was really bad. He was in the real Darth Vader costume from the actual movie. They had a costume at the costume shop – it was a replica – and it was really, really hot. I tried it on first. He was in it for like 7 hours or something.

He’s much taller than you. I saw a video of you two together and he was towering over you.
He’s 6’4″ and I’m like 5’9″. He’s a little bit taller…

How did you wind up on the Breathe Carolina tour?
The spot was open. My manager submitted me for it and they liked what they heard. Which is awesome, because again that’s like a totally different genre and fan base than what I have right now. It’s going to be fun going on tour with them and meeting all these other people.

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about Stephen Jerzak?
The biggest misconception people think of me is probably that I’m a Never Shout Never rip off – because I’m definitely not. People compare us a lot – and I can tell you right now that I’m totally opposite. I don’t know. We do sound similar and there’s a couple of songs which have more similarities – but we have more differences than similarities I think.

Have you ever thought about acting since you kind of acted in your video?
I haven’t really thought about acting. I had an offer from Nickelodeon to be in a TV show. I had never acted before, so I sent in a tape and totally made a fool out of myself. But acting – I haven’t really thought about it. I would do it.

Do you have any messages for your fans or people who are reading this who might want to check out your music?
If you’re reading this, then thank you for buying it because it’s a good magazine. And I love you guys.

(Interview and Photo by Kenneth Morton)

Stephen Jerzak on Myspace