Jared Costa’s sound, born of two divergent worlds. presents an honest look at a man caught between a desire to create and the need to make ends meet.
BY JACK FIRNENO | PHOTOS COURTESY OF JARED COSTA
It’s a funny thing about singers who adopt an everyman persona. By the time an artist like Bruce Springsteen or John Mellencamp puts out their first album, their few – if any – years of trudging through a forty-hour work- week are long behind them. Of course, if an artist is good, the exact creden- tials don’t really matter. But when the proverbial work bell and utility bills govern a songwriter’s day rather than studio time and tour busses, they’re singing with a different kind of soul.
On the fence between clock-puncher and troubadour sits Jared Costa. He’s releasing his second album this month; it’s mostly a solo effort featuring Costa on guitar, piano and harmonica – and the newly found passion in his voice. The occasional neo-folk flourish pushes him toward fellow Bucks County-native Langhorne Slim but with muscular strums and heartfelt, straight-ahead vocals. Ultimately, Costa can be described as a down-to-earth singer- songwriter.
“There’s solace in coming home to a guitar after a rough day. Being able to drown my sorrows in an instrument is great.” – Jared Costa
Aptly named This Dizzying Pace and the Aftermath, Costa’s new album reflects how he found his voice and settled back into life after releasing his 2009 debut. “Right after that album came out was a really exciting but turbulent time,” Costa recalls. “I’d be up all night playing shows, getting up early for work and then rushing home to practice for a festival performance that weekend.”
Once things calmed down, he says, Costa found everything he was looking for: “I think I truly developed my voice after that. Up until then, I was doing an impression of what I thought I should sing like. Now I can feel it coming from the depths of what I’m feeling. Every time I’m singing, I’m celebrating now instead.”
As he did after his debut, he’ll tour for a few weeks at a time this year, barn- storming college campuses, festivals and clubs along the East Coast and toward the Midwest. Radio play has been picking up in Washington and Oregon; his first cross-country trek may not be far off.
And, in between each jaunt, he’ll return to work. “I find labor wherever I can get it and work as many hours I can, so I can go back out on tour later. Then I get as many guaranteed paid shows as I can and eat a lot of peanut- butter sandwiches on the road,” he laughs.
Costa’s songs don’t overtly embrace this blue-collar persona, but his way of life shines through in the spirit of the songs. And in his overreaching approach to music. He’s neither a heartland rocker nor a dreamer hoping to break out of the drudgery. Rather, music and work complement each other. “I lumber through jobs to make ends meet, but there’s solace in coming home to a guitar after a rough day. Being able to drown my sorrows in an instrument is great,” Costa says. Work also keeps him from getting burned out on the road. “My longest tour was 30 cities in six weeks, and I’ve seen other musicians get cynical and jaded from doing that over and over again,” Costa continues. “But I get to go back home, see my friends and work some more. It’s not my whole life, so I appreciate getting to go out and play music every time I do it.”
And while the path the stardom can be a twisted and tormenting journey, Costa seems content in the niche he’s carved for himself. “Honestly, if I had a choice, I’d probably wish to follow a career that’s more conducive to a quicker payoff, but if anything’s a close second, it’s music. It’s just what I do,” Costa says. “When I’m done work, I play my guitar. Sometimes, I come home at the end of the day and think, ‘What do people do if they don’t play music? Do they watch TV or something?’ I really don’t know any different.”
Go online at jaredcosta.com
