(Photo by Tina Andrea)
I predict that Jax Hollow will be a household name by this time next year. She’s simply too talented of a vocalist, songwriter and guitarist to escape your attention for much longer.
The Nashville-based artist’s latest single “Wolf In Sheepskin” has it all: grabber lyrics, tasty guitar and powerful vocals. Plus her charisma jumps off the screen in the video for the song. Who else in tarnation could wear a wolf hat and look this cool?
This song alone should slingshot Jax to new levels of fame and acclaim in ’23. But to seal the deal, she has a new LP coming out in May.
The guitar at the beginning of “Wolf In Sheepskin” feels a little like Jimi Hendrix on “Little Wing.” Are you a Hendrix fan, and what other guitarists do you admire?
I sure am. I love those classic guitar intro songs! Especially “Little Wing” – it’s so expressive and comforting. A few guitarists I admire are the classic-rock gods, like Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Van Halen, all the way to new guitar gods like Derek Trucks.
Where did you find the wolf headgear that you wear in the video for “Wolf In Sheepskin”? It’s a classic.
It’s all Jae Sim’s idea! We were fooling around recording vocals in the studio and he said, “Wouldn’t it be funny if you just wandered around in a wolf hat.” So I found a few on Poshmark. There’s a surprising variety of wolf hats you can get there. It’s used, but in great condition!
The choruses in your songs don’t just elevate…they explode! I’d love to hear Melissa Etheridge and Mick Jagger duet on your 2021 song “Drift Together.” If you could pick any artists from any era to cover your songs, who would they be?
Thanks for saying that! My brain would explode and leave the stratosphere if anything like that ever happened. I mean right there, that’s an amazing combo! But Chris Stapleton, too – he’d crush it.
What brand of hollow-body guitar did you play in the video for “Drift Together”? How many guitars do you own?
That’s my amazing 1960s Vox guitar. But I had to sell it back in the fall. Very sad 🙁 She’s livin’ it up with another Nashville guitarist at the moment. I own 4 guitars: my Strat, a Frankentele, the Emerald Lady, and my Cole Clark acoustic guitar. (Two of which were given to me by Michael Wagener!)
Will there be any musical surprises on your LP in May? Like you playing a sitar or doing a folk song? Or will it continue to be high-energy kickass music?
There will be many musical surprises on this record. I hope it doesn’t turn people off, but it’s just the way the songs go sometimes. You just don’t have control with how they present themselves, you know?
There’s a New Orleans-style jazz-like sexy/spooky song called “Ventriloquist.” There’s a Zeppelin-like let’s-make-love-in-the-forest high energy song with a ripping solo called “Ethereal Emerald.” And “Wallflower Girl In Bloom” might actually be a country song, but DON’T TELL ANYONE!