What if you could silence every argument and make everyone listen? Welcome to an episode that showcases the musings of the uniquely talented musician, Jim Rezac, who longs for just such a superpower. Join us as Jim narrates his journey - from his humble beginnings in New York, his move to Delaware, to his passion for music for as long as he can remember.
Listen in as Jim shares his exciting music journey and his plans for his forthcoming music video. We also discuss the insightful interactions with his student, Nikita, and his creative strategy for promoting his music video on Facebook. Expect a deep dive into the digital world of music and the creative process behind it.
Finally, get ready for a thrilling revelation about Jim's involvement in the movie 'Meat Hook. We also discuss Jim's upcoming An American Song project, the recording process, and his potential for sparse instrumentation. This episode is a treat for music enthusiasts as it unveils the intricate workings behind creating music and the thrill of sharing it with the world. Join us and get inspired to create, innovate, and share your own music.
https://linktr.ee/deblamotta
What if you could silence every argument and make everyone listen? Welcome to an episode that showcases the musings of the uniquely talented musician, Jim Rezac, who longs for just such a superpower. Join us as Jim narrates his journey - from his humble beginnings in New York, his move to Delaware, to his passion for music for as long as he can remember.
Listen in as Jim shares his exciting music journey and his plans for his forthcoming music video. We also discuss the insightful interactions with his student, Nikita, and his creative strategy for promoting his music video on Facebook. Expect a deep dive into the digital world of music and the creative process behind it.
Finally, get ready for a thrilling revelation about Jim's involvement in the movie 'Meat Hook. We also discuss Jim's upcoming An American Song project, the recording process, and his potential for sparse instrumentation. This episode is a treat for music enthusiasts as it unveils the intricate workings behind creating music and the thrill of sharing it with the world. Join us and get inspired to create, innovate, and share your own music.
https://linktr.ee/deblamotta
Jim Rezak, thank you so much for being here. I appreciate you. So I like to ask two questions to get us warmed up, and the first one is if you could have a superpower, which one would you have?
Speaker 2:This is probably gonna sound corny or like them, but I mean this. I wish my superpower it's not to get too deep into this, but with everything going on you know our political world out there seems like everything is now I wish I had the superpower to including myself, to know that it's I don't know how to rephrase that the superpower would be to have the ability to make people just stop with the arguing and listen Actually, it's just including myself, because I need their reminders sometimes, so that I think we need it, and that's as good a superpower as you could hope for.
Speaker 1:That would be a great one, because you're right about that. All right, so what's your favorite app on your phone, and why?
Speaker 2:My guilty pleasure is TikTok. I love going on it and I did because I find this stuff that's funny on that, more so than some of the other apps. And I have a son who does a shameless plug here, does a TikTok, has a TikTok channel and it's very successful on it. But I love watching him and they just he doesn't even know I'm there half the time. He's doing lives and everything else.
Speaker 1:And what's his channel?
Speaker 2:Big Gaming64. He specializes in only video games that are in the horror genre.
Speaker 1:Really Well, that's different.
Speaker 2:I love just having a cup of coffee or, in the middle of the day, watching TikTok videos.
Speaker 1:to be honest, Well and honestly, I think we all need to sometimes just stop and have that moment that you can just like release whatever's in your head. Right yeah, de-compress.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Before you even get started sometimes. So you live in Delaware presently. Are you originally from Delaware?
Speaker 2:I was born in New York. My mom and dad were both from New York. My dad was in the Air Force, so by the time I was three I moved out, went to Virginia, okinawa, and but I've been here since I was eight. So for me I feel like I'm a Delawarean. God help you if you tell me otherwise. Yeah, so I feel like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a great state. I mean, I'm a transplant, but my parents have been here going on 19 years, so it's a second home to me. Yeah, there's so much to do here Live music.
Speaker 2:There you go, live music.
Speaker 1:So that brings me to my next question who is Jim the musician?
Speaker 2:I'm a songwriter and I'm a musician songwriter. That happened later. I've been playing guitar all my life, took lessons as a kid and I'm often asked why didn't you start writing music at an earlier? It was only 13 years ago I started writing music and I didn't have anything to say, I guess.
Speaker 1:But you got the bug and you've been writing all that time.
Speaker 2:Yes, I haven't yet. Haven't been cured yet.
Speaker 1:Well, that's good. We don't want to cure you, cure you. You have to keep writing. So before we get any further, where can people get in contact with you?
Speaker 2:They can find me all over. So you know I'm under Jim Rezac Music, I'm on YouTube, Facebook, but they can contact me. I have a website that is my first name at my first and last name, so it's Jim at JimRezaccom.
Speaker 1:All right. So you've always had music in your life, and at what age did you feel that you really were? You were going to keep that music in your life and do something with it.
Speaker 2:That is a great question because, you know, I think we have a tendency to look back and say, oh, I've always wanted to do this, but no, there was a time, like coming out of high school, I thought I wanted to go into art. I knew that music was going to be in my life in some capacity Probably probably in college, when I first started playing out in front of people. But I didn't know it was going to be my life even later. Kind of an interesting journey. But yeah, I knew I was always going to play guitar, but that's different. I didn't realize I was going to make my living and my passion music till about 15, 20 years ago.
Speaker 1:And do you always play guitar from the beginning?
Speaker 2:Yes, that's been my instrument. I've branched off. You know, of course anyone who plays guitar probably dabbles in bass and stuff and I've done that. But I play a little banjo ukulele. I know enough on keyboards to be dangerous. I wouldn't tell anyone I played piano, but I know how to make good for recording.
Speaker 1:There you go, that's right. And so do you have a mentor teacher? Or were you self-taught with your music, playing guitar?
Speaker 2:It's funny. I just got done saying that I didn't know music was going to be in my life, yet I took all kinds of music courses in college. To back up and answer your question, I had a teacher that taught out of the Mel Bay book and he taught three of us at the same time and you know he was my teacher. I wouldn't call him a mentor, but I was like in seventh grade, in seventh and eighth grade. Then I switched to a guy that I named CJ Gagnon and he taught here. He played in the bowling alley here, and I mean this with all due respect.
Speaker 2:But remember the old Laverne and Shirley, lenny and Squiggy. Yes, he looked like Squiggy, the little guy with the green hair. He looked exactly like him, but never. What I liked about this guy is he never wrote anything down Everything you had to rely on your memory or whatever, and it also made you go home and practice. You know I forgot it. So that guy made you know. Just, I remember buying my first electric guitar I bought for myself was a telecaster. Because of him he played one. That's all I needed to know about it. Well, he played one. I won't. So I guess you can call that a mentor.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and are you still in contact or did you stay?
Speaker 2:in contact.
Speaker 1:That was just.
Speaker 2:Not at all. I talked to someone who I talked to someone at least 20 years ago that mentioned him. Even at that time they weren't totally sure whether he was, you know, still with us. You know, I wish I had stayed in touch with him. That would have been cool.
Speaker 1:So you do write a lot of your songs. How did you get to that point where you felt that you had said before that you thought you didn't have anything to say. So did you get to a point where you felt you had something that you wanted to put on paper? That started that process?
Speaker 2:It was more of a. I remember the moment it happened. I, like every other guitarist or musician I'm making an assumption here but I always I dabbled in stuff, but it wasn't any good. I tried to write something and I didn't have the discipline to stick with it and get the craft in there. About 13 years ago I joined a band called Runaway Train. It was an Americana band.
Speaker 2:I thought I was going up to be in a rockabilly band. The guy told me on the phone. He goes hey, you know, we were planning to start a rockabilly band, mike Nlamin, the drummer. And he said hey, I got a band for us while you were on vacation, so we're going to meet with them Tuesday. And I say, great. And he goes oh yeah, bring your banjo. I knew we weren't playing rockabilly. It was an Americana band with a mandolin and a female singer and guitarist.
Speaker 2:And the first practice I found out that both the two lead singers each had three original songs in the setlist. And after two practices I went home and I dug up some of those bits and pieces that I'd rolled around. I had some of them for 15 years. I just didn't have the gumption, didn't have the drive, motivation to finish them. I went back and finished all three of them and all three of them ended up in our setlist and that was more just like I want to write. It wasn't necessarily that I had to say something of importance and yeah, it was fun, and then I haven't stopped since then.
Speaker 1:No, you haven't. What is the process like when you're writing? Do you just jot down notes or when you think of something, or do you actually sit down and really have a writing session?
Speaker 2:The first thing that happens is the inspiration, and this is where I've changed over the years, because I just kept waiting for inspiration to come up with the second verse and finish the song and do what. And that's how it works, and I'm not making this up. This sounds like one of those stories that rock stars say oh, I wrote this song when I woke up in the middle of the night. When you start writing a lot, I think or doing anything, maybe Sometimes even before your eyes open in the morning. Morning is my creative time. I had half an eyelid open and I had a tune enter. That's usually how it happens the melody is rolling around my head and then I try to find. It's not like.
Speaker 2:So, hopefully, to answer your question, I don't sit down and say you know what? I'm going to write a song about my mother or about my son, or about this or about that, or I'm going to write a song about war. I don't really do that. I wait for a melody hits me and then it brings out an emotion or thoughts or feelings and I go with that, even though I didn't think I was going to be writing about that subject, and that's kind of how I do it, then it becomes a writing session. I sit down and okay, let me get out the rhyming dictionary and all that.
Speaker 1:Because I know each person's process is different and I yeah early morning. Are you a morning person?
Speaker 2:Definitely yeah. It's just that's when things kickstart for me.
Speaker 1:And do you have a favorite song that you've written?
Speaker 2:If you ask most songwriters, they'll tell you that the favorite song is the one that they either just finished or the one they're working on. I won't do that to you. I'll give you a proper answer. I love playing this song connected. That one was written. I had some feelings going around and that was definitely written with my sons in mind. My two sons had two great sons and I. To this day it's one of my favorite songs to play. I would have to say I don't want to give you a list when you ask for one song, but the tradeoff would be there's another song I wrote called Flexible Flyer that I just enjoy playing. I just it's got a riff in it that's as a slide and I just enjoy the whole mechanics of it as well as the song that's great, I love it.
Speaker 1:So how did you handle the transition forming publicly to being shut down during COVID-19? I know you have the YouTube channel. Did you have that prior to COVID-19 or was that because of COVID-19?
Speaker 2:That was definitely because my aforementioned I love using that word my aforementioned son on TikTok, zachary, told me today you gotta start streaming and he got me back, he got me set up and some of the technical stuff told me what to do and not do. And yeah, that of course it's not a live gig similar to, like you know, playing a local venue where you get paid and everything and all that has to grow and stuff. But that's how I got on YouTube and then I just every Sunday I started doing it and I love it and it's like uh.
Speaker 1:Kept you connected to your fans, to the people that were going to see you live or coming to see you.
Speaker 2:Yes, because you could still say, hey guys, I just came up with a new song, whereas before you know, you introduced it. Hey guys, I came, you know, playing down at the ice cream place here. You know I'd say, hey, I got a new song. You know, well, now, weekly, I was saying, hey, I'm working on a new song, I got this. So it kept people tied to you, I guess, and kept you connected.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I think it helped so many musicians during that time to stay connected with their fans and people in general.
Speaker 2:I say this you know, to pay the bills, I teach guitar and I thought I was going to go out of business. I had, I think I had a stupid amount of students, you know. It was like something like 70 students, which had been the highest amount, and I instantly, with COVID, lost 15, but that was still, you know, 45 students I had that were going to do the Zoom thing. So I did that and I thought, wait, the Zoom, this is. It's more challenging to do a guitar lesson than it is to do a Zoom where I'm playing my own music or live stream. So I, yeah, I got into it, I loved it, Dove into it.
Speaker 1:Have you done that since then with teaching?
Speaker 2:Yes, I've been a little lax this last month, but it it. I stayed doing it every. It was every Sunday 7pm on Twitter, and that would be under the word Della Caster, because I have a guitar that looks like Delaware, I've seen it and but I have I got to come up with another time because I I discovered last year that Sunday at 7pm during football season wasn't the best time to have a live, so but if anyone wants to hear that, go to Twitch, find Della Caster and there's a schedule and I will be updating that and I will be making a decision as to when I'm going to do that.
Speaker 1:And well, now you can listen to my show that's on Sunday night at 7pm.
Speaker 2:Yes, see, and that's the other thing because I started seeing your posts and said, god, that's right what I'm doing. Yeah, cause, no offense to football fans. That's great, but I'm not a big, so I would probably rather tune into your show than everyone's mile.
Speaker 1:I'll give the football scores during the show.
Speaker 2:That's good.
Speaker 1:Right, gotta keep everybody happy. So doing the live streams on the social media, has that helped you? Well, you, you, you were doing live before that. I mean, you've been in front of audiences, you know, for a long time. So how, how was that transition from all that into your soon to be released music video?
Speaker 2:Thank you for asking. First of all, that would be, again, the aforementioned connected. I have actually had that out, but I never had an official music video, so that, yeah, that's coming out December 2nd I think it is. I think it made me. It made me realize, since I was still connected with people, it made me realize that, hey, I need to. There was a time over and doing any live stream than I was. And then I'm thinking, okay, well, now that I'm getting into that, I gotta make sure I have some other content up there. And so I realized that and someone helped me realize that I was actually approached by the videographer who heard me play and he said, hey, have you ever?
Speaker 1:it wasn't like I said, I hunted down a videographer because of you know the whole COVID thing, but yeah, no, I saw your post on that that you had said that the videographer had come to you, so I think that's pretty cool and you're doing a little bit different. I also read one of your posts with this with this music video, you are promoting it a little bit further out than just not the week before.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so real funny. I have a student who I hope I can mention his name let's just call him Nikita, I will give his last name, but he knows who he is. But he's about 17 now and he has really given me a ton of advice on stuff, sometimes very bluntly, and he found out I was. I finished a song and throw it up on Spotify. Finished song. Yes, no, don't, don't you, knucklehead, don't do that. He didn't say knucklehead, but he said don't.
Speaker 2:I said what's the benefit of scheduling it out? He said because curators or the you know, the people on Spotify, people with playlists and stuff they have an opportunity now if it's uploaded to Spotify, where they can find it, but it isn't released yet, they can check it out to see if it's a good fit for their playlist. If you get on someone's playlist then you're going to get more. So anyway, that's where I got into the whole scheduling out thing. The video I think it's 10 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday in December 2nd. I set it up, so there's a five minute countdown. I'm hoping to, and you can set up a chat box where people, if they want to, can tune in with me and we can count down with our cups of coffee in our separate spaces and have a little bit of fun with it.
Speaker 1:Where is that going to be released on?
Speaker 2:YouTube is. Yeah, so December 2nd at 10 am Eastern Standard Time and a couple of minutes before it will be, and I might start posting that on Facebook. I did post on Facebook, but I think I can post a link now that lets you go and click on it and get an alert. It's not you can't view it now, but you can at least have it alert. Yeah, yeah, I think that's cool. Some of the people that follow me on my weekly streams and stuff we get to having some fun, some of the chatter going back and forth. So this is one way of telling them how much I appreciate them too. Like, hey, I'm going to do this and we're all going to. Yes, it's for me, but it's a neat way. It's kind of a different way to share stuff with people.
Speaker 2:Just saying hey go check my music out on YouTube. It's like hey let's all get together for a party.
Speaker 1:Yeah right, absolutely, and you're also. You're building up momentum for that release day, because people are now like they've got it in their mind and you keep reminding them and they can't wait to get there and it's like you're going to build it up. So December 2nd we'll be all there with our cup of joe.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:So did the videographer then put it all together for you, or did you help with that process?
Speaker 2:Let me tell you about this guy. His name is. I was up at the Fire, which is a place on Gerard Avenue in Philly, and I was just playing in open mic. So it wasn't a paying gig, but it's one of my favorite places to travel to and I go up there with my guitar. I get 10 minutes on stage and that's it. But to me, that's where I love doing that.
Speaker 2:And one night I went up there and this guy came up to me, drew Rusko, his name is from New Jersey, and he just had this neat vibe. He said you know, we're kind of vibing with each other, I guess. And he said have you considered getting a video done Now? He already is in the business. He does like wedding and stuff like that, but he really wants to work with people that he feels a connection with. He heard some of my songs and I guess he felt that and I love what's going on in his eyes and his head because I'm like every seems like every idea comes up with them Like, oh my god, that'd be great. Oh my god, that'd be great. He offered to come down and not to give it all away, but we filmed it all down here, some local places.
Speaker 2:I can't wait, yeah, and if you're familiar with Wyoming you might want to check it out. There's a. We got some scenic shots and footage out. I'll tell you. Just off of Route 10 in Lebanon, I went and played by the water and pretended I was fishing and all kinds of fun stuff. I felt so bad because he was going, this guy was going to. He was. He was bringing his A game. Oh Ringo's here, my cat he's. He heard I was being interviewed and wants to get up on.
Speaker 1:He's so cute.
Speaker 2:Oh my god, yeah, so. But he brought a drone. Well, we're four miles from the base or two miles from the base. He couldn't get that thing out. He wouldn't get an authorization to get that up, but he was going to get some. And I said, oh my gosh, I picked the site too. I ran it by him. I said what do you think of this place? They're great. Then, when we found this out, he says you mean, you didn't know there was an air base here? And I said, well, yeah, I guess I didn't think of it, oops, but it came out very well.
Speaker 1:Oh, I can't wait. That is exciting. So, yeah, keep posting on Facebook and we'll all be there December 2nd, that is for sure. Wow, I will, oh my gosh. And so you teach guitar and you have a studio and you are in Wyoming.
Speaker 2:I am in the what we refer to affectionately as the old ice house. This is a 100 year old, probably plus 100 year old building. Back before they had, you know, refrigeration or what have you. This was a cold storage and I got a fun fact for people. You know we, this little area in Wyoming, was every bit as much the peach capital of the country, but anyways, it's got some history behind it. It's great.
Speaker 2:There's some neat little businesses here, as you probably know, and I come in here sometimes and if I'm not teaching, I teach Monday through Friday and I have to like somewhere. You know, somewhere around 50 students currently, and when I'm not doing that, in between I'm laying down a drum track or doing some mixing or you know so, and that's something that was new. I didn't record. I knew the basics of recording and on paper stuff like that, but I never got behind some gear and equipment and put hands on, you know, and I it's been. It's been about a year now, lots of mistakes, and I go back and listen to some of the over stuff. I go, but it's, I'm enjoying it and I can get buried in here.
Speaker 1:So that's cool. Yeah, get lost in it all, I'm sure, and I and I do know of the building when you're there at late at night, or are there any strange sounds going on in the building?
Speaker 2:The walls are two feet thick. So if there's any, you know, you know phantoms or ghosts or anything, I can't hear them yet. So no, no, not yet.
Speaker 1:But thanks.
Speaker 2:But thanks for saying that.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you a story afterwards. Oh my gosh, that's funny. And so how do people get in touch with you for guitar lessons?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm on. I have a another guitar, I mean another Facebook page, that's the Delaware Guitar School, and and I have I advertised my number I don't know if it's okay my number 302-632-7282. But they can knock on my door here at the Ice House. Look for the yellow Jeep Renegade with big orange guitars on it. They can knock on my door, they can call me, they can send me a message on Facebook, awesome.
Speaker 1:That's great, or the website whatever. I think everybody needs music, music lessons in your life. It's a universal language.
Speaker 2:I always say yeah, and that's true and I can tell might not know much about you, but you come across like that, like music is very important to you. You can you pick that up from people?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely so. You have a group on Facebook called the Phyllan Station, and what was your inspiration for creating the Phyllan Station.
Speaker 2:I am I am glad you're at. You asked because this, this is something I'm doing for some of my favorite people, or the people who have supported me, that tuned in weekly or that comes, come to gigs or click like on my, on my YouTube videos, or follow me, share, or stuff like that and I. So I came up with something called the Phyllan Station and it is a private group, although you don't have to pay to get it. You just like you go to the. If you go to Jim Riesack Music, jim Riesack Music on Facebook there's, you can click on the group called the Phyllan. Phyllan doesn't doesn't have a G on the end the Phyllan Station. And the idea was you know, most of my gigs I'm wearing some sort of gas station shirt and you've seen. So I wanted there to be some kind of branding, I guess there.
Speaker 2:But yeah, and like just today I posted something that had nothing to do with my music. Who was like hey, what are you guys into? What do you, what's your projects, what are you doing? And people are sharing like, yeah, I, I paint and I did this, or blah, blah, blah, I'm working on a book or what you know.
Speaker 2:So it's a time and a place for us to like talk about all the people that have shown me so much, and what I, what I do with it is like when there's something, when I do have something new, I'll say hey guys, this isn't going to be released until blah, blah, blah, but you guys can hear this. Or I will share things with them like, hey, I'm working on a new song. It's got this title or it's about that, and I won't be talking to anybody else about that, you know. So that's fun. I haven't done it yet, but that is another place that I'm going to start live streaming on. That's why. That's why there's been a little lag in my Twitch streams, but I'm going to. I'm going to keep them both going.
Speaker 1:Sometimes there's just not enough hours in a day. True that? So true that, yeah, and I and I, I'm part of that film station and I enjoy it. You, it's such, you know, it's your family.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it really, it really is. Yeah, and I, I like you know when well people like you that when they come, actually I throw something up there and I see the comments is fun.
Speaker 1:And that's the film station. People go find them, all right.
Speaker 2:So thank you for asking about that. Oh, you will, yeah, cause.
Speaker 1:I just thought that was a great, great idea in the way that you've set it out. Set it up where everybody can come together and just hang out.
Speaker 2:Well, I saw what was going on with my live, live Twitch. Uh, live streams on Twitch people they hey Karen, hey Joanne, hey, you know, and you know they're all hey, how's, how's your health? And they're asking questions How's your mom doing, you know? And I saw this on the chat and I thought, okay, this be neat to like extend this to a group that doesn't have to wait to Sunday. They catch up with each other. Absolutely so that's kind of the inspiration behind that.
Speaker 1:I love it. Switching gear is a bit. There's a podcast, not a podcast that your music has won an award for. Please tell me about this.
Speaker 2:Yes, we have some talented people in Dover, delaware. Chris Polo wrote this podcast and she, as she, had been working on it for a couple of years, I'll give you the shortened story because it's it's a good story. But they approached me at a songwriter circle. I was doing it at the Kent County Theater Guild, the Patchwork Playhouse. The Kent County Theater Guild is is the group that goes it, but this is the Patchwork Playhouse. I always get that mix up and her husband, mike Polo, who is the guess you'd call it the engineer, puts, puts all the editing and what have you. He's also one of the main characters, and character is a good word, because this mucky's landing is about a fictitional town somewhere near Bowers Beach and if you're from Delaware you're gonna howl. It's funny. Might not be little kid friendly. I'm just gonna go out and say that it is a podcast, but almost like an old radio show.
Speaker 1:That's so cool With the sound effects and everything.
Speaker 2:They approached me to write some music and they already had. They had a song one of my older songs that I'm working on now to record and get up on an American song, and that's what they had in mind. But what I delivered to them was a little bit more like Tom Waits. It was gritty and dark. They loved it. So I did this song and then they got through the first season and then COVID hit, but they started submitting their works to festivals that handle content that isn't, you know, that Hollywood ignores or whatever you know.
Speaker 2:And we traveled up there in September of 21, two years ago now, and went up there. We were nominated. They were nominated for Best Outstanding Comedy for a podcast. My song was nominated for the and won the award. They won that award. They were nominated for editing, I believe. I was nominated for Best Theme Song for a. Yeah, I was a little nervous because I heard some of the other stuff and it was very hip cutting EDM, you know. Yet it's a bunch of millennials, you know they. Yeah, you couldn't pry the smiles off her face when we came with that. They've won some more, but it's called Mucky Landing Find it wherever you find podcasts and I'm always telling people to go and listen to it, don't listen to it for the theme song.
Speaker 2:Listen to it for the. It is funny, it's hilarious and I can't say enough about these guys.
Speaker 1:That's great. That's just real quick. You have a unique voice. You have a unique sound. Oh, wow, you have. How do you describe it? I think you do. I think you have a word for what you call your music, your sound.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah, Cause for years I always felt like people you. You had to pigeonhole yourself. What kind of music do you play? Country rock, you know, indie folk, whatever and I have always leaned towards. You know, when people say I have nothing against folk music, but I never felt that that's what was. I call my music indie garage. It's definitely got one foot in the you know the garage band, converse sneakers and the tube amplifiers smelly gasoline, yeah, but that that's what gives?
Speaker 1:that, that unique edge to it.
Speaker 2:I used to for years call it like singer songwriting I still refer to, but you know what is that? I don't know Right, that describes the person, not necessarily in my opinion. I know that there is a, something comes to mind, but yeah, there's some of my stuff. I don't know if you did we talk about, did have a song that was just picked up to be in a movie and talk about Ed.
Speaker 1:Tell us about that one, because that was going to be my next question.
Speaker 2:Ah, okay, Well, see great minds.
Speaker 2:You're good Get out of my head. So I was. I do. There is a platform that I put my music up on and I submit to opportunities. Now I got to be honest with you. I'm not sure I submitted to this one. I think I may have, but I think the guy just found me. He was on the platform looking for people like me who put their stuff up there. So it wasn't like it was a total accident, but it's for a movie, a horror movie, the guy's from LA. Should I tell you the name of the movie?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean if you, if you can go right ahead.
Speaker 2:Oh, yes, I can. It's just it cracks me up the name of the movie and I'm not making this up. It's called Meat Hook. There's a trailer Meat Hook, the Movie trailer on YouTube and it's very well done. When I saw it, okay, I didn't recognize any of the actors, but it's not like my. My two sons spend some time every now and then watching cringe videos. This is where people don't know that they're cringy or they're. They really think they're better actors than they are, and that's what makes it cringy. This isn't that. This is really good. The production's good. The acting is good.
Speaker 2:From the trailer, the guy approached me and he said it's funny because he was emailing me on the weekend. I don't check my email. I don't know what that is. That's an old guy thing. I don't check my email on the weekend, you know, even though I got the phone right there. He finally texted me, said I hope I got the right number. I'm looking for the musician, slash songwriter, jim Rezak. I'm trying to use his piece. And so I frantically got a hold of him, said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, let's talk. The song he wants to use is Tryin' to Be an Angel, the song I wrote. It is definitely edgy, he's got some grit to it, tryin' to be an angel. Then I should have put in parentheses while the whole world goes to hell, because that's the next line, but it's we agreed. And I asked him. I said do you mind me asking you where you're going to use that? And he said I thought you know, as a credits roll, or yes?
Speaker 1:Oh, right yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he said it's going to be towards the end. Oh, let me tell you the story first. So Meat Hook is much like Texas chainsaw massacre Okay, I think it's got that vibe to it. There are a bunch of teenagers in the woods being chased by a guy with Meat Hook Kills them all except one, you know, spends the rest of that a year trying to put her, get her life back together and traumatize and horrified Nightmare and what have you A year later. Guess who's back? Mr Meat Hook.
Speaker 2:And he asked for some and I don't know anymore. And the guy was smart, because I've got a big mouth. I'd probably tell everyone the whole plot you know. But we got. When we got to that part, I said where are you going to use my song? He said. Towards the end of the movie, the protagonist, the girl who's still living, who he's hunting down, is walking into a house where the killer is laying in wait for her and I was like, oh my god, that's gold, jerry, that's gold. I felt like, oh my god, that's good real estate. So that's where he's going to use it. And I am excited.
Speaker 2:I've already told him. I said I want t-shirts, I want to get some. Give me the logo so I can make t-shirts going to be released in 2024. Okay, they're just, they're in post-production, so they're doing all that other. That fine cool stuff but yeah, but thank you for adding that. That's yeah. You'd hook the movie look theaters near you.
Speaker 1:Near you In the Wyoming.
Speaker 2:Delaware yeah, I told my mother she is. I could hear. I could see her face on the phone. I couldn't, but I could just see her shaking her head like what's with that name? That's horrible.
Speaker 1:Not that I'm not a fan of horror movies. I just don't like watching them.
Speaker 2:but I might have to watch this one Well so I'm going to be honest with you, it's not my. My sons they watch this stuff, but I can. That's like a more of a slasher movie and I'm thinking, yeah, it's not my cup of tea, but I have never had a song in a movie. This guy wants to put my song in a movie. I'm going to let him put my song in a movie.
Speaker 1:Oh gosh, yes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it wasn't. It wasn't a no brainer, there was no artistic consideration. You know, am I going against my now? No, and I like everything about everything. I see about the guy, yeah, so this is going to be fun.
Speaker 1:So what's the? Have you Given the name of your newest song coming?
Speaker 2:out, does everybody. So I just had one come out. A song on Spotify came out yesterday that I'm still very excited about. That one's called for F-O-R. Right. That definitely I'm not going to pretend. You know I was channeling my inner Roy Orbison or Mavericks or something like that, and I threw together a video myself with just you know something, using stock footage online in basic transition. But the song is on Spotify and I would love if I were to direct anyone towards a song. I'd love them to hear that and get their take on it. But this song that's coming out in the video, the official video that I have, the music video is for Connect.
Speaker 1:Connect okay.
Speaker 2:And that goes back a number of years, probably 2016.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I did play for Crying Sunday Night and it's an awesome song.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you, thank you. Yeah, I know, thank you so much. Yeah, it's just, it's different. My mom liked it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. What was your inspiration behind that song?
Speaker 2:I think that was. I was in the studio and I just came across. I strummed the first couple of chords. I go ooh, and that's how it happens. I'm not making that up. It's not like I wanted to sit down and write about that subject matter because a lot of my songs. My one son told me years ago. He said, dad, I like your songs, but why are they so sad? I said, well, there's some. I'm getting more and more upbeat, happy ones in there, and this is kind of a mix of both. It's got a nice beat to it.
Speaker 2:But, there's, yeah, melancholy, kind of a little bit of sadness there, but it's, I think, the inspiration to write that style, that it was just me accidentally coming across the right chords at the right time.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow. Just to go back a bit, because I wanted to ask this question earlier.
Speaker 2:Church Key Sing. I had the privilege and we haven't played in years now, since poor COVID I had the privilege of a couple of nights a week after lessons were done, practicing with two sisters, savannah and Jessica. They were my backup singers, but each gig when we finally got to, we played a handful of gigs and they each got to do some solo work and early on it was just a nice. It was something different from my music. I was used to just playing solo stuff. So, church Key Saints.
Speaker 2:We needed a name and we were coming up with crummy names. I mean, they were crummy and we'd come up with one and pretend we were excited, but we knew we weren't. I was sitting here, I was flipping around one of those back when you used to still, you buy a can of paint, they give you that thing to open it up with. On the other end of that I don't know if you know that's a bottle opener and if you're Irish, I'm going to take credit. I'm going to let the Irish take credit for us. We called them Church Keys. We called bottle openers Church Keys.
Speaker 2:Yeah, why is there a Church Key? We called them Church Keys. So I said, hey, how about Church Key, church Key Sinners and they go yeah, that's really good. And I ran it by my other son, jake, and he goes you know, it'd be better Church Key Saint. That's how that was born. I love the name. I got low, I got a great logo by a local artist but the band is no more. But I I'm keeping that tucked in my back pocket Because I think I even put it on a couple of songs I've released. Jim Rees, I can Church Key saints when I seems like there's a whole band there. This is the bigger production I do just to keep the name out there.
Speaker 1:You have been from point A to point Z and everything in between, and you're still going. So that's the good part, yeah.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:It's what I do Is there anything else that you'd like to share with the listeners that I haven't asked about?
Speaker 2:Let's see. First of all, you were gracious, so very gracious, in making sure that I told everyone. I'll tell them again how to get ahold of me. You know there's my phone number 302-632-7282. But on social media Facebook, jim Rees Hack Music, and definitely please consider joining us and having a whole lot of fun in the Phyllian station. If you want to hear my music, go to YouTube. Also at Jim Rees Hack Music, the Twitch stream is still. That's under a different name Delicaster. I know the viewers can't see this, but I think I showed you this, didn't I?
Speaker 1:You did.
Speaker 2:I like that one. Yeah, that's a little. I don't think there's much else. I would tell them just. I would just like to tell everyone thank you, because people are good. People tell you things and it's not just hey, I like your stuff, like you. They hone in on something specific, a specific line or quality of your voice or whatever, and they really make you feel good and make you. I don't doubt what I'm doing, but if I did, these people would help me with that, because it's just so giving and so I wanted to. I probably the last thing I would say is thank you to anyone who's ever slapped, showed up, looked like or whatever, because I really do appreciate it. It's not something we just say.
Speaker 1:That's great and I say this when I do my interview is it's find you like you, comment and share you. Go find your playlist, your songs, buy your singles. That is the way that we can support the Indies here in Delaware. All the local musicians, everybody that I have met, you all work so hard. You have such passion and such drive for your, your careers and music and the least that we can do is show up for you.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that, and that goes for not just us artists and musicians or whatever. Anybody, anybody, we forget we'll see something on Facebook and it's a simple click click like. I drive people to YouTube and say, hey, I really liked your video. Did you click like? I don't think I did Like, subscribe Like you said like, subscribe and share. That should be a shirt.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Right. That's right, Absolutely Do you have. Are you working on a new project? I know you have so much going on, but do you have another project like in the works or yeah, One that I'm really excited about is an American song which you can find already live.
Speaker 2:So I do. I put my live Twitch songs up on YouTube and there's one I wrote called an American song and it's snapshots of my childhood kind of like, but in a way it's just neat. It's the Sunday night group here on Twitch calls it the cousins song, and if you listen to it you'll find out why. All right, it doesn't doesn't familiar, but I'm finally recorded that's. I've had that for years, a couple of years now, but I'm finally recording that today. I laid down two guitar part and a banjo. I did the drum, just say, and I might just keep it. I know banjo is like wait, I thought you said you were edgy, no it's, but I I'm having a lot of fun. I think that one I'm going to keep a little more sparse. I'm even thinking about just leaving it, just with that instrumentation, Maybe, Wow.
Speaker 1:Great. Well, jim, thank you. Thank you for taking the time for sitting down and sharing your journey. I have enjoyed it so much.
Speaker 2:The gratitude is all mine because, thank you. If you know, I know why people like me do what we do, but I'm I'm just glad there are people like you that that think this is so important, that you do it, and it's like God, yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do, I do enjoy it. So thank you.
Speaker 2:I've never said no to an interview and I appreciate when we get those chances.
Speaker 1:All right, well, thank you. Thank you so much.