Indie-folk singer-songwriter Justin Gilbert will be performing at New Republic Brewing on March 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Battalion writer Kylie Harris sat down with him to discuss his love of music and how his music career began.
How did you first get into music?
I always grew up singing and loving music. I’ve always been really fascinated by the lyrics and what makes a good song a good song. So whether I was playing it or singing to it, my love for music kind of drew me in to start singing.
How old were you when you first got into music and realized that you had a love for it?
I was around 15 years old when I started really getting into playing the guitar and started writing my own songs. I sucked at first, but I realized I kind of had a thing for it.
What does the songwriting process look like to you?
I try and sit with my guitar for at least 20-30 minutes and strum around on it. Sometimes I’ll be inspired by either a guitar line or a melody line that pops up in my head. Then I’ll just start humming over that. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t, but I found that sitting down and forcing myself to at least try and get into that creative state of mind helps.
We’re there any times that you felt like you wanted to give up on your music career?
Oh, man. I just really love the art of music. So even though I kind of sucked at first, it was never really about how good I was, but more just that I like creating music. I love what I’m doing, and I’m super passionate about it. So in those times where I’m like “Damn, I just wrote a really bad song,” I was able to kind of push through that and say, you have to write 20 bad songs to get a good song.
What kind of genres of music do you sing? Why did you choose to get into that specific genre?
I really gravitate towards singer-songwriter folk. I describe it as “in your feels” music. I’ve always really enjoyed the honesty and self-reflection in that kind of music. Some people do their own reflection in art or other ways, but I find my self-reflection in sitting down and singing a song about it. I am able to sing things that I might be feeling or things that I wouldn’t outright say.
Is music an outlet for you when you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed?
I think music can be an outlet for whatever you’re feeling. That’s the coolest part about it. If you’re having a good day, music can really help with bringing those emotions out. But also, if you’re having a rough day, certain songs can connect with you in a way that nothing else can. Music has helped me work through some of the most difficult times of my life, and I think that’s something really unique and cool about music.
What about music excites you?
The thing that excites me about music the most is that it’s constantly changing. There’s no formula necessarily, and I think that excites me a lot because I can sit down and I never really know what I’m going to end up with.
What is your favorite thing about music?
I am a pretty mellow guy. I don’t feel a lot of strong emotions. Music is the one thing that draws such an emotional response from me. It will make me cry. It will make me smile. It will give me goosebumps. It brings out so much emotion for me, more than anything else.
Where do you see your music career in five years?
Hopefully, it is exactly where I’m at right now, which is just playing the occasional gigs, recording and writing a lot of music and sharing it with whoever wants to listen. At the end of the day, if 1,000 people listen or two people listen, I’m happy as long as I’m making the kind of music I love making.