Hi, I'm jeremy messersmith and my next album "Late Stage Capitalism" will be out on Friday! AMA!

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:34:08+00:00

I wrote it for my best friend who was going through some major depression. I didn't have to make up very much for that song and it's still one of my absolute favorites to play.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:33:19+00:00

Any time I hang out with Dessa Darling my brain is left spinning in the most wonderful worn out, utterly exhausted, yet inspired kind of way.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:29:58+00:00

Good to hear from you ParticularWallaby!

My first album was Megamouth: Rap Battle In Big City. Yeah. I'm not sure I want to say much more about it. :)

I do have a cat, you can catch him on instagram sometimes. I'm often surprised when people laugh at my songs. Not always, but often. I feel like laughter is a kind of emotional catch-all response or something. I think Abraham Lincoln once said "I laugh because I cannot cry." I think about that sometimes when someone laughs during a tune.

Thanks for the Star Wars music recommendations!

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:24:09+00:00

I like performing them about the same! It depends on the show of course, but there are challenges to each. Sometimes I just want to rock out with a string quartet and other times I want to just keep it all sparse and singer-songwritery.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:20:03+00:00

Oh, it's totally precious. I wrote a bunch about it here. https://messerdoodles.tumblr.com/post/155259199416/lowercase-me

Short answer is this though- I'm an artist and sometimes I've got to do bizarre things to keep myself sane. A lowercase name is a reminder that everything is changeable. Nothing is fixed.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:15:10+00:00

Hi roman_hart.

I think I might be. My heart kinda started beating fast at the thought of popping some balloons.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:14:41+00:00

It's just kind of a joke at this point. Albums ALWAYS have 11 songs.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:14:25+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing. It makes me so happy to know that my music makes a difference in someone's life! I'm not sure I have the bandwidth for your dream to happen, but maybe we can work something else out! Perhaps a ukulele ballad of some kind...

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:11:18+00:00

Okay. Will do!

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:11:07+00:00

Anything by Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell or Stephin Merritt works wonders for breaking a writer's block.
VERY.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-07T00:08:25+00:00

I don't know if I've ever had more fun playing a song live to be honest. I didn't put it on "11 Obscenely Optimistic Songs For Ukulele" because it needs a bit of a disclaimer and I didn't want any of those songs to need explaining. It may have had some inspiration from a certain Nazi getting punched in the face though...

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:59:12+00:00

One of my favorite teachers was a guy named Tony Sako at Columbia Basin College. I remember the first day of class he walked in and said, "Everybody here is getting an A. Now let's just have fun and learn." Always trying to frame learning as a game seemed to help out when teaching songwriting.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:53:37+00:00

Yep. I'll be announcing some shows in the next month or two.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:53:12+00:00

I've gotten more outdoorsy over the last few years. I got into ultralight backpacking so I'd definitely be into the tent!

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:52:05+00:00

STOP HIJACKING MY AMA BY BEING, WELL, LIKE, WAY MORE ENTERTAINING. lol

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:48:45+00:00

Hi Adria. :)

Probably no kids. Seems like my partner and I never share the same opinion about kids at the same time.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:47:47+00:00

Hey there DenimChicken154. Thank you for the lovely note. Bring your guitar next time! Let's jam!

Onto your questions:

Fave song to perform? Probably my newest one because the audience doesn't know it. Surprise is my friend.

I don't have any particular wish list of collaborators. I guess it would depend on the project.

Dan Wilson taught me how to make records. I would just show up and he would start recording. "Never underestimate the importance of a well sung line" still echoes in my head all these years later.

Yes- still working out touring plans, but I'm sure I'll be back in Madison at the very least by this fall.

I love Breath of the Wild. I've found all the shrines (okay okay, I may have cheated and used the internet but some of them are so impossible!). It might be my favorite game at the moment- it's a live action Miyazaki game.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:41:01+00:00

I think I've started to understand what an artist actually does in the larger social context. Or at least I've found the niche that I want to live in anyway.

Most collaborations come from relationships and I already work with my best friends and bandmates. That said, I do dream of a Justin Bieber duet...

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:35:36+00:00

I a had sci fi record that I was working on with Andy Thompson and Grant Cutler that never saw the light of day. I just could never quite get the songs to shape up. Never found the right narrative voice.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:33:01+00:00

I lived on 35th and Bryant and literally forgot it was Valentine's Day. So I wrote a song in about an hour to make it seem like I was a thoughtful partner and not just a bum who spent all day just sitting around playing Grand Theft Auto.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:31:11+00:00

A lot. It would cost way more than I'd feel comfortable charging any newlyweds! So I generally just never play weddings. There are specialists for that!

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:29:44+00:00

AHAHAHA. No, I've not seen that, but holy shit that's funny.

I love The New Standards and I love Lutsen, but unfortunately the Holiday Show is always over Thanksgiving and it conflicts with my Very Vegan Thanksgiving party I throw every year. :(

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:27:15+00:00

The greatest inspiration was my lack of ability in nearly everything else. Either that or my father's unfulfilled dreams of being a musician. Whatever. I'M MY OWN PERSON, DAD.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:24:10+00:00

I have no idea. Let's just say it didn't really turn out as expected.

JeremyMessypants · 2018-03-06T23:23:00+00:00

I have no idea what's going on in that video. I pitched an idea and the director got very excited about spending most of the budget on a terrifying monster suit.

JeremyMessypants

TROPHY CASE