Jon Chesbro canvasses a country of emotion with ‘Outta State Outta Mind’
New England multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer crafts a psych-pop EP of perseverance and growth on Wednesday, September 25
OUT NOW: Listen to ‘Outta State Outta Mind’ via Spotify
New EP follows summer single ‘Always & Forever’ and February record ‘Dryas’
Ebb N’ Flow Recording x ‘See You Again’ music video
BOSTON, Mass. [September 25, 2024] – Usually when a person looks at a map of the United States, they think of memories of the places they’ve been, whether visiting family, taking vacations, or crossing off oft-fantasized locations on their bucket list. When Jon Chesbro looks out at that same map, he sees the songs he’s written.
The New England multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer has collected those songs, a sort-of soundtrack to his own personal musical cartology, and offered them up as a singular cohesive vision with Outta State Outta Mind, a new EP set for release on Wednesday, September 25 via Chesbro’s own Ebb N Flow Recording.
Taking sonic and cultural influences from My Morning Jacket’s At Dawn and The Tennessee Fire, as well as Night Moves’ Pennied Days and So Long Forever by Palace, Outta State Outta Mind has a distinctly ‘90s alternative rock feel. It leans into the glistening guitar glow of Chesbro’s summer single “Always & Forever,” and marks a bit of a departure from February’s mostly-instrumental experimental album Dryas.
Over five yearning, heart-on-sleeve tracks, Chesbro charts a course of inspiration across the country and back, touching down on specific moments and memories tethered to locations that led him far from home, returning to Maine, where he now resides, to complete the record.
“I feel like this EP has been two years in the making,” Chesbro says. “Not all on purpose, but through life's ups and downs I feel like I’ve been granted this perspective that I can only tell through music. That perspective is through the lens of failure, success, heartbreak, friendship and everything in between. After receiving some of my own heartbreak and getting fed up with life, during Covid’s standstill, I decided to leave my hometown and look for something better. I gained new knowledge and experience. After traveling the country for a bit I found myself back home with my tail between my legs. I didn’t know which way was up, I just knew I had to do something.”
Chesbro, also known for his collaborative work in Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures, can pin on a map the source material, both emotional and musical, of each Outta State Outta Mind track. Galloping psych-pop EP opener “Against The Crowd” and the sun-kissed “See You Again” were written in Massachusetts; the guitar-led geek-rock punch of “Missouri” was naturally crafted in The Show-Me State; and the two closing tracks, the dramatic neo-psychedelia of “It's Been A Long Time” and the inviting title track were born out in Arizona.
“After returning home I finished the EP with friends and family by my side,” he adds. “It feels like the end of a saga but also the beginning of my music career all over again. Through a new perspective and newly found knowledge I feel like I can move onward and forward with confidence. I hope people who listen gain a sense of confidence and positivity that even though the road gets rough, stick it out and see what’s on the other side.”
Part of that other side was finding a more collaborative nature around him, allowing the sometimes isolated artist, who crafted Dryas nearly all on his own, to expand his circles alongside his sound. It marked a departure not only from his usual songwriting and production style but also from the feelings he had along his journey, which sometimes found him alone in his car, wondering if he’d been forgotten about back home. “Loneliness and a quiet car can really get your mind wondering,” he admits.
But that wasn’t the case at all. With Chesbro on lead and back-up vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, and orchestral production, Outta State Outta Mind welcomes Cosmic Vultures collaborator Dalton DeLima on drums; Robert Countie on bass; and Akiba Davis on back-up vocals, keys, and percussion. PostFix Media’s Zach Haberern provides press photos and a music video for “See You Again.”
“The difference is that there are real musicians – and talented musicians, at that,” Chesbro notes. Dalton DeLima is an amazing recording artist. Robert Countie just knows what you want. Akiba Davis is the bow on top. He really helped me last minute get this done and got keys, percussion and some background vocals done in only a four-hour session. Overall I just had a basket full of talent at my disposal. It's usually always just me but this time I had some amazing help and I couldn’t have finished it without all of them.”
Outta State Outta Mind was written, produced, and engineered by Chesbro, and recorded by the musician at his Ebb N Flow Recording Studio. It was mixed and mastered by Jeb at Maine Music Mill in Brunswick, Maine. Davis, Countie, and Smith also aided in the recording. It’s a giant exhale of a record.
“I feel like there’s been a weight lifted off of my shoulders,” Chesbro admits. “I've carried these songs with me for the past two years. Finally releasing them into the wild is a bit somber, but also relieving. Like setting an animal free into its natural habitat. You're sad to see it go but happy it's where it's supposed to be. Having a feeling of completion with these songs is freeing. I could sit and tweak them for much much longer but then I'd just be beating the horse to death. I got to let them go. So yea I guess I’m excited.”
He’s also somewhat nervous, but that’s to be expected when an artist opens his heart, and not only wears it on his proverbial sleeve, but also deposits every lyric into the listeners’ ears for them to absorb and understand. The lyrics of Outta State Outta Mind read not only like a diary but a compass for life and all the places it takes us.
“I guess this could be seen as a coming of age story or finding yourself through trial and tribulations,” Chesbro reflects. “Whatever life throws at you, you just take it and roll with it [laughs]. That’s one thing I’ve learned. Also living with the decisions you make hits pretty hard. But Jon from 15 years ago would die at the idea of releasing something with my voice on it. Now I can say I’ve come a long way not just as an instrumentalist, but as a songwriter, too. The jams in this record get me going.”
And though he’s currently in Maine, maintaining a place in the Boston music scene but keeping enough distance to hold true to who he is, Chesbro understands that these songs can be seen in a universal light, understood and embraced by someone in Massachusetts, Missouri, Arizona, or anywhere else. They’re tales of perseverance and guidance, one mistake or misstep at a time.
“I tend to just write how I feel. I don’t sugarcoat anything,” he concludes. “I wanted the songs to be cohesive, form the same universe, but all have their own unique DNA. Each song is kinda just a moment in time for me. I was feeling something and as any artist knows… you gotta get it out. If it stays in for too long you never really move on and grow from it. So I feel like it was almost out of necessity to write these songs while going through life. Almost in a survival sense but not that serious – just the need to get it on the page, ya know? In the end, it's therapy. I'm painting the world around me because that’s what creative people do.”
Appearing on ‘Outta State Outta Mind’:
Jonathan Chesbro: Lead and back-up vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, and orchestral production
Dalton DeLima: Drums
Robert Countie: Bass
Akiba Davis: Back-up vocals, keys, percussion
‘Outta State Outta Mind’ production credits:
All songs and lyrics written by Jonathan Chesbro
Produced and engineered by Jonathan Chesbro
Mixed and mastered by Jonathan Chesbro at Ebb N Flow Recording Studio
Recorded by Jeb @ Maine Music Mill in Brunswick, Maine
Additional recording by Akiba Davis, Robert Countie, and Derek Smith
Photos by PostFix Media / Zach Haberern
All rights reserved.
‘Outta State Outta Mind’ EP artwork:
Media praise for Jon Chesbro:
“This is quite an interesting album [Dryas] and takes you on quite a trip when you're in the mood for something different.” _Steel Notes Magazine
“The trip that Dryas took us on was such a wild and wonderful one that we couldn’t imagine not reviewing it.” _Rock And Roll Fables
“Jon Chesbro gives the universe an absolute musical gift with his magnificent new album Dryas.”_The Whole Kameese
Jon Chesbro short bio:
Whether on stage or behind the mixing desk, Jon Chesbro invites audiences into a world where every note is a brushstroke on the canvas of emotion. The Massachusetts multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer released new album Dryas in February 2024, and the experimental, electronic, and mostly instrumental record is a departure from his work as Cosmic Vultures guitarist, showcasing a new complexity and depth in his solo musical compositions. Dryas can be consumed as a whole or in chapters, and a pair of visualizers, ‘MarchToVictory’ (featuring Derek Smith) and ‘Into The Mirror’, precede the album. He followed that up with a new guitar-pop single called “Always & Forever” that summer, leading up to new EP Outta State Outta Mind set for release in September 2024.
