An Interview with Jady - Cut It Out Magazine

Jady, also known as Jarrett Doherty and Ashton Bergdorf, are on their second headline tour for their latest album Napalm. Keeping the same energy from their sold out show at Newport Music Hall two nights earlier, Jady had an insane performance at The End in Nashville, captivating the entire venue with their stage presence. Jady knows no barrier between the stage and the crowd, and invites the entire audience into their story with alluring visuals scattered around the venue, insane live sound production, and unmatched energy from Jarret and Ashton.

How would you describe your sound, and how has it changed over the years from your first song to your latest album?

Jady (Jarret): I like not having a specific label on our music. I feel like since I’m inspired by so many realms of music, in the same breath you can hear some r&b or some rock, while mainly staying in that alternative pop realm.

Jady (Ashton): I think also, when we worked on our first record “The Haze”, when we were releasing some of our first songs, putting out a first album can be a little bit easier because it’s your first time writing about whatever you want to write about, any experience or idea you’ve had. It’s fresh and it’s new because it’s your first time doing it. The second time doing it, came from a different place because it was more like, “What can we talk about now that’s new and fresh and kinda has a new perspective”, and I think over the course of the year of doing music and touring that’s what kind of shaped the sound of the second record apart from the first.

Who are some artists that inspire you to make music?

Jarret: I like all kinds of stuff. That obscure music that lives in that alternative realm really inspires me. Someone who I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from lately is Jon Bellio n. He makes that pop music that seems so unconventional and their approach to it… there’s just all kinds of music I like.

Ashton: It’s always hard to put a specific label on what makes me inspired, because I think for me and Jarret it’s coming out of so many different avenues of things that we think are cool and I think it’s always changing or shifting. I’m usually inspired by an artist’s live show, or when I see their drummer, it’ll make me want to dive into their music and find things, and I’ll bring it to Jarret and say “Hey check this out”. Along that, some of the biggest inspirations for me have been Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, and Sleep Token.

Jarret: You know what’s funny, is that right now I don’t listen to as much music as I should. I can get down this rabbit hole of listening to my own music more than anything else, overly critiquing all of my music, and using that time I would use for music just kind of thinking about what I’m going to write about next. Ultimately, I’ve found a lot of inspiration listening to how others approach songs, and through sound design. I’ve been listening to K.flay, I don’t know if you’ve heard of her, but she put out a record not too long ago… incredible. People like Billie Eilish, her brother/producer FINNEAS, are absolutely incredible, and he’s just so talented. I always love finding somebody who is in on the production, has hands on in the mixing and mastering process because I can really relate to that. Seeing somebody like him, the way he aesthetically shapes his live show and the songs with Billie, and even someone like The Weeknd it’s cool to see their stage presence.

What’s your favorite song on your latest album, and which song was the most fun making?

Jarret: One of my favorite songs thus far has to be Napalm. I felt like Napalm is a great thematic overview and thesis statement for the record. It shows that this is what my mental space is and this is how I’m struggling with it, and this is what this album is going to dive into, which gets into story telling of how I’m thinking and processing that. It talks a lot about identity and integrity and holding integrity amidst an industry that has a lack of it. Just the way that it hits, it’s just such a fun track. What’s your favorite?

Jake: My two favorites are Skinwalker and Backbone!

Ashton: You know what’s crazy is that those are my exact two answers. “Skinwalker” and “Backbone” are probably my favorites on the new record, but a lot of that can vary when it comes to playing it live. Recently, we had a headliner in our hometown Columbus, OH at Newport Music Hall, the song “Ghostman” off our new record, took me by surprise. We’d been rehearsing this song, this part of the show for months, and I always thought it was cool but I didn’t know if it was going to hit like it should. Although after playing Newport and doing a couple shows after, the bits and the theatrics and the variations of the song that we’ve come up with live has easily become my favorite. I think it’s the best thing that we’ve come up with for a live show in our career so far.