It was a combination of a cool, clear skied, but somewhat warm april day as I waited in my Stockton University cafeteria for a phone call from Jack Antonoff's public relations manager. I was given this opportunity from my manager Kris from someone who had emailed her about someone with entertainment interviewing experience. Sure I had the experience from interviewing other underground and some other famous acts, but I was nervous, and words couldn't really describe how ill prepared i felt. I had an idea of what i wanted ask but one never knows if the questions you ask as a music journalist are ever the right one's. The point was to make this the most enjoyable experience, yet I wanted this to also be a normal experience. I never like to have anyone I interview feel like this is just another static, cold interview, but rather like you are having a conversation with a friend, very low key and no pressure. But as laid back as I wanted to appear to be, this was Jack Antonoff i was about to speak to. The guy has had 3 successful bands, one being a Grammy Award winning one at that. One can not just feel calm, cool, and collected when having to interview someone of this caliber. But when the call went through, and he greeted me rather nonchalantly, my fears quickly melted away and we were able to talk as if we had known each other for years. When looking at Jack Antonoff as famous artist for RCA Records, many are quick to draw assumptions as with any music star who seem to have it all. While this may be true in some aspects, many don’t seem to realize what happens behind the scenes and the tireless efforts one goes through to keep making music. After all, this is a career they chose over any other profession because they love what they do, not to “have it all".

With the uncertainty that comes with choosing music as a profession, one has to have dedication and patience to reach their goals, and if those goals fall short, to keep on trying. “Since I was 14 years old I have been making music, and I see every different project I do as a continuation of the last. I don’t see them as separate.” The grammy award singer and songwriter has even written songs for music stars such as Taylor Swift and Sara Bareilles, so it's safe to say that the music star has not only made great music for himself but some other hard hitting artist in the main music scene as well. Seems like the early practice from his young teenage years did some paying off.

“Ever since I was younger, music has gotten me through really tough times, it made me feel less alone, and I formed a connection with the artist and their music. That is very much what I want to do with my music for others.” This goal that Antonoff has seems simply attainable, but very few artists seem to make this transition to where the music you work tirelessly on becomes the makeup or the story of not just the artist's life, but the lives of many who have shared the same experiences. This had me included. So many of his songs had such a great impact on my life , and it was good to know that he had such a selfless reason for why he wanted to do music. I can identify with this on many levels, since one day i hope to share and touch people with not music but with my words as a writer.

Antonoff is currently working on the new "Bleachers" album. But he didn't seem to have the youthful excitement of producing your first record, but rather the happiness and wise "down to earth" attitude of a man that is well seasoned when it comes to producing hit records. He had so such passion when talking about this subject , one was almost wanting to pull out a pen and paper and begin writing as well. “When making a record, I have to be making it according to what sparks it at that moment and time. If I don’t then it doesn’t feel real or documented. A friend of mine asked me the other day, 'Why don’t you take a day off?' I don’t believe in taking days off when it comes to music. What if I miss the opportunity for writing something great?". With someone that seems to be so in tune with his own music and craft, i was left rather speechless when i came to find out about his music making process. “My song process is very random in the studio. I’ll be working on ideas. It could be lyrics, it could be a beat. It’s terrifying in a sense because there is no blueprint or formula to writing music.” Antonoff is very much a unique and inspiring figure in the world of music and to see that he doesn't have a "blueprint" or routine with writing , it only seems to add to his natural talent as a musical genius.

When talking to Antonoff about life and where he sees himself within the next few years, He is a guy that very much lives in the present. “I don’t think much of the future. Having existed, and thinking about what has happened to me in life, I’m getting older so I’m not super interested in planning for the future. I’d much rather keep my head down and focus on the here and now.”