Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls has been sharing music with us for years now – sometimes skewed more Americana, sometimes leaning more rock ‘n’ roll, but always with lyrical depth and satisfying musicianship. Heath is known for lyrics that run the gamut, and the band’s latest endeavor, a blisteringly cool compilation of thought-provoking rockers entitled “Earth Fire Water Airborne,” is emotional to its core and full of zest and a rawness that is both thrilling and cathartic to experience. The band’s current lineup includes Jason Heath (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, synths), Steve Nutting (drums, percussion, vocals), Jason Federici (Hammond and Vox organs, synths, accordion, glockenspiel, vocals), Justin Salmons (electric and acoustic guitars, vocals), and Alyssa Mia Robertson (bass, vocals). We sat down with Heath recently to get the lowdown on this amazing new album.
How did these songs come together and what broad strokes can you tell us about the collection?
Most of these songs were written during the pandemic and were reflections on a lot the contradictions most of us were feeling about what was happening in the world, our country, and in our lives, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And also at a time when I was building a youth center for justice-involved youth with Wayne Kramer for Jail Guitar Doors and some of the experiences we had with some of the youth there and the challenges they faced in their lives and communities. The losses we faced as a community. I tend to write about the concept of “justice” quite a bit. But not just socioeconomical justice – also the justice and equanimity we treat ourselves and the people that are closest to us with. This is the first record with our new rhythm section, Alyssa and Steve, and it really helped shape the sound on the record and move us toward a bigger sound.
One of the songs on your new album, “A Perfect Sound (Don’t Be Afraid),” is really great and stood out to me. What can you tell us about that song? What inspired you to record this song?
First of all, thanks, and I’m glad you enjoyed it. This was the last song we wrote for the album,and it wasn’t even written until we were almost finished mixing the entire record. It was written and recorded really quickly, and a lot of the lyrics were improvised in the studio, as well as the performances and harmony lines. It wasn’t until I read back a lot the lyrics I’d recorded that it became clear to me as to what the song meant to me. It was about death and the different ways we walk through grief and loss. I lost so many people close to me while making this album…many dear friends, and too many to mention. So I guess this was my way to process some of the grief and feelings of anger I’d had, to attempt to transmute it into something tangible, powerful,and… beautiful.
What was it like recording this album? What was the vibe in the studio overall, and how did this song, in particular, come together?
It was great! We actually had the entire record done, mastered, and and ready to release about a year and half back, but the the album didn’t feel exactly right to me. Our drummer, Casey, and his wife had triplets, and he had to leave the band for obvious reasons. Steve Nutting came in, and we had a few new songs, and I thought let’s record them and see how it goes. It was evident that we needed to add them to the record, and, while were in the studio, Steve went ahead a re-recorded drums on a few of the songs, and then a few more, and eventually all of them. We brought in Tyler Lyons (Kendrick Lamar/Playboi Carti) to engineer/produce and do sound design. He really made the record sound like what I was imagining it to be. And then, Bryan Cook (Radiohead/Stephen Wilson Jr.) mixed it for us, Hans Dekline (U2/Pixies) mastered it, and we really couldn’t be happier with how it sounds.
What do you hope this album conveys to those who listen to it?
I always try to write in a way that allows folks the space to interpret the songs for what they need to get from it. But I think the one thing I hope people will take from this record is that we put our hearts and souls into this music, and we’re not trying to be anything we aren’t. This is the true sound that came forward when we made it, and even though it does indeed have a big production, we weren’t trying to hide behind any of that or make songs for any reason but to connect with listeners authentically.
The album title is interesting. How did you choose it? What does it mean to you?
Well that title was a bit of a pun. I study a lot of esoteric knowledge and ancient wisdom as they correlate with my spiritual pursuits. And it was a play on the the four elements of the physical world: earth, fire, water, and air. Like I said, when I was writing a lot of these songs, it was during the pandemic, and the word “airborne” replaced “air” on the title track. I think it works… maybe.
If you look back over your career, you probably feel like quite a different performer now than when you began for a number of reasons — life experience, industry experience, studio and live performing experience all factoring into that. Where do you tend to get your biggest inspiration from these days?
Well, this is our fifth record as JH&TGS. And we I’ve made another three records in different manifestations. It seems like we’ve been in the “green room” of success for some time, but it hasevaded us so far, economically speaking. We’ve been able to tour quite a bit all over the US and Canada and play with some of my largest influences, like Wayne Kramer, Tom Morello, Jackson Brown, Steve Earle, and Ike Reilly, among others, and to develop friendships that have lasted many years. I’ve seen enough to know that fame isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, but being successful means you might have to deal with some of that. I never wrote songs for fame or girls or any of that. I’ve just always had an overwhelming connection to songs and the mystery of how all of that comes into being. It’s a magical experience, and it has saved my life more than once. So that’s where I find my inspiration and when, and it has never ceased to hold up its end of the bargain, as long as I do mine.
Songwriting and recording music can be a really personal endeavor, yet when you release a song or an album, you share the music with so many people. How does this make you feel, and is it difficult to share songs widely like that? Have you gotten feedback from anyone who has connected with your music or had a song impact them in a deep and meaningful way?
Yes, it definitely is. But I guess, from my perspective, the whole point of all of this is to connect. And I’ve always written songs, or attempted to anyway, from more of a mysterious or veiled perspective, not to be elusive, but to paint pictures or vignettes that are meaningful to me but still open to interpretation. I’m always looking for newer and deeper levels of meaning for myself in my own songs, and I invite listeners to do the same. Take a song like “The Landlord” off our first record, “The Vain Hope of Horse.” It was written so quickly and the lyrics have always been a mystery me and the meaning sort of evolves with me as the years go by. And then there’s a song like “A Fighter’s Lullaby” off of “Packed for Exile” that seems to resonate deeply with people whenever or wherever we play it because of the juxtaposition of hope and despair that is really at the core of so much of our life experiences. And then a song like “In Love with my Gun” from “But There’s Nowhere to Go” that has become sort of an “icebreaker” and a way to connect with young men in juvenile halls when we start our songwriting workshops. I never would have thought that that song would be a way to connect with young men that are active gang members in jail, but songs seem to have a mind of their own.
What has been the most exciting thing to happen for you in the past year? What are you most looking forward to for the rest of 2025?
The most exciting thing for this year has been the Reentry House we’ve opened at Jail Guitar Doors and the apprenticeship program for audio engineers and digital file editors we’ve launched for justice-involved youth. So now we can offer housing and career paths for youth who are looking for a way out of the hopelessness they so often face upon release. We were also able to launch a paid pre-apprenticeship program in the juvenile halls that will be starting this year and will strengthen the pipeline to our reentry program.
Got any tour plans? Where can fans see you on the road?
Yes, nothing final yet, but dates for early next year should be coming soon. We have a record release show on Saturday, November 15th, at the CAPO Center in Los Angeles.
