Jason Herndon is partnering with American Songwriter to exclusively premiere his single and lyric video for “This Thing.”
Herndon, often recognized as a clinician for the iconic Martin Guitars and as the touring guitar tech for country music great Blake Shelton, wrote and recorded the entire project in his West Nashville studio during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Videos by American Songwriter
Herndon’s third studio album I Don’t Know, set to be released on July 10, came about as the result of needing an outlet for creativity while social distancing. “I decided I better do something, or I was going to lose my mind,” Herndon recalls.
The title track, “I Don’t Know,” was written in his living room in 10 minutes.
Herndon created the lyric video for “This Thing” in much the same vein, using a blank wall in his studio, an iPhone 10, and a GoPro camera to bring his words to life. Herndon says the experience was a new one for him, as he’d done nothing like it before. “I played the song at half speed,” he explains. “Then I interacted with the camera by changing out guitars and stuff. The lyric video is actually the first and only take.”
Despite being born out of a time of separation, I Don’t Know features collaborations with heavy-hitting songwriters and musicians alike. By using file-sharing tools, Herndon was able to bring Philip de Steiguer (piano, organ, synth) and Kevin Post (pedal steel guitar) to the project, both of whom are members of Blake Shelton’s band, and Eric Fiedor, a veteran songwriter with cuts on Pierce Pettis and Mike Rayburn’s albums.
Additionally, the album was mixed and mastered by Herndon’s “partner-in-crime” Evan Maddox, who he credits with bringing the project to life.
“Jason takes you on a brilliantly-crafted yet plain-spoken lyrical journey of feel-good love in ‘This Thing,’” says Jenee Fleenor, 2019 CMA Musician of the Year. The single was penned with Chi McClean, a southern acoustic rock artist/writer who recently moved to Nashville.
Herndon’s musical style is honest and true Americana, mixed with his deep Southern roots from growing up in Alabama. A working musician in the truest sense of the phrase, he spent more than a decade touring throughout all of Alabama, both with his own group “The Jason Herndon Band” as well as with other groups in the state. With Southern Crossroads Music pitching his songs for sync and a new record on the way, Herndon is certainly solidifying himself as one to watch.