JXDN on what it means to make punk music, ‘I kind of just want to be a nuisance,’

Jxdn takes on Riot Fest in Chicago

By: Sloane Johnson and Reegan Johnson

Jxdn known previously as Jaden Hossler, is a singer, songwriter and social media personality from Tennessee. He got his rise to fame on Tik Tok in 2019 before starting his music career in early 2020 with his self-released debut single “Comatose”. The single caught the attention of musician and producer Travis Barker, who then signed him to his label DTA Records in a joint deal with Elektra Records. Since then, jxdn’s career has gained success, releasing singles with Nessa Barrett, performing with Barker and Barrett on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as well as adding many singles and an album to his discography. Off the Record Press’ editor-in-chief Sloane Johnson, sat down with him before his set at Riot Fest in Chicago

Photo: Sloane Johnson

Sloane Johnson: So it's your first time at Riot Fest. What are you excited about? 

 jxdn: “I'm feeling super fucking horny. This shit just gets me super excited. I think that a lot of people are gonna be surprised. That's like my favorite thing, just to shock people. 

S: If you have any time today, are you gonna be able to see any of the other artists? 

j: Oh yeah. I'm definitely watching Dom {Dominic Harrison, also known as YUNGBLUD}. I wanna see The Original Misfits…I don't know, there's a lot. I wanna see Bad Religion, as well. I mean, it's just so crazy that I'm here with all these fucking legends, you know what I'm saying? But it's also, to me, it's fitting, you know? Cause like I see all them as, as they are, those motherfuckers are the only reason that I'm even here, you know?  Because they set precedent and they are the history of this music. 

So I'm excited to be this new, like almost like you know, when you're at a train station and like one train left, I feel like I'm the next train that's coming. So I'm excited, just to see how many people hop on board.

Photo: Sloane Johnson

S: I did see that you posted that you were in the studio with YUNGBLUD.  Can you tell us anything about the song?

j: They put poison in the peaches. The people you love the most are the ones who are  poisoning your peaches.

S: Okay. I guess we will have to see what that means. Are there any other artists that you would like to collaborate with?

j: Oh my gosh, so many. I like, I think it's really interesting. I wanna work with anybody who wants to work with me. You know what I'm saying? I'm not out here, like begging for anything. Any opportunity I get is an opportunity worth it for me, so I'm excited.

S: So you're open to working with music from different genres?

j: Oh 100%. I think the best part about punk music is that to me, punk is like the irony of the definition is that it is what it is, but it also isn't, you know? It's kind of like relative to the person. Travis has shown me that a lot. It's more about what you're saying and why you're saying it, rather than how you're saying it… I'm trying to fuck up the system. I feel like everyone's way too comfortable. Like today I'm gonna go up there, I'm gonna sing my fucking heart out,  I'm gonna take off all my clothes and tell people that I love MGK ‘cause I do. I'm just here to fuck shit up, you know? 

S:  What other music are you listening to? Any guilty pleasures? 

J: Right now Deftones. I'm trying to figure out a way to like, kind of connect it with the music I have now, I'm just so inspired by it. 

Elvis Presley, a lot too. I watched the movie [Elvis] I've seen it like 10 times. I think like the political aspect of his music and how he used such a voice of like the Black community and soul and  R&B and like, recognizing like that's what rock and roll is. I mean, this whole thing right here is here because of the [Black] community, you know?

That's what people in the UK did, they took that music and they just kind of made it their own. So that's kind of what I'm trying to do right now. I want to be a voice for the people that feel like they don't have a voice, you know?

Photo: Sloane Johnson

S: You've been a big advocate for mental health. What do you say to people that may be struggling? What are you doing to take care of yourself? 

J: It's really crazy how much mental health is talked about right now.  At the same time it’s, how are they talking about it? It's relative to everybody. I feel like everyone goes through the same thing, but at the same time, no one knows what people are going through. I think music to me is the only thing that's really helped me.

I've tried therapy and I'm like a little psycho motherfucker… because like that shit is just talking. Music is feeling…‘What do you feel like music does for you?’ And in reality, music is fucking liberation, you know? With Sex Pistols, and Elvis fucking Presley, you know what I mean? And the only thing that no one can take away from us, that helps us, is music.

Every time I go on stage, I feel like it's a therapy session. So I would encourage everyone to find the music that makes them feel whole.

S: Thank you for sharing that. I just wanted to say, I went to your show out here for the first time at House of Blues, and I felt like you were someone who was super genuine, like right after that, I was like looking you up online, I was so interested.

j: Thank you. I really appreciate that. I think that's kind of a testament, too. You don't understand. When I started making music, the first song I made was the first song I ever made. I learned a lot. I had to learn as I went go. That's why I love performing live. 

Like I talk about how I killed Jaden Hossler, like I killed him. I shot that motherfucker in the face cause, that's who I was as I was growing. Now I'm jxdn, J-X-D-N. And like you don't have to know what the fuck that means. But it's like, right now you could come see my show today and I'm catering my sound to them. When I go to Lolla, or Firefly I adjust my sound to them because thats what music fucking is. This is my first festival where I’m screaming. We took all of the tracks out and it's all just live and my guitarist is now playing the bass. I’m just excited to be here.

I kind of just want to be a nuisance, you know? Like everyone hears that nowadays they’re like ‘Oh fuck these kids man,’. But all punk ever was, was people doing shit no one wanted them to do. So I’m trying to get back to that and make people a little pissed off.”

Gallery from jxdn’s performance can be found here

More photos from the shoot can be found here