Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan McEwen.
Hi Jordan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Looking back, the road to where I am today started to manifest itself when I was a young teen spending much of my time writing songs and playing baseball. I am at a place now where I get to impact the youth through education and coaching, while also maintaining my need to create art and music. I have certainly had various chapters in my life, filled with detours and road construction, and perhaps I’ve written a few separate books along the way. I’ve had to learn how to balance multiple passions, which have all coalesced into this wave I’m currently riding.
The moment I decided I wanted to be a musician can be traced back to my first concert when I saw Pantera. It was something about the energy in the arena that hooked me. Shortly after, my parents gifted me my first guitar for Christmas when I was thirteen years old. I’d spend hours grinding my fingers on the acoustic guitar strings. I was bound and determined to start a band. My brother chose bass and our lifelong childhood friend had an electric guitar, so I bought a pawn shop drum set with the money I had saved up working with the family moving business during the summer when I was fifteen. We were playing shows shortly after getting a set together. We’d make flyers and pass them out at our high school and draw about a hundred folks into our singer’s grandparent’s Mexican food restaurant with a one-dollar cover. Our singer’s dad even built a moveable stage for the concerts we’d throw. That was my first experience making money doing music.
After the teen angst years of playing drums and bass in some hard rock and metal bands, sometime in college I delved into Americana and found a deeper passion for songwriting. That is when I started performing as a solo artist. As I started expanding my musical palette, I spent one summer when I was seventeen or eighteen reading the dictionary to analyze the English language. I came away from that experience with a different perspective and love of the English language, which would also later come in useful when I became an English teacher.
Education also helped pave the way to where I am. I spent four years at a junior college getting my basics and studying commercial music at South Plains College. I went four years to a junior college, but I was grateful for the opportunity to gain knowledge of my craft while also getting credit towards a bachelor’s degree. I took the 6-year plan with a break for a year between SPC and Texas Tech and finally earned a BA in History. I eventually got into a career in education teaching social studies to 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th grades.
I then went to teach English as a Second Language to international students, most of whom wanted to pursue a college degree in the U.S. It was rewarding getting to meet folks from all over the world and I learned a lot from them. In 2014, I was one of 20 instructors out of over 60 schools spread across the world that earned an Award for Excellence in Teaching. I finished a Master’s Degree in Education shortly after. I spent three years teaching and then quickly moved my way over to the administration side as an Academic Director and then Center Director. That career path took me to various places around the world and opened my mind to different cultures. Economic and immigration changes forced that school to close down, and I faced a fork in the road. I worked odd jobs to get by and started the process to get back to teaching in the public school system, which is where I am now.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a rocky road with a few detours along the way. Like Texas roads, there seems to be constant construction on parts of the road I am on. I’ve been told “No” a good share of times.
Before I graduated college with my undergraduate degree, I tried to get my foot in the door as a substitute teacher and I was turned down after my first interview. I also graduated college during the Great Recession and applied to dozens of places, trying to find any place that would hire me. I ended up a recent college graduate doing concrete, clothes covered in concrete dust, and blowing gray snot out of my nose. I had to change clothes and shower before I could pick up my firstborn son.
I faced challenges in my personal life, too. I started a family and did that while climbing the corporate ladder. I thought I had it all. Then the seven-year itch and a toxic relationship lead to another fork in the road. Here I was at the top of the world one day, living the dream with a family and a good career, and the next day I was fighting for my kids and looking for a new career path after the school I managed got closed down. That’s when I went back to finding myself through music. It’s always there when I need it, and oh how I need it. It’s my happy place. I turned that experience into my debut album with the help of some all-star musicians and artists, so I learned to appreciate the adversity. A tree gains its strength from the wind it faces. Another challenge I faced was releasing my debut album in April of 2020, which was at the beginning of the Covid era. It was an odd time for everyone, especially for the music industry.
I’ve found myself at square one a few times, and yet somehow, I’ve found a way to keep growing and progressing. I remember my grandpa showing my brother and I our McEwen crest, which is a trunk of an oak tree from which sprouts young branches. He told us it symbolizes overcoming adversity and defeat, and I often think about that and relate to it. We grow green. Reviresco!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In the big picture, I strive to make a difference and make the world a better place, whether it is through art and music, or through my impact on the youth as a dad, educator, and coach.
I’ve heard other songwriters and artists talk about how their favorite piece of art or favorite song is the one they’re working on, and I’d say that’s usually how I feel. My most recent single, “Ventriloquist,” ranks up there on my list of songs I am proud of, not just because of the song or because it’s my latest release, but also because of the courage I had to get personal and open up about the abuse I endured with a toxic, controlling ex. It took some deep diving and intense self-reflection to get to the point where I could see the gaslighting and manipulation that went on. It was cathartic getting that experience into song because it was closure for a relationship that derailed me for seven years. I didn’t like who I had become. My art and music took a backseat and I lost a part of myself during that time. The stories of abuse at the hands of a woman have been brought to light with the infamous Depp v. Heard case, but I wrote that song before that case came about. With time comes healing, and that song symbolizes the closing of that chapter of my life. It was part of the forgiveness process of forgiving both myself and her, even if she continues to pop up every now and then and insert her drama. (It wasn’t long after we released the video for Ventriloquist that the ventriloquist herself decided to pop up and comment on the video.) I have finally got to the point of being able to say, “Bless her heart” and I see her for what she is. That’s how Ventriloquist came to be.
It’s ironic because after going through that abuse I gained a best friend, my girlfriend, Amelia Presley, who is the most supportive and understanding person I could ask for. She courageously opened up about abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her stepmother with her song “Harm Nobody Else,” and I’ve seen how her story has impacted others who have had similar experiences. She motivated me to release Ventriloquist and she even directed/animated the official video for it. I hope others can see my experience and know that they aren’t alone.
I suppose what makes me stand out from a lot of folks in the Texas music scene is that my songs tend to not care about what the current flavor is. I can afford to do that since I have a rewarding career as an educator and coach, I don’t rely on selling records or playing covers to pay my bills. I strive to be authentic and honest with my art. You won’t find me writing songs about tractors, trucks, spit cups or tanned legs. I like to think Terry Allen is my spirit animal, I also don’t wear a Stetson.
What does success mean to you?
It’s funny that you ask this because that is the first bell ringer I asked my students on the first day in the Economics course I teach. Sure, success is achieving any goal that you aim to accomplish, but success looks different to everyone. Success could be short-term or long-term. Like happiness, it’s definitely not a golden token that suddenly appears and one says, “Aha! I am finally successful.” For me, success comes daily and it looks different every day. One day, you might be sick, and eating a meal or taking a shower would be a success. Folks should know that it’s okay to take a break and not go 24/7. I also think that nowadays there’s a lot of folks who measure success against others through social media. It’s important to define success for your own life and it’s okay to pause and celebrate the small successes that you come across. I am finally at a point in my life where I can pause, take a deep breath, and say I feel successful because I get to do what I love and pay my bills.
By no means am I finished though. I am constantly growing, learning, and improving. I recently celebrated three years without touching alcohol, and my life has drastically improved. I feel like I am just getting started. I want my children and students to see that it is important to have passion in life and it is never too late to start learning something. The short-term successes gradually lead to bigger achievements. One example from my life would be my recent endeavor into painting. Learning to paint has been on my bucket list for a while now. This past winter break I set a goal of painting at least one painting a day. I wrapped up a couple of art kits to put under the tree as gifts to Amelia from our newborn son, Stone because she’s an artist and I knew it’d be a good craft for us to do over the break. Well, she had the same idea and gave me some painting supplies as an early gift. So, I painted my first painting the first full day that I had off of work. I thought, “Dang, this is cool.” I painted an oak tree that had been cut off, but from which sprouts young, green branches on it, in front of the caprock.
I went onto the second painting the second day and started watching Bob Ross and tried his blending techniques. I’ve always been fascinated by the sky and landscapes, especially during the twilight before sunrise or after sunset. It’s my favorite time of day, and I quickly started trying to pull off some vibrant sunsets. By the end of the first week, I was pulling photographs from my travels- places like Big Bend, White Sands, the West Coast, the Pacific Northwest, Tokyo, Istanbul, Jamaica, etc., and I would practice painting by trying to recreate the photographs. Then I finally got to the point where I was learning to revise and improvise. By the time the winter break was over, I had painted 21 paintings in two weeks. The act of creating something tangible was cathartic and I felt “success.” Whether I turn into some Picasso or Salvador Dalí is not the point, I am positive I would see myself as a failure if I measured success against those masters.
For long-term success, the question I must be able to answer affirmatively is, “Am I making a difference?” That is the common thread and purpose of my life. Another measure of success one could ask themselves is, “Am I happy?” That entails a good amount of self-care and disregard for what others, especially the haters, may think. As long as I am creating, contributing to the world in a positive way, and making the world a better place, then I am happy and I feel successful as a result.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jordanmcewen.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/jordanmcewenmusic
- Facebook: facebook.com/jordanmcewenmusic
- Twitter: twitter.com/jmcewenmusic
- Youtube: youtube.com/jordanmcewenmusic7267
Image Credits
Amelia Presley
