Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Spotser.
Jordan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It all started in Colorado when I was seven singing “If I ain’t got you” by Alicia Keys in the basement of our beautiful suburban home. I will never forget it! My older sister ran downstairs just to tell me I couldn’t sing. I didn’t know the basics of singing then because in elementary school, all I knew was I instantly fell in love w/ music. I didn’t let that stop me. By the time I was in the 3rd grade, I had gathered the courage to audition for my first theatrical play, where I was cast as Bethoven. The night of the show, my music teacher’s face and the crowds were priceless and the performance was a success.
I moved around a lot during my adolescent years so basketball and music kept me grounded and out of trouble. However, around the 8th grade, I persistently begged my mom for a guitar because I knew it was the instrument I needed to unlock my sound. It wasn’t until a couple of years later, after performing in yet another High-School talent show that I received my first ever Mitchell guitar! Once I got one, I knew it was only up from there! At first, I had no idea what I was doing! But after a few lessons and a couple of YouTube videos, I began my journey like most self-taught guitarists! Once I figured out the basics, I started to play around with chords and picking patterns and eventually turned those progressions into songs.
I left Richardson High School and transferred to Richland Collegiate High School, where I found myself skipping class to play guitar in a stairwell. People would go all the way to the top of the staircase to see and hear me play. I was that 6’8 black guy walking around with a guitar strapped to my back with no case. I ended up transferring to Richardson Berkner High School for my Senior year of high school. This senior year was pivotal because I realized the impact of my music. I released my first track on Soundcloud and it got 3000 plays within the first couple of months and I received great feedback. After graduation, I tried the traditional college route twice with my music and that just wasn’t really working for me. Media Tech offered the focus and the skills that I needed to perfect my music structure and production skills. I wrote and recorded a lot of music while I was there. I rode the Dart Train to class and the studio every day and damn near died for this shit. I would be in the studio from sun up to sun down with no breaks, barely eating and sleeping. And when I didn’t have bus/train fare, I would walk from Farmers Branch to my home at Audelia and Walnut.
My mom is my biggest inspiration because she has always been my biggest supporter. I get my work ethic from her. Every morning she gets up at 4 am and works 12 hour days. For as long as I can remember, she’s always worked two jobs just to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. She is also really amazing at music and can tap into it at any time. My mother is classically trained in operatic vocal performance but was unable to pursue a career in music. She has a beautiful voice. She taught me how to use my voice. She taught me my vocal exercises and how to breathe while singing. She taught me how to develop my falsetto and fully develop my vocal range. It is amazing to know that I received my musical gifts from her.
I am absolutely, positively in love with music and I want to share this love with the world. If it makes me a worldwide superstar in the process, I’ll take that. I am also an emotional person, so my music helps me express my emotions. I hope that people can hear my emotional connection to the music in my latest single, “Can’t Get Away.” I sometimes feel alone a lot and my music is what comforts me. I want to make sure no one out there feels alone and I hope my music is a comfort and a friend to people in their time of need.
The goal of my music and my sound is to blur the boundaries. I don’t want to be put in a box. Currently, my music is developing into a sound that I am still learning about and is ever-changing. I would describe my sound as being stuck between folk/indie/EDM and urban/ modern rap. There is no genre for this yet and I can’t wait to see where this musical journey takes me. I hope people are ready and I hope more people jump on this ride with me. I want people to feel how I feel. I want to transfer my energy into positive outcomes. That’s why I do it. That’s why I perform/play music.
In my personal life, I need to learn how to listen and just know that I’m a work in progress. Professionally, I need to continue to grow in terms of production, songwriting, knowing my audience, storytelling, learning different instruments, performing, and instrumentation. When I first started, my music was on some nature, boy shit. It was really intimate, yet raw and unrefined. I have an associate’s degree in audio engineering and I’m only going to get better from here. The next step in this process is getting into Berklee College of Music to finish my bachelor’s degree. I want to become more effective as an artist and perfect my craft by combining my music education and my talent. I’ve been told that people love my music because it helps get them through their day and those moments always make me realize the impact my music can have on others.
Currently, I feel like the music industry has lost its identity because no one wants to be original anymore. So many artists want to follow a formula to make a quick dollar instead of creating their own sound. I think as an artist, you can study and take note of the trends, but while doing so, realize that it’s okay to go your own way and see where the off the beaten path leads you. By doing so, you end up finding yourself and your sound in the process.
My musical influences are Tame Impala, Juice World, Travis Scott, Khalid, XXXtentacion, Earth Wind and Fire, Sade, John Mayer, and so many more. My mom listened to everything growing up and she passed on that appreciation to us.
Who is Koy? I don’t know him yet fully but I’m on this magical journey to finding out. Right now, I’m just a guy who plays guitar and sings from the soul about real shit. Who is Jordan? Jordan is sweet, kind, caring, hardworking, slightly hard-headed, and the one who loves his Momma to the moon and back.
Has it been a smooth road?
In the middle of December of last year, I was Hospitalized with Influenza Type B. I was rushed to the hospital from my mom’s after suffering five seizures due to having a high fever. Some nights, I had no means of transportation Home from the studio so I would walk sometimes getting harassed by the Farmers Branch Police department!
Recently, I was shot in the groin during the protest in Downtown Dallas this summer. My efforts made the front page of the Dallas Morning News. However, I ended up suffering even more because I couldn’t walk and that meant I couldn’t work so I lost my job. As an Independent Artist in Dallas, sometimes people won’t give you an opportunity unless you pay them. Many times I’ve had to pay for shows and getting jipped in the process, I’ve lost a ton of money behind this practice. I sometimes struggle with knowing who is for me and who’s out to get me.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I’m Koythaboi. I make music. My fashion line is in the works, and my followers are schools of Koi Fish’s shout out to princess bubble gum the real ones know.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Dallas and the DFW metroplex is still a hotbed for musical talent. However, this modern-day Payola, where artists have to pay to perform their art, is insane.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 2142576082
- Email: Koyxmusic@gmail.com
- Other: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/koythaboi1/cant-get-away
Image Credit:
@DirbyJp @Sydforinger @D_Angle_Tho
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