An Interview With The New York-Based Singer-Songwriter JUSTIN BARON!

New York-based singer/songwriter, Justin Baron, is quickly becoming one of the music industry’s rising stars with his infectious brand of explosive, bluesy pop. And, yet, he has a problem that even the most confident, talented and desirable men have to face at some point in their lives.

“I’ve been in love with this girl for a while now,” shares Baron. “But, I’ve never been able to tell her. Every time I tried, my lips went numb and my words turned to gibberish.”

Thankfully, Justin Baron has a remarkable ability to turn his struggles into beautifully crafted songs, and his newest release, “Craving,” is sure to win over the object of his affection.  “I’m putting this song out to tell her how I feel,” says Baron.

In 2013 – a breakout year for Baron – he co-wrote with Kanye West and John Legend, leading to Legend’s “Made to Love,” a single off the certified gold and Grammy-nominated album Love In The Future. Though Baron feels most at home on stage, captivating fans with both his mastery of the piano and his undeniably magnetic vocals.

Since 2013, Baron has gone from playing in small coffee houses to performing on some of the biggest stages in the world, including the IZOD Arena alongside Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez and Calvin Harris and Jones Beach Amphitheatre with Jason Derulo, Justin Bieber and The Weeknd.

Influenced by everyone from The Beatles and The Roots to T. Rex and Elliott Smith, Baron’s eclectic musical taste shows in his ability to seamlessly blend genres into one intoxicating sound.

“There’s this moment when you’re making something, whether it’s a song or just a melody, where this switch flips on all the sudden,” shares Baron. “It’s like a flash of adrenaline and it’s helplessly addicting. It makes you dance around the room like a complete idiot. Getting a chance to bring that same feeling to everyone is the reason I make music.”

Learn more about Justin Baron in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! What are some words you would use to describe 2016 for you and your music? What were some of the highlights? What are you most excited about for 2017? Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions?

Hey there! Nice to meet you mysterious internet interviewer. So I think the best word to describe my 2016 is “finally”. I’ve spent more years than I’m willing to count working on this project and 2016 is the year I finally started putting the music out. I ended up writing like 35 songs or something that was whittled down to 6, so 2016 could also be described as a “blur”. I’m excited to release the rest of the project in 2017 and go on tour for the first time. My New Year’s Resolution was “Don’t go on Reddit” and it lasted 18 minutes into 2017….so that went well. (Laughter)

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory? Could you see yourself doing anything else today?

Growing up, I knew I wanted to be on stage in front of as many people as possible. I was that annoying kid that always said to my parents, “Hey, watch me!” while I fumbled through Chopsticks or tried to beat a water level on Super Mario NES. My earliest musical memory is playing the drums on this kick-ass plastic drum set my parents bought me…here’s a picture of it. I think I peaked at 2 years old. Could I see myself doing anything else today? Nah. Once you know what it’s like to be in front of a bunch of people dancing to songs you wrote…it’s pretty much impossible to do anything else.

I’d love to know what it was like writing with Kanye West and John Legend for the song “Made To Love”? How exactly did that collaboration come together in the first place? Is it still hard to believe that experience happened? What did you learn from it all?

That was still one of the cooler moments of my musical career. That came together after years of networking and pitching a ton of songs that had no business being pitched. I think with something like that, the biggest lesson I learned is that opportunities come so quickly, and if you’re ready, you can capitalize. And yes, I’m still in disbelief of the whole experience whenever I hear that song. I’m not really a guitar player, but that’s me playing guitar on the song, so I’ll still smirk whenever it comes on. Why they didn’t replace my guitar part with an actual competent guitar player remains a mystery to me.

Let’s talk about your current new single, “Craving.” Where did the inspiration for this song come from? How different or similar is “Craving” to your previously released single “Girl With An Ego”?

So this song came out of a late-night collaboration with the talented producer/writer/artist Am!r.  He had a lot of the groove already done before our session and when I heard it, the melodies just kinda came out. I think we wrote the whole thing in like 30 minutes? And I know I was listening to a ton of T. Rex that day, so that song is pretty much my fumbling attempt to be as cool as Marc Bolan. I think where the two songs differ is in perspective. In “Girl With An Ego”, I’m vying for a girl who essentially doesn’t exist…and in “Craving”, she’s very real and very unattainable.

When do you hope to release more music and your debut album?

So the rest of the project is done and sitting on my hard drive. We’re looking to put the rest of it out over the next few months and hopefully pair it with some cool visuals. I’ve come up with video concepts that are pretty out there, so I’m REALLY crossing my fingers they come together.

I have read that you have been in love with a girl that at the time of the article, you still had not been able to tell her. Please tell me that you have by now!?! Does she now know that “Craving” is about her? What happened?!

Well…to quote my favorite Facebook relationship status, “It’s complicated”. But I can say, publicly releasing a song is a fun way to tell someone. (Laughter) She CERTAINLY knows it’s about her (and many other songs to be honest) and it certainly helped. So I guess…time will tell? That’s such a boring answer. I should have just told you she woke me up at 3am blaring the song outside my window and we had mind-blowing sex and we’ve eloped. Let’s go with that.

Who are some of your favorite musicians? What musicians would you love to work with in the future?

Oh man, that’s such a tough question to answer. I think lately, I’m finding myself more fascinated with the artist and their story rather than the songs themselves. I genuinely believe honesty and authenticity are the threads that connect artists and listeners, so people like Thom Yorke, Eddie Vedder, Sam Cooke, Amy Winehouse, and Kendrick Lamar are a few I’ve been digging into lately. Dream collaborators? I still listen to John Mayer‘s “Continuum” at least once a week since it came out in ’06, so my life would be complete to just have a jam with him sometime.

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people take away from your songs?

So at the core of all my songs is love and what it makes you do. My love life has been a rough rollercoaster I often want to get off of, but sometimes it makes that sudden drop and the feeling of weightlessness becomes an addiction. If my music can somehow put words and music behind those emotions and be a place for people to vent or dance like an idiot, I’d be a happy man.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourself or your music?

I just think it’s important your readers know that the “boost” function on Tinder works pretty damn well. You just have to choose a good time of day, like 7pm or something, but it’s well worth the $1.99 or whatever it costs. It’s tough out there, I know better than anyone, so hopefully this helps.