Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Rivers.
Hi Jordan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Malibu, C.A., and always had hopes and dreams to play music on the Sunset Strip like so many of my idols. Weekends and summers were spent down at the beach at Point Dume, playing guitar and scribbling song ideas into one of my many journals. In my 20s, my dreams started to come true. After playing at a few coffee shops, open mics, and art shows throughout the city I decided to take a risk and shoot for something even bigger. I pretended to be my own Manager and gave her the name Maureen (who just happens to be one of my best friends in LA) and I reached out to The Viper Room to try to get a show. To my surprise they got back to me and offered me a date to play, the only trouble, I had no band. I reached out to any contact and friend I could think of who might be up for the daunting task of playing with a girl like me who had never performed on a proper stage before. Well, Los Angles isn’t the hardest place to find musicians, and luckily, I was able to find some, and so the journey began. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore; after playing my first real show at The Viper Room, I was hooked and have been ever since. That was over 5 years ago, and I am still pursuing my love for music. My band has changed throughout the years, producers have come and gone, but one thing has always stayed the same, me and my guitar have a love affair, and we will always continue to write songs together. I am currently living between Barcelona, Spain (Where I am currently working on my new album) and Malibu, and even when I am a bit far from my beautiful hometown, I never forget the city that raised me and took a chance on me all those years ago. Excited to be releasing my new album early next year!
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?
There have been quite a few bumps along the way on my musical journey. When I was younger many friends and family members told me I couldn’t sing and that it was just a silly hobby I was getting into. But this, to me, has always been much more than just a hobby. It was my therapy, my healing from old wounds like losing my father when I was 15 or being in an abusive relationship. Music was my story, my voice. And if people around me didn’t believe in me, I still had to dig deep within myself and see that I believed in myself. I needed my music; I needed a way to express myself. A lot of times when you have a big goal in life, you will start to hear negative feedback from others or even that negative voice within your own head saying, ‘Oh, you can’t really do that’ or ´You’ll never make a living off that, you’re not good enough’. Unfortunately, these voices sometimes don’t ever go away or only slightly disappear gradually with time. But the good always outweighs the bad. The joy and pure sense of heaven on earth I feel every time I perform or see that my music, lyrics, or concert inspired someone in even the littlest sense, well that makes it all worth it and is more than enough to promise myself I’ll never give up on this!
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?
I am the founder and songwriter of the band Rivers and Suns. The project was born in Los Angles and has now transitioned itself to Barcelona, Spain. Our music could be described as folk rock, pulling inspiration from my favorites, Bob Dylan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Beatles. I sing with a raspy almost spoken-word voice as I share my stories of lost hope being found again, heartbreak, and finding new love, loss, and growth. Our band is unique in the fact that each of us is from a different country, Argentina, France, Germany, and me from Los Angeles. This has allowed us to become more experimental in our songwriting as we also draw inspiration from all of our different cultural backgrounds. We have recently begun recording our new album and are looking forward to releasing it in early 2023.
What do you think about happiness?
Growing up in Malibu 15 years ago was a very different Malibu than it is today. We had The Malibu Inn, which is now Casa Escobar. We grew up going to The Inn and seeing live bands every weekend. I remember watching these musicians in utter amazement. They looked so free, eyes closed, their fingers dancing around the fretboard or twiddling their wrists with their drumsticks, and they could command an entire room doing this. I knew from those early years that that is what I wanted to do. I wanted to experience that feeling of pure magic I was seeing these other musicians enjoy. So, first step was pick up a guitar. I remember the first time I could put 2 chords together and make it sound half decent, the first time I wrote a song, the first time I performed, the first time someone told me my music related to them, that it inspired them. These moments are pure joy for me. I truly believe that music is so powerful, and to be able to express myself through the thing I love most in the world, well, this is my definition of happiness.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/riversandsuns
- Instagram: @riversandsuns
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiversandSuns
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHCn8kJn1lx6edI84a6NGjw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/stellarnorthmusic/sets/rivers-and-suns-bullets-in-the
Image Credits
@ovfotografia
