Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Heffler.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jason. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story started when my friends dragged me to Ultra Music Festival in Miami in 2013. I didn’t know who any of the artists were or what kind of music they performed. But I immediately fell in love with it all: the music, the culture, the people, everything. When I got back home, I decided I wanted to produce music. With no classical training, I was horrible in the beginning, but the harder I worked and more I learned, I was able to develop my own sound. The more I grew, my purpose transformed as well; at first I just wanted to make bangers and seem cool to my peers, but eventually, I found music to be a wonderful outlet for my stutter.
It’s something that seems harmless to other people, but it’s really a vicious thing to have. Being unable to speak like everyone else is really brutal and I got bullied a lot as a kid; I had a hard time doing normal things like reading aloud in class, talking on the phone, and making friends. I was never really able to find an outlet for me to prove myself as more than just some bumbling, nervous, stuttering little kid. I tried playing sports, writing, art, lots of different things, because I wanted people to see me as something else other than a kid with a speech impediment. So after years of hiding behind it and trying to suppress it, I finally decided to own it, which is why I picked the stage name Fluencee. It reflects me being able to speak ‘fluently’ through my music.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has most certainly not been a smooth road. It’s hard to convince people to take you seriously as an artist when you physically can’t utter the words required to convince them. I’ve endured an unbelievable amount of rejection over the years, but it’s given me thick skin. There was one instance back in college at the University of Arizona, where I had to give a presentation to an auditorium full of students, and I was a nervous wreck. I stuttered through the entire thing, and it got progressively worse as I heard more and more laughs. When I got home, I was really down on myself and I became despondent, telling my girlfriend I was going to quit music. She told me she doesn’t date quitters and she’d dump me. I was really into her so I decided to stick with it, and we just had our 7-year anniversary.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Going to Philadelphia Phillies games with my family. I still remember the first game my dad took me to when I walked out of the tunnel and the entire stadium opened up in front of me. I was tiny and the ballpark was so big and green, and it smelled like Cheez Wiz and peanuts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fluencee.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluenceemusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fluenceemusic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/fluenceemusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7tpNSl4pmI5rBxvWOMfk6j
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
