Spotlight on...Jon Borgen

Author: Melissa Marshall

Middlebury '99 alumnus Jon-Eric Borgen played his first performance at the Gamut Room in the basement of Gifford in 1996. Now working in Boston and fresh off the success of his latest album The General Store, he speaks to The Campus about the impact music has had on his life as well as the impression he hopes to leave on his listeners.



The Middlebury Campus: Was there a defining moment when you realized that you wanted to make creating music an integral part of your life?

Jon Borgen: There are a few moments I can think of but one that really sticks out is when I was on the road touring with Dispatch as their guitar technician in the fall of 2001. The whole journey of seeing the country and being an up-close witness to the unbelievable impact that these unique artists had on their fans was so inspiring. Since I learned my first chord on the guitar, I loved writing music. But after those three months and then jumping right into music school, it became my life line.



MC: What was it like working with producer Scott Riebling of Weezer and Nina Gordon fame?

JB: Scott was awesome to work with on this record. He's seen such a great amount of success from both the band side and production side and he's so knowledgeable. Before he was a producer, he was a very well-known touring and studio artist and that vast experience as a performer has served him so well toward creating and communicating in the studio. I really value his opinion and patience. Scott really pushed me to look at a song as the sum of its parts. That's hard to do on many levels, but it's an important practice for any writer.



MC: This seems to be a pivotal point in your musical career. Are you working on any new projects, and if so, is the industry your top priority at the moment?

JB: Something I've been really excited to share and get out there is The Relief Project - a non-profit organization that I co-founded last fall with my good friend and Middlebury alumnus, Brad Corrigan '96. The mission is to use music as a means to serve and provide relief to areas of the world where children have been adversely affected by natural disaster, poverty, and injustice. To this point, we've produced and distributed our first compilation CD that features 19 well-known artists around the country (Dispatch, Stephen Kellogg, State Radio, Arrested Development, to name a few). Right now it's just starting to gather some steam, but we've had a great response from our fans and friends and, through CD sales and benefit shows, we've granted over $13,000 to Katrina Relief and the Pakistani Earthquake Emergency Fund in the Allai Valley of Batagram. The Relief Project has been such a great outlet for me to combine my two passions of creating music and helping others.

MC: Who would you say are some of your musical influences?

JB: There are so many [that] it's hard to choose, but ever since I first started listening to music, I've inherently gravitated towards artists like [Bob] Dylan, Bob Marley, The Beatles, Neil Young and other singer/songwriters. The more I write and listen, the more I understand that these individuals possess (or possessed) such a commanding presence of their own mind and have such capacity to know how to create a catchy melody that communicates their message…their voice. There's a raw intimacy with folk-rock artists that appeals on many levels to many different people. I think it's always been my goal to write and sing from that perspective.



MC: What do you want listeners to take from your new album, The General Store?

JB: I think it's instinctual for artists to hope that their work reverberates on a greater level to the person experiencing it. When I write a song, I want some part of it - whether it's the whole song, the melody, the lyric, or a single note - to create a response or emotional attachment with the listener. My goal, for any record, is to have the listener find that emotional connection and to share it with others. As for the individual songs, I don't think there's any deeper statement I'm trying to convey. It's really just a collection of personal perspectives from my own encounters with love, loss, anger, politics, and uncertainty. Everyone can relate to one or more of those ideas.



MC: Do you have a favorite track from the album? What is your favorite song to play live?

JB: Hard question… picking a favorite song is like asking a parent to pick which child they love the most…they can't do it or they feel extremely guilty admitting one over the other. All I can say is that I love each song for its individuality. The live song really depends on the mood of the crowd. I guess any song where the people know the words and sing along is a good song to play live. That kind of stuff makes a performer feel warm and fuzzy.