Long Island singer-songwriter Jason Flashner is gearing up to release his third studio album, Rocks and Roots, on March 11, 2022. The new LP ends an almost eight-year gap between his last effort, 2014’s Indie Tale, and falls on the tenth anniversary of his first album, Acoustics and Stones.
Rocks and Roots comprises two parts: one with a full band (although Flashner plays every instrument), and the other with acoustic versions of the same songs. Flashner debuted the first song, “Alive, Awake!” at the tail end of November, and has more waiting in the wings. The album’s second single, “Like Nobody’s Watching,” premieres today.
“Like Nobody’s Watching” is an upbeat, breezy guitar tune perfect for warming our hearts in the dead of winter. The lyrics are about taking a bad day and turning it around, using dance and music as a remedy. Accompanying the song is a homemade music video, with clips of children dancing happily. Before the release of Rocks and Roots in March, Flashner plans to release one more single, “This Wave,” in February.
Jason Flashner, who also goes by Jay, is an independent artist through and through. He’s learned the business side of music by himself, watching tutorials to learn how to promote and pitch his work. He recalls an incident earlier in his career when his hard drive stopped working and he lost an album’s worth of music, and didn’t have it backed up. Going forward, Flashner used the experience as a learning opportunity:
If we learn from our mistakes, we minimize that from happening, so whenever something like this does occur, I try to remain as patient as possible and know that there will be something to learn from it. It is all a marathon rather than a sprint, and we can all get there with patience.
Jason Flashner
While he never lost an album again, Flashner re-recorded Rocks and Roots multiple times until he felt confident in his work. Given his patience and perfectionism this time around, it might be his best yet. Listen to it on March 11, 2022, on all major streaming platforms.
