A Dirty Dozen with JASON HEATH from JASON HEATH & THE GREEDY SOULS – November 2025

Photo credit: Lucile Healy

According to a recent press release: “Southern California-based roots-rock band Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls is set to release its new album, Earth Fire Water Airborne, via Still Small Recordings on November 14, 2025. Initially set for CD and digital release, Heath plans to also issue a vinyl version in the coming months. Full of unabashed emotionality and another helping of the unapologetic verve that has defined the balance of the band’s career, Heath and his fellow Greedy Souls come across as primal, raw, and, well, as elemental as can be on the dozen tracks that make up the new album. Earlier releases by the band had organically aligned with the burgeoning Americana movement, but more recently, Heath and Co. felt a reset of sorts was in order. Earth Fire Water Airborne shares powerful DNA with the timeless nature of the most cherished rock records. The trajectory of the anthemic fist-pumper “Children, Chains and Razorwire” and the skinny-tie vibes of “6 More Miles” in turn connect with the acoustic throes of “Your Disease” and “Pieces of Your Heart,” the touching duet that closes the album.” We get Jason to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

I’m not sure about hidden nuggets but I’ve always written songs, or attempted to, anyway, from more of a mysterious or veiled perspective, not to be elusive, but to paint pictures or vignettes that are meaningful to me but still open to interpretation. I’m always looking for fresh and deeper levels of meaning for myself in my own songs, and I invite listeners to do the same. I study ageless wisdom, ancient knowledge, esoteric things like Kabbalah, Tarot, Alchemy, etc. And I’m a Freemason, so you’ll often find that kind of imagery in my lyrics. They say, “Write what you know!” So I try to.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Wow… taking me waaaaaay back!! I was about 12 years old, and my brother and his friend, Ritchie (who actually taught me how to play guitar), were trying to write a song, and I was in the room witnessing their frustration with the lyrics. So I tried throwing my two cents in and wound up writing most of the lyrics. Ritchie was really impressed with my lyrical prowess, and it was the first thing I was really good at. I’ve been writing songs ever since. I had to write songs. I wasn’t good enough to play anyone else’s.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I was always drawn to storytelling in song at very young age. I really only had access to the radio, so I remember songs like “The Gambler” (Kenny Rogers) and “Copacabana” (Barry Manilow) and being drawn to them. My mom had a Sammy Davis Jr. record, so “Candy Man” was a big hit for me, and Dion’s “Runaround Sue.” It wasn’t until I was older that I realized it was the storytelling that hooked me and they were good songs all around. I remember my mom joined one of those Columbia House record clubs. You got like 15 records for a penny. and she only wanted one record, so she let me pick the rest. I got Billy Joel, Cheap Trick, Van Halen, Village People. It was the height of the disco sucks – rock vs. disco wars. I didn’t know it wasn’t cool to like Peaches & Herb and Donna Summer and The Who and The Kinks. As far as performing, I grew up going to punk / alternative shows and saw 7 Seconds, the Alarm, and U2 in the mid ’80s and then Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Springsteen, R.E.M., John Mellencamp. All had a big impact on my writing and performing.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Not sure I could pick one. Probably Prince, although he didn’t collaborate too much. I would just like to observe the process until he kicked me out. Funny story… I was at a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy camp “battle of the bands” at the House of Blues a long time ago. It’s one of those things a bunch of wealthy guys pay for, to hang with famous people and write songs for two weeks and then perform the songs. I was on the balcony with a friend watching the performances, and there wasn’t anyone else around. When I looked over my shoulder, suddenly Prince was standing right next to me with this stunningly beautiful lady on his arm. I turned around to my friend to motion that Prince was right next to us when, to my surprise, his bodyguard brought over a four-foot velvet rope and put it between Prince and me. I looked at the bodyguard as if to say, “You gotta be kidding me.” He just shrugged, said, “It’s my job,” and walked away.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

I like to run songwriting workshops in jails, prisons, and juvenile halls for Jail Guitar Doors, the charity I work for.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Post-Amerikana, Acousteclectric, Agit-POP, Folkountry Arena Rock ‘n’ Roll. One reviewer once compared us to Kansas meets Mellencamp as a knock on our record, but I was honored by the comparison… so…

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

When we hang out, we’re usually recording or rehearsing. But Steve and Jay play pickleball a lot. We just saw Spinal Tap as a band awhile back. And we’re planning a group viewing at Steve’s house for Spinal Tap 2. No acoustic guitars will be harmed during the event.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I met Bob Dylan a function awhile ago and actually got to have dinner with him. It wasn’t the first time I was around him. But I didn’t say much, as I’m always afraid I’ll say something stupid.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Being able to connect with folks on a spiritual level through song is an honor and a privilege. I would probably be a monk and live in the Himalayas.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

Q : If you were traveling at the speed of light in a ’57 Chevy and you turned on the headlights, would anything happen? A: Unknown. Cant think of any I’m tired of answering. I’m just glad someone is interested.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a ‘do over,’ even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I did several dates with Steve Earle in Canada a few years back for Light of Day Canada, but I steered clear of him because I hate trying to talk to people I look up to. We finally talked after the final show, and he couldn’t have been nicer. Should have spoke up sooner.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I would like to have been present at the first ever recording of a human voice in 1860 of the French folk song “Au Clair de la lune” by Edouard Leon Scott. Without it, none of us would be in the game.

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Category: Interviews