An Artist We Love: Arsena Schroeder

Last month, we were excited to announce our very first sponsorship with singer/songwriter Arsena Schroeder. Today, Arsena released "You Made," a free (!!!) single from her highly anticipated upcoming album For My Artist Child, which is currently available for pre-order and will be released on December 2nd, 2014.

Photo courtesy of Arsena Schroeder & Kevin Currie

M e e t  A r s e n a

Born in Pittsburgh, Arsena Schroeder doesn't really "feel southern," even though she's lived in Charlotte, NC since she was five years old. 

"I feel more at home when I go up north," the twenty-three-year-old artist said, "especially in [Washington] D.C. ... that's where I started playing music."

When listening to Arsena's songs, it would be easy to mistake her for a life-long musician,. You'd probably be shocked to learn that she's only been creating music for five years, since the day she decided to teach herself guitar chords with a series of DVDs. Before picking up the guitar, music was present in Arsena's life in many ways. Her elementary school’s music class exposed her to classical music. Gospel songs were staples at the church she attended with her mother. She was on her high school’s dance team that performed routines to the brassy school songs of the marching band. 

Last week, we had the chance to sit down with Arsena to talk about her free single: "You Made," her upcoming album: For My Artist Child, life as an artist, her inspiration, her love of JLeer jeans and much more. 

We were excited to sponsor & outfit Arsena and her husband Stephen with JLeer jeans to wear to her official listening party, and we couldn't wait to hear their feedback on the product. (The verdict? They both plan to wear them on her upcoming tour!) Check out what she loves most about our jeans in the interview below & shop the same styles that Arsena loves, The Skinny Mary in black wash & her The Lady Mary Straight leg in medium wash. Also, we now offer free shipping for exchanges & returns to ensure that you get the perfect size for your body, so don't be afraid to shop now!

Arsena rocking our Skinny Mary style in our black wash

I n f l u e n c e s 

“Generally speaking, growing up here in Charlotte, in inner-city black communities, people listened to R&B and hip-hop,” Arsena said, “Do I like R&B and hip-hop that much? Not really… it was more like, ‘I’m a child, I want to be popular, this is what everyone’s listening to,’ but in my private time, I’d be sneaking like ‘Oooh, let me hear some other stuff.’ ”

With a list ranging from The Beatles, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake to Paramore, Amy Winehouse and Corinne Bailey Rae, Arsena became fascinated with performers that played their own instruments. Today, she plays the guitar, the “guitalele” (a guitar and ukulele hybrid), performs her own vocals, and is learning to play the keys.  She also writes all of her own songs.

“For me—I can’t speak for all songwriters, but that’s the difference between songwriters and entertainers. Entertainers—they pull from fiction, and you know, might sing about things they’ve never experienced. They don’t usually write the songs. I can’t process that side of the business. I don’t disrespect it, but I can’t understand it,” she said, shaking her head.

When Arsena writes a song, she writes the lyrics down, but because they are so truly "her story," she describes them as becoming quickly ingrained into her memory.

"I write the lyrics down," she explained, "I used to have a book, but now I just write on random pieces of paper. And somehow, they just get ingrained in you. I don't ever refer to that piece of paper again--it's just in my head... For me, it becomes an emotion, a feeling, a vocal inflection. To actually type it and look at it is really weird--it feels foreign... I'll usually write at the top of the page, you know--this is the intro, this is the chord progression for this verse, and then just like the lyrics, you keep playing it. You just remember it."

L a b e l s

Arsena’s combination of geographic and musical influences, and her ever-evolving passions have made it difficult to stick her with a label, genre-wise. Although she is very openly a Christian and described her music beautifully as being “dipped, bathed, and soaked in my faith,” in a 2013 interview with Breedlove Music, she also stated in the same interview that: “The Abundantly EP is a snapshot of where I was in my life during the years I wrote the songs. I was a new believer so the songs express my newfound faith, joy, and desperation."

When writing For My Artist Child, Arsena challenged herself to break free of this genre.

“I’m a Christian, but over time with this project, I really challenged myself to write it in a way that people from all walks of life will listen to, enjoy, and get something from it—this is not to dumb down my faith, but just to challenge myself as a songwriter and to push myself to connect with an audience who might be different from me,” Arsena explained. “I find that with these new songs, all kinds of people can really find things that they can connect with.”

Arsena’s music is also commonly labeled as “neo-soul,” and while that doesn’t necessarily alienate potential listeners, Arsena isn’t crazy about the stereotype it conjures.

“I think when a lot of people hear that label [neo-soul], they think of a black girl with curly hair and a guitar—and they’re like ‘Oh it’s neo-soul,’ –but well, I think I have elements of, for sure R&B, but I think there’s also a very indie-folkish influence as well.”

So what genre does Arsena fall under? She is a self-proclaimed “acoustic soul” artist, because she performs solo acoustic for the majority of her shows. All of the shows on her upcoming tour are “house concerts”—Arsena’s favorite type.

“Basically, you have someone that likes your music that wants to host you in their house. You turn their house into a venue for the night and they bring their family and friends, and they’ll usually do a potluck dinner if you want and we usually just get really intimate and people can ask questions about the songs,” she explained. “I love them because you can really engage and connect with people in a way that you can’t at a traditional venue.”

Photo courtesy of Arsena Schroeder & Kevin Currie

C o n n e c t i n g  &  I n s p i r i n g

Connecting with others seems to come naturally to Arsena, not only through her music, but also through her easy-going personality and goal to inspire others through her journey. Even if you’ve only just met her, she has a genuine spirit that makes it feel as if you’ve known her for ages. For My Artist Child consists of twelve songs, all of which were inspired by people and experiences in the musician’s life. This was a challenge in itself to Arsena, but she also wanted to challenge herself to push through and bring life to challenging creative song ideas. The result: For My Artist Child will include several full-band songs, a few full-band acoustic songs, a solo acoustic song, a rock song with a "dark, haunting" sound, and even a DJ/dubstep version of one of the songs--a bonus track. 

“This album is really the first time that I’ve ever written songs that people have inspired,” she admitted, “It makes me so vulnerable.”

Arsena explained that the free single, “You Made,” available here today, was inspired by a failed friendship. Her goal with all of the songs on her new album was to write songs that would cause others to contemplate the feelings and messages that her songs evoked, while also enjoying the music. In addition to writing about a failed friendship, For My Artist Child also includes a song about the artist’s relationship with her rarely-there biological father.

“Someone might hear the song about my father, and not think about that at all. They might think about a problem within themselves. Maybe they are a father, and you know, it connects with them there,” she said.

Also on the roster is Arsena’s first-ever love song, written for her husband.

“It’s called “Words Just Won’t Do,” she explained. “He kept asking for years, like, you sing all these songs…where’s a song about me? …I have a lot of songwriter friends that find it easy to talk about their love life, but for me it’s different... words just won’t do—boom, I ended up going with that theme."

Photo courtesy of Arsena Schroeder & Kevin Currie

F o r  M y  A r t i s t  C h i l d

The title For My Artist Child is a nod to Arsena’s journey via Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, a 12-week guide aimed to help creative individuals reach their highest point of creativity through spirituality (check out Arsena's blog post about the twelve things she learned from The Artist's Way here).

“A term used in the book a lot was your ‘Artist Child’ and how your creativity is like a child and needs to be taken care of and nourished, because you don’t want it to die off. When I started writing for the album, I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to write something for my artist child, rather than writing what I think sounds cool and hip,' ” Arsena stated.

The album is available for pre-sale for both hard and virtual copy here and will be released and sent on December 2nd.

Photo courtesy of Arsena Schroeder & Kevin Currie

A r s e n a  &  J L e e r

here

Arsena wrote a fantastic blog when we decided to sponsor her music that answers the question of why she would pair up with a jeans company as an artist, and that delves into her personal beliefs about building relationships with other individuals, projects and brands that you personally believe in. We are proud to represent her, and excited that she wanted to represent our product as well! Check out the blog post here!

When asked about her opinion of the product, Arsena's answers showed exactly how JLeer solves everyday dilemmas, as well as those particular to the world of musicians.

"I have two pairs of JLeer jeans now and my experience has been awesome. Before I had them, I always put my phone in my back pocket (doesn't everybody?) So the SmartPockets are very convenient. Not [keeping your phone in your back pocket]-- especially in the car-- I mean, you shouldn't text and drive, but if I have to grab it really quick, I don't have to do all of this," Arsena said, wiggling and digging into her back pocket while giggling. 

"Sometimes, I'll be sitting on it and I won't even realize it," she added, "and I don't know where it is. So my experience with my [smartphone] being right here has been super convenient. The alternative for me, is usually in here," she said, opening her large purse/endless abyss. "I have a lot of stuff going on in here" she said, "So it’s the bomb to have somewhere specifically for my phone."

"As a musician, I also love using the pockets for guitar picks. If I'm not wearing my JLeers, my guitar picks have to go in my bra," Arsena said, erupting with laughter. "No really, they do. But now, I don’t have to do that! I love the hidden pocket ones; both pairs of mine are hidden pocket styles." 

"Overall, I just love the fit for me—they’re comfy!" she said. "Also, I have long legs and these are the first jeans that have ever given me enough jean to where I can roll them at the bottom, and I’m like 'Ahhh, this is the best ever!'  I’ve always seen people do that, and it’s so cute, and I’ve wanted to do it, but with every other pair of jeans, rolling them would make them look like capris and that would be weird. JLeers are just a genuinely good quality of jean."

Photo courtesy of Arsena Schroeder

Arsena also expressed her excitement over the "jegging" style that we have in the works. 

"I love jeggings!" She squealed. "I love wearing them, especially with a drapey shirt. I can't wait for them [JLeer's jegging styles], I'd probably wear them every single day," she said.

...We hope you will, Arsena! Thank you for letting us sponsor you through the exciting time of your first full-length album release, and for the free single download! Make sure to go get your free DL of "You Made" here (now!) and remember to pre-order your copy of For My Artist Child (we got to cop an early copy, and it's really REALLY good, y'all!) 

Connect with Arsena on Facebook here, and
  Follow @ArsenaMusic on Twitter & Instagram!



As always, make sure you're following us on Facebook, and Follow @JLeerBrand on Twitter & Instagram!

   Xoxo, JLeer Brand

By Amelia Beamer