Jefferson Fox returns to writing more personal songs, but not peforming for an audience

When "making it" as a musician no longer meant making music, Jefferson Fox went home.

He took a sabbatical from gigging to be with his wife, Sharon, and their daughters, to really listen to music and then create some.

"I went through it. I toured and paid the bills with it for a time," Fox said. "But I'd rather be right here."

Now, his basement is a songwriter's workbench, filled with instruments, records and notebooks. In it, he finds a warm, cluttered little affirmation.

"To me, this is the best place in the world," he said.

Jefferson Fox, who recently released his latest album, "Drawing Board", is seen Wednesday. More photos are in a gallery at semissourian.com. (Laura Simon)

He started playing music in Savannah, Georgia, as a high-schooler. In his recollection, he was "just like everybody else," learning enough of various instruments to crank out typical youthful grunge-punk fare.

But necessity, he explained, jump-started his songwriting.

"In Savannah, you didn't survive if you were playing covers," he said. "They'd throw things at you. It's the exact opposite of the Midwest."

So he started writing his own music, eventually adopting a rootsier aesthetic and touring as himself. But being on the road, he didn't have time to really listen to music and felt as if all his time was being spent publicizing or jumping through hoops.

"I realized I was spending more time convincing people that I was cool than I was making music," he said. "The most offensive thing I've ever heard about music is the term 'music business.'

"I think that from around '09 to '13, I was focused on global politics and things on the Internet, outside sources that I couldn't control. I was angry all the time."

Now he just records what he wants to and publishes it on his Bandcamp page. Free of pressuring influences, he said he's able to pursue more constructive subject matter.

"From '91 to '07, I wrote about personal things," he said. "And now that's what I'm back to."

He's also free to focus on things such as recording technique and composition.

"I'm not great at it, but I know what I want," he said.

His most recent album, "Drawing Board," is named after his basement chalkboard where he maps out microphone configurations to best capture sound.

"It's just a lost art. People aren't doing it. They're not even thinking about it," he said of recording technique.

He's modest when talking about his abilities in that regard but said study and due diligence are a crucial part of his recording process.

Unlike most other musicians -- and unlike his former self -- he's not itching to get out and perform in public, but he said he's just about back in what he considers the right head space for it.

"I think live performance is also a great part of the creative process," he said. "I know better now what I want to do, and I know how I want to get it done. I'm at the beginning of a journey."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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