Ghost in the machine album credits
Few musicians know the peaks and perils of modern music marketing as well as Jackie Venson. Prior to the pandemic, Venson had racked up opportunities that most musicians would kill for– appearances on network tv spots like The Late Show, high profile tours with artists like Gary Clark Jr, highly coveted gigs at festivals like ACL, and on and on. But it was the crash of the pandemic that arguably led to Venson’s biggest attention as the singer-guitarist’s constant live streaming efforts rocketed her to viral “fame” and top 10 placement on PollStar’s Top Livestreamers list, ahead of big names as diverse as Brad Paisley, Norah Jones, and Ben Gibbard of Deathcab for Cutie. And now her new album Ghost in the Machine is tackling the chaos and confusion of the music industry head on with one simple message: almost everything artists have been told they have to do to “make it” is no longer true and the industry as we know it is dead, but doesn’t realize it yet, and it’s up to us to release the ghost of creativity lingering inside the machine.
Longtime fans will recognize the material on Ghost in the Machine from various formats over the past few years, but Venson considers it a “do-over” of her 2020 LP Vintage Machine. “When everything went down in 2020, we didn’t really get an opportunity to put this album out the way I intended,” Venson explains, “I didn’t get a release party, I didn’t get to tour, I didn’t do any of the things you’re really supposed to do when you release an album.” But rather than accept the old industry trope that once you’ve put something out, you have to move on from it after a year or so, Venson decided to go back and recreate the album to suit the vision she now had for it, as something that was ever-shifting and evolving because the more she thought about it, the more she realized there was no reason to abide by traditional music industry tactics anymore.
From Jackie Venson’s standpoint, the music industry as we have known it is a corpse held together by evil machinery and it’s only by relearning how to directly connect with one another that we can free the ghost of art.
Music & Lyrics by Jackie Venson
Main Tracks
Produced by Chris “Frenchie” Smith and Jackie Venson
Engineered by Chris “Frenchie” Smith and Brett Marcom
Mixed by Eddy Hobizal
Additional mix by Tim Palmer (Vintage Machine)
Mastering by Holger Lagerfeldt
Guitar/vocals/synth by Jackie Venson
Drums by Rodney Hyder
Bass by Marcus Clark
Piano by Eddy Hobizal
Outro Tracks
Produced and Engineered by Jackie Venson
Mixed by Chris “Frenchie” Smith
Mastered by Holger Lagerfeldt
Guitar/Vocals by Jackie Venson
Piano and keys by Brandon Morgan
Drums by Rodney Hyder
Bass by Marcus Clark
Recorded in Austin, Texas at The Bubble Recording Studios
Art by Christina Venson
Photography by Ismael Quintanilla III
Released on October 30, 2023
Lyrics
Track 1
Home
We go out driving
Usually at night
Everything so quiet
No wait no line
Down memory lane
In our hometown
Relive my youth
With my best friend
Roots run deep
Open arms my soul to keep
Where I fell and learned to love
Home
Open mic
Strumming my strings for the first time
Where the song never dies
Home
The world sees one thing
My friends know what’s up
My highs and lows my flaws
Can’t scare real love
And we grew up in Austin
So we don’t care
Free as the river
The music blares
Roots run deep
Open arms my soul to keep
Where I fell and learned to love
Home
Open mic
Strumming my strings for the first time
Where the song never dies
Home
No matter how far I go
I will always come home
No matter how far I go
I will always come home
Bored of the rat race
Let’s blow this place
I know just where to go
They know my face
And it’s endless music
We play all night
Sing songs of freedom
Sings songs of life
Roots so deep
Open arms my soul to keep
Where I fell I fell in love
Home
Open mic
Strumming my guitar til the end of time yeah
I will always go I will always go
Home home home
Home