2020 is certainly an interesting time to make your debut. For grandson, it represented the perfect opportunity to stay true to his goals.
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Grandson, real name Jordan Benjamin, joined RADIO.COM’s Kevan Kenney to discuss his debut studio album Death of an Optimist and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected his decision to ultimately release the record.
Kenney began by sharing a quote from Benjamin about how early on in the pandemic, “all we had was to look ourselves in the mirror and find out who we really are.” When Kenney asked grandson what it was like for him, he responded, “Brutal, no fun, wouldn’t recommend.”
“If anyone’s deciding whether or not to be in a pandemic, I’m leaving a horrible Yelp review, f*** that!”
On a more serious note, Benjamin elaborated about that time and why it served as motivation to stay true to his principles. “The grandson project and by extension my life, who I am, has always been about connection,” he says.
“It’s always been about ‘can I enter a room and try to leave it a little bit better?’ Inspire people, give them some sort of outlet and having to do that with these extra degrees of separation was really really challenging.”
The COVID-19 pandemic also presented Benjamin with somewhat of an existential conflict. He acknowledged that as a musician, he confronts the idea that “what we do is in some ways a necessity.”
“It’s essential,” he adds, “but I don’t know if we’re essential workers like that.”
“I feel like with the pandemic it kind of reminded us there's things that we have to do to just get by and then there’s music, there’s art, there’s culture. We depend on them in some ways, but it really did make me question ‘am I doing enough good? Is there other things that I could be doing with my time?’”
There was a driving force that led grandson to make the decision to move forward with the album. “Ultimately I came back to just trying to make that space for people, that’s why I put the album out in the pandemic,” he says.
“I just felt like what I’m here to do is connect with people and I can’t let the fact that it’s all virtual get in the way of that mission.”
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