Friends of the Void #3: Jason Singer (Michigander)

I first met Jason Singer at a holiday show he was playing in 2017, where I’d see the first of many Michigander sets. It was an acoustic set, alongside my friend Alex Maniak of Shortly, whose project I’d heard a lot of buzz around from the party’s host, Nate Dorough, talent buyer for The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids. Instantly into Jason’s 30 minute set, I could see the hype - his ability to control a crowd, even in the intimate setting of a nature center in rural Michigan for a few dozen people, radiated authenticity and kindness.

Over the next ten years, I’ve gone back to see Michigander ten times, with the eleventh and twelfth times coming this fall, and over time, we’ve become friendly acquaintances. We’ve caught up over the last decade, and being able to watch Jason’s success as a full-time touring musician grow has been a great joy of being a music fan. Since forming in 2015, Michigander has toured the country from coast to coast and released four EPs and two albums, the most recent of which, Over Before You Know It, came out last week. Michigander’s fall tour kicks off in October alongside lighthearted, Chapel, and Wildermiss on select dates. To help celebrate the release of the new album, I recently sat down with Jason to discuss some of his favorite movies.

“It’s so good. It’s 2012. It’s Ryan Gosling. It’s Bradley Cooper. It’s Eva Mendes. Ray Liotta’s in it. It’s got a great cast and the director is Derek Cianfrance, the guy who did Blue Valentine. He did Roofman also, which I thought was going to be dumb, but I watched it recently and it was actually pretty good! I don’t know why I like this movie - I just saw it when I was younger. I went down to Ann Arbor to see it because it wasn’t playing in Midland, and I remember just loving it. Drive (2011) had just came out and I loved Ryan Gosling in it, and they came out around similar times. The kid’s name is Jason in it, and he doesn’t know his real dad at first, which is my whole story, so maybe that’s why I relate to it.”

“I love Fargo. I just think the Coen Brothers are amazing and I think this is their best movie. I could watch it so many times and never get sick of it. It also has very Midwest vibes and the shots make me want Christmas for some reason.”

“People hate on this movie, and some people love this movie, but I love this movie. I don’t know why I like that movie so much - I went into it thinking I was going to hate it, but I ended up seeing it three times in theaters. I even bought a blu-ray player and the blu-ray for it. I don’t think it’s my all-time favorite, but it’s definitely up there. I love it so much.”

“It’s a movie that I think got scammed. I loved Eddington, I thought it was so good. It just made me feel icky, which is why I liked it. I also really liked that it made fun of everybody on both sides of the aisle and both parties were in play. I found it to be really different.”

“This is my most basic pick, I’d say. I just love that movie. Every time I watch it, I cry, and I love it. I don’t think it’s Nolan’s best movie, but I think it’s a great movie for sure.”

“This is a more recent favorite, I watched it for the first time this year. It’s a Robin Williams movie from 2002 and it’s amazing. I watched it yesterday and I couldn’t believe how quickly it went by. I really, really loved it.”

“This is another first watch from earlier this year that I really loved. I think it’s amazing and I need to watch it again, but I just think it’s a perfect movie. It’s so, so, so good.”