Diandra Interviews Jack Omstead: Finding Your Message
Jack Omstead is both shy and friendly. He can say the wisest thing without any notice of his wisdom. Call it humility or a genuine aloofness to the fact that he has a good head on his shoulders, of which he credits to a loving family, self-help books, and a series of gratitude lists. For Jack, if you are going to enter the world of art, you better be present, which is why our interview focuses on how he works to stay so.
Diandra: How are you?
Jack: Honestly, I’m doing pretty well. Things have gotten pretty hectic, but I think it is really good, for any creative person, to take the quarantine and focus.
Diandra: Your social media is so on point. It feels simple and genuine, especially because you feature your family so much.
Jack: I think the more walls you put up, more of a front, the less people can relate. The truer you are, the more people can relate. My family and I are very close, and I think we have gotten closer over quarantine. It is nice that we get along well, but I think my story is not very unique in any way. The simplicity of it is what draws people in.
Jack Omstead – I Do
Diandra: So in a world of splash, the key to standing out is being simple?
Jack: I think there is a lot of beauty in the ordinary. Part of the reason why I am doing all these videos, on social media, is because I am able to reflect on how privileged I am and how loving my family is; it is very therapeutic. It is important to reflect and document your life and growth. I just started journaling, too.
Diandra: Oprah would be proud of your journaling! Do you do a gratitude list?
Jack: Of course! Of course! There is a lot to be grateful, especially these days. Typically, I try not to repeat what I put on the list. I try put something new everyday: the simple things we often take for granted. So I put like, “I am grateful than I can make my bed and tie my shoes. I have hands to do both.” They are just small things that deserve recognition.
Diandra: That makes me sentimental because, as an artist, we live for the future, and you need things like a gratitude list to keep some semblance of sanity and “now.”
Jack: Absolutely! 1000% Meditating, as well! I use this app called Headspace that, when I wake up and before I go to bed, I will meditate and listen to affirmations. It is good to remember where your feet are. Like, we are alway thinking of the future and progress, which is natural, but happiness lives in the moment.
Jack Omstead – Next
Diandra: Well, it is a very material world, and it isn’t easy to be happy in it, but also sing to happiness and be taken seriously. How do you try, through your music, to express the seriousness of joy?
Jack: Mental health is something that I struggle with sometimes. I used to struggle a lot with anxiety, and I think as an artist and a person, I am trying to be more and more true to myself. If I am feeling happy, then I’ll make something happy. I think the worst thing you can do as an artist is think you have to feel a certain way or do something a particular way. You have to be open and true, and I think people feel that truth. It is something, that I know you relate to, in that we create because we wanted to create. It spoke to us and, the farther we go on our journey, we can forget why we started and how it was just about joy. It all comes back to gratitude and realizing how you can touch people.
Diandra: This has become very self-help in feel. Do you read any self-help books?
Jack: All the time! I read a lot of Napoleon Hill like. Magic Ladders To Success. I read a recent one by Esther Hicks “Ask And It Is Given.” It all goes back to the same principle of believing in yourself, which is easier said then done. In theory, it is nice, but applying it is tough.
Jack Omstead – Dove [Official Lyric Video]
Diandra: What was the inspiration behind your new song “Dove?”
Jack: I was recently in a relationship, and I wrote the song about us doing long distance. I wrote it with the idea of the birds, and thought of the dove and how, once upon a time, were used to carry messages. I wanted to write a love song, but “not a love song” and put a spin on it. Everything in music has been talked about, and you have to come up with a new way to talk about it.
Diandra: Have you discovered who you are in relationships through your love songs?
Jack: These are really good questions! They make you think! I think I recognized I am passionate about love. I am fortunate that I grew up in a loving household with parents that love each other very much. They are nearing 30 years of marriage, and I believe in love. I love being in love and writing to it. I didn’t do it intentionally, but I try to write and be true to myself, and I am always in a very loving mood. One thing that is true is LOVE!
Diandra: With the “dove” symbol, which means messages of peace, what is one you would send to your past self?
Jack: I think the more vulnerable you are the more peace you have. If you let yourself be vulnerable, you get comfortable with the fact that life will have fears, difficult conversations, and frictions and confrontations. Although it is uncomfortable to face those things, I have seen that peace is accepting that you will have to.
Diandra: One thing I have to ask is… you work in your bathroom closet?
Jack: It is not big at all. It is by choice but not by choice. It like 5 feet by 5. You can barely fit two people in there. So I took out all the clutter and cleaning supplies, and asked my parents if I could turn it into a place to record. I enjoy it. There is not ventilation so I am sweating like a sauna, but I love it.
