ifitbeyourwill S06E25 • Jason P. Woodbury

A name can work like a north star. Jason P. Woodbury and the Nightbird Singing Quartet points straight toward songs built for company—melody-first, ensemble-minded, rooted in the desert but restless for elsewhere. We sit with Woodbury to trace the long arc from church songleading and clarinet rehearsals to record-store immersion, music journalism, and a self-titled album that wears its influences lightly and its confidence quietly.

He talks about the records that calibrated his ear at Zia Records—the open-sky ache of Big Star, the haunted intimacy of Chris Bell’s I Am the Cosmos, Neko Case’s nocturnal drama, Destroyer’s wry sprawl, and the cosmology of Lee Scratch Perry—and how those discoveries rewired his sense of arrangement and feel.

We dig into the making of the record itself: some songs arriving whole, others pieced together from Dropbox shards and rehearsal-room patience. The quartet’s chemistry lifts the material into focus—power-pop hooks catching pedal-steel glow, soul-informed details settling into an alt-Americana, desert-rock atmosphere that feels lived-in rather than posed.

Beyond the music, Woodbury explains why he launched Always Happening Records—to put this album out on his own terms and build a flexible home for future ideas, from tactile seven-inches to Bandcamp-first releases. It’s a conversation about time, trust, and the strange joy of hearing a band take a song somewhere you couldn’t have planned.

If you’re drawn to independent music made in community—records that breathe, shimmer, and tell you where they came from—this one’s for you. Spin it loud, pass it along to a Big Star or Calexico devotee, and tell us the album that first flipped your lid.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Guest Introduction
• 0:38 Naming The Band And Album
• 3:45 Early Musical Roots And Church Songleading
• 6:24 Zia Records Years And Foundational Influences
• 11:42 From Power Pop To Soul-Touched Songcraft
• 13:05 Building The New Record And Desert Aesthetic
• 16:40 Writing Process And Collaboration
• 20:00 Living With The Album And Release Plans
• 21:50 Launching Always Happening Records
• 25:30 Closing Thanks And Teaser Performance Snippet

Transcript

Jason P. Woodbury: 0:19

Shelley's job. Tear across the eighty seven. I'm in the taxi with breath. Wait on. Yeah, exactly.

colleyc: 0:38

Exactly. I want to welcome everyone. We're at if itbeyourwill podcast today. Um and you just heard Jason and I just um uh talking about our weather a little bit. I have Jason P. Woodbury um from Jason P. Woodbury and the Night Bird Singing Quartet, who have a great record uh that's gonna be hitting uh hitting the record stores and the streaming services near you on March 13th, 2026. So keep your eye out on that. And I had Jason because uh he also has a podcast called uh through uh drunkard uh aquarium drunkard, sorry, uh transmissions, and been a long time listener. So when his record came out, I was like, I gotta go and see if Jason wants to come talk about it. And he said yes. So, Jason, thanks so much for you know joining me here today to talk a little bit about your music side of your musical journey that you are on.

Jason P. Woodbury: 1:32

Oh, yeah. Well, it's a real treat, and it's always nice to talk with other um podcasters and music fans, and uh I appreciate you taking the time to want to chat.

colleyc: 1:42

Oh, I love it. I love it. And I just want to start off by saying this latest record, and this is a self-titled, eh, Jason? Is that correct? I mean Kinda, yeah. Yeah. Um I was trying to look for a title and there's a quote on it, but is that considered the title of the of the release?

Jason P. Woodbury: 2:00

I'm calling the record, yeah, Jason P. Woodbury and the Nightbird Singing Quartet. Uh so it serves as both a uh uh the introducing the band name, and then also uh that's the title of the record. For the longest time, I thought, you know, I've previously released music under the name JPW, just my initials as a sort of band name. Um but with this one, you know, right up until we started making the art and finishing it up, I was thinking of it as a JPW record and that the title would be Nightbird Singing. And then uh at some point, for various reasons, it started to feel a little bit more like I wanted to uh to put my name on this and to uh step forward in a certain way that maybe I hadn't with previous releases. And at that point, I thought, well, I want to honor the guys that played on it as well. And so I thought, oh, the Nightbird Singing Quartet sounds very classy. And so I decided I was gonna go that direction. And once I've kind of figured that out, you know, uh I started thinking, well, maybe I'll call it something else, you know, Jason P. Woodbury and the Nightbird Singing Quartet, and then the album title, and then I was like, or that is the album title, and that's the what's where and that's where we landed.

colleyc: 3:19

Right on. I love the process too. That's just thinking about naming the the title people. Imagine all the complications going into every single release. Um I often mention that these records don't just happen, they are uh labor intensive. Um, there's a lot of tears, sweat, and love put into them. Um, and it's great when a new record comes out because we get to kind of explore a little bit of that process. And maybe Jason, we can rewind a little bit. I'm I'm so curious about when did music really start to to kick for you? Were there some tipping points early in your life where you like music was gonna have to play a big part of what you were gonna become?

Jason P. Woodbury: 4:03

Yeah, I think that really pretty much as far back as I can remember, music has been a big part of my life. I um, you know, like every I guess not every kid, but like most, you know, most people. I grew up with my parents listening to to records, you know, and uh, you know, I remember my dad playing music around the house, Boston Records, or you know, Pat Travers, or my mom listening to the radio nonstop, and um and so I always was attracted to music, always drawn to music. Uh I always felt a pretty deep connection to the musical arts. And then as I as I grew up, you know, I I started playing music in school, uh band, I played clarinet all through middle school, junior high, and then into high school, uh all through high school. And then also got involved on the uh sort of uh spirits uh I I I my family was attended a church in Coolidge, Arizona, where I grew up, and um I was drafted at a pretty young age, like a pre-pubescent age, into uh leading the congregation in song. So singing, you know, sort of song leading. Okay. And uh and so I guess if you take all of that and you combine it, you know, uh just music has always been a huge, huge part of my life. And after I um graduated high school and I was kind of um let's say tinkering with college and all of that stuff, I uh I kind of felt like at one point it was like I'm gonna, I'm gonna do one of two things. I'm gonna try to figure out how to be a preacher or I'm going to uh or I'm gonna chase this music thing. And I got a job at a at an independent record store called Zia Records uh in I was living in Coolidge. This is up in Phoenix, the capital city of Arizona. And I chased after that and and started uh and and basically once I was there, it was there was no denying it. I was just obsessed with music, um, surrounded by music, loved spending every day hearing sounds from a huge variety of genres due to my co-workers playing them, and uh, you know, that whole time was playing guitar as well and playing in bands and things like that. So um, you know, started writing about music semi-professionally and then professionally, uh, playing music at the same time. Uh, the whole religion aspect sort of drifted away for quite a while. And uh, and I thought, okay, I'm not I'm not gonna be a preacher, but I will sort of be an evangelist for my favorite records.

colleyc: 6:52

Totally. And I I, you know, I think that that's a very good uh descriptor of what we want to do, what we tend to want to do. Like our passion for music is like we'll do almost anything to get other people to hear it when we like it. It's like that sharing um is huge. Um I I love too the idea of um this early exposure to song and singing. Um I mean, oftentimes that's where a lot of bands musicians would quote back on saying that's where it started for me, singing a choir or you know, uh a barber shop or something where they were brought in from with from with the elders, you know, to kind of have that higher voice. Um so I appreciate that as well. And at that record store, what were I mean, obviously there's other employees and stuff playing records and stuff, but what were some of the records then at that time that you were really kind of getting were becoming a part of your religion as of music? Like that that they were like foundational for something that you would later build upon?

Jason P. Woodbury: 8:05

Yeah, that's a great question. I feel like this was about uh 2006, so just about 20 years ago. And that means that there's a certain kind of resonance uh anniversary-wise for me. But I know at that point, you know, I was already deeply, deeply obsessed with music when I started working at the record store. But when I think back to, let's say, that first year at the shop, um, I remember I remember becoming very obsessed with Big Star. Uh Alex Shilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stevens, uh Andy Hummel. And I remember just being uh crazy about number one record and Radio City. And I had a uh um the manager of the shop, um uh a guy named Michael Lettington was like, hey, if you dig this, you should check out Chris Bell's I Am the Cosmos, which was a posthumous release by Chris Bell after um Big Star, after he had left Big Star and uh you know, taken in conjunction the those two first two Big Star records and then third by Big Star, I Am the Cosmos and a bunch of Alex Shilton solo records, all of those things really instilled in me a um a sense of loving music that had been underappreciated in its time, you know, but then sort of lauded more after the fact. And so those were big, big records for me. When I think back on that first year, um I remember riding my bike to work a lot, listening to Fox Confessor Brings the Flood by Nico Case. That was a big one for me.

colleyc: 9:47

Great record.

Jason P. Woodbury: 9:48

Oh, fantastic. Uh Destroyer's Rubies was another huge, huge one. Um Loose Fur, which was a, you know, it's like a Jeff Tweety and Glenn Cochi and Jim O'Rourke. They had at that right around then, I was already a pretty, pretty massive Wilco fan, as I remain. Um and but that loose fur record, Born Again in the USA, I listened to that one an awful lot. And some days I'm like, I think this might be one, I just might be my favorite Jeff Tweety project, you know. But that's a great one. Those are a few records that I I can think of. But at the same time, it was also this great moment where my taste was being expanded, you know, exponentially. I was checking out things that I just didn't have any reference for. There was another record store across the street from from Zia uh called East Side Records, and I would go over there on my lunch break uh and then look through those records, buy them and bring them back. But I remember going in once and they were playing some some reggae music, and I knew reggae a little bit, but I didn't really have a whole lot of uh whole lot of understanding of it or its history. It was Lee Scratch Perry's uh Return of the Upsetter, and I was just blown away by no, sorry, not Return of the Upsetter, Super Ape, Return of the Super Ape. And I remember picking that record up and uh just having my my lid flipped by it. So there was stuff like that going on, and I was hearing avant-garde music really indepty for the first time, and drone metal and folk music and country and you know, everything. So yeah, that was a really, really fertile time for me as a fan.

colleyc: 11:39

Yeah. And how did you kind of glean from all those different, you know, sounds that you were listening to to figure out what you wanted to do, like your direction? Like what informed a lot of the style that you decided that you wanted to pursue in your own music?

Jason P. Woodbury: 11:58

Well, like I don't know. You know, I think I was I've always been drawn to um, you know, power pop or you know, g garage rock or or things like that. So especially in those days, the band that I was in, a group called Hands on Fire, was like really drawn to that big star side of things, chimey, you know, guitar, guitar rock, with uh with catchy melodies, and I think um uh was also really interested in like soul music at the time and and and remain so. So I was kind of trying to meld sort of you know RB soul touches with um power pop and rock and people like Todd Rundgren, who I think just excel at that sort of synthesis, were really, really big touchstones for me. And so in those days, that's what I was was drawn to. And I think that some of that carries through. In fact, some of that I think is more present on Nightbird singing than than even previous records of mine, because there's a little of uh a little of that back in the mix.

colleyc: 13:05

Yeah, yeah, and I mean I I listen to a bit of earlier stuff, but I really focus on this latest release that you have coming out in March. Um, and I do I hear all of that in it, and it also has this other kind of alt Americana, like it does have this dusty do uh dirt boot kind of like thing going on too, which I love. I mean, I how do how how did you go about, I guess, Jason, coming putting this record together? How long was it in the making? Like, where did all these songs come from? Were they all written kind of like in one kind of like point in time? Like, could you kind of like open the door a little bit behind how this record came to be?

Jason P. Woodbury: 13:52

Sure. In 2022, I put out my first uh the first record under my uh you know, my own my own record, JPW. That record was called Something Happening, Always Happening, and those were songs that I had written um primarily during the sort of early pandemic days. And uh on that record I worked with uh a friend, Zach Taporic, who is a longtime collaborator, a guy that I going back all the way to those early record store days, um, is about when we met. We had practice last night and we were talking about that meeting not long after. And um not long after I had started at that store. So uh so he helped me with that record, uh, in addition to my collaborator Michael Krasner, who produced it. And Zach and I just kept kicking ideas around and we started writing together a little bit more um aggressively than we ever had. And that resulted in a whole other record together, but we just kept at it. And um and you know, around probably 2023, uh started playing with a kind of set group of guys, uh Rick Hines, who's a pedal steel player and guitarist, Rob Kroller, who plays piano, Andrew Bates, who plays bass and upright bass, double bass, and then Zach on drums and keyboards and guitars and vocals, you know. So, but we started playing together a lot. And sometimes the shows were billed as JPW, sometimes they were billed as JPW and Dadweed, which is Zach's project, and then we had that project together. But anyway, we just started playing a lot of shows and and and working together a lot, and having that like cast of players in the mix uh started to inform kind of the stuff I was writing. And so I think that these songs were written, some were written on my own and kind of stretched back to right after that first record, some came into the mix later, uh, and some were written with the group uh as a whole, where everybody was contributing a little bit. And um and so yeah, I think when it comes to that sort of dusty, you know, uh uh desert feel, I can't really help but be sort of uh uh drawn into that zone by my surroundings, and I'm a lifelong desert dweller. Um but you know, of course, like records bands by bands like Calexico, Giant Sand, um even groups like the Gin Blossoms, who are a little more on the uh adult contemporary top 40 pop rock side. I think even though that's the case, they have a little bit of that dusty, you know, desert quality. And so I was really drawn to all the that stuff and and and wanted to bring that into the mix. And and um I think that some of the songs accentuate it even more than others, but um yeah, that's a little bit of where that comes from. But yeah, this record kind of came together over the course of a couple of years, three years almost.

colleyc: 16:59

Well, well. And what's your process, Jason, about with writing? Like how does how does this song develop for you? Um, to the point where you get to that cross mode of, yeah, I'm gonna continue on this one because there's something there, to let's put that on the back shelf for, you know, the future. Like, how where do where do you what do you do once you hit that crossroads with a song?

Jason P. Woodbury: 17:26

Uh it depends. I think there are a lot of ex a lot of examples of it working different ways. There are songs where I write it and I'm like, I know what this thing is, I know where I want to take it. I'm gonna show it to the guys and I'm gonna say, you know, Rick, here's the idea for the melody I want you to play. And Rob, I was thinking you could do something like this. And so there are examples like that. Um, and then there are other ones where, you know, I bring in something that's a lot less concrete. And it's like I've got this idea for a verse, and I've got a chorus, and I've got a little bit of a melody or a lyric, and that's about it. And then we work on that and it starts to take shape. And then there are even, you know, kind of weirder ones where we start doing something, and I go, you know, actually, this is sort of like this song that I have in the in the back catalog, or that this idea I had, and I can take that stuff and put it into this new shape or form and then have it developed. So there are like a kind of different ways that it works, but for sure, um there's a lot of stuff in our shared Dropbox that uh, you know, that I haven't revisited, or you know, just I I I here's an idea I had, and I just captured it, I recorded it, and I uploaded it, and I'll listen back and I'll go, that one's not anything. And then sometimes weird stuff happens where uh a year, two, three years later you go, wait a second, actually that thing could work here, or that actually is a good idea. And so I don't know. There was just a really long stretch where I'd get home from work and I would just record uh uh, you know, uh improvisation or, you know, meditate, think about something, and then kind of like have it tumble out, you know. And then there's been stuff where, you know, I've had songs come out fully formed, I've had songs come out in fragments and uh combine the fragments later. So I don't feel like there is, for me at least, there hasn't been one specific way that it works. Right. And that um that decision time of like, is this one worth pursuing or not, is uh is sort of a uh a pretty intuitive process.

colleyc: 19:33

Right. Interesting. I like how you describe your sandbox, you know, where you play and how you play. That's cool.

Jason P. Woodbury: 19:40

Yeah, yeah.

colleyc: 19:41

And how are you feeling about this? So, I mean, this record it it's about three years in the making ish. Um how do you feel kind of it being done now and kind of listening back to it, or have you just kind of like shelved now like over saturation? Like, where are you at with this record?

Jason P. Woodbury: 20:00

Well, the beautiful thing about working on a record for like three years is that there have been um periods of all of that. There have been, you know, three month stretches where I don't want to hear any of these songs. Uh and then there have been stretches where I'm listening to them a lot. Um and lately, since sort of announcing it and and putting it out into the world, I've been listening to it and and you know, having friends and collaborators, strong collaborators play on a thing, makes it for me oftentimes where I feel like I'm listening to a record that I didn't have all that much to do with sometimes is how it feels to me. You know what I mean? So that's kind of a cool feeling. I feel very um I feel very fortunate and honored to have these guys contribute their energy and time and and spirit to this thing. And so lately I've been listening to it and um and kind of like thinking to myself, yeah, I dig this, I like this record. Um and that's a that's a nice feeling. And then there are times where I listen to it and I'm like, oh, I would have done this differently if I had thought about it, or oh, I wonder if people are gonna think that part is a little whatever, you know. But um but for the most part, I I'm able to kind of push that stuff off to the side and enjoy it for what it is and uh enjoy it as a collaborative thing. Yeah.

colleyc: 21:18

Yeah, I love that idea. And like what what does it hold w what's happening come March, mid-March when you launch uh the record, or what do you have following up with uh the release of it that you can share with us?

Jason P. Woodbury: 21:34

Well, we're gonna have a release party here in Phoenix, and I'm really hoping to play some shows. We played some gigs in LA in the past and and other Arizona towns. So I'm hoping to get out on the road a little bit in like April or the summer and and share it. Um but yeah, we're planning a big, big release party here, and then just hoping to um hoping that people just are able to get on board as they are and that we can open up the door to some new listeners.

colleyc: 22:06

Totally, totally. Well, you've already done that and you haven't even launched it yet. So kudos, Jason. Thank you. One last thing I just wanted to ask you about is the is the label. So Always Happening Records is a label that you've started up now?

Jason P. Woodbury: 22:21

Yeah, that's that's right.

colleyc: 22:22

Okay. And what what what does the future hold for the this uh label that you hope um you know comes to fruition?

Jason P. Woodbury: 22:30

Uh well you know, I um w the the previously we worked with a great label called Fort Lowell Records, which started in Tucson and now it's based out of North Carolina. And the folks there, James and Tracy, are great and we really enjoyed working with them. But, you know, I think I just found myself thinking a little bit about well, you know, these are my songs and they mean a lot to me. And um and I've always had it in the back of my mind, you know, as somebody who's kind of worked in uh music kind of on every front, you know, I've done liner notes, I've done radio, I've worked in record stores, I've you know, done uh work with a merch company here in Arizona called Hello Merch. And so I guess I was just sort of thinking like, you know, maybe the time has come for me to take my um my grab bag of skills and sort of apply it to uh my own my own thing. And so the label was primarily started to put out this record, and um but I immediately got uh in touch with a friend, Joel Marquard, who has a really cool art pop project called Spiritual Warfare and the Greasy Shadows, and he put out this pretty wild double LP. Um and uh and I thought, well, maybe I could put out the the double LP for him, and then you know, just starting this thing. That didn't quite shake out as a feasible thing, but I thought, well, what if we take two songs from it and we put it out, you know? And so we've got another 7-inch that is uh shipping now and available through the always happening store. Um and so you know, I'm super open to the idea of working with other artists, if that makes sense, and um collaborating with other people. And I think we're in a really interesting moment where the ability to share music digitally has really opened the door in a lot of ways. So I don't necessarily know that every always happening release will be a physical one. I have a deep love and uh a spot in my heart for the art of physical media. So I think that will always be a part of the the label, but uh the uh um ability to just share things through bandcamp, to share limited stuff in a digital fashion. Um, all of that's super appealing to me. So I'm hoping this opens the door for even more um exploration and sort of more experimental things on my end with friends, with other people. You know, we've started working on uh another record with uh with Zach who produced this record. He's got a bunch of songs that he's been tinkering around with, so we're working on those right now, and maybe that will come out on the label. I'm not sure, but we'll see what happens.

colleyc: 25:25

That's amazing. Sounds really exciting though, Jason. Like this, you know, you're just opening this door to this whole other uh, you know, venue um of possibility. That's really cool. Um and I know like there's a lot of indie artists out there always looking for you know support or um you know somewhere where they can showcase what they're doing as well. Um so good on you for doing that. Uh I I I'm I'm sure it will be a great success. Um I want to thank you. Um I don't wanna I see we're we're passing my time limit a little bit, but um this has been a really cool chat, Jason, and uh I really want to just plug this record again. It's coming out mid-March, people, but check it out, Jason P. Woodbury and the nightbird singing quartet. Um all the best. All the best in all of your musical adventures. Uh be sure to check out Jason's uh podcast, like I said, and if you get a chance to go see his show, go and see his show. Thank you, my friend, and uh all the best uh with this record.

Jason P. Woodbury: 26:28

Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with me about it.

colleyc: 26:32

My pleasure.

Jason P. Woodbury: 27:17

Tear across the eighty seven, I'm in the taxi with Brad, waiting on the eruption Mountain is a giant slumber, gods in the trap on the list, always done, always done, on the list, always done, always, oh damn, the fall down, go down, oh damn saucer project Stanley Basity drive And I wonder if I'll get to me now Get to me now if I'll get to me.