Justin Klump has played many stages and many rooms, but one of his most meaningful gigs ever was in pre-op.
A buddy of Klump’s was headed for brain surgery to remove a tumor, and one possible outcome was memory loss. The way he tested his memory after surgery was by singing all the words to Klump’s song about finding joy while traveling down the “bitter road” of life, called “Sticks and Stones.”
“When I heard that was how he was going to make sure his memory still worked, it really touched me,” Klump said.
Four years later, Klump, visiting family in Vancouver, was invited into the prep room to sing the same song, live, as his friend got ready to endure the latest in a string of brain surgeries.
“I was just a few feet away from him and he sang the background harmonies,” Klump said. “What really amazed me was how he and his wife were providing each other support and strength, through this incredibly challenging, scary, unknown time.”
Back in Vancouver, at his grandparents’ piano, Klump started composing. What came out in a couple of hours was “The Other Side,” a song he said was about “sticking with loved ones and having faith even when you don’t know what the future holds.”
Klump’s friend, by the way, is doing well. And so is Klump, a Vancouver native who studied classical guitar, fell under the folk-pop songwriting spell of Dave Matthews, and eventually moved to Nashville to get busy as a singer-songwriter and producer. He’s got his own studio in Nashville, where he records himself and others. Critics have hailed his sweet songwriting style and heartfelt, introspective lyrics that seem to probe life’s subtle shades and challenges.
“I’ll keep holding on to you, darling. We don’t know what we’re starting,” he sings in “The Other Side.” “Plans change, we’re gonna have to see this through. It’s not the first time that I let go of you. We’ll get on the other side of this, too.”
“The Other Side” is due to be released today, and Klump will be back in this area next week to promote the song with two shows (or one long one, if you want to stay) Tuesday night at McMenamins White Eagle Saloon in Portland. According to his publicist, “The Other Side” will be featured April 8 by Rolling Stone Country as a best country/Americana release of the week.
“I’m really excited about this song,” Klump said. “It’s meaningful to me and my goal is always that my work should resonate with others. I hope it connects with other people.”
Hands-on
Klump grew up in a signature local musical family. His grandfather was Walt Cleland, founder of the group that grew into the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; his mother played cello in that orchestra; and his father used to sit on the front porch playing guitar and harmonica, Klump remembered.
He grew up in the Heights and Proebstel areas, and graduated from Mountain View High School and Pacific Lutheran University. He moved to Nashville in 2012 and let the vibe there, and all his new contacts, pull his folk-pop songwriting in a country direction. “I’ve got one leg in the country world now,” he said. “But all genre lines are getting blurred these days.”
Because he’s always been hands-on about all aspects of the music business, Klump also mastered today’s powerful production software and started working as a producer for other artists. “I love that. I’ve always been interested in turning the knobs, and I enjoy collaborating with other artists,” he said.
Those artists include Battle Ground’s Britnee Kellogg, whose latest record he just produced.
What does a producer do? “You wear many hats,” Klump said: helping the artist choose and arrange material, hiring and coaching musicians, organizing studio time and maybe even working as recording engineer. “It’s figuring out the artists’ vision and how do we best accomplish it. It’s part musical director, part project manager.”
Meanwhile, Klump said he also puts his technical skills to work producing audio for podcasts, commercials and films. “I’m immersed in all those aspects of the audio production,” he said, because a key to success in the music business is “multiple revenue streams. The more I learn, the bigger projects I can take on.”
He’s looking forward to catching up with old friends at the White Eagle, he said. He’ll share the bill with Jacob Westfall and Samsell.
