With a clear vision, open heart, and guitar in hand, paris jackson plugs into pure emotion at the source. She’s not just playing a signature brand of alternative rock; she’s tracing a lasting mark in the shape of a beautiful scar that’s cut into the skin by her raw instrumentation and relatable lyrics. The Los Angeles-based vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and consummate creative isn’t afraid to confront tragedy, trauma, or demons of any kind with a scream, a smirk, and a power chord. She creates the kind of music that can inspire you to take a look at yourself, change your perspective, or simply appreciate the messy magic of life in the moment.
Born from a collision of sound, experience, and emotion, her second full-length offering, HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE [Republic Records], is a burst of lingering light, energy, and feeling.
“I try to remind people of who we are at our core,” she says. “When you remove all of our titles and look at what our essence truly is, it’s just light. Musically, I hope you remember what it’s like to be young and discover an artist you love for the first time. I often get asked about the term ‘legacy’. I think a legacy is simply a feeling someone leaves in your heart.”
paris introduced her artistry on 2020’s wilted—crafted with Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull and Robert McDowell. It vaulted to #1 on the iTunes Top Alternative Albums Chart and incited widespread tastemaker applause from Associated Press, Entertainment Weekly, NME, NPR, NYLON, Refinery29, and Rolling Stone. For the fan favorite single “lighthouse,” she teamed with producer Butch Walker and tapped Mike McCready of Pearl Jam for its guitar solo. She evolved into a formidable live performer by not only headlining packed houses, but also supporting Queens of The Stone Age, Incubus, Silversun Pickups, and The Revivalists. Speaking to her presence as a renaissance woman, she extended her creativity with roles in Lee Daniels’ Star, American Horror Stories, Prime Video’s Swarm, Doctor Odyssey, Gringo, The Space Between, and One Spoon of Chocolate. Not to mention, she remains an active ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and was honored with the Shining Star Award at the 35th Annual Friendly House Awards Luncheon.
Along the way, she crafted what would become HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE. Sonically, she nodded to formative influences such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies, Marcy Playground, and Bright Eyes, to name a few. “This is the music I’ve always loved; one of my first Instagram handles was ‘SmashedPumpkin13’,” she laughs.
She found the perfect collaborator to bring this music to life in iconic rockstar, 4 Non Blondes founder, and sought-after producer Linda Perry [Gwen Stefani, Adele]. “I call Linda ‘my muse’, because I believe these songs are the best I’ve done so far,” paris goes on. “Linda sees me in a way a lot of people don’t. She sees me for who I am. She notices little things about my personality and gives it to me straight. She’s the queen of the nineties too! By the time we got together, I knew how to project more and use my actual voice. On top of everything, I learned I can scream…which is the coolest thing for me.”
The songstress set the stage for her next era with “zombies in love.” Ghostly acoustic strumming quivers beneath vulnerable delivery on the verses. Turned-up theremin transmissions echo through the haze, and she hums, “We’re zombies in love.”
“I was in a pretty toxic, drug-fueled relationship for a couple of years,” she notes. “It was one of the most profound and life-altering relationships I’ve ever been in though. I look back, and I’m grateful because it’s someone who helped me come into my own as a musician and as a performer. It came from a dark place at the bottom of addiction, but written years later with sober hindsight.”
On its heels, “teenage drama” opens on a steady beat accented by a thick bassline and loose guitar. She exhales, “Here comes all the teenage drama, breaking bones to reach Nirvana.” It slips into the undertow of the distortion-boosted hook as she admonishes, “You’re in your head, I’m right here.”
“It’s about being young and trying to figure out your place in the world,” she reveals. “Separate from anything the churches or temples would think. ‘Nirvana’ is a double entendre as well. The second verse is about ‘The Man’. The third verse is when the robots take over and how A.I. are stealing a lot of opportunities from artists.”
Then, there’s the title track “happiest day of my life.” Exuding buoyant and bright spirit, it shows another facet of her vision. She goes on, “It’s a driving up the PCH cruiser song. That’s the sentiment.”
Ultimately, paris will make you feel out loud alongside her on HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE. “As a whole, I hope the album makes you feel good,” she leaves off. “I’d like for someone to walk away seen, heard, or inspired. In the end, I want my legacy to be a reminder.”
Boiler
With a clear vision, open heart, and guitar in hand, paris jackson plugs into pure emotion at the source. She’s not just playing a signature brand of alternative rock; she’s tracing a lasting mark in the shape of a beautiful scar that’s cut into the skin by her raw instrumentation and relatable lyrics. The Los Angeles-based vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and consummate creative isn’t afraid to confront tragedy, trauma, or demons of any kind with a scream, a smirk, and a power chord. She creates the kind of music that can inspire you to take a look at yourself, change your perspective, or simply appreciate the messy magic of life in the moment. She introduced her artistry on 2020’s wilted—crafted with Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull and Robert McDowell. It vaulted to #1 on the iTunes Top Alternative Albums Chart and incited tastemaker applause from Associated Press, Entertainment Weekly, NME, NPR, NYLON, Refinery29, and Rolling Stone. On “lighthouse,” she teamed with producer Butch Walker and tapped Mike McCready of Pearl Jam for its guitar solo. She evolved into a formidable live performer by headlining packed houses and supporting Queens of The Stone Age, Incubus, Silversun Pickups, and The Revivalists. As a renaissance woman, she extended her creativity with roles in Lee Daniels’ Star, American Horror Stories, Prime Video’s Swarm, Doctor Odyssey, Gringo, The Space Between, and One Spoon of Chocolate. She remains an active ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and was honored with the Shining Star Award at the 35th Annual Friendly House Awards Luncheon. Born from a collision of sound, experience, and emotion, her second full-length offering, HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE [Republic Records], is a burst of lingering light, energy, and feeling.
