Meet Justin Werner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Werner.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I started performing in the subways of Boston with my older brother Tom when I was 15 years old. It was my idea of a fun weekend. We would go in at about 9 am and wouldn’t leave till around 8 pm. We covered a lot of 70’s music like Cat Stevens, The Commodores, Buffalo Springfield and The Beatles, etc. Tom took me under his wing as a songwriter and showed me a lot about the craft.

After I graduated from High School, we hit the road starting in Florida and eventually made our way out to San Diego in 1999. Immediately we felt right at home and made our first channel 8 appearances on the Mission Beach boardwalk for the Memorial Day program. Right after that, I was approached by Dreamwork Productions to be cast as an extra in Almost Famous. Dreams were already starting to come true.

Tom and I made our way up to Pacific Beach and decided to make that our stomping ground for about a year. We played the boardwalk and sidewalk while simultaneously recording our album Sitting Pretty with Mr. Paradise under the name Sparin’ Change. After releasing the album, Pat Gaffy covered our story on Channel 8 and KUSI featured us on their morning music program. We were making great momentum in our first year, but my brother got homesick and needed to head back to MA to be closer to his daughter. I decided to stick it out in SD and moved forward with a solo album in 2007 called Dust In The Sunbeams which I released as Justin Werner & Co. My band consisted of Gabe Feenberg (Old Man Hands), Chad Farran and Chris McGreal (Superunloader), Nachman Wajkman and Rachel Emmons. We also have a gypsy style group called Jalopy Street Orchestra and backed each other in all of our solo projects as well.

In 2017, I had the honor of placing my song “Without a Bang” into the Sharon Stone film Running Wild in which she produced and starred. I have also landed other songs in Hollywood but that is one that I consider to be my most notable.

My next endeavor was with my good friend Paul Kipling (Apaulo8) in our group 3rd Borough. Upon recording our first album, we acquired Mark Boyce of G Love & Special Sauce. We featured Chali 2na (Jurassic 5), G Love, Killah Priest (Wu Tang Clan), DJ Dez (Slum Village), C Money & Dela (Slightly Stoopid) and Main Flow (Mood). Pauli and I are back in the studio and set to release a follow-up album for Summer of 2019.

My last album Dream Like You Live was released in 2018 and broke a lot of ground for me with the Indie Radio Alliance with several of the tracks making it to #1 in the charts. (See my about page on justinwernermusic.com). I just recently completed a UK tour in which I promoted the album with a warm reception from London to Bath and Bridgwater.

I will be releasing a single this Spring titled “Wait Until The Rain” which features Turkish singer-songwriter Tugba Kose. I’m particularly excited about this song as she sings her verse in Turkish with a beautiful message of overcoming life’s challenges. I have a special place in my heart for Turkey because my wife was born there and now my family extends to Istanbul and other beautiful regions of the country.

I’m looking forward to 2019 and all the music I plan to contribute to the mix. Music is and has always been my vehicle for fulfillment and transformation as a person. I’m very grateful for all the support I receive as I continue to pursue this musical path.

Please tell us about your art.
I write, record and perform songs. I have always found it to be my strongest form of expression and communication of a deeper message. I use the music to tell a life story from song to song. My main message is about following your true passion and overcoming adversities along the way. I believe love, compassion, and adaptability through education and travel are the key to staying relevant in this fast-changing world we live in. My songs are written from honest experiences. Therefore I play them with conviction and dedication to their messages. I believe these songs are my gift to the world and a contribution to our evolutionary process. This is why I keep doing it. I feel like I’m doing something wrong if I don’t continue writing and sharing these songs because it is how I’m supposed to serve humanity.

Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
Stay authentic and use honesty to find your true message. There are no shortcuts to the music industry if you wish to last and contribute something of value. If you want people to listen then think about them when you write and acknowledge them when you perform to them. Look them in the eyes and treat each performance like an important conversation in which you are very fortunate to have their attention. No one owes you anything. You have to earn it. Work work work and if at first, you don’t succeed, try try again. Failure is great for character if you get back up and run the race again. After all…what have you got to lose accept ignorance and I always welcome more wisdom into my life? It gives me something valuable to contribute to society. Don’t try to fit in. Be yourself and believe in your path. If it doesn’t make sense now, then stick with it and eventually it will all line up in hindsight. Play for the love, not the attention and money, and you’ll find the rest will come in its due time.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Please visit my website www.justinwernermusic.com and I can be found on most social media platforms under JustinWernerMusic or Justin Werner & Co. I perform live quite a bit as well, so showing up in person is also greatly appreciated.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.justinwernermusic.com
• Email: info@justinwernermusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinwernermusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justinwernerandco/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinWerner_
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/63wK0lc2Y269Q4fFAOGRCO?si=nwbfkZbMTc2gnGKyNnPKng

Image Credit:
Aaron Martin Music and Motion Pictures
Sarah Nee Photography

Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.