On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a pair of multi-hyphenates who have recently joined music-world forces: Justin Tranter and Jake Wesley Rogers.
Tranter first found music-biz fame with the band Semi-Precious Weapons, which had a decade-long run starting in 2004, and whose biggest claim to fame—besides their music itself—was opening for Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball tour. But Tranter pivoted after Semi-Precious Weapons split up, and started writing songs for and with other artists—but not just any artists. Tranter has written for and/or with Justin Bieber, Imagine Dragons, Selena Gomez, Gwen Stefani, and many, many more—chances are good you’ve heard a Justin Tranter composition on the radio, even if you didn’t know it. Tranter has also written a bunch of songs for the upcoming Grease prequel series, Rise of the Pink Ladies, and seven songs on the brand-new album by the massive Italian band Måneskin. Tranter has also been an incredible activist in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond, and their next move is becoming, as you’ll hear in this chat, a mogul.
That’s where the other half of today’s Talkhouse Podcast comes into the picture: Jake Wesley Rogers recently signed on with Tranter’s new record label, Facet, and the two have plans to conquer the world together—I wouldn’t bet against them. Rogers is from a younger generation, having grown up with the instant gratification of social media. He even appeared on America’s Got Talent at 15, and started writing songs even earlier than that. But Rogers really finds his voice with a couple of recent EPs, Pluto and Love. Tranter and Rogers also recently co-wrote a song called “Hindsight,” which plays over the end credits of Bros, the first gay rom-com ever released by a major studio—they talk about that here a bit as well. Check out that song below.
In this conversation, Tranter and Rogers talk about their daily processes, including The Artists' Way, they talk about great pop songs, great middle school teachers, destroying the patriarchy, and the dangers and joys of social media. Enjoy.
Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Justin Tranter and Jake Wesley Rogers for chatting. If you like what you heard, please check out all the goodness on Talkhouse.com and subscribe to our weekly e-mail newsletter. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!
Revisited: Aaron Dessner with Julien Baker
The Tallest Man on Earth with Field Medic
Eugene Hutz (Gogol Bordello) with Walter Schreifels (Quicksand)
Ti West with Tyler Bates and Tim Williams
A-Trak with Braxe & Falcon
Marcus King with Neal Francis
Doug Martsch (Built to Spill) with Kenny Becker (Goon)
Introducing: Björk: Sonic Symbolism
Hamilton Leithauser with Ethan Hawke
Spiral Stairs (Pavement) with Kelley Stoltz
Revisited: Reggie Watts with Chino Moreno (Deftones)
Introducing: Listening
Davey von Bohlen (Promise Ring) with Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World)
Joe Pera with Dan Wriggins (Friendship)
Taylor Bennett with Matt Johnson (Matt and Kim)
Sharon Van Etten with Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater)
Revisited: Carly Rae Jepsen with mxmtoon
Jonathan Davis (Korn) with Danny Brown
Stuart Murdoch (Belle and Sebastian) with Ramesh Srivastava (Voxtrot)
Martin Courtney (Real Estate) with Tim Darcy (Ought, Cola)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free