Jackson Rohm was a guest judge for the Chautauqua Lake Idol singing contest at the Bemus Bay Pops in 2008. I recently reached out to Jackson and he kindly gave me this beautiful quote.
"I had such a fantastic time judging the Chautauqua Lake Idol and was pleasantly surprised by the talent of the contestants, particularly the younger singers. The crowds came out in force for those events on the floating stage. The heart of Bemus Point was the ideal summertime place for friends and families to gather. It was wonderful to get together on a warm Monday evening to enjoy an entertaining show as the sun went down in the background over our beautiful lake."
Jackson is an American country/pop musician. His music is best described as acoustic-based pop/rock with hook-laden melodies. Jackson was born in Jamestown, New York and currently lives in the San Francisco area. Though he lives on the West coast he returns home each summer to perform for his family and lifelong fans/friends in Chautauqua County. In fact, he wrote a song that is my favorite entitled Blow Off the Afternoon. In the song's lyrics reference is made to a bay on Chautauqua Lake called Dewittville Bay and a boat which is an antique wooden vessel made by the Century Boat Company. The company was founded in 1926 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1928, the company moved to Manistee, Michigan where it stayed for more than 60 years.
Rohm graduated from Southwestern High School. He considered attending Cornell University and the University of Virginia before accepting a track scholarship to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where he became a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity as an undergraduate.
With 7 albums and with over 4,000 gigs under his belt, Jackson is your top San Francisco Bay area acoustic guitar performer and artist. He released his first CD, Twisted & Misguided in 2000. His second CD in 2002, Sink or Swim had a modern rock sound. In 2003, Rohm released his album Red Light Fever. Included in the album are 2 songs entitled Snug Harbor Lounge and One More Fourth of July. The lounge was an iconic bar located a mile South of the Chautauqua Institution which closed its doors a couple decades ago. A fourth CD, Four on the Floor was released in 2006. The title track was written as a tribute to a fellow musician, Rod Welling who tragically lost his life in a 2004 motor vehicle accident.
In 2008, Rohm released his fifth CD, Long Way From Moving On. This represented a departure from the pop/rock feel of his first four releases and a venture into the country music genre. It was described as "Rohm's best work yet" as he seems most comfortable in the country music mode.
In 2010, his Nashville recorded album Acoustic Sessions was released containing acoustic renditions of some of his previously released songs as well as five new songs.
Returning to his rock roots with producer Aaron Thompson, Rohm in 2012 recorded the 12-song compliation Blindsided in Atlanta, GA featuring upbeat tracks Blue Skies and Butterflies and Superglue as well as the title track, a ballard written for his wife, Theresa whom he married that same year. They met at the Ellicottville Fall Festival and now have a 3 year old son named Asher.
A deeply heartwrenching yet beautiful song Jackson wrote was entitled To Amy With Love. Amy King was Jackson's friend and a United Airlines flight attendant. Sadly, she perished at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Amy grew up in Chautauqua County and was in high school with Jackson .. Class of '89. RIP Amy on this day, September 11 when we all pause to remember your life and all you meant to so many especially your friend, Jackson.
To Amy With Love Lyrics
I'm writing you this letter, so sorry I haven't been better at this, but you know how our lives can change while some things stay the same, so you finally found the one, a guy who's in for the long run, I never saw you smile that way, at the Fourth of July parade.
How could this happen, to an angel so warm and tame, you never wanted to be part of some madman's game, I'm lost and can't accept it, and I just can't get clear, would someone please explain, how you could be on that plane.
If we could just get back to, the Celeron Park in June, it doesn't seem so long ago, that we were 12 years old, but look how far you've come, from those days of bikes and bubblegum, and you're too good to be killed so young, by a coward behind a gun, on that plane.
I really must be going now, I hope this letter finds you well, in your place among the stars above, to Amy with love.
These lyrics were written on September 11, 2001 and set to music by Jackson Rohm. I have heard him sing this heartwrenching song several times though it never gets any easier hearing this song of remembrance to Amy King.
Amy and her fiance, Michael
"Good music is hard to come by. We are flooded with junk on the radio and those terrible songs lead to the summer's best concerts. It is brainwashing and makes me have little hope for quality music in our future. But, that was before I met this man. He brings heartfelt and honest lyrics with toes in the sand kind of grooves that makes you want to grab your woman and hold her tight. His voice is unique and polished and he plays the guitar as if he was born to do so. Not to mention he is one of the nicest guys I have met in a long time. I am excited that I got the chance to sit down with him today and it is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to Jackson Rohm."
Ricky Lee Potts
Is Jackson Rohm your real name?
"Robert Jackson Rohm is my full name, but I've been called Jackson since the first week I was born by my parents. Robert is my Dad."
How long have you been performing?
"I started playing quitar in middle school and sang in a metal band with some friends when we were fourteen. We played our first paid gig in 1984 performing for our middle school dance. I never considered myself a professional musician until I bagged law school and started playing full time in 1995."
Who is Aaron Thompson and how did you meet him?
"Aaron is a very talented producer, engineer and multi-instrumentalist that I met in the late 90s when I lived in Atlanta. He's produced five of my six records and he's mixed all of them. He and I work very well together and I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with him."
Do you write all of your own lyrics?
"I wrote all of the music and lyrics for the fourteen songs that I recorded for the Acoustic Sessions album."
What is your favorite venue?
"I love playing The Village Casino on Chautauqua Lake. It's not really a casino, but it's a cool, laid back wing and beer joint right on the water that I grew up hanging out at since I was a kid. I usually pack the place and lots of old friends always seem to be there. It's my kind of place."
What was it like when you first heard one of your songs on the radio?
"That was an incredible feeling. I still could not believe it. When I recorded my first record, I had no idea if people would like my original music. They liked it so I became more focused on writing music."
What do you want to be remembered for when this is all said and done?
"I hope to be remembered as a guy that was a hell of a lot of fun to see play live. And I'd like to be remembered for writing some songs that told some great stories that moved people. If my stuff moves them to dance, cry, sing along, that's all fine with me. I just hope that they are not moved to hit the eject button!"
Be Safe.
Pat Locke
Maestro Muse
