We had the good fortune of connecting with Jason Mesches and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jason, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
My company, Jason Mesches’ Smile Factory, is changing the way young families interact with music. By using a hands on instrumental approach, and lots of high energy EDM, my music classes and concerts are teaching children what their young parents already know: music and dancing can change your day, month, and honestly your whole life. Every week, I get to sing and dance with 200 children and the adults in their lives, across LA County and now all over the country. No matter where they came from before our jam session, they leave feeling as if they just went to a mini music festival, and they are tasked with the mission of taking a little of the joy we created during our time together, and bringing it out into the world.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
One of the beautiful parts of working in children’s entertainment is that there is truly something for every kind of kid, and every kind of family. I learned early on that what sets us entertainers apart from each other is neither good or bad, but rather just a spectacular menu of options for how parents choose to spend time with their children. My particular brand of rowdy kids concert is for the type of parent who spent their youth at night clubs and at festivals. I lean heavy into current EDM and loud, fast music. I want every single class or show to feel like it is “Baby Coachella”. After all, you have to know your audience. If you are singing to one year olds, realistically, you are singing to their late 20s and early 30s parents. So, we smash the nostalgia button and have a good time.

I would not say the road to where I am today has been easy, but it has been a very natural progression of gaining experience and building upon what I’ve learned. Before I started my own company, I was a member of other children’s entertainment groups and bands. I was a music teacher in a preschool, grade school and high school program. I’d get ideas along the way about what works and what doesn’t. I quite literally used my classrooms as a workshop for songs, getting real time feedback about what bits hit and what bits didn’t. I also learned many lessons in authenticity – there are just some songs or styles that I can’t do because they don’t feel authentic coming from me. Kids can see through anything that isn’t genuine, so it’s best to always play to your strengths and stick to what you do best. There is room in this world for slow ballads, soft activities and mellow space – I just might not be the guy for that.

If I had to let the world know one thing about my brand, it’s that I come from a mindset of “our children are far more capable than we think”. Give them a drum, and watch them intuitively know what to do with it. Watch, as an 8 month old baby rocks her face off to complex melodies and rhythms. We do not need to “dumb down” our music just because it’s for kids. I hope that “Jason Mesches” becomes synonymous with “good clean fun”.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I always like to say that Los Angeles is an amazing place to live, but a really tough place to visit. But luckily, you’ve got me to help you out! In the mornings we will do the great west side coffee roundup. During our week we will hit up Go Get Em Tiger, Primo Passo, Espresso Cielo, and Gnarwall. During the day, we’ll have to cover some ground, so we’ll spend a day exploring Silverlake, we will do a day at the Observatory, and for some real authentic LA life, I’ll take you up to the Santa Monica Mountains for some hiking. LA has some of the best hikes in the world, but people usually don’t think about it when they come to visit. Last: nightlife. This is where we will shine. Our night out will start in Hollywood at Grandmaster Recorders for dinner and dancing in their secret disco ball room, and then if you still want to keep the party going, we will go to my favorite night club in Hollywood called Sound. I love Sound because they attract people who are there for the music, not just to see and be seen. I love LA so much, and the access to amazing music is a huge part of that.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
When I describe my job, which is essentially throwing mini music festivals for children ages 6mo to 3years, the next question is ALWAYS … “How on earth did you get into that line of work?” which is a totally fair question. It has been a very long 14 years of right place, right time moments. Many moons ago, while I was acting on television, I did not want to wait tables between gigs. I learned that a school near me was looking for a music teacher. I figured, “I am musical… I bet I can figure out how to sing with kids”. My boss, and mentor, Cathy Gordon was one of the first to tell me, “Jason, you are very good at this. I think you should consider recording some of your music.” In those early years, Cathy gave me great guidance and helpful tools for holding the attention of a room – she was, and still is, a person I look to for not only career advice, but life advice. In her school, I learned the craft of song leading, and the art of connecting with children.

Even then, I still wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to be a full time “kids music guy”. But, that’s where having an amazing partner in life comes in handy. Kaelin, my wife and favorite person on this planet, was sitting with me one night at dinner. She was observing that whenever I talked about my job, I would lightly make fun of it. I’d immediately diminish the work and treat it as something “less than”. She said to me, “Yes… you sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” for a living. But you’re the best “Itsy Bitsy Spider” singer in this city and the minute you start acting like it, people will take you seriously”. And that was that. I had the permission. I had the push I needed to say to the world: “Yes, I sing to babies, kids and families. All day, every day. This is what I do. This is my calling. This is my career”

Website: jasonmeschesmusic.com

Instagram: @jasonmeschesmusic

Facebook: facebook.com/jasonmeschesmusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jasonmeschesmusic

Image Credits
Image Credit: Maxine Bowen

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