Tony Mantor's : Almost Live..... Nashville - Jason Gould: Music, Storytelling, and the Shadow of Fame

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

Ever wondered what it's like to grow up with some of the most famous parents in Hollywood? Join us as we chat with Jason Gould, son of Barbra Streisand and Elliot Gould, as he opens up about his life under the spotlight. Jason shares his journey from his early interest in filmmaking to his eventual passion for music, navigating the complexities of fame with a discerning eye. Despite the pressure of living up to his parents' legacies, Jason reveals how he found his own path and the pivotal role storytelling has played throughout his career. Our conversation delves into Jason's evolution in the music industry, highlighting the personal growth that comes from stepping out of a famous parent's shadow. Jason speaks candidly about the challenges of comparison and the initial fear of judgment, recounting his transition from daunting stage performances to the joy of studio work. Emphasizing authenticity, he discusses his creative process and how his music has naturally evolved, from recording three EPs to working on a full-length album. His insights into the music promotion world reveal the satisfaction of letting his work connect organically with audiences. We also shine a light on the importance of collaboration and embracing imperfections, as Jason reflects on his latest EP, "Sacred Days," and his work with artists like Liz Vidal and Dorian Shia. Stepping away from acting, Jason remains committed to creative expression, using his storytelling skills to craft unique music videos. To wrap up, we explore the nuances of self-promotion with Tony Mantor, emphasizing the mutual benefits of helping others and putting good into the world. Tune in for valuable insights into social media strategies and the power of support in personal and professional growth. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

My career in the entertainment industry has enabled me to work with a diverse range of talent. Through my years of experience, I've recognized two essential aspects. Industry professionals, whether famous stars or behind-the-scenes staff, have fascinating stories to tell. Secondly, audiences are eager to listen to these stories, which offer a glimpse into their lives and the evolution of their life stories. This podcast aims to share these narratives, provide. information on how they evolved into their chosen career. We will delve into their journey to stardom,

discuss their struggles and successes, and hear from people who help them achieve their goals. Get ready for intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and insights into the fascinating world of entertainment. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to Almost Live Nashville. Jason Gould is our guest today. He will share his story of pursuing a music career

while being the son of actor Elliot Gould and legendary singer-actress Barbara Streisand. He will also discuss his collaborations with his mother, including a duet and a concert performance while growing up in the public eye. Thanks for joining me today. Thanks for having me. Oh, it's my pleasure.

I've had the opportunity to work with several people that have had famous iconic parents. Along with that comes obstacles and opportunities, so I imagine growing up with Elliot Gould and Barbara Streisand would present a unique experience. for you. So how did you navigate the challenges and of course the benefits of having such famous iconic parents that are always in the public eye? You know, it was complex because I was born into that world of fame, I guess, you could say. It was confusing as to what was real

because I noticed I've always been an observer of human beings, human beings and human nature. Sure, sure. So to see what fame did to people and how it change their behavior was always fascinating to me. And I'm talking about the people around the famous people. Okay. So I think trust has been, you know, something that's been challenging at times, particularly as a child when you're a bit confused about what's real here. Yeah, the word trust is a very essential word in our world. So I find it fascinating that you bring that up. Did you find that people try to get into your social circle, trying to further their professional goals? Or was that not an issue for you? No, I was aware of that as a possibility and so sometimes I wasn't sure,

you know, sometimes I was, yeah, it made me, that's, you know, why I struggled with trust because I wasn't sure what the motivation was always. Right. I could generally see through somebody, I just, I don't know, I have a truth meter that's very like attuned. Good. I've never been somebody that was easily taken advantage of or manipulated that way. That's great. So, yeah, I kind of saw through it, but it's because my whole life I've had to. Sure, that's understandable. I've had many conversations like we're having right now with others that have celebrity

parents as well who have well-known parents such as yourself. Right. Unfortunately, they always had to be on guard because people would try to use their influence of their parents to help them in. influence them to give them greater exposure and hopefully become a star themselves. Yeah, I was never terribly impressed by fame. So I see us all as human beings. Some, you know, some have other qualities and assets and attributes. But I've never believed that anyone was better than anybody else just because they were famous. I love it. That's a great way of looking at things.

That's a great grounded perspective. Yeah. Now, as you grew older, you continue to act and sing. I understand that you eventually started looking at opportunities in film. Could you explain and tell them us more about how that transition and how you evolved in that? Well, I was a kid who always, I was one of those kids with a movie camera, a little super eight movie camera. So I was always making films from the age of God, I don't know, eight, nine, like little monster movies, but then it would evolve into others. I made films with my grandmother. So I really thought I would go more into the directing aspect of.

of filmmaking. Okay. I made short films and stuff. And then when I was about 18, I thought, since I'm interested in directing and since I'm making short films, it might be useful for me to study acting to understand how to communicate with an actor.

That makes perfect sense. So I got into acting, and then I started to get some roles. All right. And then I thought it would be easy, which it wasn't. I get that for sure. I never particularly loved it.

I mean, I'm not somebody who likes to be in the spotlight, So acting is sort of the wrong profession for somebody who doesn't like to be in the spotlight. Well, I can't disagree with that statement for sure. But I love to create and I love to collaborate and I love to be artistic. So it's complex. Sure, absolutely. By taking that approach, you get a chance to experiment. Then you can see various approaches that can help you identify your strengths, your interests,

and enable you to grow in your career so you can evaluate, evolve into what you're meant to do. Exactly. What we're all meant to do. Right, exactly. So from there, you made a transition into singing and music. So how did you transition from acting, directing, and filmmaking to your decision to focus on your singing and music? Well, I was always musical. Also, as a child, I would sit at the keyboard and I would come up with melodies, but I never understood how one makes a song out of that. Like, I had these little pieces of melodies, but I never understood how. you construct a song. I thought it was like this, this language that, you know, other people had and I didn't have. I never got it. But it was something that kept nagging at me. So I, and sometimes I would write these little melodies and not know what to do with them. And then as I grew older, I realized, I had sort of suppressed my musicality because my mother was an icon in that world. Yeah, she's a huge name in that world. You know, it's like, I don't want to be compared and judged to that. So I'm just going to keep my mouth shut. Sure. That can be very intimidating starting out. So there's nothing wrong in being a little passive so that you can learn and grow.

Which is what I did pretty much until my early 40s. And then I realized that was not in my best interest. You know, I had to honor myself into whatever my gifts were. If I were not to use them, it would sort of, it would sort of hurt me. It would curdle within, you know? Right, right. So I began to explore that more seriously, and I started writing music, and I wanted to record a song that I didn't write, the first one of which was how deep is the ocean, which I eventually played for my mother, which was scary to me. Sure, I can just imagine. I'd never sang in front of anybody, really. So how did that work out? She said, I want to sing this with you.

And then she decided to go on tour and ask me if I would join her. So it all unfolded in a way that was very organic. It wasn't planned on my part. And it wasn't my dream to like perform because that's not really where I'm comfortable. Right. But it was a beautiful experience and a privilege and an honor to sing with her, you know, in front of her crowd, her people. Sure.

So how did that affect you? You're on stage doing your own thing with the fans in front of you. And then ultimately singing on stage with your mother. How did that experience singing on stage? stage, shape your perception of yourself as an artist and your connection to the fans. Well, I didn't know if I could do it. So it certainly showed me that I could. I could do it. But I didn't get the kick out of it that I hear other people talk about. Like, I hear people say, oh, I feel most alive when I'm on stage. And I am not that person.

Okay. I never really looked forward to it. It was sort of something I dreaded to be to go out on stage. Wow. Okay. I could psych myself up and I could sort of, because I'm a meditator, and I could sort of ground myself in a place where it was so not about me. I would just show up in service of the song of my mother and just be authentically myself. Right. That's the only way I could do it. Okay. And I'm able to do it, but it's not something that gives me that thrill. It doesn't feed my ego. It doesn't feed some need for validation in me. So it's not something that I seek. I love to create. I love to create. It doesn't feed my ego. It doesn't feed. It doesn't feed some need for validation in me. I

love to create, I'm much happier being in the studio, you know. Sure. That's very interesting point. I can relate to that because my transition to Nashville involved moving from working alongside celebrities on tour to hoeing my own craft behind the scenes doing production and management, specifically in the studio. Yeah. I found the rush of creativity being strikingly similar across both stages. Right. So when you're working on refining the nuances of your songs in the studio, what mental processes do you go through to achieve the desired outcome that you're looking for? Because I've been writing now for over 10 years, the process has changed for me, whereas I first approached it from an insecure place, like, how do you do this? Is this good enough?

I'm very self-critical. Now I've sort of relaxed into it and I trust the process. And it's really, for me, in a sense, about surrendering to whatever wants to come through me. So when I show, up to write a song. I don't come with a preconceived idea. I don't come with, I'm not even coming, I'm coming to play and I'm coming to be so relaxed that the melodies and the words sort of, they come through in, they come through. I get that. It doesn't mean that the song doesn't need work. Oh yeah, absolutely. But generally that initial, I just respect whatever's coming through me as like from source. And then it's my job to sort of, you know, refine it and, and, and, work it so that it can be what it wants to be.

Yeah, yeah. You kind of like we say in the music business down here, let it grow its own legs. Exactly. Yeah. Once you release a record to radio, there are certain relationships that we have. Because of that, certain things have possibilities to happen. Yeah. As long as the song is good, then you hope that the people hear it and then love it.

Yeah. Then it grows its own legs and starts doing well because of the quality of the song. I know nothing about promotion, and it's really an area that it's not very foreign to me, so I'm interested to know more of you. Yeah, I've done a lot of promoting. I've been on the road, done a lot of production development. So there's not a lot here that I haven't done. Yeah.

Every part of the music business has its ups and downs and bumps in the road. Mm-hmm. The key thing that you just said is that you go in and you kind of let it organically grow and become what it's going to be. Yeah. I think that's the proper way to do it. Mm-hmm. I'm like you. I like going into the studio and just let it grow organically and evolve to what it's going to be.

Yeah, exactly. So how many songs have you released? And along with that, how many albums have you released? Well, I've done, I think I've put out three EPs and one full-length album. I'm about to start work on some new music. But I love EPs. I like a smaller, you know, like serving. It's easier to do. It's less expensive to do. So I never felt like, oh, I have to make a full-linked album. Well, it gives you a little flexibility. You can do four, five, six songs, whatever you want to do.

Yeah. You can do them the style that you want. Yeah. Then the next time, you can do a completely different project than what you did before. Exactly. So how have you seen yourself evolve in the last five, ten years to what you were doing to what you're doing right now? Well, it's much more surrendered to almost a spiritual experience.

where I feel like I am more of a channel, more of a vessel, and something I allow, I'm like just trying to be so surrendered, so relaxed that something wants to get born through me. And I'm not trying to be clever. I'm not coming from a place of insecurity. It's like I think I'm secure enough to know that it's going to happen or it's not going to happen. And either way is okay, you know. That's a great way to look at it. I mean, that's really a great way of looking at it. Good for you. So what would you consider your style is today? Gosh, I don't know, because I'm about to do something different than what I just did. So when it comes to songwriting, I think the last EP I did called Sacred Days is there's a lot of me in it. You know, most of the melody is mine. A lot of the words are mine.

And there are also collaborations with Liz Vidal on lyrics and on two songs, Doreen Shia. And I'm really proud of that record, actually. That's great. it's always good to love what you're doing and respect what you're doing. I think it's a lot of people are like, are you going more into the dance zone or something? I'm like, well, I don't know. I mean, I love rhythmic music. I've always liked dance music.

But I'm about to now go in a whole other direction away from dance music into more traditional melodies. Okay. What inspired you? Needless to say that you've got your mother that covered a lot of varied styles in what she did. Yeah. So when you sit down and listen to music, what genre do you listen to and what style was it that got you to evolve into what you're doing at this point in time? Yeah, you know, and that direction changes. But I was always a kid who loved music.

I remember I had my first little plastic red record player as a child. You know, it had a lid. You lifted up and you could play a 45. And my first favorite song was, I say a little. Little Prayer by Dionne Warwick. Yeah, yeah. And then I had up, up, and away by the fifth dimension. Yeah.

So I've always loved music and gravitated to different types of music. Me too. I remember loving the Supremes, the Eagles, Queen, the police, so much, you know, Donna Summer. And so I don't feel, I don't feel also the need to define myself by any particular genre. I do what feels right. Sure. I just follow my instincts. So I'm really just, all it is is I'm following my instinct.

And if I like it, I'm sort of trying to please myself because that's the only control I have, you know? Yeah, absolutely. Because at the end of the day, you have to be happy with what you've done. Yeah. No matter what else, you've got to be happy. Yeah, exactly. Even if you're not totally happy with everything that you've done, at least you find that one thing in it that shows positivity.

Yeah. So that you have something to build on. Exactly. And then also know when to let go. I think perfectionism is a trap. Yes. That a lot of people fall into as a creative person. It's really not your friend.

Yeah, I want 100% agree with you because from my production standpoints, I want that inner feeling that what we've done is good, but it doesn't have to be perfect. Yeah. In the 50s, 60s, and 70s, if you listen to some of the songs that was released, some of them had a piano that was out of tune, and the songs just weren't perfect, but they were perfect for what they were. Yeah. Then we become a society where everything had to be perfect.

You get pro tools and vocal tuning. Yeah. And they just lost the integrity for the song. Yeah. I really like your approach there because not trying to be perfect, but trying to be your perfect self is really all that you need to be. Yeah. I mean, it's, you know, as I said, I guess the best we can do is strive for excellence,

but what is even that is, you know, what is excellence is different for different people. Absolutely. Good enough, you know, it's like, does it, does it communicate? Does it move you? Do you feel anything? I mean, that's really, in a sense, what we're doing here. We're just communicating human to human, you know. Right, right, exactly. So now that you've gotten out there, you've gotten a name for yourself and you're getting where you want to be, have you had anybody that you maybe looked up to or thought a lot of that you didn't think would really look at you or give you the time of day? And then all of a sudden, they wanted to work. with you and it's like, wow. Not yeah. Not really, no. Okay, well, certainly don't count it out because I'm sure that will happen because the more that you get out there and the more that you get known,

the more people that will come around and possibly offer because they enjoy what you do and respect what you do. Right. I think that's a natural process as well. So be ready. It's coming. Collaboration is part of the joy, I think, you know, to and then to be able to be, so vulnerable with another person, I think, is part of what's required when you're creating music together. Yeah, yeah, sure. So if you had a choice, you're working on your music now, you've got the acting and the production and the film that you've already done. And I know this is somewhat of a really loaded question for you.

Which do you enjoy more? Do you enjoy the creative process of the film or the creative process of the music? Well, I don't really, I haven't really acted for many years. I kind of let that go. Okay. But I do make videos for my songs. So my filmmaking skills and instincts I get to use in that way, which is very satisfying to me.

And I've collaborated with my friend Anthony Bealinson on several videos, which, so we get to be our kind of guerrilla filmmakers when it comes to making videos for the music that I create. So I would say definitely more music, but I love to use my visual instincts as well with the videos. Sure. Sure. So you've got a lot of things behind you. You've evolved in many different ways in your music. So where do you see yourself in the future, say, maybe five years? Gosh, you know what? I don't think that for an advance generally. Okay. Sometimes when I finish a creative process, I go into this weird lull where I'm like, okay, now what? Sure. You know, and it's sort of like an uncomfortable place where it's almost like you get a little bit of a letdown. You're like depressed because, you know, your purpose is. ended and you don't know what's next.

Yeah. But I've learned that staying creative is really important for me, but that can take many forms. So, you know, if I'm, I could be working in the garden or I could be making soup or I could be making a sculpture or other things. But music seems to be consistently gnawing at me. It wants to, you know, come to life through me. And so, good. Even though I'm still sort of promoting sacred days, I had another idea for what my next thing.

is going to be, and I'm actually heading toward you this week to work on it. Yeah, that's great. Yeah, that's great. So, when you're not being creative, what do you do to just chill and forget about everything and just totally relax, enjoy life? Well, I'm a foodie. So I do like to go out to eat a lot or make food, but I'm not a great cook. I mean, I'm a, you know, I'm a basic cook. Okay. I like to hang out with friends, and I used to love to go to the movies, but I don't anymore. Something changed in me. It's weird. Okay. I love documentaries.

Right. I love nature. So just appreciating nature is everything watching a sunset or flowers or growing my own fruits, vegetables. Yeah. These are the things that give me pleasure mostly. Yeah, that's great. That sounds like really nice things to just sit back and relax with. What was the magic that happened that led up to the duet with your mom?

Was there anything special there? What caused that? What was the story behind that? Well, it was her, it was completely her idea. As I said, it was the first song I recorded that I didn't write. It was a song I felt compelled to do. I recorded it was Stefan Oberhoff, a producer I've worked with, and I'm going to continue to work with. And we did a very simple arrangement.

It was basically piano, bass, and drum. Nice. I was very scared to share it with my mother, but I did. And she said, I want to sing this with you. And I'm like, what? Okay. I didn't even know without men at the time. And then a few months later, she had a, it was her birthday.

She had a big anniversary birthday, I think, was 7-0. Okay. I made her a film, which was a montage of images of her and I from my birth to the present. And I said it to another song that I had been working on called Nature Boy. Both songs were on my first EP. I was expecting to give her a, like a DVD of the, the, the film I made, you know, but her friends were putting together this party and there were other people that had created video content. And so the video I gave her became part of that. And so it was shown

in front of 50 people, including Quincy Jones, who came up to me after it played and said, we're going to make an album together. Wow. And I was like, we are, we are. And I couldn't believe that he wanted to work with me. For quite a few months, I would say, are you sure you? Like, I went to perform at a small little jazz club in Hollywood. He came. And afterwards, I said, so you still want to do this?

He didn't understand my insecurity, but I was. I was insecure. Anyway, we ended up making an album. And so what an incredible experience I got to work with one of the great masters, you know? Absolutely. That's a great story behind the song for sure. Yeah.

And what a great one it is. Yeah. So you're starting to work on your new EP now. So what's in the near future for you? Do you have anything else on the horizon? Well, we're finishing a video for the song's Sacred Days, which is on my current release. Okay. So that should be coming out soon.

And then I just go to work on my next project. How can people check you out? You have a website, social media, et cetera? You know what? I don't even have a website. I'm like, I do have Instagram. Okay. I think it's Jason Gould Music. Okay. On both Instagram and Facebook.

Okay. So you can find me there. Yeah, I'm not a great self-promoter. But yeah. But Tony, any advice? I'm totally open and would appreciate it. Oh, anytime. This has been a great conversation. and been very informative, a lot of good stories. I've really truly enjoyed it. Likewise, thank you.

Yeah, and I'm always about helping people. So if you need any information at all on social media or whatever you might be looking at, I think you've got it pretty much covered with the people that are around you. But if you need anything, you definitely know how to contact me. Well, that's wonderful. Yeah, it's great to be helpful, you know. Be of service to others. It always fills your own cup.

It does. It truly does. The more good you put out there, the more good. that potentially could come back to you. So once again, I really appreciate you taking the time to come on to my podcast today. Well, it's a pleasure and an honor to get to be on your podcast. Thank you. My pleasure. Thanks for joining us today. We hope you enjoyed the show. This has been a Tony Mentor production. For more information, contact media at plateaumusic.com.