If You “Ain’t Dead Yet” Then Stream Jack Sledge’s New Track Now! [Premiere]

If you were thinking of becoming a drifter, you only have a couple of more days to wait before you’ll have a lot of useful information to go off of. Americana artist Jack Sledge will issue his brand new EP, Notes of a Drifter, on April 3rd and, today, you’re getting a sneak preview with the debut of Sledge’s single, “Ain’t Dead Yet.” Stream the tune below for a succulent sample of Sledge’s trademark Americana sound that serves as the musical backbone of the record, all recorded in one session at The Maze in New Orleans.

The songs contained on Notes of a Drifter tell a story of the unease and stress of the average American who doesn’t have enough money to survive and lives in a constant state of worry. It only takes Sledge four songs to adequately draw from the conflict that resided within his childhood living in Brooklyn with parents from Oklahoma. Borrowing from his own life story, Sledge takes a stand for those Americans who are desperate for a change, those who have had to come to terms with the myth of the American Dream. Notes of a Drifter sees Sledge at perhaps his most introspective, with musings on what actually constitutes freedom in modern American society and even feeling a sense of freedom from yourself. It’s an EP that is about as American as apple pie.

In addition to bringing you Sledge’s new song “Ain’t Dead Yet,” we also spoke to the artist to gain more detail about the song and the EP, as well as finding out what goals he had in mind when writing Notes of a Drifter.

“Ain’t Dead Yet” has a nice upbeat tone and groove to it. Did you have a specific goal in mind when you wrote this song about how you wanted it to sound?

“I wanted it to sound frenzied, unbridled, and honest.”

I wanted to ask you about the lyric “all the way to heaven but I ain’t dead yet.” It’s very clever to say the least. What’s the overall message or sentiment you’re trying to get across with this song?

“The song is about being broke in paradise. I live in New Orleans which in some places looks like the garden of Eden. The use of the word ‘heaven’ is kind of sarcastic, like ‘it looks like heaven outside but I’m in hell.’ But then ‘ain’t dead yet’ is a redemptive phrase meant to say that I’m going to make it through, rise above and all that.”

How does “Ain’t Dead Yet” compare to the rest of your new EP Notes of a Drifter? Is this track similar in sound and vibe to the other three songs?

“Yeah, I think the main outlier on the EP is ‘Drifter.’ ‘Ain’t Dead Yet’ is more similar to the other two.”

Something I thought of when I first heard “Ain’t Dead Yet” is that it has a distinctively Americana sound to it. Who are some of your most highly valued Americana artists that you look towards for influence or inspiration?

“I don’t know if I look to distinctively ‘Americana” artists for inspiration. I look to Bob Dylan mostly, he’s my guiding light.”

With these four new songs, you’re making something of a commentary on current American culture. What would you classify as the main thematic goal you were going for when writing Notes of a Drifter?

“The American dream is not a one-way street. The dream doesn’t exist without the nightmare. America is all about extreme highs and extreme lows, it’s a gambler’s land, home of the stock market and the riverboat casino. It’s a bubbling jacked-up powder keg of possibility and heartache, of risk and reward, of love and loss.”

Artwork for ‘Notes of a Drifter’ by Jack Sledge