Who Am I?

Excellent question! Old Orchard Productions is home to the creative works of Jason J. Hutchings. Experimental music and visual art projects including every step of music production, song writing and composition, cover art creation, mixed media artworks and artistic creations on a variety of mediums.

Creative collaborations include Books for Seniors, John Ireland, Ryan Boddy, Jon Savant, Josh Pyle,  Third Removed from Truth, The V Codes, and Zwieback. Visit the music section for more information.

Please contact me if you would be interested in discussing an artistic collaboration or have any other questions about pricing of artwork or commisions. For more information on my practice as a psychologist please visit www.drjasonhutchings.com

My Relationship to Creativity:

I have never thought of music or visual art as simply entertainment. While I have grown to appreciate its’ uses for commercial purposes, art has always held a much higher place in my inner world. I appreciate any artistic work that communicates something authentic, makes a lasting impression, and deepens my experience of being alive.

I have a vivid memory from around the age of 5. I was in kindergarten and the teacher would routinely play a record while passing the afternoon milk and snack cart around. One particular day, he played the theme to the movie "Chariots of Fire" and something happened to me. I felt the music wash over me like a wave of joy and the hairs raised on my arms. Sitting in a space of suspended euphoria, I was transfixed but alert, present. Everything settled inside me and it was just the music. When I listen to that song today, I no longer have that same experience, however the imprint remains.

Many years passed and attempts had been made to learn the drums and the clarinet. Around 14, I found an old 12 string guitar in our attic that was strung with 6 old oxidized strings and with action about half an inch off the fretboard. After beginning to write my own music with this severe instrument and even trying to take formal guitar lessons with it, my parents bought me an electric guitar for Christmas. A Fender Strat rip-off with a small 1x8 Crate amp. It was as if the world opened up and I spent hours with these instruments. Along the way, I picked up a "Lark" acoustic guitar for $15 from a friend at school. This guitar is still one of my favorites to sit around the house and play. Smooth action and silky tone — but quiet, which was and is essential when playing late at night. I have always been around a friend with a drum set. From 8th grade on I have had the opportunity to play the drums frequently. At the same time I bought a small Casio keyboard and a Tascam 4 track tape mixer. The world opened again and the beginning of understanding the technical aspects of music creation began during this time. I was fortunate at this age to travel to NYC and visit my late great uncle, John McKellen. He furthered my interest in Bach, Bartok, modern classical music, and jazz, having studied himself with Lennie Tristano and simultaneously navigating a successful career with MCA Records.

I am endlessly curious about synthesizing disparate influences. These influences have helped me to understand much about the production, orchestration, and sonic layout of compositions, all of which have guided my use of space, rhythm and melody. My influences span from the works of Bela Bartok, who pairs Romanian folk dances with modern classical music, to the experimental ferment of the 1960’s, including the works of Frank Zappa and other composers. While influences are too many to list, I will name a few more - Michael Hedges, Brian Eno, Steve Reich, Bach, Vivaldi, Erik Satie, Debussy, Stravinsky, Webern, Blind Willie Johnson, Son House, Skip James, Miles Davis, Charlie Mingus, Beck, and more recently the Post Rock and Electronic worlds. Largely, I owe my father, his father, and my great uncle as guiding forces of musical influence. Also my high school music teacher who was clear that I had no musical ability. That resistance helped me push even harder towards finding my own voice.

In a parallel way, my work in the visual arts began early and has grown along side my experiments in music. I frequently use acrylic paints, oil paint sticks, Sigma Micron archival ink pens, oil paint markers, and colored pencils. I enjoy painting on found objects as well as more traditional canvas and paper. Influences in this realm include ancient art such as Egyptian, Mayan works, cave paintings, and Kandinsky's use of shape and color. When creating album artwork, I occasionally put my artwork through software to further design as needed.

In creation, regardless of the medium, I wish to find a special state, one that reminds me of something even more important than the current composition. Rather, a sense of quiet presence. Like my childhood experience when hearing that record play in school - the sediment of the mind settles and there is an unmistakable clarity.

Thanks for reading and please follow me on Instagram to view my latest music and visual art projects! Visit my shopto buy original paintings and artworks or visit Bandcamp to purchase original music. Thank you!