The Ready Set
Dreaming Come True
The Ready Set’s set hook-laden debut was a long time coming

By Emily Zemler

The Ready Set came together as a happy accident. Jordan Witzigreuter, the 20-year-old musician behind the project, started to develop his songwriting skills when he was only 16. The Ready Set’s debut, I’m Alive, I’m Dreaming, came out this summer after over a year of on and off recording. The record collects Witzigreuter’s signature pop songs, defined by their quirky electronic instrumentals and Witzigreuter’s catchy and earnest vocal melodies. Witzigreuter discusses this light-hearted, hook-laden debut, how he discovered songwriting and what the future holds for the Ready Set.

How does it feel to have your record out?
Awesome. It’s been a long time to get it, out so it’s really exciting. For the past year, the only thing anyone’s been able to buy from me is a three-song EP so it’s good to finally have some other stuff people can get into it. It’s good to finally see some people singing words to songs that aren’t just the three songs people know.

How old is the oldest song on the record?
Let me think about that. The oldest song is probably a little over a year old. There’s two songs on there that I recorded a little over a year ago. And the first single, “Love Like Woe,” I actually recorded an original version of at the same time as those songs so that one’s pretty old too.

How did those songs change from that time to when you went into the studio with an actual producer?
Obviously, sonically it sounds way better. It’s sounds huge. I also think I’ve gotten to be a way better singer and I’ve gotten a better grasp of melody and structure and stuff.

Now that you’ve worked with several producers would you ever go back and record alone again?
I was never very good at getting things to sound very good. My thing is more writing songs, but I’m not a very good audio engineer by any means. I just know how to write. Writing’s my thing, not really production. I like having the producer element. Plus it’s good to get second opinions sometimes from somebody who’s doing pop stuff. It’s good to have that input.

How many producers have you worked with at this point?
I think six. All for the album.

Did their approaches vary?
Definitely. They’re all very very different. There’s actually hardly any similarities between any of them, which is pretty cool. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to make sure every song was very unlike the next song on the album. I wanted to make sure it was very diverse.

Does the record still feel cohesive even if all the songs are different?
Even if all the songs sound diverse, they still all have the same style of writing that I do. They have the same sort of Ready Set vibe to them.

How would you describe that vibe?
I don’t know. My big thing is weird, interesting melodies. Hopefully, when people hear my songs they don’t think the melodies are typical pop melodies. I like to think I put a good amount of time into finding cool, weird things like that. Hopefully that’s the vibe. And I do a lot of faster, rhythmic vocal stuff.

How old were you when you started writing songs?
I was 16. I was in an acoustic band with my friend and that’s when I found out I could write songs. I guess I started singing and realized I could harmonize well. I was like, “Well this is pretty fun.” Now I’ve been writing for about four years.

So one day you just realized you have this talent?
Yeah pretty much. I had just been playing drums in bands up until that point. I had played drums since I was 11 years old. It took me until then to realize writing songs was what I like doing the most.

Did you ever have any formal training?
I took like two vocals lessons from someone in my town like a year ago. That was it.

How did writing songs and singing evolve into the Ready Set?
After about a year, the guy I was in a band with before moved. So I was like, “Well I guess I’ll just write songs on my own.” I didn’t play guitar or anything, but I had a little midi keyboard and a laptop. That’s how it got started. I made electronic kind of stuff because that’s what I had at the time and that evolved into the straight pop stuff that it is now.

Is it still just you or have you added band members?
It’s still just me. When I tour I have three guys who play with me. When I record it’s just me doing everything.

Is it ever hard not having other people in the group to bounce ideas off or help you?
I think half of that is having faith in what you write. I’ve always believed that if I like something and I think it sounds good, there’s going to be some people who agree with me. At the same time that’s where it’s good to have a producer there. It’s good to have the opinion of someone who’s not writing the song with you and isn’t on the same page as you. It’s somebody who has done bigger things and knows what works and doesn’t work.

When was the album recorded?
I started recording instruments about a year ago, before I even had management or anything. It’s basically been in the process since March of 2009. Just a song here and there. I initially recorded a ten-song album with two producers in Atlanta and only three of those songs ended up making on this record because I worked with other producers. The good majority of the songs were recorded in November of 2009, right after I was signed.

Was it hard to let go of that ten-song album and record new songs?
Some of it. I was kind of bummed about, but the good thing is that I own all the parts to those songs. I’m probably going to go back and rewrite them and see if I can turn them into new songs and make them a lot. I think it’s probably a good thing and I take it as a sign that maybe those songs just weren’t ready for anyone hear them yet.

When you go through a batch of songs, how do you know which ones are ready?
For me when I’m writing a song I can just kind of tell if it’s going to be worthwhile. If I’m not into a song halfway through writing it I’ll just stop and throw it away. I get a vibe from it I guess. If I’m writing it and I’m into it, I’ll keep going and I’ll add it to my collection of demos. If I get halfway through a song and I’m like, “Well it’s not going to make it anyways” then I throw it away.

Has your songwriting process changed as you’ve become more experienced with songwriting?
Yeah it definitely has. I’ve learned a lot more about structure and just what makes a song good. What makes a song hit the hardest and have the most effect on the listener. I think I’ve learned a lot from working with bigger producers. It’s helped me a lot as a songwriter.

Have you started working on a next album?
I probably already have like ten new ones and a whole arsenal of other ones I will probably remake. I’m always writing. It’s hard being on the road, but I have a few weeks off coming up and I’ll probably do some writing for the next album around that time.

Is it frustrating to be playing old songs live when you have all these new songs?
It’s fine because to everyone else these songs are new. It’s okay with me. It just gives me more time to write and just focus on what I want to do next.

What the plan for the rest of year?
I’m going out with Forever the Sickest Kids for a few weeks. And then I don’t really know. I’ll be out for the rest of the year I’m sure. I’m trying to stay as busy as possible. I’ll probably be on tour the rest of next year too and then hopefully get back to recording and put out something new.

Besides touring do you have any goals for the Ready Set?I don’t know. I just really take these songs as far as they can possibly go. I want to play huge shows, headline. I want to take things as far as they can possibly go. Hopefully, eventually, I want to get more into songwriting. I want do more co-writes with people and be recognized as a songwriter more than just a band. I just want to have my hand in everything and be very prominent and busy. That’s what I want, to always have something going on.