Photos by Dana Trippe
Makeup by Sydney Szramoski
Hair by Iggy Rosales
It’s hard to keep doing the things we loved to do as kids. Whether it was choreographing a dance routine for our family’s dinner parties, crocheting weird animal characters, or writing sharp-witted fan fiction, at one point people told us to raise our heads above the clouds and join the “real” world. Los Angeles-born Jesse Jo Stark never took that advice — she just kept pushing the boundaries of creativity.
Stark’s artistic upbringing was influenced by her parents’ fashion brand, Chrome Hearts, and her godmother, the one and only Cher. Stark wrote her first song at age 7 and formed her first band at 11. Now her music is finally taking center stage as her debut album DOOMED, a vibrant punk rock-meets-dreamy Americana saga, makes its mark on the world .
“You’re waiting to release this thing and you think it’ll lead to this one someday, but it’s actually going on,” says Stark. “So it was kind of just this surge of emotion.”
This record has been a long time coming – many of their songs existed long before the idea of a project took shape. Stark wrote the album’s closing track, “Trip,” seven years ago. “I think sometimes you have to rush the art because it’s so exciting and you want to get everything out right away,” she says. “I guess I never really thought these songs would have their moment. And then, with “Trip,” I actually drove into the studio one morning, had it in my head, and looked for it in my Dropbox. I ran into the studio and played it to the guys and I was like, ‘I think we need to rework this.'”
While the content of DOOMED simmered in the pot, Stark never limited himself to tapping into other independent creative projects. She’s a longtime designer for Chrome Hearts, crafts custom pieces for the likes of Orville Peck and Post Malone, and has also expanded her merchandise line into her own standalone brand, Deadly Doll. Just last year, she made her acting debut in Fracture, a five-episode drama that follows a struggling musician in LA, accompanied by a hard-hitting EP she wrote for the series. From fashion to acting to music, Stark never shy away from doing anything, and doing it well.
Some artists get lost in the chaos of juggling multiple artistic projects, but Stark thrives in it. “I think it’s going to be overwhelming, but I just can’t help but be pulled in different directions, and I kind of love it,” she says. “That’s how I work. I’m a lot like my parents in that way.” After dipping her toes in so many cymbals, Stark currently feels most revitalized when she’s focused on her music. “Especially with ‘DOOMED’ I really gave him the time he deserved. And now that I’m playing these shows and hopefully going on tour soon, I’m really refining that feeling. It’s important to me to focus on my live shows and my voice and all that because otherwise I haven’t been doing the job I want to do.”
Photo by Dana Trippe
Stark has reached a point in her journey where all inhibitions have been overcome, and she is not afraid to explore the many avenues of her stylistic oddities. She experiments with new sounds and lets her influences flow freely. “I tried a lot of new things on this record,” she explains. “Like 808s, and of course I had Jesse [of The Neighbourhood] produce with me So there are different tastes, but it’s just a really realized moment for me. It has this amazing balance of everything I’ve ever loved.”
This decoding of a multidimensional character is related to her steadfast refusal to be pigeonholed. “I’ve never really been okay with anyone judging someone because they don’t know their genre, or walking into a room and having to be a thing,” Stark says. “It totally irritates me. I think why isn’t that my genre? Why can’t people have different influences?” Stark grew up with “completely opposite tastes — country rock, metal, pop,” she recalls. “I like Britney Spears and I like Motley Crüe.” Although this new project covers so much artistic terrain, there are still issues to be scratched, such as the current inspiration to make a country album.
Traversing soundscapes, Stark also reveals deep weaknesses. From the fear of being in the spotlight on 666 in the suburbs to the addiction to a toxic lover on so bad, the artist’s emotions are never restrained and always palpable. “[Being vulnerable is] it’s pretty hard,” she says. “I have days when I’m really cute and days when I’m not. And that’s how I describe “DOOMED” which is quite moody. Some days we are allowed to get angry and some days we are allowed to be sad. But I don’t think I’ve arrived [the deepest] level of vulnerability yet. I think I have shifts to go.”
Just before making the album, Stark got a tattoo – a pin-up version of what she would look like if she were a cartoon character. “She’s holding a bowl and wearing a spider bikini. I’m going to get a ‘DOOMED’ tattoo, or lyrics, but it’s so funny: every time I try to make a tattoo appointment, I chip or they chip. So I have to get another one, but I’ll get one.”
Though the word “doomed to fail” often carries negative, cynical connotations, the singer sees it in a different light. “I think it’s really about owning who you are. Sort of like damn if you do, damn if you don’t,” she says. “I’m really influenced by dark nature and anything cool with horror, but I want ‘DOOMED’ to feel positive. It’s meant to feel like you’re in control of the future and don’t want to limit yourself to all of these different waves you go through in life.” The emotional juxtaposition is illustrated in the album’s dark but ethereal cover, where Jesse Jo, a shining angel, a hell-haunted double beckons to rise into her open arms.
Photo by Dana Trippe
“I feel like tattoos are always like holding on to a feeling for me,” the singer muses. “I’m always so trippy, where I am like that it passes. I think life is so fast and I always want to hold on to this memory. So it’s more of a capsule thing for me.” To immortalize this period in her life, the artist has a plethora of tattoo ideas. “I have so much to write. I want that gargoyle wing thing. I do not know yet. I want more of a portrait – something bigger because all my tattoos are a bit small. And then I think I want to get the doomed word. I just love the word.”
Stark is excited about the new release and looking forward to experiencing the thrills of the shows to come. “I’m so excited!” she calls. “It’s crazy. Being back with my band – obviously we hadn’t spent that much time together since COVID and I can’t explain that feeling. It’s like a journey with your friends but it takes forever. You everyone shares the same thing on stage and it’s that kind of otherworldly experience. I’m really grateful and can’t wait to play more shows.”
“DOOMED” is an expedition through horror and seduction. It captures a universe where pent-up rage takes shape as edgy punk anthems and unrequited lust seethes in dark ballads. Fascinated by dualities, Stark takes every emotion that pops up at her door and lets it manifest in her music in any way that feels right. Despite her love of experimentation, the two elements that tie it all together are an intoxicating aura fueled by passion and catharsis, and an unrelenting belief in putting herself above all else.
“I think people have a million things to offer,” Stark says. “So being one is impossible, and I would never want to be one.” This time she channeled light and dark through spirited synths, raucous guitars and moody landscapes, but who knows what’s next — a soaring country odyssey, a Immerse yourself in psychedelic pop or something completely different? An artistic chameleon with an unshakable core, Jesse Jo Stark can satisfy any craving and will always leave you hungry for more.