Picture Us
Jackson Velli, 21, is no stranger to the stereotypical pop-punk origin story, simply because he actually lived it. Velli has come a long way from writing music alone in his Washington DC home to having over 2,000 monthly listeners as a pop-punk artist on Spotify. A rising junior at Syracuse University, Velli, who sings under the pseudonym “Picture Us Tiny” discusses what inspires him, recent music, and the hard work that has led to his seemingly “overnight success.”
Pop-punk is a subsidiary of rock and roll, with the genre getting its name from combining the fast tempo of punk-rock with power-pop chord progressions. While pop-punk emerged during the late 1970s, Velli says he aspires to have his music bring fresh ideas to a very tried and true sound. “I’m not shying away from the fact that my music is an homage to a past era. But what I think I do really well is I come at it with a new perspective and a fresh voice,” he explains. He continues, adding, “With Picture Us Tiny I think it’s very clear that I’m wearing my influences on my sleeve, but I think I’m doing so in an interesting way, bringing the music of the early 2000s back into a more honest mindset for someone who’s an actual young adult living those experiences.”
“I grew up right outside of Washington DC, so kind of suburban living, and that goes hand in hand with, like, the style of music I make,” says Velli. From a young age, pop-punk resonated with Velli. “[In] pop punk, you see a lot of artists coming out of the suburbs outside of main cities. It was a natural, like, music to grasp for me, especially in my younger years because it was the first thing I was hearing. It really stuck with me and I never got out of that phase.” Some of Velli’s first memories are of him writing music. “I honestly started trying to write songs when I was probably like 5 years old. I’ve literally done it since then.”
While Velli is deeply connected to his influences (the most prominent being Blink 182 and Green Day), he distinguishes himself as a more nuanced artist. Velli explains that older pop-punk bands can sometimes come off as inauthentic. “Those bands are still around, but they’re singing like they’re teenagers when they’re 50 years old; it doesn’t really feel genuine.” He adds, “It’s been awesome to see the next generation of people talking from a 21st century perspective about situations in our lives that are unique to the Gen Z generation over an instrumental that sounds like a past era. It’s a really incredible blend of two unique things.”
Velli explains that his inspiration for writing music can be fluid. “It does depend on the song. I’d say, pretty much all of them draw from a feeling I’ve experienced or something like, a moment I can expand from there.” One of the most prominent examples of this, Velli says, is his song “Party Girl,” which came out in early July. “The song came about just kind of reflecting on two relationships that ended up not really being great for me. So, it is really based in fact, and on the way I was feeling in that time.”
Unlike “Party Girl,” his other recent single “Indie Girls 101” was written out of imagination rather than experience. Released during mid-October 2020, Velli drew inspiration for this song from some of the girls in his major at Syracuse. “Generally, it is easier for me to draw from really specific instances, just because there’s actual images in my head that I can draw from, but with ‘Indie Girls,’ my program at school is in the Communications school at Syracuse, and in it, there's a lot of indie people. It stemmed from: this is a funny joke I’ve been thinking about recently, to how can I put this feeling into a larger story?”
TikTok has been a major part of Velli’s success, where his unique take on pop punk has garnered a following of over 13,000 people. “TikTok is really cool because it allows me to do other stuff that’s still my type of music. I can just sit down one day and make a 30-second jingle of a Taylor Swift song as if it was pop-punk, and then I put it out into the world and 700,000 people can like it.”
Similarly, Velli’s upcoming live performance will bring back pop-punk to its loyal fans who have been waiting so long to see their favorite musicians at a live venue. On August 19th, at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY, Velli will be performing some of his original songs with a live band. “We’re calling it Glamor Ball. There’s going to be a lot of rage music throughout the night, so it’s going to be a big mosh pit.” Velli cannot contain his excitement. “I am so stoked for the show. The thing I’m excited for most is playing in a real venue again. The other artists are f*cking amazing, so it’s going to be really incredible.” The fans attending the venue will most certainly agree.
For Velli, this is just the beginning. “I’ve been making music since I can remember. To an extent, I can’t really imagine my life without music, because it would just be a different life.” He smiles, saying, “At least, music has changed my life in that it will be in my job in the future. I think that’s the sticking point -- it’s been with me forever, and it’s going to continue to be with me.”
Look for more to come from this innovative, intellectual pop-punk artist in the future.
