Jasmine Cain is an accomplished singer, songwriter and bassist who has just self-released her fifth studio album “White Noise“. She has traveled the world singing and playing with the likes of Jeff LaBar of Cinderella and Michael Starr of Steel Panther. Cain’s music resinates throughout the motorcycle community, and she regularly performs at rally’s across the United States.

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Mike O’Keefe: Coming from South Dakota, describe your hometown’s atmosphere. What’s something you would suggest a first-time visitor to see?

Jasmine Cain: I was born in Sturgis and grew up on a Ranch. If I was going to recommend something to someone about Sturgis, it would be to go there during the first full week of August, during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It was started in 1938 by Pappy Hoel, and it brings hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts, from all over the world, for one week. It’s like a giant music festival where everyone is riding motorcycles — super cool experience.

Come prepared to ride because the scenery out there is second to none. You’re going to go through Custer State Park, and you go right across the border into Wyoming where you can see Yellowstone. There’s amazing scenery within riding distance. In less than a day you can get there and back. You’ll see Devils Tower too. All of that is within a close distance. It’s some of the coolest scenery ever, and of course riding through the black hills alone is just worth it. It’s beautiful! Go in the summer though, the rest of the year is cold as hell.

Photo courtesy | U.S. Geological Survey

MO: Have you ever been on a cross-country ride or rode for a very long distance?

JC: Yeah, the longest ride I went on was for the Horse Backstreet Choppers motorcycle magazine. They have this event every year called the Long Road. I went on the Long Road 10, the 10-year anniversary. We rode from Cottonwood, Arizona to Rockingham, North Carolina. That was the longest one I’ve went on, and it was a blast. It took us like five days. We had several stops along the way, and it was a whole group of people riding. Every night or day we would reach a check-in point. There was always some kind of activity. Whether it be white water rafting or a band playing, there’s always something to do.

MO: You’re currently based in Nashville, a city with a lot of history. What is it about Nashville that you love the most?

JC: I think the coolest thing about Nashville is it has a small-town feel, but it has everything a large city has to offer.

Photo courtesy | Jason Mrachina

MO: Nashville is definitely on my list. Was being involved in music something you always wanted to do, or was it an evolutionary process?

JC: I knew it right on. I was four years old when I decided and learned how to play guitar. My dad would ask me on my birthday every year, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” I would be like, “Dad, I’m going to be a rock star!” It’s cute when you’re little, but then when you start getting older they’re like, “You know there are a lot of things you can do.”

MO: If you find what you love to do, how can you beat it? It’s great.

JC: Yeah, there was no question. This was meant to be and I knew it right away. Why waste your time on anything else?

MO: Exactly. How does music and travel fit together?

JC: It totally fits together. People travel to music festivals, and bands travel to all their performances. The truth is, I wanted to travel and see the world, but I couldn’t afford to do it just on my own. It’s really important to me to see everything that I possibly can before my time is up. So many people I knew where going to their nine-five jobs, saving up their money, waiting until they retire and travel. But, by then they had health problems, they had injuries, they couldn’t walk for long periods of time. With some of them, the quality of life, and the quality of their travel was just jeopardized by waiting that long.

I made myself a promise that I was going to figure out how to travel and see the world while doing what I love — music was it. I’ve been all over Europe, Canada, Mexico, of course the U.S. and I finally had my first trip to the Middle East. I went to Dubai for the Harley owner’s group party. It was really incredible. You have to have a respect for all cultures and all things. It’s amazing how different they are, and yet they all want what we have here. It’s just funny, because when you come home you’re a little bit more appreciative with what you’ve got. You realize that this is the envy of the rest of the world.

Photo courtesy | Simon Bierwald

MO: I would have to agree with you. Experiencing another culture is one of my favorite things about traveling. It’s something that you’re always going to remember.

JC: There hasn’t been a place I’ve traveled too where I’ve forgotten one, single iota of information from. I keep scrapbooks and have friends that I’ve meet while traveling. Once, for five minutes at a party place in Paris, there was some guy wanting to learn how to speak English and study from an American. That guy took me and my friend on the Metro Rail and showed us all the sights: Notre Dame, the Louvre and Eiffel Tower. He took us to the shopping district — everywhere we wanted to go. He was our personal guide mainly so he can learn English.

MO: Wow! It worked out for both parties.

JC: The best ever. I have had the most fun and met the most interesting people. People who are like multi-millionaires and own half the city of Barcelona, all the way to some slum that is backpacking and staying in hostels in Colorado. He was actually just a big business man that hated his life, threw it all away and decided to backpack Europe for six years. Amazing!

Photo courtesy | Moyan Brenn

MO: If you could perform at any location in the world, where would you play?

JC: That’s a really good question. There are so many great ones. Probably the most inspirational place that I would have the most spiritual experience at would be Red Rocks. It’s beautiful. That’s actually the closest major venue to where I grew up in South Dakota. It would be an amazing experience. Not only because you would be surrounded by people that knew you and loved you already, but just the atmosphere itself is just so amazing. That would hands down be my favorite.

MO: Everyone has a bucket list, what are three destinations on yours?

JC: Wow. Since I’m not concerned with kicking the bucket any time soon, I haven’t really made that list you know? There are some things I would really like to do though. I’d like to spend some time in Hawaii. I know this sounds really weird, but I’m super into the outdoors. I’d like to go to Hawaii and spend time with people that grew up on the islands. I would like to learn their trades and be creative with the stuff they make off the land. I think that’s really cool.

Secondly, it’s so past due that I skydive. I can’t even believe I haven’t done it yet. Every show that I do I jump off staked speakers onto people in the crowd. Yet, I have never skydived. I think that’s weird. That definitely has to happen. Third, I would like to spend some time in a castle somewhere in Europe. I would go hang out in a castle for like a week.

Photo courtesy | Garden State Hiker

MO: Extremely different from a hotel! That would be cool. Lastly, when is the next trip and what for?

JC: The next trip is to Germany. I’m headed to Germany for Warwick Bass Camp. Warwick is the bass company I play and every year they throw this huge festival in Markneukirchen, on the Czech border. It’s like a little village farm town. There’s nothing there, and then all of a sudden you go into the street and it’s like, “Holy shit a giant Warwick complex.” They throw a huge festival with all different famous bass players. Last year Robert Trujillo from Metallica was the main headline.

A week prior to this event they have bass camp and different people, kids, adults, doesn’t matter, go to “school” with some of the greatest bass players of our time. They teach you what they know about technique, marketing yourself, learning how to find your own groove — all kinds of things. It’s really cool and inspiring to be there and a part of the Warwick family. Actually, the factory itself its 100% green, so it all operates on re-usable energy — state-of-the-art. I always love taking the tour there.

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For more on Jasmine Cain visit her website: