Jason Barshinger: Volleyball Coach and Musician

Photo provided by Jason Barshinger

To most people on campus, Jason Barshinger is known as the undergraduate admissions counselor or the men’s volleyball coach. Yet there is more to the new Wilson staff member than meets the eye. Jason Barshinger is a musician who has played 1,500 to 2,000 shows in his decade of performing.

Originally from York, Pa, Barshinger has a Communications degree from Central Penn College. Barshinger has played shows all over the state as well as neighboring states such as New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. He has opened for bands including Pop Evil, Warrant, and The Badlees. Now that he works at Wilson, Barshinger’s music career has been put off to the side. However, he is planning on releasing his first full-length solo album in 2016.

Barshinger does not believe he has a certain style but instead just goes with what he writes. His main influences include Jimmy Eat World and Tom Petty.

“My style is very open as a singer/songwriter. Everything I write tends to have a pop feel to it regardless if it’s set in a rock, acoustic, or pop tone. I really always try to write for the emotion and never to just simply fit a certain style all the time,” Barshinger says.

When asked what his overall goals for his music career are, Barshinger stated, “I’ve already accomplished everything I set out to prove. I’ve done way more than I ever expected. I’ve played my music in front of many different crowds on many stages. I’ve won awards for my music and my performances, been able to meet many great people and I’ve enjoyed it all. I’ve walked away from numerous opportunities to go mainstream with my music and even walked away from becoming Halestorm’s bassist back in 2004. That’s not what I want. My goal is for my music career to work side by side my professional and coaching careers now. My plan is to still write and record with the occasional show around the Central and Southcentral PA areas. I’ve built up too much to walk away entirely and I’m very proud of the upcoming album that I’ll be releasing next year. The release of my first full solo album will be a very special moment for me.”

Barshinger does not see his life changing too much in the next five years. He hopes to continue to work at Wilson as well as play occasional shows and continue to release his music. He loves coaching and, even though balancing that and his admissions job makes for long days, he enjoys what he does.

As for advice he would give to fellow musicians: “If I could give advice to someone coming up, it’s three points. The first is practice as much as you can and be as absolutely prepared to make your first impression. The second is to know your role and limitations. You can always practice more and get better, but don’t get overzealous mid-show and do things you are uncertain you can do. Practice to expand your musical vocabulary before you use too many big words. The third and maybe most important is to understand marketing, because it is absolutely everything in the music industry. Marketing and marketability is more important in the music industry to executives than actual musical talent.”

To learn the latest on what Barshinger’s up to with his music career, go to www.jasonbarshinger.com for updates and information.