Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I was born in Cornwall into a non-musical family. I had a non malignant brain tumour which I had removed but it had the effect of making me grow too quickly. As a result of me being a ‘giant’ compared to the other kids it meant I had no real friends. So I sought refuge in the very few records my parents had. Amongst the Val Doonican type crap, I found Elvis, Abba and Cliff Richard…I know! I loved Elvis the most. I especially loved the guitar work I found in his music.
I first picked up a guitar at school when I was about 9 and started lunchtime classes. I didn’t get far. I tried out for the choir but was told I couldn’t sing!
By about 13 I had lost interest in every subject at school but was massively into music, it was the 80’s and I knew everything about anything musically. But I was a massive Prince fan. I loved him so much because he could do everything himself, write, sing, play
guitar, piano, bass, drums everthing! And his music just seemed to stand out from everthing else at the time. Forget school I wanted to be like that!
So I started guitar lessons, got together a band with some like minded students, tried writing some songs and gave my first public performance with the band in the main hall to the whole school. I was quite the legend!
My musical mind was opened further in my early teens when I started hanging out with older kids. They introduced me to David Bowie, Stiff Little Fingers, and Dave Brubeck!
My first proper girlfriend, at the age of 16 opened my mind even further with here cassette tapes of Pink Floyd. I’d never heard anything like it! I lay for hours while she was out listening to her Pink Floyd tapes over and over and over.
All through my teens my guitar studies were introducing me to all kinds of rock, jazz and blues music.
I turned to classical guitar at the late age of 19 and entered yet another magical world which has had a massive influence on me as a guitarist and musician.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “J”?
A: I’ve started with a guitar tuition YouTube channel because I knew my first release was going to be a guitar track. Now this is out, I will be growing my website and pushing my music on my YouTube channel, more than my guitar tuition. I’ve of course started a Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok channel. So I’m starting small trying to build up some followers with Shame On You and my guitar abilities but this is so I will have at least a small base ready for my next release… which will be awesome.!!
Keep an eye on my website and other media for my second and subsequent releases this year. Each one will hopefully build the fan base a little more and I want to start touring as J in 2025.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: I of course find inspiration in all my experience as a listener and performer of all styles of music. I guess. I really just start with a small seed, a few notes, a rhythm, and then help it grow. I kind of believe all music that ever could be is out there in the
ether, if you like. And it’s up to us to find it. So if I have a small phrase that I like, I listen to it and it tells me what it wants to do. I kind of just follow it.
There are no inspiring artists for me right now. There haven’t been for years. It’s sickening.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Shame On You.”?
A: Shame On You started as a guitar solo in an arrangement I was making of another piece of music. But as it started to grow I realised it wanted to be a piece in it’s own right. I joke about this but it is a melodic journey. I know it sounds pretentious but a good melody should go somewhere, it should develop, it should tell a story. A melody always wants to go somewhere it’s up to you to find it’s path. I’ve think I’ve done this with Shame On You. Most pop, rock music doesn’t do this. They find a simple phrase and stick with
it over and over and over. It’s childish.
So I wrote the guitar solo,then put it with a percussive latin-y groove which I had in my head the whole time I writing the melody. There was originally more though.
I wanted a third element. I love music that is layered. I don’t mean musically, I mean it works on different levels, musically, intellectually, emotionally etc. (again something most music today does not do). So I added a political statement into the music. There was a Donald Trump speech, a Donald Trump quote, and two George W.
Bush speeches in the music. This is where the title comes from. It’s saying Shame On the American People for voting for these people to rule them!
All the distribution companies would not distribute the song with the all of the political speech stuff in. They said it was for copyright reasons but it was not. I was perfectly entitled to use the material without breaching any copyright. It was oppression. They were scared! Anyway I had to take it all out and then they distributed it.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Invocative
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Shame On You”?
A: Not greatly. Shaping the melody is always tricky when it’s all about the melody. You’ve got to give it ups and downs, pull the listener in, tensions, releases etc.
I did struggle a bit with guitar tone. I couldn’t really decide. Should it be more gainy, clean, front humbucker, back single coil, chorus, no chorus, flanger maybe? I’m still not entirely happy with what I went with but I was sure it had to be clean.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: I want to create music that is more than music. I want to make music that you really want to listen to. I mean, stop everything your doing and just focus entirely on the song because there is so much in it that demands your attention.
I want the music to be powerful, imaginitive and beautiful but I also want to combine that with lyrics that actually mean something, that stimulate you on another level entirely. Whether they stimulate your intellect, your humour, your memories. A powerful piece of music combined with meaningful lyrics (not about love or dancing!) is an awesome thing.
Hopefully the message will be: Look this is what you can do with
music!
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: Roger Waters
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Practice hard. Don’t be scared that you’re not good enough. And learn to live on very little money! (pro tip: Save money on soap; wash yourself in the shower with shampoo!)
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Don’t take yourself so seriously!
