In this interview spotlight, I chat with Jack Pfeffer about his latest release (Night Drive), motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I am from Minneapolis and I’d say the style of music I make is indie rock but I have some classic rock elements in my music I suppose. I really like trying to get the sound of 70’s records in my recordings.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I have always been a huge music fan but since my freshman year of high school my friends got me into the “indie music and DIY” scene where people were able to become successful and share their music even with only one person performing all the instruments. So even though I didn’t have a band or know any other musicians I decided that I could record all the instruments myself in the small library of my house.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
Well the single I just put out last fall was just to try to switch up my sound from my previous releases so this one had more synth elements and more poppy. I was just trying to make a song with a cool chorus and it was also an excuse to add slide to it at the end.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Sometimes it’s really hard to produce yourself and get the right sound with cheap or very little gear. It took a lot of practice to learn how to record on my own. So expense is a huge thing but I think that’s what makes the whole “Do It Yourself” scene is about. But promotion is a huge thing that technology can help with once the recording is done. Promoting on Instagram, Twitter, Spotify etc its great to have that available.
What was the last song you listened to?
The Man In Me by Bob Dylan
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
My vinyl collection has been growing a lot over the past few years and i definitely enjoy the whole process of going to a record store and looking around and then finding that thing you’ve been looking for or just “the coolest thing ever”. I appreciate CDs and MP3s a lot though. Before I was able to stream music on Apple Music I had to download songs from CDs on my computer and I kinda miss that experience.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Well, I’ve had iTunes since about 2009 and it was just more convenient for me to switch to Apple Music rather than Spotify but I for sure feel like Spotify is the superior. Bandcamp is great though too. That’s wheee I bought Makeout Videotape’s Ying Yang.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
I’d say my email or bandcamp message. You can email me at: jackpfefferband@gmail.com
Anything else?
Listen to Michael Marrujo, Jake and Nolan and Chomonos on streamable services. They’re great buddies of mine and I recommend their music if you like mine.
