Channeling and reinventing the tradition of great piano rock, Lucas Jack is a singer-songwriter-pianist telling finely-hewn stories of the modern American experience with his powerful tenor voice and inspired musicianship. He currently lives, writes, and performs in and around Texas.
In this interview, we were fortunate enough to get a few minutes with Lucas to discuss music, influences, the new project, and more.
Full Q&A, links, and streams below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I grew up taking piano lessons and quickly fell in love with writing my own songs. Since I liked piano so much, my dad encouraged me to listen to Bruce Hornsby, Billy Joel, and Randy Newman. Bruce Hornsby was actually my first concert. I listened to everything those three put out. I loved the stories they were able to tell with their songs and the feelings and imagery they invoked. I wasn’t in love with the “sound” of their albums per se, but I did love the “songs” themselves. I wanted to write songs like that.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
As I said, I grew up playing the piano. In junior high I was the church pianist. In high school I performed at hotels and wine bars. I went to college on a choir scholarship thinking I would study music, but ended up majoring in accounting. I went to law school with the intention of working as an entertainment attorney, but I ended up doing bankruptcies. Although I played in a variety of bands, I spent most of my twenties working really hard at things that didn’t make me happy. They only made me money, most of which I wasted trying to buy happiness. One day I just decided that I would be miserable if I didn’t give music a shot. I realized that the reason I never pursued music was that I was scared to fail. Most musicians are commercial failures. I hate failing. But being miserable and successful wasn’t working for me either. I let go of my fear of failure and decided to dig in and figure out how to make a career out of music. My last album, Make it Beautiful is one more step toward me figuring it out.
I push my music out to the public because I love performing my songs for an audience. If I couldn’t perform live, I probably wouldn’t record music or push it to the public. I view my studio recordings as advertisements for my live shows. Side note: This perspective has helped me come to terms with streaming services. I don’t care that I get $0.000002 per stream. It’s just advertising for my shows.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
By far my biggest influences are the people in my life that I love. My wife, my daughters, my friends, my family. You have to write what you know.
As far as literary influences, I am inspired by short stories. Alice Munro and Raymond Carver are two of my favorite writers. I also love Don DeLillo’s novels.
When it comes to music, I wouldn’t say my taste “in” music has changed nearly as much as my taste “for” music. Since taking up music as a career, I have become a much more attentive and earnest listener. For years music was background noise. It was always playing, but I was rarely listening. Now, when I put on a record, I try to focus on the song and the sound. This new found focus really inspires me. Some of my favorite and most influential artists are James McMurtry, Ron Sexsmith, Dawes, D.A. Wallach, and Regina Spektor.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
I wanted this album to be poppier than my last album. More four on the floor. I wanted to incorporate synthesizers and percussion loops. I wanted the album to be sunnier and more energetic. A lot of what I end up writing is slow and melancholy. For this album I forced myself to break out of that rut.
What was the last song you listened to?
Wrong Crowd – Tom Odell
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I prefer listening to vinyl and reading the liner notes. Obviously you can’t do that on the road, but at home it’s always vinyl.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I subscribe to all music streaming services to try and keep up with how music is consumed. I prefer Spotify. I used to prefer Rdio, but that’s gone now.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
I prefer to make fans in person on the road at our shows. My biggest challenge has been booking venues where people come to discover and listen to the music. They are few and far between. Those venues also usually don’t pay much, which creates a financial strain on touring. We end up playing a lot of “bar” gigs because they pay so much better, but everybody is just watching ESPN or swiping around on their phones. I guess what I’m saying is that beyond the overwhelming abundance of access to music, our biggest challenge has been getting noticed in a world where most bars and clubs are full of people glued to one screen or another.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
As far as social media, Facebook is probably the easiest way to connect with me and see what I’m up to. My monthly newsletters are by far the best way to stay up to date with our touring schedule, release of new music, and developments in my personal life. A lot of fans respond directly to my newsletters and I enjoy that email correspondence.
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
Listening attentively to unfamiliar music can be challenging, but it’s often rewarding. Thanks for listening!
