Meet Jack Symes

Recent L.A. Transplant Jack Symes is now comfortably adjusting to an NYC lifestyle. As he trades less space for more bagel shops one thing will always remain the same. Jack’s brand of intimate warm Americana tunes stays with him no matter what the backdrop is. No sir, that is one thing we can always count on. It’s reliable not like the trains in NYC which are things you can not count on. Another thing to adjust to.

At any rate, let’s get to know Jack a little better in our latest interview.

ROCK MUSIC a Mad-lib by, Jack Symes

Young people today would rather listen to a good rock music concert than to Johann Sebastian WINFREY or to Ludvig von CHALAMET. Rock music is played by ACHEY-BREAKY groups of young men who wear their hair below their TROLLS. They also wear very odd and colorful GNOMES and often have beards. The groups have attractive names such as "The GEESE" or "CHEF REMY OF RATATOUILLE and The Three ELVES." They usually play electric AIR BENDERS. One member of the group usually sits on a raised platform and sets the rhythm by beating his FRITTATA. The songs are mostly about some fellow who has been rejected by his BOWLING BALL. They are very sad and when young girls hear them, they often get tears in their CHOCOLATE CAKES.

Would You Rather

have snails for hair or large bats for feet? Please explain your answer?

Large bats for feet. I’d like to have custom shoes that have their faces poking out the front. Little buddies.

Some questions with Jack Symes

What brought you to NYC?

I visited New York January 2019 for a show at Rockwood and a couple house shows. At the afterparty post-Rockwood, I met a fancy lady and decided a couple months later to give it a whirl. I am cliche.

What shoes do you wear most often? Why?

Until this winter, my Birks have been my staples. But I’ve had to close up my toes here, so I stick with my dark brown Docs.  

Rock of Ages, Rock of love, or The rock you can only pick one? Please explain your answer.

The Rock. I would give it all up to campaign for The Rock if he were to run for anything. He had (has?) an app called The Rock Clock which is an alarm clock app, but it has an option to set the alarm for 5AM so you can “Wake up with The Rock”. I downloaded it years ago, and I don’t download apps too often. He means a lot to me. 

If you could write the score for a movie by any director ever who would it be? What would the movie be about?

Oof. I think I’d want to work with Richard Linklater. I don’t think theres music at all in the Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight films (my favorites of his), but I’d love to work on a project similar to those.

How do you balance your illustrative lyrical style with giving an audience their own space for interpretation?

Thats a great question. I guess the songs to me aren’t so much about the images portrayed as they are the emotions evoked from envision the images. Its a difficult line too find, making sure the songs aren’t pure images, but communicating that they’re snapshots of a bigger message/scene. So, I suppose I just have faith in the listener to decipher that on their own.

Do you notice a contrast between the music scene in LA and NYC?

Yes, absolutely. To be honest, I really do miss the LA scene. I made some incredible friends while living there and luckily have been able to travel back and forth to support some of those friends, and also collaborate with them. I’m sure the NYC indie folk/rock scene is just as wonderful, but its tough walking into a new city. Finding your people can take a while.

When writing a song do you feel like you privilege lyrics, rhythm, or harmony? Why?

I would say I take most pride in the lyrics. I’m not an incredible guitarist and have no formal training in any sort of theory. I’ve found that I’m most comfortable on stage when telling stories, and I’ve always felt really drawn to story-like folk songs. I’d really like to continue to tell stories, whether they’re my own, someone else’s (if given the go-ahead), or fictional all together. The first 100 or so shows I ever played were solo. Playing solo you really notice when certain songs capture your audience or if they fall flat, and a lot of that can be attributed to the strength of the lyrics. You don’t get to hide behind a big band or beautiful arrangements. Its terrifying, but rewarding.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

I’m really excited to be putting out some new music this year. I’ll be releasing a new single every 8 or so weeks throughout the year. And in those gaps, I’ll be touring a good amount. The band and I will be playing in LA on July 16 and SF July 17 for some Prom themed shows, very excited for those. If anyone reading this would like to host a house show, I’m always up for playing in a cozy living room and meeting some kind of new folks.  

Jack Symes