An Introduction to Jack West: Artist On The Rise

Jack West is an artist on the rise living in New York City who has been making his presence known all across the nation.  In addition to shows on the East Coast, Jack has traveled West, performing at iconic venues such as The Viper Room and The Hotel Cafe.  He has performed onstage with the likes of Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam – even Pearl Jam’s guitarist Mike McCready has appeared on a Jack West single. In the competitive worlds of music and modeling, Jack West has been making an indelible impression.  In this interview, Highwire Daze chats with Jack West about his absolutely amazing songs, time spent in Los Angeles, his brilliant cover of Don’t You Forget About Me by Simple Minds, a connection with the legendary Martha Stewart, and more…

Where are you based out of and what is your music scene like there?
I’ve been living in New York City – in Manhattan – for the last year – and I came from Rochester, New York. And the music scene here compared to where I grew up – there’s a lot more variety. There’s a lot of famous music clubs with punk rock bands, metal bands, hip hop – just a big variety compared to where I grew up. It’s good to be around that – it’s good to see different styles of music – and just take it all in.

Let’s talk about a few of your recent songs. Let’s talk about Finer Acoustic and the inspiration behind it.
I started writing that in 2021, when I was like 16. And the acoustic version, that was a more stripped down, raw kind of vibe compared to the studio version which came out in 2022. I kind of wrote that not like a fuck you towards my peers back home, but I was travelling a lot during high school and kind of growing up quite fast compared to my peers. I always felt like nobody respected or appreciated me, so I wrote this song Finer – just kind of highlighting the things I’d been up to. Particularly there’s a line “In my Hollywood hotel” – because during the pandemic I spent like a month in L.A. – and all my friends back home were in school. I was in 9th grade or something at the time, so there was just a kind of ego boost.

Tell me about I Realize and the story behind that song.
That song I started writing in February – right after February fashion week. So, I do modeling as well, and it kind of blends the idea of me moving to New York City and it’s not everything as it seems – in the darkness of the modeling industry – and the music industry – particularly the modeling industry. It’s just kind of showing that it looks all great on social media, but everything is not as it seems – especially as a struggling young artist who’s living on his own in New York City. That’s the general idea for that song.

Lost At Heart – tell me a little about that one…
The big inspiration was I was in Europe for almost a month – like weeks after I graduated high school, and I knew I was moving to New York City – and I actually started writing that verse where I’m getting lost in Italy – I started writing that on the plane ride home. And I took a break from it – and came back to it this past fall – and finished it. And the verses definitely talk about the next chapter, I guess you could say, of my life – like after high school – and starting this whole new thing in the city. And the chorus is more of a love situation and some experiences I’ve had in the city – and I just blended all that together as a transitioning song to this new phase in my life.

Has Simple Minds heard or commented on your cover of Don’t You Forget About Me?
Well, not that I’m aware (laughs) but we didn’t have to get permission or anything. This is not the first cover I’ve put out and I know how that goes. But that came about – me and the director Clay Patrick McBride – we wanted to shoot a music video in my high school – and we thought the perfect song since I was a senior and that I was graduating was Don’t You Forget About Me. And I recorded it here in New York and I shot the video at my high school in Rochester. It was just kind of – not a tribute I guess – it was just kind of something special for my hometown. It did very well in Rochester and was well received. We just thought it would be cool – you know, “Don’t You Forget About Me…”

Tell me more about the director and where did you get the actors from?
The director is Clay Patrick McBride – he did work for Kanye West, Eminem, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And the actors – we just cast them from my school – we had a whole audition thing and like 50 kids showed up. And those were the ones we selected – we wanted a little bit of variety since it’s 2024 – it’s not 1985 or whatever. We thought it would be cool to have some variety – change it up a little – and we think it went over well.

Missing Out features a solo by Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready. How did that come about and was it like working with him?
So, I played with Eddie Vedder back in 2017, and that kind of kicked off a lot of opportunities. The following year I met producer Barrett Jones who did the Foo Fighters and did some Nirvana stuff with Butch Vig. And he recorded my first album – and we tried to get Mike on that first album, but it didn’t line up – I guess Pearl Jam was on tour. And three years later I had this song Missing Out and we were trying to figure out who could play on it – and Barrett reached out to Mike and Mike agreed to come and record on it. It was all within a day and he did two solos on the song – and I put it out. It was kind of like a stream of connections that led to Mike recording on my song.

Describe the experience playing with Eddie Vedder. What was that like?
Well, I was 12 – and it was sort of planned but not really. So, weeks leading up to it I made a video in my bedroom singing one of his songs. And I was like, “If you see this Eddie Vedder, I’d love to sing this with you onstage.” And he didn’t see it – but I actually ran into him in Nashville the day of his show – and I asked for a picture – and I just flat out asked if I could sing with him that night. And fast forward, I practiced with him backstage. My family was on the side of the stage. I wasn’t particularly nervous – I get more nervous now playing at a club than I did back then. But I wasn’t nervous – it just all felt very natural to me. And of course, there were a whole lot of people, and it was an experience I never had before at that age. It didn’t really hit me until after, like, “Damn! That really just happened!” It was surreal, to say the least.

Goodbye L.A. – tell me about that song, and your connection to Los Angeles.
I started going to L.A. from a pretty young age. Like I mentioned, I was out there earlier by myself for like a month when I was 15 staying with some family friends. For the longest time since I was 9 or 10, I’d always wanted to move to L.A. – and that’s what I wanted to do after high school was to move to L.A. I guess that song really came from the time I spent out there during the pandemic – and at the same time, it’s kind of a love song, because there was some stuff going on back home, and I was out in L.A. – and it just like didn’t work out. And I came back to my hometown, and things just started to shift. So, it’s a love song wrapped in a California dream, I guess you could say.

How supportive have your parents been of your music career over the years?
They’ve been pretty supportive – they bought me my first guitar when I was 7 – took me to shows and took me to lessons. They’ve always been very supportive – particularly my dad. They’re still supportive to this day. They don’t go to every show – they’re not by my side anymore because I’m living away from home. But they are still very supportive, 100 percent – and always have been.

When could we expect you back out here in Los Angeles doing shows?
I’m working on some shows on the West Coast in Seattle and San Francisco. I usually play out there like once or twice a year. I was there in June. But I’m working on some stuff out on the West Coast for January – so I expect the winter is when you could expect me back L.A. I’m not sure where, but in the past, I did The Viper Room and The Hotel Café. My dream venue – which I don’t think is very much out of reach – would probably be The Roxy or The Troubadour, or something like that. We’ll see what the New Year holds.

What could one expect from a live Jack West show?
Compared to the studio stuff, I have heard that people like the live, raw punk rock sound more. We’re using distorted guitars and its very punk rock and hard rock – that kind of vibe. You could expect a pretty energetic show. I’m playing a lot of solos. It’s definitely a rock show!

If you could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
I think what would correlate onstage for a whole live show – like Jack White would be pretty cool. Because number one – I’m a huge fan of his, and I think our music is somewhat similar. I think his fans would really dig it. I just think it would mesh well onstage. And I love his music – I’m a big fan! I don’t think that’s out of reach either. I see the bands that open up for Jack White – not to say they’re smaller than me because I’m just looking at social media numbers – so I don’t think that’s out of reach at all. So maybe that will be something to look out for or consider one day.

The Two Jacks Tour – The Double Jacks Tour! You could come up with so many ideas for that.
(Laughs) That would be interesting.

I saw a picture of you with Martha Stewart. What was going on there?
(Laughs) Yeah – so – I met Martha Stewart through a connection I met modeling. And this particular person – his name is Andy – and he was hosting a fashion show at the United Nations headquarters. And my agency sent me to a casting of his to walk in his show. So, I walked in his show, and he took a high interest in me. And believe it or not, they’re neighbors. So, Andy took me some events and whatnot – and he asked me if I wanted to play at Martha Stewart’s birthday. And of course, I said yes. And the date came. I played some songs. There were some other famous people there as well. It was definitely interesting to say the least. She’s very sweet – she’s very nice. She’s got a hell of a past, so it was great to be in the same room as her – and with Clive Davis. It was crazy to be in that room with those kind of people for sure.

What’s up next for you?
I’ve been recording a lot of music with a few notable producers. One of them is Sam Hollander who did One Direction and Panic! at the Disco – that song High Hopes – he wrote that song with Panic! at the Disco. And I’ve been recording with Elton Holmsten, who is the founder of Spotify’s son. So, they’ve both been producing me. I got a lot of great music coming out, and I’m going to be putting out an album. I’m still in the midst of booking all these shows. So right now, a lot of booking stuff and recording – and gearing up for a bigger and better year.

Do you have any messages for your fans or other people who are reading this right now?
Don’t let anyone tell you what do to – don’t let anyone coerce you into stuff you don’t want to do – or even the clothes you want to wear or the type of music you play. I always found, in my short time of being a musician, that it’s best to be yourself and do what you think is right. Make the music you want to make – just be the person you want to be. Don’t let anyone stop you and tell you different. That’s the one thing I’ve learned and is best to take on with you through this industry.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Jack West on Instagram