Ok, so my album is just out and who knows if anyone will notice. In the mean time I thought it might be interesting to pretend as though one of the media outlets of merit did notice and decided to interview me. I feel like a dictator with my own state run media.
Meet The Artist
by Ollie Evver-Duz
Noise Floor Magazine
File under “Children’s music” if you must but Jake T & The Jamboree’s debut album “Kitchy Classics” is a delightfully entertaining game of hopscotch through America’s, and in fact the world's pop music traditions, playfully mocking and celebrating icons and genres in rapid succession. Though not the first to put a fresh face to old classics, to music nerds, it’s an audio trivia game inviting the listener to name the quotes and influences. I recently sat down with founder, actually the only member of Jake T & The Jamboree, Jake Thorne.
Question: Why didn’t you include any originals? And of all the cover songs out there to choose from, why did you pick the most tired ones in all of human history?
Answer: This recording is not my rock opera, nor is it going to establish me as the new standard barer of good taste in children’s music. Please remember that the point of the CD is to hopefully raise a bit of money for children’s charities, specifically for now, the InnVision ShelterNetwork. At this point I’m a complete no name with no following. My as yet untested theory is people will search for some of these classics songs anyway, tired though they may be. If they eventually find one of my renditions maybe I can win them over. If I’m able to create some traction with this CD it’s possible I could put out some original follow up material.
Question: What do you think makes you unique as an artist?
Answer: (you like how I called myself an artist? I could get used to this writing in the 3rd person thing) I’m blushing, I play the hokey pokey and you called me an artist. I don’t have a manager to kick me under the table but a truthful answer is probably nothing. For one thing, recording software today is just amazing and so cheap if you ever do hear a terrible sounding record it’s because “awful” must have been the aesthetic they were going for. I guess it could be said that I have the musical attention span of a ferret on crack. I don’t really focus on one musical genre or even on one instrument, just dibble dabble here and there and hopefully I don’t lose people along the way.
I did find from my live shows that even when the kids don’t get a joke or a gag they still light up if they can see their mom or dad entertained. So I thought I should try to make something everyone stuck listening in the car can tolerate. Only the sales numbers will tell me if I got that right.
Question: What were your musical influences?
Answer: Any self-respecting disassociated musician out there will know to link themselves with the cult classic iconic hipsters of yester year. You know, your Dylan, Reed, Black Sabbath, Anne Murray, but instead I choose to be pretentious about not being pretentious.
My story starts like many others, with two musical parents. Dad once sang in a 50’s Doo Wop group and mom sang in a choir for most of her life. There always seemed to be loud music on in the house. Dad was into everything from Tito Puente to Bobby Bare and Mom, MJQ to Steely Dan. Her records were so good I took half of them with me to college. My older brother Will and I started on instruments young and quickly began to prioritize collecting records over most other toy options from early in grade school.
By fourth grade I would take the bus for a dime down to my local Rainbow Records / “head shop” to spend my Saturday afternoons monopolizing the listening stations. I remember that summer Will bought Ohio Players Gold because it had a naked lady on it and it opened up a new world of Soul and Funk music for me. I devoured it all, often choosing instead to sit inside and listen to yet more music on my big wooden lift top stereo rather than go play in the street with the neighborhood kids. For me there still are only two kinds of music, good and bad and it all influences me. (Hopefully more of the good than the bad.)
Question: What is your ultimate goal for this project?
Answer: In a perfect world this project would raise enough money to hire a pre-school teacher at one of the shelter network locations. At a minimum I’d like to increase their children’s supplies budget by 25%. If we can beat those goals this will have been a wildly successful project. So I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken an interest in this project or help spread the word for the advancement of its goal. Thank you.
Answer: Any self-respecting disassociated musician out there will know to link themselves with the cult classic iconic hipsters of yester year. You know, your Dylan, Reed, Black Sabbath, Anne Murray, but instead I choose to be pretentious about not being pretentious.
My story starts like many others, with two musical parents. Dad once sang in a 50’s Doo Wop group and mom sang in a choir for most of her life. There always seemed to be loud music on in the house. Dad was into everything from Tito Puente to Bobby Bare and Mom, MJQ to Steely Dan. Her records were so good I took half of them with me to college. My older brother Will and I started on instruments young and quickly began to prioritize collecting records over most other toy options from early in grade school.
By fourth grade I would take the bus for a dime down to my local Rainbow Records / “head shop” to spend my Saturday afternoons monopolizing the listening stations. I remember that summer Will bought Ohio Players Gold because it had a naked lady on it and it opened up a new world of Soul and Funk music for me. I devoured it all, often choosing instead to sit inside and listen to yet more music on my big wooden lift top stereo rather than go play in the street with the neighborhood kids. For me there still are only two kinds of music, good and bad and it all influences me. (Hopefully more of the good than the bad.)
Question: What is your ultimate goal for this project?
Answer: In a perfect world this project would raise enough money to hire a pre-school teacher at one of the shelter network locations. At a minimum I’d like to increase their children’s supplies budget by 25%. If we can beat those goals this will have been a wildly successful project. So I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken an interest in this project or help spread the word for the advancement of its goal. Thank you.
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