Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Lare.
Hi Jack, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began playing drums when I was 8 years old but never took it too seriously – I’d just play for fun and learn songs I liked with my teacher. Actually, I was mainly a sports kid and wanted to play football in college – that is, until I broke my arm sophomore year of high school playing football and decided my sports career may be up. While in a sling, I started playing an old guitar I found in my house and pretty much immediately became obsessed. I’d spend hours a day playing and then when Covid hit shortly after, I really had all the time in the world to get better at the instrument. Not long after, I started writing songs of my own and joined a music program, Stages Music Arts, back in my hometown of Baltimore and met my first bandmates. Ever since then, I’ve felt that writing and performing with bands is my purpose in life, and I came to Belmont to pursue that purpose. I currently record and perform both as a solo artist under my own name (Jack Lare), and also with my band Slodeo, which I founded with co-leader Jack Hodde in 2022. I’m also lucky enough to play guitar/bass in the bands Tj Fink and the Drought, Wadaness, Pyramia, and Jane Leopardo.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road’s been anything but smooth. While I love music more than most things in life and am able to confidently say I’m following my passion, that alone doesn’t make it an easy path to follow. It’s a really tough industry, and I haven’t gotten expanded my following much outside of Nashville yet. But, I graduate from Belmont this semester and am looking forward to getting on the road with my bands and playing in front of new faces in an effort to build more of a following and figure out how to make a living doing what we love.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I came to Nashville knowing I wanted to play guitar, but I didn’t have a very clear vision of what that meant. It’s an ongoing question I ask myself – what’s my role in this industry? Who am I as a musician/artist? As of late, I’ve felt more compelled by my artist projects and helping friends with their artistic visions rather than simply being a hired gun or session musician, be it on guitar or bass. I think I’ve become much better at being a creative force when it comes to recording and live performance with the people I work with. I’ve tried to sharpen my skills when it comes to bringing a vision to life, which doesn’t always mean being a super technically talented musician, but moreso being an artist holistically and seeing the bigger picture of the projects I’m involved with. This takes many forms, from producing, writing, performing, session recording, or other even just advising others on their creative endeavors. I try to take this philosophy into my own work as much as I can, and bring my own artistic visions to life with the help of the talented people I work with.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My parents and sister have supported me in all my musical endeavors and are my biggest fans, so first shoutout has to go to them – I love em. I’m extremely lucky to have been taught and mentored by Conrad Boyd back in Baltimore, who basically taught me everything I know – check out his awesome band Never Ending Fall. Fred Moss is another Baltimore legend who taught my school’s jazz band and gave me the courage to pursue music past high school. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for my first band, Corner Grove, which included some of my best buds Dylan Baker, Spencer Gudeman, and Jonathan Gorman. Nowadays, I find myself in a circle of some of the most talented musicians/amazing people I have come to know, all of which I am musically involved with in one way or another – Jack Hodde (Slodeo), Sam Keller (Slodeo), Keller Lindley (producer), Jake Canapp (Jack Lare Trio), Cole Calise (Jack Lare Trio), TJ Fink, Cameron Bertolet, Jane Leopardo, Nick Maucere, Ellery Smith (Slodeo/Pyramia), Kyle Germain (Slodeo/Wadaness), Jack Bagwell (Slodeo/Molch), Ryan Loftis (Wadaness), Evan Adams (Pyramia), Rocky Burger (Pyramia), and many more. And I couldn’t have done it without a couple of my closest friends, Max Sutley and Chase Robbins, have cheered me on from the start and gotten me through everything.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/jacklare
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jack_lare/
- Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/jack-lare/1780604111
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3RlS92pqHIhE1CqGFjJOTk
