J was 14 the very first time he picked up a guitar. He had just been introduced to the Stone Roses when he visited a friends house and they delightfully discovered his older brothers’ music collection. Apparently they spent many an afternoon while the big brother was out, sitting at the top of the stairs blasting the his speakers as loud as they would go as they explored this new musical world.
Oasis were big at the time and so j had no shortage of friends with an interest in music who were learning the guitar too. J would marvel at how they could listen to their favourite songs, work out the notes and play it in a way that seemed effortless. But somehow, despite how cool it was to hear the songs of his idols come to life in the moment, that wasn’t really what he wanted to do. Before he even knew what basic chords were, he was voraciously writing and composing his own songs. All he wanted to do was write songs and play – to try to wrangle his thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams into a vehicle for expression – something that others could relate to, and perhaps even the chance that it might help them deal with those same challenges somehow too.
However, upon sharing his rudimentary (j’s own words) first few self-written songs, and being mercilessly slagged by his friends (as is often the seemingly gruff custom here in Scotland, yet actually code for a friendly pat on the back). J figured he’d go back to the drawing board. Instead of this deterring him, it only made him more determined to study the greats – to learn as much as he could, and to keep on practicing until he could hopefully write something that actively resonated with the listener.
Fast forward almost 3 decades; a record deal, road testing his songs through hundreds of gigs, blowing his throat out once too many a time, repeatedly pivoting to the next new ‘way’ to make music a career until it pivots again, and even kicking a hole through his treasured acoustic guitar (well, you can’t take the Glasgow out the boy!).
There have been ups and there have most definitely been downs, but despite it all, the drive to create and share music never seems to leave j, and I truly admire his unwavering commitment to that. If we’re honest though, it’s because of YOU. It’s the listener that really makes it count – and j had repeatedly shown me over the years that music really does bring us all together.
He often recounts the times in the past that he’s been to music festivals and all sorts of different gigs, and apart from seeing his favourite act and enjoying the electric atmosphere, he told me that the best part for him is seeing such a variety of different people, who might never normally mix, laughing and cheering in an energy of camaraderie that we rarely see exist elsewhere. I don’t know about you, but in this day and age, I think that any opportunity we can have for folks to find a reason to co-exist, or better yet, connect despite their differences and find rapport is a pretty awesome thing.
So I’d like to thank you, from myself and j, for taking the time to visit this site, for listening to his music, and for being a part of his musical journey – it couldn’t exist without you, and we really appreciate it!
If you’d like to hear the most recent milestone of j’s journey, click here to check out his new 4 Track EP.