Today, we have the pleasure of sitting down with the dynamic music duo, Jack & Jack, to discuss their latest album, “Home,” and the journey that led them back to their roots.
In a world where the concept of “home” holds different meanings for everyone, Jack & Jack have taken a unique approach by drawing inspiration from their childhood rendezvous point in the neighborhood. This stop sign, situated halfway between their respective houses, served as more than just a marker; it symbolized a sanctuary of memories and shared experiences.
As we dive into their conversation, we’ll explore the nostalgic emotions evoked by revisiting this iconic location and how it influenced the creation of their album cover. Moreover, we’ll uncover the liberating experience of releasing their first album independently, free from the constraints of a label, and how this newfound creative freedom has shaped their artistic journey.
Talk about that feeling of going home to take that cover art picture for your new album, “Home.” What sort of nostalgia did you feel?
So, the album cover for “Home” was inspired by our childhood rendezvous point in the neighborhood. We would always meet up at this specific stop sign, about halfway between my house and G’s house. Yes, and conveniently, it had four letters. So, we decided to switch the word “stop” to “home.”
Anything you want to add about it, G? I mean, it really is home to us. It’s not just a random place that we found cool and looked cool. It is what it is, and that’s what makes it special to us. It’s where we would meet up, not only when we were really young but even up into high school, sneaking out, hanging out late at night, and just having drinks and stuff.
So, you know, it was a memorable place for us. And even still, we make that journey when we’re both home and don’t feel like driving or don’t have cars at home. We just met up at the stop sign. So, it’s special.
How does it feel having your first album out that is 100% yours with no label backing it?
We didn’t know what to expect being out of the game for five years and not doing any live shows for five years.
It’s just amazing. I mean, you can probably hear him behind us, but it’s amazing how the fans have turned out and how they haven’t turned their backs on us and have supported us through all the trials and tribulations of the industry, so to speak. Yeah. And doing it independently has been very liberating, if you want to touch on that a bit, G.
I mean, it really has been. You know, just diving into the creative process, you know, me and Johnson wrote every single lyric that you hear on this album, “Home.” We had a hand in producing some of the records, even myself, and Johnson produced at least three of them as the majority producer. So, you know, this is fully independent. We made all the executive decisions, we executive produced it together, and we tied everything together. So, it just feels so cool, like, it feels like our baby. And even though we have a debut album that we really care about as well, “A Good Friend is Nice,” “Home” feels like the very first coming-out party for Jack and Jack as artists, as individuals, and as independent artists.
Yeah, and then doing the tour independently has also been like, it’s been really cool, like, seeing kind of what actually goes into a tour, that we didn’t know when we had this like, you know, People funding it and we had no idea like where the budget was going towards, and it’s great seeing like a breakdown of this stuff. Like we’re very into business and just like kind of trying to like have a grasp of our business moving forward. And so yeah, like us with our drummer or tour manager or everything, he does everything for us. We created the budget with him, and we were able to cut our budget to one-tenth of what we did on our last tour, which was obviously with a label and we had no idea we were spending that much money five years ago.
Being part of MAGCON, in a way the original social media house like SWAY or HYPE HOUSE, do you still embrace those memories?
So we’re really excited, and the fans are making this possible, so we’re just grateful for them. We embrace the memories of MAGCON. Me and Johnson have never shied away from those, and we are so grateful for the opportunity that it gave us and the platform that it gave us, because without it, who knows where we would have been, so we love all the boys from MAGCON, we’re proud to have been a part of it, and um, Looking back at like those first events, like it makes me smile, seeing like, man, we had no idea what life had in store for us, and so, yeah, it’s always good taking a trip down memory lane, and of course, we’re very set on our sights on the future, but uh, yeah, very grateful.
For us and would never shy away from something that was that big of a part of our life, you know.
Jack G, how has making and creating music changed for you since your daughter was born? Do you have a new perspective?
There’s a lot that makes this album different, a lot of what we just touched on obviously on the business side, but also on the personal side, of course, we’re just growing up, we’re maturing as young gentlemen as well, but having my own baby makes it that much more special to me because everything that I make is really, you know, at least on a monetary level, is going back into my family and Haven and my girlfriend Geneva and us as a little family unit. And so, you know, like I have goals for the next five years to like, put my baby in a house and you know, like just provide for her in the way that I want to provide for her as her father and as the man of the house, like, you know, that’s my goal. So it makes it really special because it’s in our hands.
You know, if we, if we do this right, it should be good for us. So, but also just not even on a monetary level, but just on like a creative level. I love knowing that, you know, five years from now, when she’s almost seven or in 10 years from now, when she’s like a young woman and becoming a young woman, like, yeah. She can hear what her dad was making when she was just a baby and you know, you know right now her favorite song is stuttering by us and she literally we put it on after the first bounce like the first week in the studio. Yeah, and she would just start like just and she loves the music video if she’s crying you put on the music video She’s like dad dad and like Johnson She can’t say Johnson yet, but she knows who Johnson is and I just feel like in ten years for her that will be like a nostalgic thing. She’s like, why does this feel so nostalgic and you know I’m hoping that we can have some big songs for her because it’s just it’s just all positive when it comes down to You know, I think what defines home to us, and we even mention it on stage, is not necessarily like your hometown, you know, that’s a part of it, that’s an aspect of it, but it really comes down to like, you know, the people you’re with, the people you feel safe around, and the people that make you feel that feeling that you felt growing up in your hometown, you know? And Johnson even says that home is where the heart is, baby. And so, that’s where it is. It’s like, home is where the heart is. We feel home on tour, in the studio, being creative, and also, of course, at home with our families, really in Nebraska, but also in L. A. and Newport Beach, like Like, every time we’re on stage, like, we’ve missed this so much, and it feels like we kind of have found our way home in a sense.
So, it’s very symbolic, everything, and, you know, not to get too gushy about it, but it feels like, you know, we found our way home, essentially. 100%.
Grab tickets to one of the remaining shows on the “No Place Like Home Tour” now!