Loverocks Interview Series – Part One

Interview with Jack J Hutchinson ahead of Loverocks 2019

Now in its third year, Loverocks Festival, returns to Ferndown on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th June. This year the Loverocks lineup will include some of the best emerging rock and metal bands plus some top cover bands.

Ahead of the festival, we spoke with rockiní soul and blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Jack J Hutchinson.

How do you feel about playing Loverocks?
It can be summed up in three words: What. A. Lineup. It’s great to be asked to play a festival with such a strong selection of fellow bands, a number of which are key players in the New Wave of Classic Rock scene. I’ve shared the bill with a few of them before, playing festivals with Outlaw Orchestra, Skam and Those Damn Crows, and it will be great to spend the weekend hanging out and watching them, along with playing our set.

Do you have a pre-show ritual?
The main thing I focus on pre-show is vocal warmups. As the volume of gigs I’ve been playing has grown over the last two years, I’ve learnt to look after my voice. I actually do warmups throughout the day now, making sure Iím in the best shape night after night. It might not seem the most rock n roll thing to do, but there’s no use getting halfway through a tour and losing it. I save the whisky for the after-show party!

I also jam on my Les Paul backstage. I’ve written some pretty killer riffs whilst sitting around waiting to go on. I actually wrote my tune “Deal with The Devil” backstage at a show in Russia, and the riff to a new song off the next album ëSleep Awake Obeyí was written recently in Spain.

What bands would your dream line-up include?
I’d love to share a bill with the Black Crowes, if Rich and Chris ever make up. I played Rambliní Man with Blackberry Smoke last year and they were really cool guys and I love their music, so they would be on there. Iím also really digging the new album by Jenny Lewis, for a slightly mellower vibe earlier in the day. Headliners would be AC/DC, which works out well as Hell’s Bells are playing Loverocks!

The after-show party would be soundtracked by John Carpenter, with Escape from New York on the TV.

What’s your favourite memory on stage?
Actually, it’s quite recent. We rather fortuitously got bumped up the bill at HRH Blues and ended up playing on the main stage at the O2 Academy, Sheffield. It was probably the biggest crowd I’ve played to and seeing people wearing my t-shirt’s and singing along with my songs in that ginormous crowd was pretty damn special. Also, playing Ramblin’ Man Fair along with ZZ Top was up there.

Also, some of the tiny gigs have been unique. I played a private show for a chap called Barry Hopwood in his Blues Barn, which Barry built in his garden. There was only a handful of people there, which was more nerve-wracking than playing to 3000! I did a similar thing for a geezer called Alan Bates. Again, it was really intimate. Using my twin neck Jimmy Page SG might have seemed a bit over the top, but Alan didn’t seem to mind.

Describe your sound for people who might not have heard of you:
The Black Crowes having a drink with AC/DC and the Beatles.

What got you into music?
My dad. He’s always been a big champion of mine, supporting my creative output. He bought me my first Les Paul and Marshall stack – gear that Iím still using 15 years later. Last year he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, which has unsurprisingly hit my family hard. But it’s only made me more determined to keep doing what Iím doing and try and be the best that I can be. Life is short – you’ve got to make the most of it.

Do your parents like music?
Well, my dad is a massive Guns n Roses, AC/DC and Rolling Stones fan, so those records struck a chord with me earlier on. My mum has a more eclectic music taste, and really likes Motown and blues music. But she also digs lots of contemporary stuff, like Paloma Faith and Rag n Bone Man. I reckon her pop sensibilities have definitely influenced my desire to write big, sing along choruses!

Jack J Hutchinson’s new album “Who Feeds The Wolf?” will be released later this year.

Tickets for Loverocks 2019 as well as the full line up are available here.

Links
http://www.jackjhutchinsonmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/JackJHutchinsonBand

Interview by Theo Meddelton.