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The Unsigned Unwind - Episode 9 - Jeff Howard · Unsigned518

• 0:01
  Speaker A: It's not just us we'd have to conquer.
• 0:04
  Speaker B: We've got folk singers, rappers and punkers.
• 0:11
  Speaker A: Everyone taking care of one another. Welcome to the Unsigned unwind from unsigned 518. I am Andy, your host. And I know it's been a little bit since I've put one of these episodes out. A lot of these episodes were recorded over the summer and then I kind of banked them and then, you know, things in life happen and I get busy and I get pulled in a million directions. But I'm going to try to definitely get these out. I have a couple more that are already recorded that I just need to put together and release and I'm going to really make an effort to get those out. And then from there I guess I will decide what happens with the show going forward. But there's, there's Always the unsigned unsigned 518. Unsigned 518, Weekend Spotlight and this, you know, and I'll see what happens for season two. But again, I'm going to really promise to get these episodes out. But anyway, what this is, if you are not familiar is it is I am not familiar with who I am speaking with. My showrunner, Angela Taranto reaches out to the musicians or takes incoming requests from the musicians and she sets the whole show up. And all I know when on the day that I recorded these is I had a list of musicians and phone numbers and times that I was supposed to call. And I basically called and it was almost like a cold call. I mean they knew, they knew that it was coming. But it's a no research type of thing. Very organic finding out about artists, musicians, bands across the US and Canada. So on this episode I'm going to be speaking with Jeff Howard and I guess we'll just let the episode speak for itself and we'll go to the phone and talk to Jeff. What's up, Jeff?
• 2:08
  Speaker B: Hey, Andy, how are you?
• 2:09
  Speaker A: I'm fantastic. And you know, we talked just a couple minutes before we got rolling and basically I know nothing about who I'm speaking with or what type of music you make or it's all discovery for me. So basically I guess just tell the story of Jeff Howard and music.
• 2:31
  Speaker B: Sure. My, my name is Jeff Howard. I'm a ukulele down in Warwick, New York, which is just just a little bit above the border of northern New Jersey. And it's kind of known as apple picking country, I guess, if you want to say that.
• 2:45
  Speaker A: Same up here. Yeah.
• 2:46
  Speaker B: Yep, yep. So I have been playing the ukulele for a Little over four years now. I picked it up as kind of a little bit of a hobby, but music has always been a passion of mine. So I started to kind of self taught myself with the ukulele, started learning some covers just to kind of get the feel for the uk and then I started deciding write some, some of my own music, which has been fun as well.
• 3:10
  Speaker A: And how long, like you said, you started playing the ukulele four years ago. Like how long of playing like covers and kind of getting the feel of the structure before you felt like you were like, hey, I can start writing my own shit?
• 3:24
  Speaker B: Not too long. I mean, I started to feel the chords, the chord progressions and things like that, which was. Once I got that down, I just decided to kind of mess around and see what I can come up with myself. And at this point now I've written probably about five or six original songs, which are pretty cool. And I don't sing, I wouldn't do that to people. So I just play and write the music and then I tend to collaborate with other artists to put out music and, you know, work on it from that end.
• 3:51
  Speaker A: And do you do like instrumental stuff or are like most of the songs that you kind of intended? Oh, no, go ahead.
• 3:58
  Speaker B: Yeah, typically I start with the instrumental and then I work with people to kind of come up with lyrics and I kind of give them an idea of what I'm, what I'm looking for with that song. And then I collaborate with other artists and producers to come up with kind of the lyrics, the vocals and the production end of it because I'm not too tech savvy to work on that end as well. Cool.
• 4:21
  Speaker A: So like when you're bringing someone something, it's a finished composition rather than, you know, having them there during the whole process.
• 4:31
  Speaker B: You're like, correct, correct. So I would come to them with the UK is really the base of it, the rhythm of it. I come with that. And then I would give them the liberty of really coming up with other instruments they feel would really kind of follow that lead. Right. So one of my buddies is pretty good with the drums. I have another friend who's, who's good with the rhythm guitar. So they would kind of look at it and say, all right, we can work with this and kind of fill it in as we see fit. And my debut single, which came out earlier this month, I did work with an artist actually over in England, which is kind of cool. And we hooked up and he was the one that actually came up with the lyrics and did the production itself.
• 5:13
  Speaker A: Nice. And I don't know if you're familiar with the band tool.
• 5:16
  Speaker B: Yep.
• 5:17
  Speaker A: But that's exactly how they do theirs too. By the time it gets to the. To the lyricist, everything is like a lock, you know. So that's an interesting way again, I think, you know, and I'm not much of a lyricist, I guess, but I think that would be a really cool way to have the framework already there and have to weave within rather than, you know, that's a really.
• 5:40
  Speaker B: Exactly. Yeah, it's fun and it's just something that hits me. So again with the ukulele, you know, I. I would just come up with some chord progressions and. And, you know, pretty basic, simple verse, chorus, you know, bridge. And then kind of put it together and. And get an idea in my head as to what this song should be about and. And that's kind of where. Where it starts. And then like I said, I reach out to individuals that I might know through Instagram and social media or even there's a website called fiverr.com where there's the freelance type musicians, which is pretty cool. And that's how I met the artists that I worked with on the first song that actually went out.
• 6:18
  Speaker A: And now when you do like ukulele stuff, do you use like effects? Do you mostly keep it like pretty dry?
• 6:25
  Speaker B: Pretty dry, yeah, pretty dry. Stripped down as can be. And then I just let the person I'm working person or people I'm working with kind of blow it up, I guess. So to speak into something that's, you know, production level ready, that's.
• 6:38
  Speaker A: That's cool. Yeah. There's a band out here, they're called Beached Bodies and it's a duo. The guy plays a ukulele and the girl sings, but he plays his ukulele through like all sorts of petals and like.
• 6:52
  Speaker B: Okay, gotcha.
• 6:53
  Speaker A: Like effects and everything and like there's times when you're like, that's a ukulele. Like, you know.
• 6:58
  Speaker B: Right, right, right, right.
• 6:59
  Speaker A: Really?
• 7:00
  Speaker B: Really. It's actually funny you mentioned that because I have a good buddy of mine literally lives across the street from me here in Warwick. He's in a band called no Promises and they cover a lot of 90s and 2000s alt rock. And he's got so much equipment and I've been around with them recently, starting really in the spring, supporting them actually at, you know, bar shows and things like that, which has been a lot of fun. And he's, you know, as he upgrades his equipment, he kind of Comes to me and I have this pedal here. I have this. If you want to mess around with it. And I'm going to get there at some point, but I'm still working on the UK strip down as it is, and at some point I would like to kind of loop that into it, you know.
• 7:40
  Speaker A: Yeah, that would be fun. And I guess a little bit about like, you know, you sit down. Warwick, near New Jersey. What's I guess like the local music scene like down there? Like, you know, like, are there a lot of. A lot of venues that support live, local, original music, you know?
• 7:58
  Speaker B: Yeah, there is. Yeah. You know, Warwick, there's a lot of farms, a lot of breweries popping up. There are some bars, you know, typical local bars in the towns, some of the towns around me. So they are very supportive. There's. You could pretty much catch live music any weekend, especially anytime from spring through the fall. I mean, fall is, as you probably know it by you is pretty crazy down here as far as the fall festivals and things like that. So you get a lot of people, especially in the fall, coming up from the city and things like that for the weekend. So. So they're always looking to have a good time and have. Have a couple drinks and after doing some pumpkin picking and stuff, you know what I mean?
• 8:35
  Speaker A: Like up here.
• 8:37
  Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I actually just played at a farm on Friday night in Goshen, New York, which is about a town or two above me. It's called All One, all for One, One for All and cool, cool little spot, kind of a barn. And you know, obviously the farm outside. And I set up, I played for two hours during their happy hour. They got a really nice turnout and there's literally, you know, geese walking through right in front of me and other animals kind of coming through. So it was, it was a cool vibe. And, you know, I don't sing like I said earlier, so I just kind of provide a cool background, instrumental type vibe to the evening. And I think people appreciate that because those people are not sitting in the chairs just sitting there watching me. It's just they're going about their business, having a couple drinks, having a good time, having some dinner. So I think that what I could really bring to the table is really good in that kind of setting, you.
• 9:26
  Speaker A: Know, And I mean, if they were just sitting there in silence, it would be zero atmosphere. Whereas, you know.
• 9:31
  Speaker B: Exactly.
• 9:32
  Speaker A: They have the music. It. It does. Even if you're not consciously paying attention to the music, it's doing something to your, you know, to your brain.
• 9:41
  Speaker B: Exactly.
• 9:41
  Speaker A: Like, exactly. Releasing something.
• 9:43
  Speaker B: I think I caught someone, you know, talking at a table, they're tapping their foot, I'm like, I guess I'm getting to that person. But it's definitely a cool, cool, fun vibe. And I do mostly covers. I do have, like I said, the five or six original songs that I've written. But a lot of I, I am huge into pop, punk and alternative rock and that's basically what I cover. So, you know, I have a decent library of songs that I cover in that, in those two genres. Kind of grew up on the K rock, being down in Jersey when I was in probably middle school, high school, and then my. One of my, who is now my best friend, who is my roommate in college, really got me into the whole pop punk scene, so. So that's really what I've been listening to since then.
• 10:24
  Speaker A: Nice. So before we go, Jeff, I just want to ask, say you have a little bit of time. I know obviously being in the DIY scene, it's a lot to handle on your own. So say you have just a little bit of time and you can do something just non music related. How would you unwind?
• 10:48
  Speaker B: I have been, you know, I really do like sports. I like watching sports. So I had no problem sitting on a couch, watching, watching a baseball game to kind of relax too, or doing something like that. But recently my family and I, we were on a trip up to New Hampshire and we did a couple small hikes, a little bit of tubing in the river, things like that. And I think that, you know, we had a really good time with that and I really enjoyed it. It was good to be in the outdoors and doing those kind of things. So that might be. Might have been a springboard for something I do look forward to doing more of. So I would say whether it's just kind of chill on the couch watching some games and obviously the Olympics are on now, so we like to watch that. But also getting more outdoors, I think is on the agenda in the near future.
• 11:35
  Speaker A: Awesome. And so you have one of the original songs that you were talking about. We're going to play one of those right now, correct?
• 11:42
  Speaker B: Sure. Correct. Yep. This song, the song is called no Brake Lights. And this is a song that I wrote a while, probably a couple years ago now. And if I could just tell you real quick, my. My story, my as to why I'm pursuing this right now is back Christmas eve, December of 22, I went into the hospital with food poisoning. And then I found out that I had kidney cancer just from freak incidental finding that they did a CAT scan and they saw a tumor on my kidney. So I was always into music. I was dabbling with the ukulele a little bit, but I kind of would shy away a little bit from it. But that was really my wake up call that happening to me. Thankfully, I beat that cancer a couple months later with a surgery. Five hour surgery. And then that was basically it. I really want to chase my dreams. I want to pursue this. This is something that I think I got a second, you know, lease on life. So let me. Let me go after this. And that song is called no break lights, which is basically about not slowing down in the pursuit of your dreams and just keep going after it.
• 12:48
  Speaker A: I love it. Cool. All right. Well, Jeff Howard, thank you so much for taking time to talk to me. And if people wanted to find you on socials or Spotify, where would they do that?
• 12:59
  Speaker B: Sure. So the artist's name is Jeff Howard on Spotify and on Instagram it's at Jeff and his uke. So Jeff and the word and his uke.
• 13:09
  Speaker A: Cool. All right. And right now we're going to hear no brake lights from Jeff Howard. And again, Jeff, thank you one last time and we'll talk to you soon.
• 13:17
  Speaker B: Thanks so much, Andy.
• 13:19
  Speaker C: I passed out sticking it out I've been here before but I'm not slowing down returning back I'm leaving this town to follow my dream so I'll see you around I'm on the back track now you could cross the line no cali corners only DM somehow bridges never felt so goddamn brown no brain light says it's stopping you I got to be all got to be no brave lights it's a one way street I won't stop till I figure out what time to need I'm reaching in no I'm secure there's nothing left that I cannot endure follow the path that's in front of me reach for the stars that I want to achieve I'm on the bounce right now skipper across the line I'll cut in corners only tears are and I just can't stop so far into me and I just can't stop I'll give it all that I've got.
• 15:23
  Speaker A: If you would like to be a guest on the unsigned unwind, send an email to angela@unsigned productions.com. take care of one another and I'll see you soon.