Music > Interviews
Jack and The Giants
22/04/24
Since making its debut appearance last June, ‘ReWork’ has taken the local music scene by a storm, providing local artists with a platform to showcase their musical talent, by allowing them to rework the hits from a range of musical icons!
This Friday, ‘ReWork’ will make its return to Norwich Puppet Theatre, with Althea Rose, Damp Matches, Jack and the Giants and Maple Ward taking to the stage to put their own spin on the hits from Paul Simon!
When did your journey as a band begin?
Our journey as a band really begun during the Covid lockdowns. That is when I wrote a lot of the material for Harrows. I had plenty of time to rework old ideas I had kicking around and do plenty of contemplating on what I wanted the songs to be. Eventually, when we could see people again, I would meet with Ben in Eaton park, and we came up with a sort of game plan for how we would start as soon as lockdown was lifted. When that happened, we went for it.
What was the meaning behind your name?
The name itself doesn’t have much of a meaning. In fact it is something I really want to change but feel we are in too deep now. Essentially, I am a huge Jazz fan, I always liked the idea of a group of musicians coming together as a kind of outfit, rather than a structured band. Just a group of musicians developing their skills and pushing things musically around an idea, the idea in this case being my songs. Many of those bands were called ‘someone and the somethings’, so I guess that’s where it came from. The name follows a kind of musical philosophy rather than having any meaning in itself.
How would you describe your music?
I always struggle to settle on an answer for this question. The root of what we do and where we come from is folk. But that being said we aren’t really a folk band. We pull from whatever it is we are listening to at the time. There are elements of grunge, jazz, folk, Indie in how we sound. I’d say we are characterised by our rhythms and melodies. We play a lot with time, sort of warping the songs through different ways of playing, a bit like applying a filter to a picture, until I think its framed right. Again, I think there this relates to the last question in that, it is quite fluid, and I think we are still developing, or at least I am still working out where I want to be sat in terms of genre. This is a hard way to be these days too, because on the face of it people are all about breaking the boundaries and not worrying about labels and genres, yet the way we consume music now and the games we have to play to market ourselves dictates that we must be a clearly defined object. But who knows, maybe we will get there soon.
Where do you look for inspiration for your music?
That’s a tricky one to answer. Everywhere really, I listen to a lot of different things, sometimes to my own detriment because I feel like I pull on too many different influences. I think for me it’s often about the way in which something is played or sang rather than what genre it falls into. Recently I’ve been really into Pile, (especially the All Fiction album), Davey Graham and Julian Lage. But generally, if to me a piece of music or a song just feels right I’ll be listening to it on a loop, and it will find its way into what we do somehow.
What challenges, if any, have you faced during your journey as a band?
There have been a few for sure, changing personnel, finding our style and voice over the last few years. Really the same challenges that any band faces. Finding a violinist or a double bassist is the latest issue so if you know anyone, give us a shout.
What inspired you to get involved with ‘ReWork’?
I love a cover done well. We have done a few over the years and it’s always fun. Reworking things is the essence of folk music too, I learned to play guitar through playing folk and bluegrass music and reworking my own versions of old songs, so I think it comes naturally to us. I also think it’s an interesting concept, to play with the work of artists who have ultimately shaped the landscape of the industry we all exist in.
What impact do you believe Paul Simon has had on the music industry?
I’d say Paul Simon has had a huge impact on the music industry. He has impacted everything really, from what we consider popular music to sound like to the way music is recorded and produced.
What is your favourite element of the music scene/ community of Norwich?
Probably the sheer amount that is happening in Norwich, for such a small place it really is an anomaly. Norwich has everything really when it comes to music. It also has some of the best open mics around that encourage the scene to grow.
What advice would you give to any aspiring musicians?
I feel like I am an aspiring musician still, so I probably am not qualified to be giving out advice (!), but maybe that in itself is advice I would give, to keep aspiring to do what you want to do creatively. That’s what we are doing. Just playing what we want to play and always chasing the sounds we want.
Have you got any plans for 2024?
We want to play as many gigs as we can really. Maybe find some new members to work with too.
And, if you want to keep up to date with the work of Jack and the Giants, then you can head to their Instagram (@_jack_and_the_giants)!