Jack Bruno – 4U

By starrymag | May 1, 2020

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

 

Q) You just released your EP 4U on March 27th. How has the fan response been?

 

A) It’s been really good honestly. It’s always weird putting something out because, for me, I usually think people will like one thing and then I put something out and people are like, “Yeah, this is cool but, ya know, I don’t really care,” and then I do a song that I might be like, “Eh whatever,” about and I put it out and those are the ones where the fans are like, “I LOVE THIS SONG!” [laughing] I’m like, “What? Really?” I always get surprised with fan reactions and stuff, but it’s been cool and a lot of people like the track. I think what’s cool about the new EP is that people are really taking in my new style and sound. I think the response has just been like, this feels more like you and it makes more sense to me.

 

Q) Obviously hip-hop is your genre but your sound also has a heavy punk vibe to it too. Who were your early influences?

 

A) Oh, hell yeah! Ok, growing up…It’s funny because when I think of musicians that were born at the same time as me, like my friends and stuff, and maybe they’re a little bit older or a little bit younger they all have a specific album that got them into playing guitar or something like that and it’s always a Blink 182 album. I’m twenty-seven years old, so I remember a lot of my friends were like Dude Ranch and if they’re younger they’re like American Idiot. For me it was Enema of the State, the Blink 182 album, the first album I really got in to. I remember my mom took me to see one of their shows, the Pop Disaster Tour and then Green Day was right before them. Seeing Green Day was like, “DAMN!” They hit me over the head and by the time Blink came on I didn’t even care to stay the whole time. I mean, I was nine years old at the time, so I wasn’t going anywhere, but you know what I mean. Green Day were a huge influence. I’ve listened to a lot of bands like Sugar Cult. I liked them a lot for a little bit. Billy Talent, which I wouldn’t even put as Pop Punk, but then I also got into 70’s UK punk. I’m still a big 70’s UK punk fan like the Sex Pistols, The Clash. For me, you can’t be cooler than The Clash, it’s impossible to me. They really just had it and, man, in that time period for a band to be so open and changing their sound and doing crazy shit that’s just so cool. It’s the real element of punk that I connect with. It’s not like the closed off, boxed off, punk rock where they only play fast beats and it’s all guitar and drums. I’m like, “No, I like the shit like ‘Rock the Casbah.’” Those types of songs, where they’re just crazy and the spirit of mixing reggae with fast tempos and stuff like that, to me is the essence of punk, which I love.

 

Q) “Someday (Before You Get Bored),” track one on the EP, is the song we need right now. It has this upbeat, a little bit ragey, get out of your seat, feeling we could all use while we’re locked up in our houses. What was the inspiration for that song?

 

A) Oh, totally. The idea of the sound was really just curiosity. Like man, “What would The Strokes be like if they were coming up right now?” I don’t really think they would even be a band; I think they would be more like a solo act or something. I wondered how I could do that, how I could take their sort of essence and make a hip hop beat around it and make something that kids would listen to today, but it was more just for me honestly. I was just like, “How can I make that song into a modern rendition?” I made sure it was to my standard and everything was authentic to me and felt like a really great mixture and once I felt like I had that, it worked. The lyrics, though, they are all about the beginning of a relationship and that’s what I was going through at the time period. It was at the beginning stages of the relationship and I wasn’t sure if I was going to go in it all the way, you know? At the end of the song every line is like what was going on in my head. Like that one line, “You know someday, I love you and I’m ready for this and other days, no way. I’ll stay committed to my music and maybe you’re not the right one; and some days I go back and forth.” It was this debate of like me trying to figure out should if I should go in this. It’s funny now, in hindsight, because I did commit to that relationship and it was a beautiful little time period that it ended really badly, but I don’t regret it.

 

Q) The track also brilliantly features The Strokes song by the same name. What was it about that song that made you want to put your own spin on it?

 

A) Really what caught me was the chords of the song. Every time I listened to that original The Strokes song, it just made me feel and I liked it. When I’m picking beats in general, I always go for something that doesn’t have to be a super trendy thing. It just has to make me feel strongly. It has to make you feel something and it has to be a real experience. I just always love those chords and thought it was genius, so and it wasn’t necessarily the lyrics but it those chords and it worked.

 

Q) Do you have plans to feature more artists from the other genres in future work?

 

A) I think, yeah, there are. I’m working on a new album right now, it’s almost done actually and there’s a song sampled by this random punk band that was on the Warped Tour in 2009, that actually sounded like The Clash. The band is called The Sharks, and I sampled one of their songs and it’s actually at the beginning of the album. It’s like this little punk singalong thing that has this really mellow melancholy vibe, and it goes from there to this crazy aggressive hip hop beat. It’s a three-part song and it’s crazy, so yeah, I think when it comes to bringing in other elements to hip-hop, I draw from that other side of me that was in bands and into that punk rock-garage rock sort of era of the early 2000s.

 

Q) Which artist would you love to collaborate with in the future?

 

A) Oh man, um…[pause] I think it would be Drake, honestly. That would be awesome. Just to see how he approaches songwriting and how he works would be such great learning experience. I’m such a fan of his, so I would have to say it would be Drake, for sure

 

Q) Have you been using the recent down time to work on some more music?

 

A) Yeah, I’ve been working on it since the beginning of the year. I was working on it a little bit during the tour but being on lockdown was like a great chance to finish up all the details and get into it and really listen and have that time of no distractions so it’s been great for getting work done.

 

Q) I’m sure you can’t wait to get back on the road and do some shows because you’re so interactive with your audience. Any plans for another tour this summer? Coronavirus depending, of course?

 

A) No, I have no idea unfortunately. There’s nothing like booked or planned because of this shut down. As soon as I can I’ll get back to it, but this album is going to come out and it’s going to make a huge impact. Right now, I’m just kind of figuring out the business side of this. I’m kind of talking to bunch of companies and deciding which team I want to really promote this album because, for me, this album is just the next level. I would definitely say that when this is cleared up, I’m back on the road. Like you said, my shows are really energetic and interactive and it’s an important part of me as an artist, so definitely I wouldn’t be surprised if I was back on the road mid to late summer, for sure.

 

Q) You’ve toured with everyone from Whiz Khalifa to Tekashi 6six 9ine and did the Rolling Loud Festival. You must have at least one crazy touring story you can share with the fans.

 

A) Oh, absolutely! I would say the one story that keeps coming up right now. Actually, for me is when I was on tour with 6ix 9ine in Europe, almost two years ago. We were in Sweden and I just remember there were two of my friends that can really drink and I remember that 6ix 9ine is not really a big drinker. My one friend who was on tour with me at the time this, German guy Marcel, he can really drink and we were in the hotel before the show and were about to play this huge show in an arena in Stockholm. Ad my friend Marcel calls me and says, “Yo! Come down to my room!” So, it’s me, my other friend Rome and 6ix 9ine and we’re just drinking and hanging out and I thought, “What the f**k are they doing?” So, I go down to the room and my friends are just getting 6ix 9ine just f****d up and he’s trying to keep up with them. And I’m thinking, “Dude, Marcel, you’re my tour manager. If you’re drunk before the show, it’s not the end of the world. I still know where I need to be at the venue and at what time and I know what I need to do, but like now you’re drinking up the headline artist! [laughing] He has to be on his game for a couple hours!” I remember they were just drinking and drinking and he, Marcel, drank him under the table. So, then his security came and got him and took him to the show and we showed up a little bit later, but by the time we showed up Tekashi is just passed out drunk backstage and his security guards were p**sed! Like, “Where’s that German motherf***er Marcel? What the f**k did you do?” They were so mad, so we were hiding in our dressing room like, “Oh s**t dude, what the f**k?” and he was passed out! I played my entire set and when we were done, he somehow woke himself up and got ready and went on. I was concerned! [laughs] I was like, “Man, is he going to be able to do this?” He went on and killed the show! You couldn’t even tell he was messed up, but it was such a funny story. Like come on guys! [laughs] That was a wild time.

 

Q) Before you kicked open the door to the hip-hop world, you toured alongside bands like The Used and Rise Against. What lessons from life on the road did you take from working with these incredible bands?

 

A) I think I took a lot away from The Used. Bert [McCracken] was really cool and a great front man to watch every night. I was super young, like seventeen or eighteen, when I was touring with them. I think there are certain elements of being in a band that are more difficult. I mean, you’re playing your instrument and it’s more about your vocal performance than it is at the hip hop shows. They’re more about the energy. So, it almost made it easier for me when I became a solo act. I was like, “Wow! OK, now I just get to focus on the fun part now.” I just get to make sure the energy is there. Pretty much all I have to do is remember my lyrics and bring the energy and so it was like way easier than being in a band at first. It’s also a different attention span that the fans have. Hip-hop fans don’t really want to hear the entire song. They want to hear clips, the hooks, the energetic parts and then they want to go to the next thing. Whereas rock audiences, they want to hear the guitar lick and the drum solo and all the parts to it, so that’s a different animal. It’s a different way to approach things, for sure, but yeah it just made me so much more ready for what I’m doing now.

 

Q) What advice do you have for people trying to break into the business? Maybe something you wish you knew before starting out?

 

J) I would say to really know yourself. To know who you are and to trust your own opinion and realize at the end of the day the only opinion that really matters in music is your own. As an artist you’re going to have to hear everyone’s critique and everyone’s thoughts on your music, your show, your clothes, how you look, your weight, your height and it’s like you really have to be strong mentally for that. I think one of the things I learned over the years is it doesn’t matter what anyone says, unless you let that affect your own opinion of yourself. I think knowing who I am and being confident in that and knowing what I think of my music and what I think of myself is so important. It’s hard to do, but you just can’t take things personally. You have to understand everyone has different opinions and I think that’s a lesson that if people can take it, it can save you months of your time. You will just be a better and more productive artist knowing that stuff.

 

Q) What would you like to say to the fans and supporters of your work?

 

A) Wow, man, I would like to say this new album is amazing. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. It’s going to win me a Grammy! I’m so excited about it. The album is coming, the tours are coming, everything’s in the works. I haven’t slowed down and the energy is there. It’s going to be a crazy year.