Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Young.
Hi Jack, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
It’s all been active work and effort but also feels accidental and unintended. I remember being in high school, living with my friends who were all in bands, and helping make these keystone nights and memories for all kinds of people. Intensely wanted to be a part of it, wanted to make strangers feel as welcome as my friends had made me feel, but I had no idea how to play an instrument in any respectable manner. In 2016, I bought a $40 acoustic that a friend helped me picked out and just decided, “to hell with it, I’ll make my own band,” and here we are!
From there, I set about getting all the first-hand experience I could, just throwing myself at events for the sheer sake of it. After about a year of solo-stripe-earning, mustered the guts to ask Jay, our drummer and guitarist of my personal favorite band Zap Dragon, if he’d be interested in learning drums while I was basically still learning guitar, and we haven’t really let up since. RFH wouldn’t be anywhere near what it is today without everything Jay has taught and done for me; I’ll get emotional on a dime about it.
Over time, we were able to convince Greg, our guitarist and my closest friend since high school, and TC to join, and they really round out anything I could have hoped to aim for. It’s an endless luxury to be in a band with members who are so thoroughly talented on their own; I’ll argue all day that they do the heavy lifting. And then TC would usually say I’m just selling myself short. Couldn’t ask for a better group of people to cause a commotion with.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If there is a smooth road, I’d ask you kindly to point the way. We’re working-class musicians, I can’t speak for the others in detail, but it’s all been through the effort of my two hands and gritted teeth. We’ve received our share of cosmic grace, but we’re also surviving the same situations most everyone else is. Pretty sure 2020 kicked all of us in the teeth, and many of us small-time acts are only recently getting the wheels turning again, trying to keep pace with all the uncertainty looming over the future. It used to just be an attempt to get group catharsis, but after the last two years, I think it’s fair to say everything is more serious.
To be more positive though, I’d say every show feels like a feat pulled off like we orchestrated some harmless heist. And we still feel like we’re improving and growing after every one, which is a blessing, in my opinion. It’s easy to get burnt out and jaded, especially when the pressures of the world are bearing down on you.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Well, we play music for people who work too hard. I have no formal music history; honestly just decided to do it and have learned along the way. There’s an honesty and modesty that we bring to the night that you’re likely to get caught off guard by Greg and TC’s energy and ability to play around the moment. To that point, we definitely specialize in making the best of an unfortunate situation. No amount of planning or practice can account for bad luck, but we’ve managed to roll with whatever may pop up. Plenty of times where I’ve thought, “oh hell, there’s no way they’ll be cool with this.” and the rest of the band will just shrug and adjust however needed.
Currently, I’d say I’m most proud of our album, which is available on Bandcamp and Spotify, we released earlier this year, and all the elements and people that went into it. It feels fantastically lucky that, from my perspective, someone will be so damn impressive that I’ll vaguely think, “would be real cool to work with them,” and often times we manage to end up working on something at some point. I’m just a fanboy of my friends, keeps me healthily competitive and make sure our approach is correct. Also, our recent show at Stardust with Apes of The State, Doom Scroll, and X Dirty Fingers; Still not sure how it ended up as well as it did. Love all those artists involved with the night. And the Stardust staff for putting up with it!
Honestly, not sure what sets us apart from others, and I’m not much of a salesman. You should come see for yourself sometime and find out yourself though!
How do you define success?
An evening of strangers where at the end of it all, that is no longer the case. I know how my friends in their bands have made an impact on me; it’d be nice to have an impact on others like that. Maybe getting paid if I have to live here, I guess.
Pricing:
- We’ve got tapes on our Bandcamp or at shows for $10
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reallyfasthorses/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/reallyfasthorse
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVrOypz68zM
- Other: https://reallyfasthorses.bandcamp.com/
Image Credits
Nat Lacuna
Jagged Wire Photography
Bre Staton
