FEATURED: JackManFriday ♡

Another one of the musicians I had a pleasure of meeting at Pitt Street is JackManFriday - a solo act. I remember thinking he looked like the Harries twins from afar (but it could also be because of my awful eyesight), and that up close, he was reminiscent of John O'Callaghan. Like I said in the post about Everything After, I was slightly nervous to approach Jack and ask if I could feature him on here, but all my fears washed away when he smiled and agreed.

with my sister

If you're into acoustics, then JackManFriday is the one for you. I've never heard anything quite like his music; it's unique and I mean it in the best way possible. It's, for a lack of a better word, funky. Some of his songs don't have vocals, such as Senses, but it's honestly so wonderful. Lyrics aren't needed to express the emotions he was willing to convey through his music. Isn't that exactly what a good musician is?

I also had him sign the CD I had purchased from him, because I'm cool like that. There is a short clip of him at the end of this post saying something, but I don't intend to spoil it so check it out once you're done reading his answers!

Check out his awesome cover of Little Lion Man! I love his side comments. The drummer (I'm afraid I don't know his name) is equally as talented too. I love how amazing their version sounds despite using unconventional (if you could call it that) instruments. They have music in their veins, man...


"Look, ma, no hands!"

1. Tell us about yourself/your band/group.
It's basically a solo act, plus other musicians on occasion. A very talented drummer is joining me in March to create something really special.

2. How did you start?
I started playing around the age of 12 and when I left school busking seemed a natural progression. Now I'm trying to branch into being an artist who busks rather than a busker who tries to be an artist.

3. How did you come up with the name?
The name is a bit of a boring story, but in a nutshell, Dad used to call me Jack Man, and in Robinson Crusoe, the character "Man Friday" a native/slave (bad vibes) is sort of a butler. Since I play a lot of John Butler's music, that stuck.

4. How would you describe your sound?
The sound I'm aiming to polish off is a bit like if you mixed John Butler, Dub FX, Jarle Bernhoft and some trippy guitar a la Australian Indie.

5. Who is/are your musical inspiration/s?
Musical? Butler, Muse, those artists I listed above, bit of english rock/alternative like say the Kooks, all the obligatory Pixies, ramones, Stones, the Who, etc. A lot of that music that sort of started underground/indie, and moved to mainstream, like Newton Faulkner, that kind of stuff. Him and Muse have kind of gone a bit off course if you ask me, but anyway! Massive tangent there.

6. What makes you different from all the other musicians?
Nothing really differentiates me other than that I don't think I'm going to stick to one genre, I like too many to do that. I'll probably blend some together but I think I'll end up putting my foot in quite a few over the years.

7. Tips for aspiring musicians?
Aspiring musicians.. Do something you enjoy, don't do something because other people will like it, and especially don't stop because people don't like the genre, you'll have people on both sides of the fence, but if you bend to everyone else, you won't enjoy it, your audience will see through you and they won't enjoy it. Respect your audience by respecting yourself.

8. Name at least one musician you'd like to work with in the future.
I'd love to work with Dub FX to be honest, he's a recent obsession and I had the priviledge of sharing a stage (made of crates, but anyway) with him. I think it'd be cool to play guitar on something of his or have him rhyme/loop into something I'm doing. I have a lot of ideas for that but it might be just a bit further down the track!

Check out that crowd! There were so much more people when I met him. It was absolutely brilliant! I loved how so many people in Australia were supporting local artists. It's something I think we Filipinos should learn.

My favorite song of his has got to be Senses. I've already explained why earlier on this post, but just in case you missed it - the reason I love the song so much is because it did not need lyrics to convey emotions. The melody was enough to make you feel the emotion and raw talent that JackManFriday has.

If you liked Jack, please do support him by buying his EP ($5 AUD which is approx. 200php), liking his Facebook page, and subscribing to him on YouTube. Cheers!