Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jack Dunphey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jack thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I also knew I wanted to be in a band. When I was a little kid, I must have been no more than 3 or 4 years old. I told my now late Grandma, Evelyn Dunphey, that when I become a rockstar someday, she could come to all my concerts for free. I used to pretend to be in rock and roll bands when I was in Kindergarten, I remember walking around my classroom telling kids I was in a rock and roll band…called Green Day. My mom said when I was still in the womb, whenever my dad was drumming or music was being played I would kick to the beat of the song. I share these early memories and stories to express the fact that I have always wanted to pursue music. I have never not wanted to. Every day as a child, since I could remember having a consciousness I would go to my basement, plug in a CD of my dad’s, and drum along to the track on his 1990’s Yamaha Electric Drumset, this was my childhood toy. I would wake up on Saturday at 7 AM, drum my little heart out to Wipe Out or put on the Billboard Top Music of the 1970s CD, and drum my heart out to “Sister Golden Hair” by America. This was the genesis of my love of music, as far as I can recognize it to be. After school, after homework, after dinner, any chance I could, I would go to my basement, listen to music, and drum along. If I wasn’t doing that I would be absorbed to the screen of my computer, watching YouTube videos of The Beatles with my Dad, for hours on end.
My summer before moving to Boone, to attend Appalachian State University, I knew I was finally going to join a band, I didn’t know who with, how many people, or what it would be called, I just knew, one day, it would happen, and when it did, I would be ready.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’d like to use this to introduce the band, The Weasels. We are a Rock and Roll band from the mountains of Boone, NC. As 5 friends we came together to be the best versions of ourselves as musicians and to create just a classically good rock and roll band, with a taste of our modern influence. We write our songs in a tiny, cinderblock garage. Our music tackles themes of, freedom, individuality, love and heartbreak, questions in life, and empowerment. Attitudes we see reflected in life, we incorporate into our music, it’s the job of the listener to feel and find them.

As a band, we aren’t just some group of college kids playing rock and roll music to get our kicks. For us, our job as a rock band is to entertain, to make you think, to provide an escape, to provide comfort, to provide fun and excitement, it is to provide a voice for those who are not always heard. It is an obligation to honor the artists who created the music that we love and to forge a new sound and experience that will inspire future artists. To put it simply, we just wanna be a good rock and roll band, for a long time to come.

We have spent the past couple of years cultivating our sound in our little mountain town, called Boone, nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. With our debut single “Satisfied?” released and our forthcoming Debut E.P. “Kings of the Forest” on the way, We have never been more excited and ready for the world to hear our sound and see what we are all about. Have you met The Weasels?

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

To start, I believe every kid, boy or girl, has a dream to be someone or to do something. When we get older, it can seem hard for these dreams to become realities. Through being in The Weasels I get to work towards my dream being a reality. and I get to do it with 4 of my best friends. I grew up not playing music with anyone my entire life, but I had a strong desire to be in a band and I always knew someday I would. I lived in a Chicago suburb called Naperville up until I was 21, never playing in a band. I took a chance and decided to move across the country to Boone, NC, to pursue my degree in elementary education, while simultaneously fuelling the fire, and the honest desire to be in a rock band. From day 1 at Appalachian State, I set out to meet like-minded people. Through a guy named Logan who would later go on to form the Country Rock band Fox N’ Vead, I met Caleb. Through Caleb, I met TJ. I met Joey and Andrew when they were trying to form a band with a different set of guys. Very quickly Joey, Andrew, TJ, Caleb, and I formed the foundation of our friendships, and in our little cinderblock garage in a small mountain town we formed the band we call The Weasels.

Through The Weasels, we have had countless life-changing experiences and memories. We have met some truly beautiful souls, shared some emotional endeavors, and written some amazing songs. We are just getting started.

So as for a particular mission or goal driving my creative journey?- To inspire people to go for their dreams just like the rock stars who came before me but to also recognize, that life is full of excitement and emotion, people should experience it with open arms. Our music reflects the excitement of life, the hardships of life, the ponderings of life. To us, as individuals, music is our life, and so our songs should reflect that. We want our lyrics to have meaning are groove to have a feel, and our songs to rip.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

As it pertains to music, my best advice is to study, it’s fun! If you’re in a rock and roll band or any band for that matter, study those you are inspired by. Read the memoirs the artists write, and watch the band documentaries. STUDY! Look for parallels between your life and the life of your heroes and apply the wisdom from them to your existence to create your path. There is no price tag for lived experience, it is far too valuable. Also, take a chance on faith, or as I call it “Jumping into the sweet unknown”, to quote the band Ceramic Animal.

As for general creative endeavors, the best insight that I can provide is a creative journey is forged on a path of analysis, action and reflection, love and passion, hard work, growth, and time.
It takes time to develop your craft. I can attest and say I am a much different performer, singer, bandmate, and friend since our band started just 2 years ago. As a band we have loved each other, we have hated each other, we have laughed, we have cried, we have been joyful, we have been scared. You have to experience the growing pains, accept what they are, and recognize what to do going forward.

Lastly, give it time! If you are passionate about something you’ll do something for as long as you can, and the way I see things, as long as you are living you can do something. Write the story you want to write, and be the hero in your book, god or the universe, whatever higher power you believe in is gonna edit that story for you, but you get to write it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/theweasels
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theweaselsband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089238140419
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theweaselsband/featured
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3CCcfWNkxUNIWliD0bmJH2?si=gH2tKHYcRwqoDnsA4H6AEQ

Image Credits
Grace Foster Jack Johnson Jake Owens Grapes