We recently connected with Jack Thomas and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jack thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Earning a living as a musician is never an easy task. I dropped out of music school and moved to Nashville where I bussed tables and hung out for years. There really is no singular path to “making it” and my journey including many lean years. But during those years I made great friends, learned from great musicians, and got a real hands on look at how these great men and women had been doing it for years before I arrived.

Jack, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

A little about me, my name is Jack Thomas and I’m a drummer, singer, and producer based in Nashville, TN. What I do varies tremendously from gig to gig but most often I find myself in a support role playing drums and helping the artist bring their vision to life (singing backing vocals almost always, arranging their songs for a live show, creating a setlist for the nights show, etc.) When I’m not on the road I’m acting in the same role as a producer for songwriters and artists. Whether that be taking their ideas and helping them flesh it out, or creating parts they hadn’t yet heard of, or just doing drum tracks and vocal tracks for a song that’s mostly completed. All of these opportunities take me out of town frequently but allow me to meet many people and push myself into uncomfortable situations and grow as a musician.

In addition to touring/artist work and producing work, I have spent a large portion of my career in the Broadway bar scene. I developed a Spotify playlist early in my time here in Nashville that has really taken off recently as a resource for many new and working musicians on the strip. I try to keep it as up-to-date as possible with current song requests so that touring and arriving musicians (from really around the world) can work and know the material to play “Nashville style” shows. I also meet quite a few people as they follow my playlist and profile and I try to offer any help I can.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

During the Covid shutdown, I was primarily playing on Lower Broadway and when those bars shut down, that meant that I lost all of my work as well. Up to that point I had primarily only worked from behind a drum kit and with limited capacity requirements implemented when things began to reopen meant that many clubs decided to return acoustic. Which meant that I was still out of work. Rather than accept that option, I decided to work to get out from behind the drums exclusively and built my own acoustic duo/trio and I fronted that band as the main singer and leader. That challenge exposed how naive I was of that position in previous bands, but has helped me grow and become a better musician. Since Covid has mostly passed us here in Nashville, I have continued to work and grown a separate band that I front regularly on the strip in addition to my returning work as a drummer in town and on the road.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I seek out resources that help me contextualize my journey and propel me forward. Oddly enough, I find a lot of inspiration and encouragement through comedians and their journeys. Podcasts like “Smartless” and “Conan Obrien Needs a Friend” have relaxed interviews with many other creatives and, although theyre not in music specifically, the parallels between a working musician, actor, and comic are so strong. It’s helped me to understand one of my largest hurdles (and I’m certainly still trying to grow in this area) that everyone’s journey is unique to them and I CANNOT compare myself to others. It is very frustrating to watch good friends of yours have tremendous success when you feel youre not achieving your goals. But the last thing to do is to somehow view their success as a zero sum game. If anything knowing successful people is a tremendous asset and one that should be celebrated. When I hear stories of very successful comics and actors talking about these same issues it helps me digest those feelings and not feel so “othered”. Often people in more traditional jobs cannot really relate to the challenges of being a professional creative and it’s so helpful to have others tell you (indirectly of course) that you’re not alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: jackthomasmusic.com
• Instagram: @jackthomss
• Facebook: JackThomasMusic
• Youtube: @JackThomss

Image Credits
METTLER MEDIA COREY MADSON IAN THARPE