We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jake Faun a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jake thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Around 7-8 years ago, I decided I wanted to explore Los Angeles to see if it were somewhere I could live/work as a musician. I’m from the UK originally, all my friends and family are back home, so coming out here has been a big risk. I didn’t have a solid plan, didn’t even know if things would work out, in fact had I known what was required to get here, who knows whether I would have gone through with it all. The visa process, financial expense and time commitment are daunting enough to deter even the most ambitious person.
That being said, I’m pretty happy with where I am now and I have been fortunate to do some cool things in my time here. Moving forward I do not know how long I’ll stay for or what the future holds just yet. If I’ve learned one thing in life it’s that taking risks is a necessary part of growth. It feels nice to stay in the comfort zone, but if you are never challenged, nothing changes. I’d rather regret the choices I’ve made than regret not making any choices at all.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a musician, I play guitar for people, in our world we called that being a session musician. It has it’s ups and downs, one minute you might be touring arenas around the country, the next you’re sitting around at home waiting for the phone to call thinking you may never work again haha. As long you stay proactive, your next gig is always just around the corner though.
I started playing guitar when I was about 12 years old, fell in love with it and just kept playing. I never really knew where it would take me or if I’d be able to do it for a living, all I knew is I just wanted to play. Fast forward to today and I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the biggest artists in the world, less than one year after arriving in Los Angeles (I got my visa March 2019) I was given the opportunity to perform with David Lee Roth (every guitarist’s dream gig). Unfortunately that tour was cut short, just after 6 weeks as Covid swooped in right in time to cancel everything. Good times.
Since then I have been able to tour with a number of bands/artists in a variety of genres ranging from hard rock and metal (I toured with a late 80s rock band called Winger last year), to country/soul (Willie Jones), as well as recording for artists such as Selena Gomez (check out ‘Ring’ and ‘Rare’ and you’ll hear me playing guitar!), Alec Benjamin, DNCE among others.
In terms of what I provide for clients, on the technical side, I tour and support artists live as well as provide guitar parts for recordings. This, however, is only part of what keeps a musician employed. Much of our world (as with any) is about having certain personal/professional qualities and skills outside of just what you do that make people want to work with you. The creative world can be tricky as our work often doesn’t conform to the 9 – 5 norms and ways of carrying oneself. You often have to deal with eccentric characters with strong personalities, so my job is as much about knowing how to get the best out of who I am working with as it is about my abilities as a guitarist.
There’s a saying in my world, ‘we play for free, we get paid to do all the other stuff’ haha. On a gig we may only be playing from anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 or 4 60 minute sets. The rest of the time we are traveling together, setting up, sound checking, making sure our equipment is all working, rehearsing, practicing in our own time, dealing with contracts, the list goes on. The performance time is usually the quickest and easiest part of a work day.
I’m proud of what I have been able to achieve in the music industry so far. It’s a tough business and you have to really be 100% invested in it to succeed, otherwise you someone younger, hungrier and more talented will push you out, as they should. There’s a tremendous amount of pressure in this business that cripples many people when they realise the reality of being a musician. Only a select few become extremely rich and famous (not that those are the reasons you should be playing music), but you should still strive to be the best you can. Most musicians have to hustle (I hate that word lol) every day to make ends meet, the struggle is what either pushes you to do greater things or will make you want to quit.
I still have a lot more I would like to achieve but I’m grateful for what I have done. I hope people who have worked with me would say I am professional, easy to get along with and fun and am one of the people you go to if you want the job to be done right haha. Whether or not that’s what anyone actually thinks, I’ll leave that up to them!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I get to work for myself, I set my own hours, I get to play guitar for a living, I get to live in Los Angeles with great weather, I get to travel the country (sometimes the world) as part of my job, I get to meet lots of interesting and likeminded people. Playing an instrument helps with cognitive function especially as you get older. Playing an instrument relieves stress. My job is essentially to bring joy and happiness to people and have a good time. Not many people get to say that!
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
The uncertainty of your career, and by extension, your life can be tough. I think that’s why many people don’t pursue a career in music, but for a musician as long as they can keep playing, writing, creating in some form, they can be happy.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @jakefaunmusic
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/jakefaun
Image Credits
Nikhil Suresh Joe Schaffer Jay Christensen