We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeremy Fury. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeremy below.
Jeremy, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I started playing guitar when I was 7 years old. I took guitar lessons for 5 years, begrudgingly, before I really realized what was so great about playing. My brother who was a few years younger started learning drums. We’d always practiced separately. When I was 12 and he was about 9 or 10, we realized we could play together. That changed everything. We started not only playing other people’s songs, but writing our own songs, putting on bedroom concerts, and recording cassettes. Practicing music went from chore to pleasure.
There was so much power in it. From an early age, my parents took me to concerts, played records, and so on, but until that moment, we never realized we could do it ourselves. And from that moment, I realized that I had the power to create the very thing I loved. All the rest of the learning the craft were details and just hard lessons, but the revelation that all I needed was an instrument, a voice, and a few other like-minded people; that was the catalyst.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m Jeremy Fury, singer of the band Jeremy & The Harlequins. While I’ve been the frontman, singer, and songwriter of Jeremy & The Harlequins for 10 years now, prior to this band I was the singer of various other bands, most notably We Are The Fury. That’s why I go by ‘Jeremy Fury,’ because people just started calling me that.
I’m a musician, but I think that’s too broad a term. I don’t even think I’m a very good player. More so, I think I’m a songwriter and performer. Maybe I’m a fledgling producer as well.
I’ve written and recorded over 150 songs and put out over 6 albums, had songs in over 3 dozen TV shows and films, and sang and/or written a half dozen jingles for major brands. Our latest Jeremy & The Harlequins album, ABRA CaDaBRA, is out on vinyl, CD, and digitally now. Right now, I’m working on writing our next album.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Time. I feel like early on in my career, the industry forced the idea on artists that if you don’t write a hit song today, tour 366 days a year, or have the perfect album, then you’re doomed. The reality is the industry was on a ticking clock. They had quarterly reports and bosses to answer to. They were afraid of being fired.
They pass that fear on to artists, which in turn makes for inferior art or music. Basically, they manifest their worst fears into reality. The truth is artists have more time. I’m not saying a band should take 3 years to make an album, but they can take an extra month. Sometimes that pause is exact thing needed to have a breakthrough creatively.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Finishing an album. If the songs in my head were the seeds, the album is the full-grown tree. Seeing the tree is the most rewarding thing. Continuing on the analogy, labels, critics, industry; they’re like the people coming to the tree after there is fruit. Some of them taste the fruit and say it is sweet, some say it’s bitter, some want to sell the fruit, etc. As the artist, I think it’s important to realize that growing the tree is the most rewarding part of the process. I’m not saying it’s not great to sell a ton of fruit, what I’m saying is to not let other people with different tastes try to chop down the tree. 
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jeremyandtheharlequins.com
- Instagram: @jeremyandtheharlequins
- Facebook: facebook.com/jeremyandtheharlequins
- Twitter: @jeremyharlequin
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JeremyandTheHarlequins/
Image Credits
Promo Photo by Rosie Cohe