We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jonny Lucas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jonny, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
My journey with music started at a very early age. I remember being 10 years old and having an undeniable fascination with instruments and music, which quickly lead me to the idea that I wanted to pursue it as a career. I was a classically trained kid and I played in orchestras, choirs, and brass bands but the major game-changer for me was when my dad bought me an electric guitar for my 15th birthday. I learned the chords E, A, and B7 (that was a tricky one) but I became very quickly obsessed with chord progressions and how to write top lines over them.
Fast forward to getting a degree in music at the University Of Salford I knew it was going to take a lot more than a degree to find my place in the industry, so I knew I needed to do three things: network, gig, and make money (much easier said than done). My manager at the time booked me and my band in the South Of France (Nice) and we ended up landing a residency there for 1 1/2 years. Playing a 2-hour show every night enabled me to hone in on my craft. After that, I decided I was ready to move to London.
I played a lot of bars, pubs, universities, and clubs which then slowly but surely led to bigger gigs. After playing the London/UK circuit for a couple of years I made a connection with the British Military Entertainment Agents who booked me to fly out to Afghanistan to play for the UK and US troops. This was one of the most mind-blowing experiences ever. It was also quite nerve-racking playing to a couple of thousand armed soldiers!
From there, I was booked to play at the Isle Of Wight Festival and Glastonbury Festival where I played for 3 consecutive years. I was happy to be playing gigs full-time and touring, however, when you’re on the road, it’s hard to write or produce music because you’re always on the go, and that’s really where my passion lies, writing and producing. I felt like it was a true calling.
I started trading shows with an American Rock artist called Thomas Ian Nicholas. I hooked up some shows for him in the UK and in return he invited me to LA to play a tour of the west coast. This was my first time playing shows in the US. I played some shows in Nashville too as part of the trip. It was when I came to Nashville that I was just blown away by the level of songwriting and talent in the city. I kept coming back to Nashville to write and record for a while until I finally decided to make Nashville home. I was fortunate enough to write with some great people in the business like Roger Cooke (Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress), Desmond Child (Livin On A Prayer), and Lincoln Parish (Cage The Elephant) to mention a few. I also have signed major deals on music row and have been getting a lot of cuts and placements with artists and bands since living here.
One thing that played a huge factor was the fact that my wife and I opened a recording studio here in Nashville called Round Corner Studios. It has opened up a whole new world of production for me as I’ve been fortunate enough to produce and co-write hundreds of records for artists since being here. I wouldn’t change much, but if I could change one thing I wish I could have had my studio sooner! It’s been such a game-changer to have my own space.
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 an artist, producer, songwriter/composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist originally from the UK but now living in Nashville, TN. I specialize in Alternative Rock Music, but I also do Pop, Hip Hop, Country, Electronic, Folk, Ambient, Orchestral, and much more!
Between 2020-2022 I released 16 independent singles on Spotify under my artist profile “Jonny Lucas” which has over 1.5 million streams in total. I am currently planning an album release for 2023 which will be a 12-track Alternative Rock record.
I also write/produce music for TV/Film and have recently landed an instrumental sync with the National Geographic Channel which used my song Strollin’ as their title theme tune. I also recently got a cut with UK artist, Siobhan Mayer Kennedy who got to #1 in the UK charts after receiving heavy rotation on BBC Radio 2.
As well as doing my own projects, I also love producing records for other artists and bringing their visions to life. Being an artist myself, I know how difficult it can be to find a producer who can put the flesh on the bones of a song without overdoing it or not doing enough! It’s always a fine line. But I love listening to playlists that my artists give me that influence them as that helps me with creating the music and sound that they envisaged. After spending thousands of hours in the studio I love letting other artists use the arsenal of tools and tricks that I’ve learned on my journey.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The first major deal that I signed on Music Row (Nashville) definitely required resilience. I realized it wasn’t a good fit after a few months and I knew it was in my best interest to part ways. Fortunately, after a few long months, they released me so that I could move forward with my journey. I learned a very important skill, which was releasing music as an independent artist and how to package my songs so that they stand the best chance for placements and syncs.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Patience. I think all creatives are deep down hoping for a lucky break or something that catapults them to have a drastically different life. But I just don’t think it works like that… for most. I’m not saying it can’t happen but I think for most artists the most important thing is time. It just takes time. You can’t rush it, nor should you want to rush it. Creating something great takes a long time, and so it should!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jonnylucasofficial.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonnylucasofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonnylucasofficial
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-lucas-6178a5240
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonnylucasmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JonnyLucas/featured
- Other: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Pr3lE9vqRXylZnrVqdHxC?si=_zp4KvP-R4-QEGHgI1AxsQ&nd=1
Image Credits
Sarah Eli Nicole Murphy