18-year-old virtuoso guitarist,
Jack Conman is the new man breaking on to the acoustic scene.
It all
began at the tender age of 11 for Jack. Where other kids of that age tended to
spend their days playing video games, Jack was already realizing his passion
and potential for music. “I was 11 and I'd already been drumming for three
years, but I fancied a change so I just nicked by Dad's acoustic guitar. It was
a cheap Tanglewood acoustic, I stuck loads of stickers on it, which he wasn't
very happy about. I just went on YouTube and taught myself really. Then when I
learnt a few chords I just threw four chords together and wrote cheesy songs. I
like to think they got a bit less cheesy over time.”
When talking to Jack about his influences bands like Local Natives, Seekae and artists like City And Colour and Chet Faker are some of the few. “I’d love to share a stage with Matt Corby, he’s a beautiful man”. You can see that music isn't just a hobby but is a passion for Jack. The music he listens to has helped him understand his calling and it really comes across that Conman connects to this music more than anyone I've spoken to and because of this the emotional connection to his music really comes across in his songs.
After
only playing for a short amount of time, guitar had come naturally and one year
on he was ready for his first gig. “I had my first ever gig when I was 12 and I was extremely terrified. I just remember
absolutely bricking it. I only played one song in front of a few family friends
in a pub.”
Since
the empty pub-gig days, Jack has done very well in terms of establishing
himself on the local scene, practically making an appearance at every local
festival. For a musician of such a young age, Jack vocalises with such maturity
and plays with skill any guitarist could wish to have. His talent has made Jack
popular within the music scene in his native county Yorkshire and having
recently played a nationwide tour Jack’s fan-base only has space to increase.
“The tour went really good, really tiring, but it was the first tour so it was
cool visiting all the different cities and meeting the fans and stuff, it put it
all into perspective really.”
One of
Jack’s biggest achievements to date was supporting the incredibly talented Jon
Gomm. “I really enjoyed supporting Jon Gomm. We played at The Owl Sanctuary in
Norwich, it was a really good gig and the venue is incredible.”
As
Conman is still very young, his song writing maturity puts him in a class of
troubadours of much more experience, so much so his recent debut EP Euphoria
Springs made it into the top five of the Singer-Songwriter ITunes Charts next
to renowned artists such as Jack Savoretti, James Bay, Ed Sheeran and Jamie
Lawson. “I can’t believe it got in the top five in the end! I nearly had a
heart attack if I'm quite honest. It was an insane moment for all of us
involved really”. The EP was released with a Hull label called Warren Records
and was promoted with Saint In The City Promo. Warren Records is a local
charity that provides a free recording studio for local musicians and has been
with Jack since the beginning.
In terms
of a future for Jack Conman, a bright one is on the cards to say the least, as
with a talent of this calibre I'm confident it’s impossible for him to drift
away into the abyss of forgotten dreams. Thinking of the near future however,
although there is no talk of a new album another EP is in the pipeline with
some tracks already ready. The EP is due sometime this year with plans of a
single release within the next three months.
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