Jake Clemons, nephew of E Street legend, the late Clarence Clemons, is following in his uncle's musical footsteps.
After 26 months of touring with the E Street Band and releasing a solo EP, 'Embracing Light', last December, Jake is preparing to kick off the Australian leg of his first solo tour.
This will not be Jake's first visit to Australia, but that doesn't lessen his excitement at all. “I'm thrilled that there's an audience there that's excited to hear my music and see my show and that I have a reason to come back to this amazing place.
"We have a really strong connection there. The way that the people love music, the way that they're passionate, and the Australians I meet just have big hearts and are so honest. Those are things that I'm about, things that my music is about. It's just awesome and I'm excited to be able to share that experience... People there are supportive and they're engaged. It just seems like a wonderful place for musicians.”
After moving around a lot as a child with a military father, Jake is no stranger to change. Rather than get homesick when on tour he thrives, saying he gets antsy after staying in one place for too long. “I have a philosophy that there's so many wonderful, amazing things on this earth that I'd like to believe that we're placed in certain places for a reason, so that you can see that place for an experience. I want to taste it all, I want to see it all. The more I'm on the road, the more I feel like I'm experiencing the life that was created for me.”
Ever since he was a child Jake knew he wanted to be a musician, first learning the piano, then the guitar and saxophone as well. It was after seeing the E Street Band performing live for the first time at age eight that he was sure. “It blew my mind to see so many people gathered together for one single purpose. Watching Clarence Clemons walking on stage... he's my uncle and I was very close to him for most of our lives, so that was a beautiful thing in itself.
"But I saw how people responded, and to me, in my mind, they weren't responding to a saxophone player, it was to my uncle. And I walked out of that show with a keen sense of 'I know exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life. I want to do exactly what Clarence is doing.' That was the moment that I decided that music was something I could do with my life.”
Playing alongside the E Street band in his uncle's place over the past two years was an experience that inspired Jake and helped him in the production of his EP. “They're the greatest band in the world. It was an incredible experience, I don't even know how to say enough about that. It was just a great thing to do together, go places I've never been before and engaging with the audience in powerful and, in some ways, life changing experiences on stage and performing... The conversations I had with Bruce [Springsteen] about the writing process in general, and about art and what you're putting in to your craft, and then the experience of seeing it performed every night... It really influenced a lot of this EP for me.”
Another part of the recording process that surprised Jake was finding a common theme for his music. “I've learned that having a theme of something really important and wanting to speak to people is deeper than just having a bunch of good songs because at the end of the day, good songs are going to go away. But if you can speak to them and connect with them with a theme they can understand over and over again through the record, that theme may become a part of their day, and that day could turn into a lifetime.
"So that's something I accepted for the first time with this record. [The theme of the EP] was embracing light, embracing hope and love and joy right now, and not waiting for it. So I tried to speak to that from different angles on that record and to communicate it in different ways.”
Jake Clemons Tour Dates
Wed Aug 13 - The Toff In Town (Melbourne)Thu Aug 14 - The Substation (Melbourne)
Fri Aug 15 - Flying Saucer Club (Melbourne)
Sat Aug 16 - The Old Museum (Brisbane)
Sun Aug 17 - Byron Theatre (Byron Bay)
Wed Aug 20 - Lizott's Kincumber (Central Coast)
Thu Aug 21 - Lizotte's Newcastle (Newcastle)
Fri Aug 22 - The Basement (Sydney)
Sat Aug 23 - The Bridge (Rozelle)
Sun Aug 24 - Brass Monkey (Cronulla)
