Interview - Jack Tracy — Spill the Tea

Jack Tracy welcome to Spill the Tea!

When did you first discover you wanted to make music?

I've always been a huge audiophile. I remember spending all my part time job paychecks on CDs back in the 90s, downloading unreleased stuff on Napster and Limewire...but the opportunity to make my own music really happened thanks to my web series History. I found music licensing for season 1 so annoying that I decided for season 2 to make my own background beats for club and bar scenes, and in the end, really loved some of what I created and decided to turn them into the backing tracks for my first album Older.

Who were your music inspirations growing up?

Janet Jackson and Prince by extension. Beneath that constant in my life I've had obsessions with Aaliyah, Missy Elliot, Annie Lennox, Toni Braxton, Jazmine Sullivan, Adele, Robyn...so basically pop/r&b with a touch of dance and a touch of ballad.

How old were you when you realised you were gay?

Third grade. I kid you not I had a crush on a boy in my class and his name was Woody.

Did you find the coming out process hard?

It was more of a "I know I’m different, I don't know what it is exactly, but I know to shut the hell up about it." Unfortunately everyone was always pretty sure I was gay--being a dancer obsessed with Janet was certainly a big hint--but I'm fortunate to not have too terrible of a family story. It certainly wasn't easy, but I have always had an extremely strong sense of self and most times pretty confident that if anyone had a problem with who I was, they were the problem, not me.

Do you feel anyone has ever discriminated against you for being an open and out artist?

Not in conscious ways, but you certainly don't get as many opportunities to perform or attention as an artist overall. But to be honest, the biggest discrimination against gay male artists comes from gay males, second only to straight males. I think there's something inside a gay man seeing another gay man perform that says (1) who the hell does she think she is that should be me, and (2) how embarrassing to expose yourself like that. I think gay men see other gay men step into their creative power and find it intimidating. So if any gay artists are reading this, go back to the high school playbook--the women will support you.

Before we get onto your new album we must comment on our Instagram profile, a treat for the gays I’m sure you will agree, with lots of topless selfies! Do you find you get lots of DM’s
and attention after you post?

So I had to make a choice to live in the world that exists rather than the world I wish existed. I absolutely revile the shameless attention seeking thirst traps of Instagram. It wreaks of insecurity which I have always found sad. I don't really follow many thirst trappy accounts and never have because I am always far more attracted to the mind than the body. But I also have a lot of dysmorphia issues myself and my own programming internalizing homophobia and looking down on sex culture that doesn't jive with my natural libido and sexual interests so...I'm part of the problem here too. But here's the thing--if I post about any of my creative projects or even my dog, it gets half as many likes as any selfie and often leads to 10-20 unfollows per post. Shirtless selfies gain followers. And at this point, whatever I think about them or think about myself doing them...I kinda just want to start being successful. I'm playing the game.

The final part of your second album ‘For You’ just dropped. What made you want to release the album in stages?

I sort of took the Robyn Body Talk strategy. My following is small and growing so with 12 brand new songs I wanted to give myself 3 separate times throughout the year to re-engage with new content. Just keep getting other there, grab a few more fans, go back to the market again, etc. Next project I intend to go song by song. Basically, you're all going to get very sick of me because I intend to firehose you all with content.

What were the differences between the three parts of this album?

I am a graduate of the Janet Jackson school of album crafting. You start with your upbeat dance tracks, you slide into your mid-tempos, you end with your ballads and sexy tracks and cap it off with a fun encore. So that's how the parts were separated. I always think of an album as a complete work, as a show, with 3 acts.

Has your music style changed between your first and this album?

I would say that I've started to find my specific voice in the music. My lyrics are always very specific, very pointed, and have a very clear point of view. But my music has progressed to really find sounds that compliment my voice, rather than me choosing sounds that I like to listen to by other artists. That process is about to make a huge step forward in the next project.

Describe the album in 5 words and one emoji.

Genre Jumping Gay Social Commentary

How long have you been working on the album?

It took about a year to write, record, mix, master and film all the videos. And if we are ever allowed out of the house again, you'll get 2 more music videos.

You wrote and produced the album; did you find it hard doing this by yourself?

Yes, but the skills I'm learning doing it are invaluable. I'm now at the point where I can do a majority of the mixing and the quality has improved exponentially. The second someone shows me they are going to love my baby as much as I do, and put hours upon hours of hard work into making the songs and videos come to life, I'm more than happy to start outsourcing. But until then, I'd rather work around the clock and have it be exactly what I envisioned.

What were your inspirations behind the album?

"For You" has triple meaning. First, I wanted the album to speak as a gay man, with a male love interests, coming from a gay point of view. So for those who share that point of view, this album is "For You." I also updated my sound a bit from the last project, so current music consumer, this album is "For You." Finally, the title track is a ballad sung to the inner child, thanking him for his pain and struggle and loneliness, because now I can put all that in a song "For You."

What do you hope fans take from the album?

I hope they connect with the messages. I hope the lyrics are a gut punch in some places. I hope it makes your nod your head and say "yes, yes, I subscribe to this." I do my best to be very specific in my lyrics, no general platitudes about love or sex or partying, but things every specific to me in hopes they’ll hit hard with others who relate.

If you could collaborate with any artists dead or alive who would it be and why?

JANET JACKSON. To dance alongside her and perform...it's not like "I could die now" it's more "I will literally kill myself after we finish because nothing better will ever happen to me after that moment."

Any last shout outs?

Shout out to my dancers, my creative team, my cinematographer and all the people who support me. It's funny how I don't know many of you very well, and yet you all know me more than anyone.

To check out the ‘For You’ Visual Album click here.

To listen to ‘For You’ click here.