Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Hughes (of The Alley Cats)
Hi Jacob, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
For my fourteenth birthday, I was gifted a Real Book by a close family friend. The Real Book is several hundred page long publication compiling hundreds of famous jazz standards, and includes the lead sheets and chord progressions for various swing, bebop, Latin, and funk tunes. As I flipped through the pages, I became captivated by the unique chords, the interesting song titles, and the strange symbols in front me, commonly known as musical notation. I became obsessed with jazz, listening to Charlie Parker’s insane sax solos, or Bill Evan’s beautiful piano, or George Benson’s smooth guitar.
My musical background wasn’t initially in jazz. I was first introduced to the world of music at the age of five, when I was put into guitar lessons. I started off learning mostly rock n’ roll classics and pop tunes, but as time went on, I found myself more interested in jazz. I was drawn in by the complexity of the theory behind it, the passion and energy in improvisation, and the rawness of jazz performance. During the pandemic I spent hours every day practicing guitar. I scoured the internet, finding YouTube improvisation tutorials or Spotify music recommendations which helped me keep my sanity during the lockdowns. Coming out of the pandemic, I entered into high school.
Upon entering high school, I joined the school’s jazz band. Joining the jazz band at my high school is one of the most significant decisions I have made in my life. As an inexperienced freshman, I found myself surrounded by seasoned and incredibly skilled musicians. I was given challenging and complex music. Admittedly, I was initially very intimidated. But with the help of my friends in jazz band and my handy Real Book (along with YouTube tutorials), I became more comfortable and improved my playing, confidently performing and soloing at band shows and competitions. I also pursued music outside of jazz band. I performed for the school’s choir combo and played for a few bands outside of school.
My junior year, I decided to create my own band, which had been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I brought together a group of friends from jazz band and we began busking and performing wherever we could. We named the band The Alley Cats! We started off playing at senior living apartments, with our first gig at my own grandparents’ apartment complex. Nowadays, we find ourselves playing at community and cultural events, business functions, and parties. We travel all across LA and The Valley with our Real Books and instruments in hand, excited to play. I feel so lucky, performing and rehearsing alongside my bandmates being able to do what I am passionate about. I am inspired by my bandmates’ talent and skill every time we play, and I feel incredibly honored to perform with them. It has been a dream come true for me to perform jazz with The Alley Cats.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Something that uniquely affects the band as a whole is the fact that we are all in high school. It has been a struggle balancing music and the band with school work and other outside responsibilities. Making time to practice or rehearse on top of homework and school is one of the biggest challenges we face. Having to learn the music, schedule gigs and rehearsals, rehearse, plan, and perform all takes a lot of time, which can be something that feels overwhelming and difficult while balancing finals or project deadlines as well. Sometimes we have to make concessions or compromises to get by. Working to maintain the high quality we strive for as a band has at times come into conflict with also working at responsibilities that we have outside of the band.
Beyond our time constraints, I feel that the way we are perceived is also a challenge we encounter. When people hear that we are a band of high schoolers, sometimes we are not taken seriously. We work to try and portray ourselves as very professional and mature, but we have had times where we have been dismissed purely based on our ages.
These obstacles that we face are difficult to deal with- but we maintain our dedication to putting on a good show and to continue playing on!
We’ve been impressed with The Alley Cats , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Alley Cats is a jazz quintet, with the members consisting of trumpet Charles Yungul, bassist Emily Garcia, guitarist Jacob Hughes, keyboardist Joseph Tanner, and drummer Arson Lazaretto. We perform at both professional and casual events, and we play across a wide variety of genres, including but not limited to jazz bebop, swing, funk, jazz fusion, bossa nova, Latin, and even video game music! We are based in Burbank, CA, but we perform all across the LA area! We pride ourselves on our versatility and ability to adapt. As a band, we strive to have a clean and consistent sound, rehearsing often to procure the best possible sound and feel.
I am incredibly proud of how far we’ve come as a band, from working at songs late at night out of a garage to performing as a professional jazz band at businesses and organizations across LA! Performing for excited audiences and playing alongside incredible musicians is something that I feel both honored and fortunate to be doing. I’m excited for what the future holds for The Alley Cats, and I can’t wait for the opportunities that await!
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
We would be no where without working together and dedicating the time and effort. Our shared passion for music and performance is outlined by a shared drive to achieve and learn. Each of us dedicate large chunks of our time to improving at our instruments, working to advance both as individuals and as a unit. Performing jazz and sounding good is not easy! We spend hours practicing, rehearsing, listening and communicating to put out the best possible performance every show.
Pricing:
- ~$150 per hour (depending on location)
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thealleycatscombo/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR0IQGuyd1UnOv-7-A5QbIQ
- Other: Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Paul Vu
June Baelly
Ari Pathak
