Helensburgh guitarist Jack sets sights on cracking the USA

Jack Erith, who went to St Joseph’s Primary and Lomond School, has recently returned to his hometown after studying at Berklee in Boston, the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world.

Following graduation in 2018, Jack worked with high-profile producers and musicians such as Eric Johnson and double Grammy Award-winning Tom Hambridge but is now awaiting an artists’ visa to return stateside.

Berklee counts current singer-songwriters Charlie Puth, John Mayer and Kiesza among its alumni and Jack is intent on following in the footsteps of his own music idols in the USA by moving permanently to New Jersey and working in New York.

He told the Advertiser: “I was touring on the east coast of America after graduating from Berklee.

“I built up relationships on tour and I got to know someone who knew someone else and that’s how I got involved with these artists and producers.

“It’s about being in the right place at the right time and it just goes to show the importance of contacts. It’s all about who you know.

“I am trying to get back out there for sure.

“I need a portfolio, a lawyer and sponsorship to secure my artists’ visa and so far, I have two of those, I just need the sponsorship now.

“There’s an audience everywhere, but the amount of opportunities that have come my way over there, particularly in Boston, has been amazing.

“I would not have had that if I’d stayed in Helensburgh. Your location can really influence how far you go.”

Jack, 25, says that although playing guitar has always been his passion, he has his dad to thank for his rock music fixation.

“I took piano and guitar lessons in the town for about a year,” he said.

“I then started getting lessons in Glasgow and that’s when it really kicked off for me, my teacher saw the potential I had.

“I studied at the Academy of Music and Sound in Glasgow and did a lot of performing on the Glasgow scene.

“On the side I was giving masterclasses at 17 or 18, to people much older than me.

“I’ve had a lot of influences. My grandpa would play his music and as a kid I would love that, I’d be dancing along to Rod Stewart and people like that. But, it didn’t kick off just yet.

“My dad would play his music collection whenever we went to places: bands like Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters and Van Halen, and that was a lot more exciting, that was a level up for me.

“I did some research into some of the artists and that was when I knew ‘I have to do this, this is me’.”

Jack says his dream collaboration just now would be with young English singer Jacob Collier, and he maintains bold ambitions for his music career.

He added: “Jacob is only just younger than me but he has already cracked America, cracked the world.

“He is very current and modern and that’s so important nowadays. They are the people that are changing the game and moving forward.

“I want to go back to America and continue recording with bands and produce my own stuff. That needs to get done, I need to have music that is me and my own.

“I’d also like to produce a book series on guitar, a sort of method book, where I can say ‘this is my approach for a beginner’.”