Going solo can be a daunting prospect.
All of a sudden it’s just you against the world, with no-one to either hide behind or bounce ideas off.
It is a career move that sounds romantic and easy to navigate but in reality can be a challenging proposition at the best of times, more so when you decide to launch your project in the middle of a pandemic.
After fronting Triple J darlings Catnip Kaiser, Jack G McDonald has taken that step from being in a band to being in charge of his own entity, and, more notably, did it in a time where the world around him was consumed by the throes of a new, deadly disease that saw the worldwide music industry all but stop.
It was a brave and daring move by McDonald but one which the rising talent seems to have successfully navigated, starting with his debut solo single Embrace Me which will be released on October 22.
Jack joined HEAVY to chat about the new project and what he hopes to achieve starting with his first musical offering.
“It’s a bit of a pop/punk ballad. I’m from a band called Catnip Kaiser and since going solo I wanted to try and do something to bring across the Catnip Kaiser fans over into what I’m doing. The song goes into my experiences with the pandemic going on – which I’m sure everyone has become well accustomed to – as well as also a bit of how my generation is viewed and how instead of jumping to conclusions, embrace me, get to know me, and you might find I’m not that bad (laughs).”
In the full interview, Jack talks about Embrace Me in more detail, the lyrical story, the thought process behind choosing a debut single, his previous band, why he chose to go solo and more.