JACK MANLEY

The power of love and the healing properties of music each know no bounds as Hudson Valley artist Jack Manley can attest. Battling addiction Manley was cast adrift and after facing a near-death experience, a lifeline was thrown. Through the tenderness of those around him and his tenacity to survive, he undertook a journey of recovery. Unmeasurable Terms is an expression of that time, those closest to his heart and the cathartic ability of music.

Firstly, stepping back for a moment, you have been in many outfits including Cosmonaut, Spires, and The Jennifer Shop. Your latest project involved guitar player Billy Pearson, bassist Addy Idol, and drummer Josh Eppard yet in what ways did these previous bands shape your eventual solo work and how have you adopted the individual approach to making music compared to the collaborative experience and dynamic relationship of a full band?

I’ve always been the primary singer/songwriter in most of my bands except for Spires. So, I guess I’m used to that role. This time around, I had a very clear vision of what I wanted to communicate lyrically and musically and I’m lucky enough to have wonderful bandmates who deal with all idiosyncrasies in order to serve the song. The song is the leader, we are all merely trying to serve it

It is no secret that you have battled with addiction and that in many ways the EP is the sonic embodiment of your struggles. It is hard for anyone who hasn’t fought with addiction to fully understand the complete totality and infiltration it has on your life. Given that it permeated your day-to-day life, how did it influence the music you were making and the creative directions you were taking with it?

In active addiction, I wasn’t creating music at all. People, myself included, often have romanticising notions that drugs can lead to heightened states of creativity. I found this to be totally and completely untrue. Once sober, my addiction informed my playing insofar as I really had to get back to the basics—to simplify as my body and mind were healing from intense trauma.

Similarly, it is equally difficult to appreciate what friends, family, and partners go through when living with someone struggling with addiction and it can take a considerable amount of time to understand exactly what they have been through. A point that is echoed by your track ‘Save Your Own’ and how it speaks to your partner Anna. Was this a healing song for you to make or one that was shrouded in guilt and remorse considering that it is never easy to see the ones you care about suffer by your own hand?

That’s a great question, and I’m glad you picked up on that. For me, it’s still a difficult song to sing, and I still often feel the heaviness of the words and the reality of the sentiment can be really overwhelming at times. It was healing though. I was finally able to be honest about my utter bewilderment as to why anyone would continue to have anything to do with me.

Is it fair to say that cathartic release is at the heart of your EP and that through music you were able to filter every range of emotion and experience you went through by distilling it into the five tracks of Unmeasurable Terms?

I think this EP is the beginning of a larger catharsis. Maybe it’s setting the stage. But there’s still many things to process and many emotions and experiences to sift through.

When it came to writing about such deeply personal experiences in your life, was it difficult to unlock those thoughts and feelings and articulate them or conversely, was it more like a torment that became a stream of consciousness that once unleashed, simply poured out of you?

The latter. Once I was grounded in reality again, songs and lyrics just started pouring out like an emotional wellspring that had been blocked for quite some time. They’re still coming.

With lyrics penned, what was your approach toward trying to capture and enshrine those sentiments sonically?

I don’t write songs like that. I write everything at the same time. As I find the chords on my guitar, I often sing in full sentences that emerge as I play—I guess you’d call it being in a flow state. So long as I am open and willing to be vulnerable, the ideas flow through me and it’s more a matter of capturing them before they’re gone. Having my phone record voice memos as this happens is an integral part of my process.

Did you feel that what may not have been something that could be expressed either lyrically or musically, was conveyed through the visual medium? Case in point your album artwork and also the videoclip to ‘Smack Water’

I think Eric Weiner and Andrew Beck from The Wild Honey Pie did an excellent job at helping create a visual language that brought the songs to life. The visuals create a sort of melancholy surrealist tone that sets the stage for the songs. We also were able to place easter eggs throughout each collage and video that explicitly and implicitly point to my struggle with substance abuse and the Narcan that saved my life.

Given the tremendous readjustment sobriety requires and in the absence of what used to be enjoyable, what are you finding joy in these days and how are you deriving new creative ventures?

Getting high was not enjoyable to me throughout the last several years of my struggle with addiction. Being so close to death and so disconnected from reality is really depressing. Waking from that state is really overwhelming. Now, I find comfort in the little things: a good meal, a good laugh, a nice walk outside, a snuggle with our cats Francis and Felix. I try to stay close to nature, my friends, my family, and my partner Anna. We’re getting married at the end of May and are looking forward to a much needed vacation together for our honeymoon.

Lastly, on something of a philosophical note, what does music give you that nothing else does?

Music gives me a way to connect with my unconscious self—it’s how I can process my pain and make sense of reality. It gives me insight into my inner and outer life, as well as a sense of purpose in the hope that by sharing my darkest most personal thoughts and fears through my music I’ll help someone else in pain feel a little less alone. So I guess it also gives me a way to connect with the outside world.

P.S, Give Francis and Felix a pat from us at Musicology.

They say thank you! Felix wants to join the band, and Francis is happy watching from the sofa.