Senior Jack Timmer has taken his love of guitar to the next level. It’s not rare to find videos of him freestyling on his Instagram or Snapchat stories. Now he looks to take his passion to the next level by writing his own music. Timmer shares his journey with his guitar and music to the blade.

How did you get into playing guitar?

My brother had an old guitar, which he never used. And I just picked it up one day when I was bored and started learning. And the interest just kind of came from there.

How long have you been playing guitar now?

Seriously for about two years, but I think I started about three years ago.

When you first started playing, was it relatively easy for you to learn? Or was it pretty hard?

It was kind of hard, but at the same time, it was really fun. And along the way, every time I thought I was making progress, I don’t know, it felt good. So it was never a struggle to learn. It was always fun to learn and learning new stuff was always just fun to me.

How much did you practice?

I’d say I probably would play at least an hour or so a day. And the practice was kind of fun to mix in. I just play along or learn songs that I know. So it was never like I was sitting down and doing a chore practicing. And that’s kind of like how it is today, too. It’s not a chore. It’s like something fun I get to do every day for an hour. 

Are you just gonna do it for fun? Or do you think it could actually turn into something serious?

I am starting to write my own music now instead of just playing other people’s music. I could see it as becoming something more from that. But at the same time, I do like it to be just a hobby that I can do myself. It kind of keeps the pressure down, but I could potentially see that.

What kind of music do you play? What kind of music is your favorite to play?

I really like a lot of rock stuff and also blues stuff. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are probably one of my biggest influences in terms of that. John Frusciante in general, the guitarist of that band, but it all comes from all sorts of places. John Mayer too, I love his style. Just all that kind of stuff. 

You talked about writing music? And then do you just play the music you write? Or do you also sing with your music?

For the most part, just playing but I’ve started to get into singing a little more recently. It’s not my strongest suit, it’s not my favorite thing to do, but I think it adds a new element to it. So I do hope to do more of that in the future. 

Do you write your own songs?

I have written a few of my own songs, but I also like to play along with the other songs. Yeah, that’s kind of a new thing for me.

If you were to write more songs in the future, what do you think they’d be about? 

I think one of the best things for me is just life and the journey through life and finding purpose in life. One of the biggest things to me is I don’t really like to get into specifics, I kind of like broader concepts. 

Who would you say you really idolize?

 I really idolize John Frusciante, like I said, the guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  He’s one of my biggest inspirations, both as a player and both as just someone who’s a singer too.

 I’ve heard some rumors that you’re making new songs and putting them into an album. What’s the whole big news about that?

I’ve always wanted to write some songs. So recently, I decided I was going to sit down and just do it.  I’m thinking of, which is what I’m doing currently, recording some songs I’ve been thinking of. So I have about five of them and I’m hoping to go out and actually record them. 

What made you want to do this album.

It’s always just been something I’ve kind of wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to make my own stuff, but I just never did it. I’ve never just sat down and done it and really carried it out. So after like the new year and all that stuff, I just decided Oh, it’s 2020 you might as well just finally do this just to show myself that I can.