Style, ambition and focus were a few of my first impressions as I sat down with Lubbock musician Jeremy Couture. Jeremy began his musical journey playing the cello in seventh grade at Evans Middle School. His older brother had played bass in the Orchestra, so it was natural for him to pick an instrument. Jeremy was struck with how much he enjoyed playing, and it quickly became his passion. During his Junior year of high school, he began to take lessons with Wendy Morton, which led him to the decision to continue his pursuit of musical studies in college.
Upon high school graduation, Jeremy attended Texas Tech University and majored in Cello Performance. While there, he began teaching himself guitar and decided to steer his music career in that direction. A triple threat, Jeremy had been writing songs, too, and jokes that “If you write enough bad songs, eventually you’ll write a decent one.” This rings true today, as Jeremy has written enough good songs for an EP, which was released this year.
He started working at a local gym after college to allow the flexibility to pursue music, but later decided in 2018 to turn his music full-time and put all of his energy behind it. He debuted some of his songs at The Blue Light Live! Songwriters’ night with local favorite Jerry Serrano. Jeremy also played at Flippers Tavern, where he met Michael Lambert who formed Slow Relics. After hearing Jeremy play, Lambert asked him to play cello with their band.
As his performances and experiences increased, Jeremy began researching and attending shows. He learned to be aggressive when searching for locations and opportunities to play. Today, it continues to require hard work and networking to schedule the number of bookings he likes and the venues in which he feels are a great fit.
Amid playing regularly to develop his reputation as a local musician, he is also committed to writing songs. His EP – The Mess We Made – has a selection of seven songs which he describes as Americana in style. He is inspired by musicians such as John Mayer and Hiatus Kaiyote.
Jeremy learned music theory and chord progression in college which aids him in his song development. He also says as other instruments are pulled into the song it can change the integrity of the melody as it’s recorded and collaborating with other musicians is key to developing a sound which compliments each instrument. He believes that most songwriters tend to emulate the bands and other musicians they like and so traces of those sounds sometimes come through in new songs.
“The Mess We Made” is available on all streaming platforms and through the iTunes store.
Jeremy compliments the Lubbock music and arts community, expressing how incredibly supportive artists are of one another – not only to independent artists, but venues and arts organizations as well. He expressed Lubbock artists can get “a little spoiled” by the supportive environment of the community because it’s not like this everywhere. In Lubbock, musicians often share gigs, leads and referrals to help one another succeed.
In 2020, Jeremy decided to develop a music and arts festival and to donate the proceeds to the Lubbock ISD Fine Arts Department. Due to the challenges presented in 2020 the festival was postponed. Today, things are back on track and the Lubbock Live Festival for the Arts (now a fully incorporated non-profit organization) is scheduled for August 28 in the LHUCA Plaza. The arts community is coming together to showcase Lubbock’s thriving food, art and music scene with local partners like Two Docs Brewing Co., which will be highlighting local food trucks, and the Charles Adams Studio Project, which is having a block party in the studio areas.
The mission of the festival is to build awareness for Lubbock’s art scene and music. Tickets are on sale at an affordable price at www.lubbocklivefestival.com. You can also keep up with news and updates on the Lubbock Live Festival Facebook page. Interested in being a sponsor for this event? Opportunities are still available! To learn more and see the line up of great music for the event, be sure to visit: www.lubbocklivefestival.com.
Photo by Monica Bartels Photography.
