Diversity Rules Magazine

4 Diversity Rules Magazine September 2018 At 35 years old, Jack Tracy may be late to the superstar pop game, but in his new album, appropriately titled Older, he proves he can keep step with the young'uns. "I was a musical theater ma- jor in college because, of course I was," he explains from his home in New York. "I got spooked into thinking I wasn't talented enough because I never quite fit in with the thespian crowd, so I made a course cor- rection into a more academic field." He became a corporate lawyer in New York, working 80-hour weeks, making lots of money, living in a swank up- per west side apartment with his partner, and for all intents and purposes, appearing to live the NYC dream. But at 31, he realized he was not fulfilled and that he couldn't live the rest of his life that way. So he took everything he learned — business acumen, creative writing, ingenuity — and threw them all into his passion for film and music. JRK: Before we get into the interview can you give readers an idea of who Jack Tracy is, where you are from, and all that good introductory stuff? JT: I'm originally from Lancaster, PA but I've been in New York City since 2005. I run a global legal analy- sis division of a media company for my coins, and by night I make web series, movies, music, music videos and I'm working on my first book and podcast. I hope to eventually get into vigilante crime fighting. JRK: You have just come out with a new album entitled, "Older." Can you explain what it's about and what the theme of the tracks are? JT: Growing up, I was an extreme audiophile. I worked a part time gig at Circuit City in the music department and spent all of my money on CDs. I really enjoyed the construction of an album--placing songs in a spe- cific order to tell an overall story or theme. So, deciding to finally make my own, my first studio album at 35, I wanted to make my 80s-90s album. Because today it's all about streaming and singles, and I miss the art of constructing an album. So sonically, Older aims to sound like that classic album that's still in a CD sleeve on the visor of your mom's van that she pulls out now and then because she doesn't understand what is going on on the radio and she's tired of hearing the same 3 songs. But lyri- cally, I wanted to speak about universal topics from an LGBT point of view. Tak- ing the topics of love, regret, loneliness, sex, anger and giving them a uniquely LGBT point of view that was still relatable to all. Because we are more alike than we are different. JRK: You experienced an evolution of sorts when you realized you were not being fulfilled with what you were doing. Can you give us some background on that? What prompted the impetus to change? JT: I was in a relationship in my late 20s, and af- ter I turned 30 I just sort of realized how unfulfilled I was in life. I had a good law firm job, a stable life--I worked hard and then took fancy vacations. And I just had this moment of like...is this it? Is this all I do now until I die? I just work and then take a trip, and then work, and then take a trip...and I wasn't happy in the relationship but kept it going because at the time I didn't want my life to change and then one day I just realized it all had to go. at it wasn't truly me. And I sort of decided to just do all the things I've dreamt of "Older" But Getting Better An Interview With Jack Tracy By Jim Koury, Editor/Publisher

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