1 On 1 With Jeff Howard of The Mclovins
Jeff Howard is not your average teenager, as you may or may not know. He happens to be AxLovin, or the Mclovins guitarist.
This East Hartford Connecicut band has been blowing away the likes of Relix, Rolling Stone, Page McConnell of Phish, and have played at Gathering of The Vibes, as well as with the Brew, Max Creek, and Marco Bevento Trio. Starting off with Youtube, this band was getting famous overnight with their “You Enjoy Myself” Phish cover, then moving onto original tunes, and eventually recording their first album, Conundrum. The Mclovins are a trio of Jake Huffman, Jeff Howard, and Jason Ott, and are currently playing northeast venues, reaching new heights everyday… You can check them out on:
Website: www.TheMcLovins.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/TheMcLovins
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/TheMclovins
Myspace: www.Myspace.com/MclovinIt
Youtube: www.Youtube.com/DrummerCL
You can also find some new recorded tracks on the Youtube channel, as well as on Itunes and CDBaby.
I had the pleasure to interview this extremely talented musician, and get some answers on the story behind this mastermind on the guitar.
Here’s the Mclovins performing a original Tokyo Tea:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeHGdXsNz6A]
TC: At about what age did you start playing the guitar? (Or did you start off with something else, and what model guitar?)
Jeff Howard: I started at 9 years old, in third grade. I hadn’t played any other instruments at the time.
TC: What is your earliest recollection of music interests?
Jeff Howard: My dad got me into the Beatles and the Rolling Stones when I was little. Classic rock in general (Zeppelin, Hndrix, Pink Floyd) was the first kind of music I got into. The first CD I ever bought for myself was Dark Side of the Moon, in fact.
TC: Since the Mclovins are obviously widely influenced by the jamband genre, how did you get into bands such as Phish and Umphreys Mcgee?
Jeff Howard: My current guitar teacher introduced me to Phish abut two years ago. The first time I EVER heard Phish was way back, and I remember hating it. But when i got re-introduced to them, the first song I heard was Stash, and I fell in love right away. I listened to Rift non-stop. Moe., Umphrey’s and all those other jambands I discovered on my own after bieng introduced to the jam band scene through Phish.
TC: What’s your biggest inspiration as far as being a musician?
Jeff Howard: What inspires me more than anything else is just listening to other music. Everything from Bluegrass, to Jazz Fusion, to straight up Jazz, to Shred Rock, to 80s hip hop inspires me in some way. And all the inspiration I take from the music I listen to, comes out in a McLovins song.
TC: Who’s your biggest guitar influence?
Jeff Howard: It’s hard for me to pick one player that inspires me more than anyone else, ’cause there’s so many out there. But Trey Anastasio, Jeff Beck and John McLaughlin are my three big ones.
TC: How did you meet Jake and Jason? (Drummer and Bassist of The Mclovins)
Jeff Howard: I met Jake from a rock music summer camp, and Jake knew Jason through a jazz program. Jake invited me and Jason to his house to jam once. And that started it all.
TC: How was it to see The Mclovins “You Enjoy Myself” Phish cover get 5000 views overnight?
Jeff Howard: It was pretty exiting. At the time, I was freaking out when our Cissy Strut video got 200 views, so this was a pretty big deal. I wasn’t thinking “Oh my god we’re going to become famous, we’re the next Beatles”, but I was overjoyed that there were a considerable amount of people that knew who we were and appreciated our music. I felt like all the effort I put into that song had paid off.
TC: What was the Mclovins first gig?
Jeff Howard: The first gig was actually before any youtube videos, at a lake. It was a very successfull gig actually, and we got a good crowd reaction. But our first gig that was post-YEM was Flatbreads, a local pizza place that has live music sometimes.
TC: Recording Conundrum must have been quite amazing, true?
Jeff Howard: Yes indeed it was! It was a pretty stress-free recording session. For most songs we only had to do about two takes, and I think we got some done on the first take. That being said, it’s a relatively bare bones recording considering the fact that there were no second guitar tracks laid down after, or vocal harmonies. But that’s the beauty of Conundrum. It’s not overproduced.
TC: Outside of The Mclovins, how is your relationship with Jake and Jason?
Jeff Howard: Very strong. Socially we definitely get along well, and that’s part of the reason why we click so well as a band. If we didn’t get along well socially I doubt we’d be able to write very many songs together.
TC: Speaking of your relationship with Jake and Jason, I understand you guys caught your first Phish show in 2009, how was that?
Jeff Howard: I know that we all loved it, but for me it was sensational. Of course anyone who was at that show would say “I can’t believe they played Icculus!”. But even aside from Icculus it was spectacular. The band was on it that night, and Trey’s playing was so inspiring to me. I’ve said this a bunch of times, but it was like being at an art museum and wanting to run home and draw. That concert made me want to push my guitar playing to a whole new level. So even if they never played Icculus (which was amazing) I still would’ve loved it.
TC: Favorite Phish tune?
Jeff Howard: There’s two. My favorite non-jam song is Horn, because of the composed guitar solo in the middle. My favorite jam song is Stash. It was the first song of theirs I learned and it’s what got me into phish.
TC: Do you guys play with any other musicians, outside of the McLovins?
Jeff Howard: Individually we’ve played with other musicians. Jake and Jason have played with some Jazz guys that they know from their program. And I’ve played with Stanley Maxwell. The only time we played with other musicians together, was at Vibes when we played in the teen tent (the day before the solar stage gig). Anyone who wanted to was allowed to play guitar, bass or drums with us and jam. It was all with kids about our age, some younger some older, and was a lot of fun. But we’ve never played with any professional musicians before as a band together.
TC: I see that you have played with Stanley Maxwell covering a Pink Floyd album twice, how is that?
Jeff Howard: It was so much fun. Having to cover an entire album with a band of six people is a very different experience than playing with McLovins. When it comes to covering songs in the McLovins it usually gives ourselves freedom to do what we want with the song and make it our own. With Stanley Maxwell the goal was to get the entire album, and play it as close as possible to the real thing. I found myself paying attention to the subtle nuances of Dave Gilmour’s playing. I learned his solo’s note for note also, which was a lot of fun, ’cause I love Dave as a guitar player. I definitely learned a lot by trying to copy the sound of the Pink Floyd album (Animals in 09, Wish You Were here is 10).
TC: When you’re not playing the guitar, what else can you be found doing?
Jeff Howard: Skiing, Hanging out at the local music store and hanging out with friends
TC: Do you take any part in writing the lyrics or music for the songs?
Jeff Howard: Lyrics, no. But maybe someday. Music, definitely. 90% of the time one of us has a an idea, whether it’s a 15-second lick, or a composed thing that’s five minute’s long. We share it with the band, jam on it, and it goes wherever it chooses to go until we hear what we like. And after we explore that idea we’ll refine it and Jake will write the drum part, Jason will write the bass part, and I’ll write the guitar part. So, with a couple of exceptions, I’ve always wrote the guitar part or been the one to come up with the idea that start’s the song. Sometimes Jake will write a bass part of guitar part. And I wrote a bass part once.
TC: I know you also go by “AxLovin”, what’s the story behind that nickname?
Jeff Howard: As a joke, the guys on the Phantasy Tour forum that discovered us, called us “BassLovin,” “DrumLovin,” and “AxLovin’ (Ax meaning guitar). And it stuck!
TC: Any hidden talents we should know about?
Jeff Howard: Hmm. I have a hitchhiker’s thumb, ski, and can draw decently.
Jeff Howard at Nectars in February of 2010.
About the Author
A young, aspiring music journalist out of the Verona, NJ area.
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Nice job Tyler on the interview. Mclovins opened for the last Max Creek show I was at in Troy NY sadly my best friend was lost and I spent their set guiding her to Revolution Hall. People exiting the show were like man that kid meaning Jeff sure can play.
Well done interview.