Checking In: Jake Lloyd Sticks to the Universal Language

Wrote Kahron Spearman this spring: “An ‘essential worker’ in a distribution warehouse for Austin-based glass manufacturer GRAV, alt-R&B maven Jake Lloyd managed wide-ranging, three-track Lloyd Pack. ‘My desire to change the connotation associated with “urban artist“ in this city has, at times, consumed me and my whole approach,’ says Lloyd.”

Austin Chronicle: Where are you sheltering and under what circumstances? Who else is there and how’s that going?

Jake Lloyd: I’ve been at my home in southeast Austin. I’m here with my wife Lesley, my daughter Lorelei, son Prince, and dog Gary. The kids have been doing school from home, so with both of their parents working full-time – and dad working his second full-time job (music) – we’ve had to look for outside childcare.

AC: At what point did C-19 shut down operations for you, and what went down with the ship, so to speak, both personally & professionally?

JL: Well, for me personally, it was a real eye-opener when SXSW was cancelled. When playing live shows halted, it shifted things. I’ve been lucky enough to continue performing via livestreams, so that’s been a helpful way of staying in the public eye.

I guess to answer your question, more went down in the ship for my kids than me. Doing school from home is different and challenging.

AC: As a global culture, people employ music for every purpose imaginable, obviously spanning religion to entertainment and everything in between. What happens to communities like ours when people can no longer access it in person?

JL: When music can’t be accessed in person, people will access it anyway they can. Music is the universal language, and as you said, it’s used for much more than just casual listening, so something of that importance can’t be whisked away just because it can no longer be enjoyed live.

AC: Everyone’s had to shift or drastically alter their work situation. What does that look like for you?

JL: My day job has broken into two warehouse teams to try and 1.) flatten the curve and 2.) keep the whole warehouse from shutting down in the case of infection. I went from working five days a week, 40 hours, to working three-and-a-half days a week for 35 hours.

AC: What’s your soundtrack for the apocalypse and what role does music play for you as a fan and scholar of it in times of hardship?

JL: My soundtrack for the apocalypse is No Gods / No Managers by Choking Victim. Music is everything to me. It teaches, it lifts up, it breaks down, it warns, it criticizes, and this 1999 hardcore punk release is no different.

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Check out the entire Checking In series.