An Interview with Jake Thistle



(ASBURY PARK, NJ) — New Jersey artists Jake Thistle and Chris Fritz will be joined by Swedish singer-songwriter Alexandra Jardvall for the Endo Warrior Benefit Show at Asbury Lanes on Sunday, September 10, 2023. The benefit is presented by Spring-Nuts and will raise awareness and funds for Endometriosis Research and the Endometriosis Foundation of America.

Endometriosis is a chronic disease that affects roughly 10% reproductive age women and girls globally. It is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It can cause severe pain in the pelvis and make it harder to get pregnant. It is generally associated with chronic pain and there is no known cure; treatment is aimed at controlling symptoms.  

Tickets to the performance at Asbury Lanes are $25 and available for purchase online. The show is open to all ages. Doors are at 1:30, showtime is 2:00pm.  Asbury Lanes is located at 209 4th Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Jake Thistle was born and raised in Bergen County and currently attends Rutgers University in New Brunswick.  You can see him perform regularly throughout the tri-state area and see him perform his original tunes and covers of his favorite artists on his YouTube channel.

We reached out to Jake to learn more about him and his music.

Howie Chaz from Spring-Nuts said you performed at their Seaside Serenade in 2017 when you were pretty young.  What do you remember of that show? How young were you when you played?

I remember it very well. I’d been hired to play a festival in England for a Springsteen group called the E Street Fans, and that went really well. I was 12 at the time of the England gig. The organizers of that show reached out to Howie to recommend that he bring me in for his Serenade, so we talked and he asked me to play a featured set at the Transparent Clinch Gallery for his group. I think I’d just turned 14 (I’m 19 now). That set went over very well, and I’ve been a part of things ever since. Always an honor to play for them– they’re great people and we’re always able to blend having a great time with raising valuable funds for charity. 

Your bio says you’ve been part of many benefits in the past. What do you like about using your music to help raise money and awareness for charitable organizations?

Yes, I’ve played to support many charities for as long as anyone has wanted to hear me play (maybe even before that…haha), dating back to when I was ten years old. It’s a great feeling to be able to do what I love while helping other people. Everyone wins– people get to have a good time and know they’re helping, I get to do what makes me happy and know that it’s for a great cause, and the charity gets to raise really important funds that combat real-world problems. I’m now an official artist for WhyHunger (alongside artists like Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne), and last year the American Cancer Society awarded me with a special honor for my service to them through music. I also very often support Tazzy Animal Rescue Fund, which has always been important to me. Since the beginning, I’ve supported those great charities along with other efforts on behalf of the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, American Diabetes Association, and many, many others, now including the Endometriosis Foundation of America.

Who would you say are some of your musical influences?

I have a ton of important influences, but it’s safe to say that artists like Springsteen, Tom Petty Jackson Browne, and John Hiatt (in no particular order) are high up on that list.

You’ve posted several videos of Springsteen covers on your YouTube channel. Do you plan on playing a Springsteen cover or two at Asbury Lanes?

Definitely! Now that I’m working under my own recording contract and have studio tracks out in the world, my primary focus is naturally on my original music– but for this special audience, you can bet the audience will hear a LOT of Springsteen tunes at the show. Can’t go wrong with playing those great songs. Really, ever since starting out I always wanted to be like my musical heroes– and that meant writing my own songs. I played all of the covers over the years to learn HOW to craft a song. I wanted to learn from the best. I was never interested in playing anything note-for-note, but more about how I could deconstruct it to learn while keeping the spirit of the song and making it work in a way that would perhaps make it fresh for anyone listening. I’m not sure that anyone tells a story better than Springsteen in a song. Whether he knows it or not, he has been a great teacher.

What’s your favorite song by Springsteen to play?

I think that’s like being asked to name your favorite child…haha. I don’t think I have an absolute favorite; however, I will say that, like with many artists, I tend to gravitate to some of the more obscure songs rather than the giant radio hits. I played for The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music alongside some of the original E Street Band last year to celebrate the anniversary of Greetings From Asbury Park, and I was asked to play Blinded By The Light. That was an honor, so that one has special meaning. And when I sit at the piano, sometimes I’ll go into For You. Those are great classics. But I also really enjoy playing songs off his more recent albums; a lot of his songs off of Western Stars are really underrated, for example. When I was in high school, I was asked to play a cultural event. Most of the participants were doing something from other countries, dances, cooking, etc.– but I’m from North Jersey, so I decided to play Wrecking Ball (“I was raised out of steel here in the swamps of Jersey, some misty years ago”), so that means something to me. I suppose my point is, not only don’t I have a favorite, I don’t even have a favorite era..haha. There are just so many gems to mine in his catalog.

Finally, what are you majoring in at Rutgers?  Do you play shows during the school semester as well?

I’m already doing what I love to do with music and making progress, so I decided to diversify in college a bit. I love to write, so I’m majoring in Communication and Journalism with the idea that those disciplines will help me sharpen skills that are important and relevant across any career path– including a career in music, which remains my ultimate goal. I do play quite a bit during the school year, and even travel around the country for shows. I earned college credit in High School, which allows me to schedule classes before most other students in my year, so I’m able to make sure I have a light schedule on Fridays and Mondays, which allows me to gig and travel without missing much. I also meet with my professors to explain my circumstances and make sure that missing a class here or there won’t be a major problem. If it is, I’d just change to a different class. However, they’ve been very understanding to this point, which I really appreciate. I’m also under contract for three albums with my label, so that means that I have to juggle my full time college schedule and gigs with writing, recording and meetings. It’s definitely busy, but fulfilling and worthwhile.

For more on the Endo Warrior Benefit, here are links to our interviews with Howie Chaz, Alexandra Jardvall, and Chris Fritz.

Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. He can be contacted at gary@newjerseystage.com.