FreeThrow's FreeThrow's Jake Hughes

ByCodyParson

In so many ways this rock n roll life has led me to meet many incredible people. One such group of guys is the dudes in Free Throw. I was given the pleasure of sitting down with Jake for lunch shortly before the guys left out on their National Tour with Mom Jeans.

The first time I saw this act in its current form was shortly before the whole world changed forever In Early 2020 They were supporting on The Wonder Years national tour and catching them in Nashville left an impression on me that sent me down the rabbit hole of their catalog It’s traditional for musicians to tell you where they are from when they introduce themselves and this bill was no different, but by the time FreeThrow took the stage the energy in the room was peaking You could tell by the number of shirts adorned by the crowd whose territory the tour had gotten to. “Hey, We’re Free Throw… From RIGHT FUCKING HERE!" The down beats hit, the guys kicked off their single “The Coroners Dilemma” and I watched the room come unglued as hundreds of kids screamed these songs at one another in the pure joy of the moment. People crowd surfed, moshed, rode the rail with their hands held high singing in unisoned angst It was the kind of energy you feel when you're surrounded by people that all feel the same thing as you Very spiritual The kind of energy you die for as a musician

Now here, 2 and 1/2 years later that same feeling encapsulates the night. My favorite thing about bigger shows is they defy the night of the week hit that many local shows just can’t take. This fine evening is a Tuesday and there’s really no sign from the fullness of this parking lot that it’s any different than a Friday or Saturday. This is what happens when you have a fat bill. Throw some hometown heroes on board to open for the touring act and you’ve got a certified Banger. If they haven’t played in town for 8 months and they’ve been out on the road, then expect this to be homecoming. Pure electricity in the air. I had never been to this venue, a killer open floor with a smaller side stage, upstairs surrounding balcony and a stage akin to an old theater complete with huge fine production curtain. You would never think this 750 cap, mammoth of a room is behind a bowling alley, but the angle of new Nashville is producing many new large-scale productions.

Likebefore,thetonsofFreeThrowapparel surroundingtheroomspokevolumesofthe location AndasitoftengoesinNashvillehalfthe roomkneweachotherandsotherewasa communityaspectofreunionsaplentyandhot excitement Imadesuretotraversethecrowd, newtshirtintow,togetasclosetothestageas possible.Ifnottherail,thenfullfledgeintothe pit.ThereturnoforiginaldrummerZachHall mademeexcitedforasetofclassicbangersfrom thefirstrecordandtheboysdidnotdisappoint Uponthecurtainfalltheclassicbackdropofthe bottleadornedreaperignitedafrenzyofthe locals Thefirstfewnotesof“SuchLuck,”aslow builderoffthefirstrecordcutthescreamsand theentireroomjoins“Iknowthatwefuckedup!”

Cut back to a month before this night on a fine Sunday Brunch with Guitarist Jake Hughes and James Cargill in downtown Clarksville. Jake sat down and gave me the rundown on the early life of one of the busiest emo bands in the country.

Moving to the Nashville area from Oklahoma City back in 1995, Jake started playing guitar at 10 getting into blues and artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan before he moved on to more modern acts like My Chemical Romance and Senses Fail as he got older. “I was really into 'Jackass' and would listen to anything I heard off there,” he said. He formed his first band at 15. “Three Thumbs Up. We played Blink 182 songs” He spent his teenage years in middle Tennessee and grew up playing music and integrating into the regional scene. After graduating Independence High School, he moved to Franklin to play drums for a band called Sunset. “I was into locals like Diarrhea Planet, and I was really into this band Prove Them Wrong.” he said. Prove Them Wrong consisted of Brothers Cory and Justin Castro and lifelong friend drummer Zach Hall. They all grew up in Fairview and pretty much “played music together their whole lives” but following a few different bands and lineups they formed Free Throw in late 2012. “Those were the guys. They were my local heroes," Jake said.

6 months later Jake joined the band as a third guitarist. He recalls during his first tour in the fall of 2013, he wasn’t even supposed to be in many of the venues they were playing. “I was 19! I've always been the youngest and a lot of times they would say 'Okay, you can play, but then you gotta wait outside!' I mean I didn’t drink then so I didn’t care.” Jake goes on to explain those early days of touring usually consisted of 2 week runs 3 to 4 times a year. Larry and Cory would really use a DIY approach of emailing and messaging setting up tours for the band to take a few times a year. Jake explains those first few tours were all the same consecutive runs to build presence in multiple markets. “The goal was to get to New York City. We had friends that could put on awesome house shows so we knew if we could get up there and back it would be solid. But we did a few runs that were really hard.” He details a run to Florida that was hell on the band and the van. “We drove like 14 hours in the summer heat. We all had our shirts off.”

Free Throw continued this pattern of regional touring and supporting bigger acts integrating into the national touring scene. Their fan base started to grow as they supported national artists such as Tiny Moving Parts and The Front Bottoms. On the heels of their first full length record “These Days Are Gone” the band suffered a heavy hit. Drummer Zach left the group and was replaced by Boston Native Kevin Garcia who up and relocated to Nashville to join the roster. Almost immediately following the lineup change the band made their first international push with a European tour with Austrian band and label mate Rika. “We rented gear, shared gear. Went real DIY with it. We went out with Rika…They were our label mates on 'Count Your Lucky Stars' that first label that released our ep and LP. That was the full circle moment. That’s when we knew it was it. When we were all there on the other side of the world together.”

CodyParson

Part 2 in the next issue