Jack Tracy Dreams Of a Post-COVID World in ‘Love Yah’

With the help of New York drag icon Sherry Vine, content creator Jack Tracy paints a fantasy of post-pandemic nightlife in his brand-new music video for “Love Yah,” the title track for his upcoming EP.

Written while in the midst of his own quarantine, Tracy was feeling super isolated and alone.

“I imagined myself finally going out, letting loose, and blowing some steam,” he says. “I am currently single, but for the song, I gave myself a number one who worried I would get caught up in the nightlife and not come back home. He needn’t be concerned. I am very considerate to my fictional boyfriends.”

Tracy hopes “Love Yah” will serve as a reminder that there is a light at the end of this never-ending tunnel, and if we do our part, we will see the end of the COVID-19 pandemic much sooner. He also squeezes in a message about the need for everyone to get vaccinated with Vine playing the host of “Drag News,” announcing the exciting news that 80 percent of the U.S. has been vaccinated. Therefore, nightlife has reopened.

OFM had the opportunity to chat more with Tracy about “Love Yah.” All proceeds from purchases and streams will help fund season four of Tracy’s popular web series, History.Hi, Jack! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me about your new single, “Love Yah.” Can you begin by telling us more about the song’s concept and inspiration?
Right before quarantine hit, I was getting ready to work on a music project. I went to see my idol, my icon, my love, Miss Janet Jackson at her Vegas residency, and it inspired all these ideas for songs, and I just had all this energy. So, I started writing stuff, then quarantine hit. Like, well, this seems to be the only thing I can do right now. Some people may know that I also write a web series, I also do movies, but this was the only possible thing I could really do at this point. Sit at home and make music.

I ended up writing 30 songs and recorded two more a couple Sundays ago. I have all this inspiration and just want to get it down before it leaves me. “Love Yah” was one of the last songs I recorded, and I wanted something that sounded very much like 2000s Justin Timberlake. Like, it could be on the Justified album. I have always veered away from doing pure pop songs. I still have a message I am trying to communicate, something I am trying to stand on a soap box about, but I was like, ‘Why don’t I just sing a fucking pop song?’ So, I made a pop song, and I really like it. I think it is probably one of my best ones, and that is why I named the EP that is coming out in April, Love Yah.

“Love Yah” came out right before Valentine’s Day. How has it been received?
Really great! It is my most streamed song on Spotify to date, and I have songs that go back to 2018. This has already lapped all of those. I live my life by Brené Brown quotes, and I try not to take any criticism of any art that I do if it is not from some else in the industry. I do what I like, and I receive feedback from my peers, but it meant so much more to receive feedback from dancers and mixing engineers who I have worked with for years.

When we were putting this together, they would call people into the room and be like, listen to this. They would say, ‘Jack, this is my favorite song you have done.’ To receive that kind of feedback from people on my team, and maybe they have every reason to suck up, but it meant a lot for them to be like, we see your growth and we see what you are doing. So, it is being received very well, and the video is doing gangbuster with no small help from the iconic and legendary star, Sherry Vine.

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How did you get Sherry Vine to be involved?
I met Sherry Vine, I don’t know if he ever goes by his alter ego, but I met Keith when we were assigned to be partners in a boxing class, and I had no idea who he was. I did not know he was Sherry Vine. I knew who Sherry Vine was, but I did not know he was Sherry Vine. I am a boxer, so I am going at it, and he is having fun, then I noticed he was wearing Jackie Beat merch. I felt like, ‘OK, he is gay at least, and he makes a comment about he can’t believe he is here this early because he was working until 4 a.m.’ I made some sort of joke like, ‘Oh, investment banker or nightlife?’ He laughed and said, ‘Nightlife.’ Then I asked, ‘Service or entertainment?’ He was like, ‘What are you asking me?’ I said, ‘Are you a drag queen?’ He responded, ‘Yes, I’m Sherry Vine.’

‘You’re fucking Sherry Vine? Holy shit!’ After that, before he moved to L.A., we would hang out and I would tell him about the projects I was working on. He would give me advice, he hooked me up with my PR agency—Sherry Vine is a consummate professional, so kind, and would give you the shirt off her back to help you. That is so rare to run into, especially in the gay entertainment industry. I think we all suffer from a scarcity complex where if I help you, maybe I won’t get something for myself. She is not that at all. She will do anything to help you, and we always wanted to work together. She did a table read of a movie I am working on, and she liked the web series Dying Alone Together, which is kind of a UNHhhh web series I did bored in quarantine. She really liked the writing and said, ‘Why don’t I write you something comedic?’ Then it became this.What do you hope listeners take away from “Love Yah?”
I wanted to write a song about getting released from the shutdown, about the end of the pandemic, and things returning to whatever semblance of normal we are going to end up returning to. I think the obvious angle would be like, ‘Yay, let’s go out,’ or ‘I am ready to drink, I am ready to party.’ I wanted to add something a little different, which was I wanted it to be from the standpoint of a couple who has been at home with each other and they have been happy and content. Cabin fever may have set in, and they feel the need for like a second bachelor party. Like, I need to do this one more time because I have been locked away with you for a very long time. So, the concept of the song is, I’ve got some seeds to sow, but if you are worried that I will wander, don’t worry. I love you and I am coming home. I just need to do this without you. Taking the common feeling that we all have and putting it in the voice of a very specific character’s point of view.

You said this is the title track from your upcoming EP in April. Is there an exact date of release, and what more can you tell us about it?
The EP will be released on April 14, and the second single called “The Feels” will be released on March 1. We are shooting the video for that at the end of this month, and I hope that will be out by mid-March. The EP has six tracks, and it is meant to be a sampling of all the styles that I have played with during my 30-song recording session. I wanted to give people a sampling of how I have grown in terms of songwriting and music production. I am now mixing everything myself. I have gone through the last few years of a bootcamp apprenticeship with my music mixers. I have now taken the reins. I really wanted people to see and hear the growth. There are two poppy dance trances, two anthemic mid-tempos, and then two very moody hip-hop ballads.

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It sounds like these times of COVID and quarantine have benefited in your favor and allowed yourself to develop more as an artist.
It is funny that you put it that way because that is exactly how I put it. Because I do so much, and I am not trying to humble brag, but I never went into these music projects saying I am a recording artist. I would never even have an interview with someone where I would say I’m a recording artist. I am a content creator, and when I have an idea for something I want to say or do, what is the best medium for the thought I have? Sometimes it’s a web series, sometimes it’s a movie, and sometimes it’s a song. This time, I was like, ‘Let’s just put everything else on pause and be a recording artist.’ That is what this project is hopefully going to show.

All the proceeds from “Love Yah’s” purchases and streams will help fund the next season of History?
Yes. The last season of History was released on Valentine’s Day 2019. That was season three, and at that time, it was the best thing I have ever made. I am very proud of that season. I left it on YouTube and then shopped it around, and the streaming service Dekkoo picked it up. They took all three seasons. When they premiered it in the fall, on a daily basis, I would receive an Instagram note, email, random money in my PayPal account—it really hit a chord with people. Like, we love this show. It is like no other gay web series I have seen before, I am very connected to it, please do more. I thought History had ended and thought we reached a good place with it. I had ideas for future stuff, but I was content with three seasons. I would be stupid to not give me fans more of what they want.For those who are not familiar, can you tell us more about History?
History is a group of gay friends in their mid-30s who live in New York, and it really explores loneliness, friendships, and relationships. It does it by juxtaposing how all of our adult behaviors are formed based on the things we have gone through via previous relationships, family issues, etc. It takes like my character’s relationship for the season, and then shows it next to scenes from my childhood, which may inform why he reacts certain ways or why certain things mean more to him or less to him. It does that with all the characters. If Girls and Sex and the City combined with This Is Us, that is kind of what it is.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?
The problem is, we cannot really produce anything right now. We can do a music video and two days of a limited set where people get COVID tested, and to be clear, for anyone curious about “Love Yah’s” music video, COVID compliance officer was on set, everyone was tested, masks, social distance, we followed all regulations. All your favorite TV shows are doing the same. So, I feel comfortable doing music, but I do not feel comfortable with the level that I am at getting a movie or doing a web series right now. I am going to stick to a lot of writing projects and try to raise money for the fourth season of History. Join our Patreon. We need to get the funds together to give you a gangbuster season.

Follow Tracy on Instagram to stay up-to-date with his latest news and projects. “Love Yah” is available on all digital streaming platforms, and make sure to check out his Patreon where he does bi-weekly concerts for subscribers and visit his official YouTube channel to view more digital content.  

Photos Courtesy of Necessary Outlet