The Obelisk Questionnaire: Jeff Irwin of Will Haven
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Jeff Irwin of Will Haven
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I define what I do as just an artist first and foremost, I play drums and guitar but never took lessons, I wanted to learn on my own and create my own artistic stylings, I loved the challenge of it, this goes the same with writing music for my band will haven, I had a lot of influences but wanted to create my own twist on things and come up with something new, pushing the envelope on my own terms is what I have always set out to do, not into the status quo
Describe your first musical memory.
I have a couple that moved me into wanting to be a part of music and not just a listener, the first was hearing Micheal Jackson Off the Wall, I remember hearing that as a little kid and the music on that whole record just moved me, the melodies were so catchy and that’s when music made sense, then when I first heard Motley Crue Too Fast For Love I knew I wanted to play that kind of music, then I got to see them live when I was 12 and thought, yep I want to play on stage one day just like that, those are the ones that set me in motion
Describe your best musical memory to date.
As per the last question, seeing Motley Crue at 12 was bigger than life to me, I wanted to be a rockstar after that, then seeing Pink Floyd when I was 13 was another moment that changed my life forever, Personally when my band got to tour with the band Deftones and we played two sold out nights at the Astoria Theatre in London, England, to play that legendary place and the energy of those shows were the most unreal moments I have ever had playing in a band or in life in general
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
To be honest I don’t know if I have concrete beliefs, I do believe in love but outside of that I have no idea what is real and what is not, life is an ongoing journey of wondering, why am I here? What am I doing? What is reality? What is not? I don’t think I will ever know the answers to that, maybe in the next realm it will make sense but this lifetime it’s all just trying to figure stuff out, I do believe there is something that creates energy and life but I do not know what that is, so life in itself is one big test, you will have good times and bad and to if you truly believe in something directing you you might get let down, so I just let life move fluently and learn from it and accept it’s just part of the plan of living.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
I believe it leads to pure happiness, as an artist you always want to push yourself, to create something better than the last, The challenge can be so much fun, to be able to open your brain and use it and be free of anything else, it’s a blessing to have that use of the brain to create, to keep progressing and create something you love is a feeling that is unmatched, pure joy and happiness,
How do you define success?
Success to me is if you look back at your resume and see what you created, if you can look back at your catalogue of work and be completely happy with it then that is more than anything, money, fame does not stand the test of time, your music or art does, so if you know that you are leaving art behind that inspired people and will always inspire people that is true success
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
The evil side of humanity, I always thought that if we have one shot at life it should be amazing, we are only here for a very short time and it should be filled with adventure and love and everything that is here for us to survive, but deep down there is a part of humanity that believes in greed and torture and taking advantage of others, It makes you think what kind of place is this that creates such evil intentions for a life that is so short, Seeing that has definitely made me question the pureness of humanity when I shouldn’t have to
What is something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create?
I am always reaching for that perfect song, that song that can bring up every emotion the human body has, to make that song where one second you are angry, then sad, then you are at complete peace by then end, the song that takes you on a insane journey of every aspect of life, I am always searching for that, I don’t know if I ever will be able to do it but I will keep trying to figure it out
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
to move people, I know some artist create just for themselves which is awesome, but to share your art with people and have them feel it, it creates an amazing energy, to connect with people that you would never normally connect with is amazing, to have a common bond with someone, its that life is all about, sharing energy and coming together as a whole, music is very powerful, its vibrations that connect with others that only you as the artist can put out, it’s a pretty amazing feeling bringing people together, but in a good way
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
moving onto my next chapter of life, spending it with the people I love, looking back at all the amazing things I have done and creating more, moving to a new place and starting new adventures there, all I know is that life is just a dream…..
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