Conversations with Jake Hinze

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Hinze.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My dad is a guitarist, and from the moment I was born, I was his built-in roadie and protégé. I got my first guitar around the age of two but didn’t start taking it seriously until I was around thirteen. I stuck with it, and by high school, I began making my own music. During college, I spent most of my time just playing guitar and producing music. My musical motto has always been “everything in my head, but in sonic form,” and at the time, I was just making music for fun, with no expectations. In 2022, I released my EP day(dreaming) under the name “jakehinze.”

In 2023, I released a song called “HAUNTED,” which felt like my first real step in exploring myself as an artist, but after that, I didn’t do too much for the rest of the year and even debated stepping away from music entirely. In July 2024, I dropped a track called “WISH YOU WOULD” – again no expectations – but the response reaffirmed my love for all things music and I decided to fully commit to “jakehinze” to see where it could go. I brought my close friends Tyler, Alec, and Z into the band, and soon after, we released “MAKE UP YOUR MIND” and “HEART OUT!”

Lately, we’ve just been riding the momentum and are finishing up our debut EP “TONGUE TIED”, which drops in November!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think being a creative is such a paradox. Some days the struggle is simply you verse your own ego. One of my biggest struggles is remembering that I’m not inherently creating FOR people – I’m creating to express myself – and if people happen to resonate with it, then that’s just the cherry on top. When I lose sight of that, it’s a slippery slope to despising the thing I love most. I have a piece of gaff tape on my desk with “music is fun!” scribbled on it to remind me that music is exactly that – fun.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Hey! I’m Jake, and I’m in a band called “jakehinze.” We’re an alt-rock-dream-pop band based in Phoenix, formed in 2024, although “jakehinze” initially began as a solo project in 2022. Our group consists of four guys—myself, Tyler, Alec, and Z—who genuinely love music and creating above all else. If I had to categorize our sound, I’d say it falls somewhere between alt-rock and dream-pop. We draw influence from a variety of places, and I believe that shines through in our music. We try not to ever say “no” in the creative process and are always exploring how we can push the boundaries of our sound. But I think what really sets us apart is our why. We don’t make music for anyone but ourselves (obviously we love our fans!) but we only ever want to make music that is authentic and something we would want to listen to ourselves. We’ve released 3 singles in 2024 and our debut EP “Tongue Tied” comes out in November!

Contact Info:

• Website: jakehinzeband.com
• Instagram: @jakehinzeband
• Facebook: @jakehinzeband
• Twitter: @jakehinzeband
• Youtube: @jakehinzeband
• Other: https://tr.ee/yWNaTLus9v

Image Credits
JT Litwiller