Meet Jake West: Art Goblin

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jake West and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jake, alright, let’s jump in with a deep one – what’s you’re definition for success?
A lot of things about this career drive me crazy but I think when I’m at my most neurotic is when I start to define success in any real way. I understand why it is important for certain personality types to have solid metrics that they can point to and have touchstones for showing progress but I’m way too obsessive for that. I’ve been fortunate to check off some milestones that I thought would mean I’d feel successful but while effort and accomplishment can lead to a feeling of success, I think success rarely leads to true contentment, which is really what I’m focused on lately. If we base success on our current American metric of the more you work the more successful you are, Sisyphus is the ultimate success story, right? He pushes the boulder all day, every day but he has nothing to show for it and I doubt he’s happy. And I was pushing that boulder for a while. I think I was accomplishing things professionally but the hill kept on getting steeper and the boulder kept getting heavier and I think that boulder would have killed me. So I walked away from the boulder. By any traditional metric, I think I’m less “successful” than I’ve ever been but I make fun stuff that I’m proud of with good, kind people, and, for the first time in 25 years, I can actually sleep at night. I think it is important to be proud of your work and find the things you enjoy but, personally, I know I just was using it to try and fill a void I had in my life and I don’t think professional accomplishment is ever going to fill that. I don’t know what success is, I guess. I hope I find it. But I have contentment now for the first time and that’s pretty great.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
There’s a lot I want to do creatively so I’ve just started calling myself an art goblin. And, like a goblin, I like mischief and gold. I’m not making any gold lately but I think I think I’m making some fun mischief. I try to make stuff that feels like playing make-believe in the backyard: You’re hanging with dope people you love and making stuff you like with a spirit of whimsy. My main artistic project is running a living room late-nite show called The Come Up. Pre-pandemic it was a house party that turned into a wild late-nite show with games, prizes, and some of the coolest Atlanta talent on the rise that turns back into a house party where artists can connect and lift each other up. Currently, it’s all online on our Twitch and Facebook page. I’ve been a fan of late-nite since middle school but I think it is so bizarre that so much of it has turned into “How do we interview celebrities and make them look like real humans?” as opposed to finding people who are just about to break and giving them that push. We have had drag performances, puppet shows, VR, and tons of incredible musical guests. I’m very excited to get back in that living room when it is safe. I will also throw out that if anybody has a performance space that is looking to host the only show in town with a sidekick wearing a Minion onesie, I would love to not have to keep this secret from my landlord anymore. I’m also doing a project called “Here We Go…Again!” where I watch a Mamma Mia! Cinematic Universe film once a week for an entire year while I interview different guests. It’s been a religious experience. All of this is under my new production company Ding Dang Industries. I mostly set up an LLC, honestly, to stop hemorrhaging so much money as a producer but now I’m trying my best to open up the production umbrella and get some more collaborators in there (And hemorrhage more money, I guess. Truth be told – Maybe I’m averse to gold). We haven’t officially launched our first full slate of programming (Be on the lookout for this summer!) but I’m co-producing the new podcast “Star Wars Made Me Gay!” starring the lovely Dani Herd with the good folks at Make Mom Proud Project. Dani has the biggest heart I know and their ability to express themselves is lovely. If you like Star Wars, being queer or happy tears, I’d check it out on Apple Podcasts. I am always going to scream about the awesome work the people in this community are doing and I’m trying to figure out how to make that my full-time job.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So fun fact: I was a tour guide for a while which means I know a lot of minutia about the city. So. FUN FACT: Atlanta has more green space per person than any other U.S City. It gets so beautiful here and the older I get, the more I realize how sun-dependant I am. I’m like Superman when he’s under a yellow sun once spring rolls around (You know, Superman! With his famous powers like “I guess I’m slightly less depressed now?”). I’d for sure want to take someone to a place like Oakland Cemetary or Piedmont Park to see just how GREEN this city can get. As far as food, I can’t wait to be back at a big table in Manny’s with my buds and some Thai Wheat pitchers from Second Self. I also love the patio at Publico (See? Outdoors!) and their food is unreal. Hands-down the best cocktails in town are made by the mad geniuses at Little Spirit and I can’t wait to be back there. Fingers crossed it is sooner rather than later!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I can’t imagine my Atlanta experience without Jacob McKee. We were buds in high school but when I moved back, he literally just grabbed me by the hand and started introducing me to folks (Which is great because I’m painfully shy). He also gave me my first job back in town. The people he introduced me to in those first few weeks have become some of my closest friends and I am so grateful to him. He’s also one of those people who will have an idea for a thing that he’ll mention off-handedly at a party but then a week later will be like “Okay, here’s the pitch deck”. He has this ability to infinitely actualize and the stuff he’s working on with his production company Make Mom Proud Project all just comes from this place of intense love.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.quest/?hl=en

Other: Twitch: www.twitch.tv/dingdangindustries The Come Up: https://www.instagram.com/thecomeupshowatl/?hl=en

Image Credits
Jake Pearce Photography Kristin Storla