Meet Lukas Janecek | Guitarist & Producer

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

Hi Lukas, why did you pursue a creative career?
I grew up in church as a kid. One day, when I was 16 a preacher came down all the way from San Diego, telling me he saw me play guitar. At that moment, I could not believe it, I’ve always loved music, but never imagine me playing any instruments. Two weeks later, while visiting my cousin I picked up one of his guitars, he put on Jimi Hendrix – Hey Joe and for my ears at that moment it was like “Ok, I get this.” I realized, as soon as I picked up the guitar right there, I am going to do it full time. It was a very instant and profound relationship. I started practicing 10 hours a day and never really catch up on sleep.

To me, being an artist is a great platform how to express yourself as a person. It is like the most luxurious restaurant with the dirtiest kitchen. I’m sure, that is why I love being a musician so much. It is an amazing opportunity and feeling, to share your artistic voice with the world and make people feel a certain way.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a guitar player, I develop sensitivity with music. I had to learn to understand my role. When to play and when not to play. It was always my desire and job to make whoever is in front of me to sound better. I am really proud that I could take all of my influence such as Jimi Hendrix, Steve Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, etc. and find my voice through that. I believe you find your voice when you fail to sound like your heroes. You shouldn’t want to be the next Jimi Hendrix, you should desire to be the one and only you.

Being from Czech Republic, where the music scene is really not big at all, it was a big step for me to come to the USA, where is the biggest music scene in the world. I had to practice, practice and practice to get on the level of musicians here and I am still trying, it has been a really big challenge, but it has also pushed me to become the best musician I can be. It was a great lesson for me to actually play live with people I listened to on CD. It is a completely different situation and you learn what to do when. The music must come first always. In the end it does not matter how hard or fast you can play, if your feel suck, you suck. There is another dimension, a certain way your fingers touch the instrument and I assure you, you can hear the difference.

In the end, the most important thing you can do and have to do as an artist I would say, is to always nurture your color palette. You will never actually master your art, but you should always strive to get better and never stop growing. In closing, I am sured life will affect your art and music and we all should love one another and appreciate each other’s art. Some things might not be our cup of tea, but we should still respect everyone, their expression of themselves and try to understand people’s ideas and concepts.

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.
As soon as you get off the plane, you have to hit the airport In-N-Out, which is definitely my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles. I have also always really liked the area around The Grove. You have this amazing shopping place, Pan Pacific Park right next, Erewhon on the corner, if you love some over-the-topness smoothies and also great skating culture stores on Fairfax. If you enjoy hiking, you have to do the Griffith Observatory and if you feel like going more you can continue to Hollywood Sign all the way to Wisdom Tree and end in North Hollywood.

I am also a big fan of sushi and you can not go wrong with either Kazunori or Sugarfish that have many locations all over the city from Downtown to Beverly Hills. My favorite restaurant would be Craig’s. Sometime it is fun to spend the day at a beach and I really enjoy going with my friends to Malibu Beach. There is a great spot called Point Dume for watching sunset or sunrise. If you are into night life and want to see some great musicians you should check out Hotel Cafe or Peppermint Club. If you want to party, my favorite club in LA would definitely be Poppy in West Hollywood. Anyway, no matter where you go in LA, you will have fun, just go around any corner and you’ll discover something new.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate this shoutout to my mom. She was my first sponsor ever and thanks to her I am able to be, where I am right now. Huge thank you to my classmates at Berklee College of Music, Andy Abad from USC Thornton School of Music and a session guitar player Jamey Arent from Los Angeles, who shaped me and inspired me throughout this journey. Also, to all of my friends and people who supported me and believed in me and my amazing girlfriend.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukas_janecek/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lukiguitar