There’s no shortage of local talent in New York City, and the next generation of musicians are already taking the entertainment scene by storm.
JAW is a Brooklyn-based band comprised of two brothers, 15-year-old Julian and 13-year-old Arthur Weston, and their friend, 12-year-old William Emmert. The band writes their own music and have a selection of their favorite covers in their repertoire.
Arthur and William were in the same class, and since they both played music, Arthur asked William if he wanted to join him and Julian in forming JAW.
“Me and William used to be in the same school in the same class, and pretty much since the 2nd grade. I asked him because he was a drummer,” said Arthur.
With Julian on bass and lead vocals, Arthur on guitar and vocals and William on drums and vocals, they formed JAW, the name which comes from the first initials of their first names. They knew early on that rock was going to be the focus of the sound they wanted to play, heavily influenced by bands such as Rush, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimmy Eat World, The Hives and Angine de Poitrine.
“There wasn’t really that much deciding going on,” said William.
“We didn’t want to play country,” Arthur said, laughing.
“It was just the music we were interested in,” said Julian.
Though their first time playing together as a band technically took place on a Zoom talent show for school, the first time JAW hit the stage together as a band was on May 16, 2022. The trio performed on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, a time they look back on fondly.
“Upstairs in my room, I have the shirt that I wore the first time hung up and it’s a youth small, it’s tiny,” said Arthur.
Though their schedule slows down during the winter, when spring picks up JAW tends to perform together more often. They’ve played at a handful of locations throughout the city, including The Bitter End, on Vanderbilt Avenue and in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
JAW has also often shared the stage at the Bitter End during the Future Stars Show, a showcase that highlights New York City’s younger musicians.
“I’ve always thought that we weren’t the best people at our individual instruments, but we usually played the best together as a band,” said Arthur.
“They’re very nice usually, like last time, there’s a bunch of college kids that were super nice,” said William.
“We’ve done it a couple times now. The first couple of times we were usually like on the younger end of the bands,” said Julian. “It’s also fun to learn, get better along with some other bands that are in a similar situation as you.”
JAW plans to hit the stage as much as they can this summer, with a show coming up on May 29 at Freddy’s Bar, located at 627 5th Ave. in Brooklyn, at 8 p.m. You can also catch them throughout the summer during Open Streets on Franklin Avenue and Montague Streets, and they’re starting to branch out with shows in Hoboken and Philadelphia.
As the band continues to grow, the group hopes that they can continue to play together and hone their skills even more.
“I hope the band continues to like get better and keeps writing original songs, and hopefully someday we put out an album,” said Julian.
“For me, it’s not really about playing the shows, but more about building experiences and friendships along the way,” said Arthur, with William adding, “I hope we improve together.”
For more information on JAW, follow them on Instagram @jaw.official or visit their website jawofficial.com.
