Arlo Tarr

Right before Covid shut everything down, I played with some old friends at a sold out show in the State Theatre in State College, Pa. It was a Jack’s Farm reunion show. One of my favorite gigs EVER!

I lived in State College for a number of years after I graduated college. I was trying to put together a band when I moved there but I couldn’t find musicians that were as motivated as I was. I wanted to be a professional musician and tour. This was pre-internet and living in central PA, the avenues to be a pro musician weren’t evident to me then.

One day I got fed up with my regular job and quit. I walked around town for awhile and ended up in a record store. Remember those? On the wall was a flyer “Looking for Lead Guitar Player”. I tore off the number and gave it a call.

I remember talking to John on the phone. He played guitar, keys, sang and was the leader of the band. John didn’t say he was the leader of the band but he did the things that were needed to lead a band.

John set up an audition for me. Audition? I didn’t know I’d have to audition. I just thought I had the gig because I called. Hahaha Then I got nervous. Geez, maybe I’m not going to be good enough.

I went to the audition. I met John and his brother, Chris, who played drums and also sang. Then I met Jimmy Lovcik. Jimmy played bass. Jimmy played in Strawberry Jam. “The Jam” was the best Allman Brothers/Grateful Dead/Jam band in Pennsylvania. Now I was really nervous!

So we played through some tunes. I think I did pretty good. We talked some at the end and I went home. I waited. I wasn’t sure if I got in the band. Then John called and said “Hey, come down to The Brewery, we’ll bring you up and you can play Big River with us”. Sweet! I got a chance!

What I didn’t know was that Jimmy had seen me play with my prior band, Kind-a-Mind. We also played ABB and the Grateful Dead. I didn’t realize that someone “At the Next Level” thought I was good.

So I sat in at The Brewery that night and a couple more nights after. Then Jack’s Farm asked me to join. I said yes.

We got things rolling and we played 4-5 nights a week for about 3 years. We played all over PA, NY and NJ. We had our own HUGE PA system that opened up doors for us to open for bands like Vanilla Fudge, Melvin Seals, Leftover Salmon and, my favorite guitar player, Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers. We had a helluva run!

If you would’ve told 12 year old Arlo that he could do these things, he would’ve thought you’re crazy!

Now I’m getting ready to embark on another music journey that I didn’t think would come again for me.

I had a really good talk with my new music mentor Matt Starr last week. We’re talking about playing some shows. We’re talking about doing some opening slots for some bigger acts and seeing if we can get some momentum going with my music.

Things are starting to line up for me musically. The EP will be finished in August. We’re gonna play some shows this Fall. Hopefully do even more in Spring/Summer 25’!

The last Jack’s Farm show before Covid wasn’t my last show. I think it was preparation for what’s to come!