Well here is the long awaited interview with Jeff Stocks. Jeff has been a big part of Black House over the last couple of years and for some reason I've never thought to interview him. Now it's time to rectify this egregious oversight.
Well Jeff, I think you're the only Black House resident that never studied music in college. How'd you learn to play and why jazz?
I came to jazz fairly organically over a period of many, many years. I grew up in a small town called New Madrid in southeast Missouri. There wasn’t anything there in terms of exposure to jazz or jazz musicians. Thankfully, my dad played guitar in a popular country band so his old school country and pop music was always around, as were various instruments and musicians. Music was always around in some form or another.
I picked up the guitar around 12 or 13 after playing piano and drums for a few years. I took basic lessons from a local guy who had a somewhat expansive view of music and he hipped me to some of the progressive rock guitarists of the day. From there I just followed various paths which led me to the Chick Corea Elektric Band who had a guitar player named Frank Gambale. He was probably my first big guitar hero. I started to follow the various members of the Elektric band through their side projects which eventually led to more acoustic jazz. I just kept going and still dig for new music all the time.
As for how I learned to play, that would be probably the hardest way possible. I never really had a teacher growing up. I was really on my own so I did the best I could living in the middle of nowhere. I listened to a ton of music, read a ton of books, and lifted stuff from recordings. I had a cheap four-track when I was in high school and would loop chord progressions and play for hours and hours. I also took over for my dad in his band so I had the chance to play live 3 sets a night every weekend for years which was invaluable.
I didn’t study music in college but I was still practicing and playing a lot. I happened to meet a brilliant jazz guitarist named Scott Hesse who was in Columbia for a year. He had been in NY for a while, studied with Rodney Jones and Henry Butler, and could absolutely play his ass off. I studied with him for 6-9 months before he left to go to back to NY. It was eye-opening to actually sit with a real-life jazz musician. He showed me basic voicings, talked to me about swing feel, and opened my ears to some new music. It was a clear line in the sand in terms of my development.
I pretty much just practiced a lot, trying to learn as much about music as I could on my own.
I started studying with Matt Otto in early 2010. He really pushed things forward for me in terms of my playing and also my involvement with other musicians in the city. I still study with him from time to time.
Being self-taught is a mixed bag. It is great because I have been free to follow my interests without any institutional pressure. This has led to having a somewhat unique sound which isn’t exactly jazz, rock, or blues but some kind of ‘other’. I have essentially studied whatever I wanted to – whether it be country, jazz, classical, rock, etc.
It is not so great because generating your own momentum can be exhausting. That is probably the thing I missed out on in school – the fact that I am not alone in feeling like shit about whatever happens to be going on in my music at any given time. That and a lot of fundamental jazz stuff like playing standards, vocabulary, etc. Hard to say how much I have suffered by not studying formally.
Who are your biggest musical heroes and why?
I listen to so much music it would be tough to list all of the people I admire. The list would be pages and pages. I literally listen to music of all kinds all day and have for decades.
A lot of the music I listen to most is based around singer-songwriter stuff so people and bands like Richard Buckner, Joni Mitchell, Neko Case, Neil Young, The Smiths/Morrissey, Blonde Redhead, Travis Morrison from Dismemberment Plan, Matthew Caws from Nada Surf, Justin Vernon from Bon Iver. I just love melody so I am drawn to people who write great melodies.
A guitar player and author named Ted Greene has had a fairly profound influence on me over the years, especially in terms of how I see harmony on the guitar.
I really idolize Matt Otto for his playing and writing. He just epitomizes everything I love about music. I would give just about anything to have the level of calm that he has in his playing and the pure and clear melodic genius. His ability to really hear through changes is just stunning. I was a huge fan of his before I even knew he lived here in KC. It was the thrill of a lifetime to play his music with him in his band.
For current guitar players, Nir Felder is pretty much tops right now. I admire him for so many reasons. He plays with the type of time feel and harmonic sophistication that I want to bring into my playing – all while staying melodic with a beautiful tone. The game was changed when I heard him. He is a great guy on top of all of that.
What don't you like about jazz?
I don’t like that I don’t play it very well. I do what I do ok, but I am sure I won’t get too many calls to do fake book gigs at Barnes and Noble.
In terms of listening, I can’t single out one thing about the actual music compared to any other genre that I don’t like. Just about anything you could say negative about jazz you could apply to any genre.
Why do you continue to be a part of Black House?
I enjoy the challenge of the music, the level of trust we all have for each other, and the camaraderie we have developed. It is a chance for me to bring all of the various aspects of my playing together. It is also basically like free lessons to get to play this music with this group. When I started in 2010, I was barely able to read the music, let alone play it. The group has really shown me where I have big holes in my knowledge and has given me enough grace and trust to work on them. The bad news is every session seems to add to the list. It is a big list at this point.
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Posted by: TeeganClark | 12/20/2012 at 05:23 AM