“I do believe that the artist has a significant societal function and is just as important as scientist, doctors, lawyers, etc. it is our job to promote new thoughts and ideas and also to record the past. Music is also political and should be.”

Joey Stuckey: Progressive Americana

Award-winning guitarist, vocalist, producer, and Macon, Georgia Music Ambassador Joey Stuckey will perform at the legendary Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California on June 25, appearing as part of a night of music that includes iconic new wave band Bow Wow Wow.  This will be Stuckey’s third appearance at the Whisky and he’ll be joined by a seasoned rhythm section featuring legendary L.A. musicians Dusty Wakeman on bass and David Raven on drums. Together, the trio will bring Stuckey’s expansive “Progressive Americana” sound to one of rock and roll’s most historic stages. Stuckey, Wakeman, and Raven will arrive at the Whisky fresh off a historical recording session down Sunset Boulevard at The Les Paul Recording Studio, a state-of-the-art facility honoring the legacy of music pioneer Les Paul located in the historic United Recording building. The recording session will be the first time any artist has recorded an album at the studio. The session will take place on an all-tube mixing console that was Les Paul’s original creation that has been refurbished and made functional again, along with other original equipment originally used by Mr. Paul in the 1940s and 50s.

(Photo: Joey Stuckey)

Rooted in the rich musical history of Macon, Georgia, Stuckey’s music reflects the spirit of artists such as Otis Redding, Little Richard, and the Allman Brothers while drawing from blues, jazz, roots, Southern rock, and Americana. With a voice that can move from a gravelly rasp to a warm croon, and guitar work marked by blues fire and melodic sophistication, Stuckey creates music that is soulful, literate, and full of human connection.

Interview by Michael Limnios                      Archive: Joey Stuckey, 2019 Interview

Special Thanks: Joey Stuckey & Keith James (Glass Onyon)

How do you think that you have grown as an artist since you first started making music?

Certainly the process of writing has changed for me since I first got started. As a blind artist, producer, recording, engineer and educator,  technology has improved to the point that things are easier to keep up with. For example, I'm now able to keep all my song ideas on my phone as voice memos. When I first got started, I had to carry around a cumbersome cassette recorder or a beg sighted people that were nearby to write things down on napkins lol. Of course, my eclectic sensibilities haven't really changed. On my first album. I was very eclectic and a lot of people thought that would hamper my ability to make an income. It really didn't, but I will say that in today's Music market things are both more categorized and also there's a lot of genre crossover that didn't happen back when I first started. These two things seem counterintuitive and like their opposite, but they're not really. You have people making music with fewer gatekeepers like the major record labels so there's more diversity of Sound but you also have search engines that require more specificity and so things become a little more categorized than they were before.

When I was a child in the 80s, you would hear Michael Jackson records on the radio next to AC/DC. That doesn't really happen as much as it used to on terrestrial radio and when it comes to the streaming services, they tend to funnel you in the direction you're already going so if you're listening to Michael Jackson, they will recommend other artists that are similar to Michael Jackson. From an artistic standpoint, I have decided at this point in my career to lean into my eclecticism instead of worrying as much about marketing funnels, etc. We call what we do progressive Americana because Americana is a broad umbrella, incorporating blues, and other genres and the progressive idea is the fact that I don't use traditional chord voicing or melodies or even time signatures all the time.

(Photo: Joey Stuckey)

What has remained the same about your music-making process?

What stays the same is the compunction to create music! I'm just as passionate about it today as I was when I first got started. Perhaps even more passionate because I feel a sense of responsibility as an artist to project new thoughts and ideas into the social ether and also to record history and help us remember things that have gone before. A lot of my music is biographical, but a lot of it isn't. So that hasn't really changed either. I take inspiration from the universe around me in whatever form it wants to come and I don't really try to limit myself as far as ideas or concepts. I just write what I Write and share it. I'm also still the same nerdy tech oriented kid that started in the recording business by practicing the scientific method, which is basically what happens if I do this what happens if I do that? I'm always experimenting and trying new ideas.

How did the idea of Bow Wow Wow band and the ‘Progressive Americana’ project come about?

LA is an interesting place. I'm always in in LA for a couple of weeks at the beginning of the year checking out the major Music conference in NAMM and also participating in various event events for Grammy week. I am currently a governor on the Atlanta Chapter board for the Recording Academy, and also our board’s dream ambassador for the recording academy. So this year I had lots to do lol. Whenever I'm in town, I make the most of it. I always try to connect with friends that I don't get a chance to see that often. If you have never tried to get through an airport as a blind person with a guitar, you will not be aware of the sheer hell that this is lol. So I asked one of my dear friends, Dusty Wakeman CEO of Mojave microphones if he loved me enough to let me borrow his 1967 telecaster for a showcase I was performing at in town during Grammy week. He did and knowing that Dusty is a very fine bass player, I decided while I was begging to ask him if he wanted to play Bass lol. He also agreed to that request. Then I decided well we might as well have a Drummer. Can you find one of those for us as well lol. He also did that God bless him lol. So this new team got together and performed and we all had such an amazing time in each other's company and making music together, everybody said we should do it again. That's not an offer I'm going to let go of and I warned the guys accordingly lol.

We decided we would get back together to do some recording and while we were in town, we would also perform. We had a very successful showcase during Grammy week at the Whisky which I had played once before right before Covid. And they invited us to come back whenever we wanted to. The Whisky is much like myself in the fact that they are a bit eclectic. So we decided to offer them a few different dates that we were available while we were in town recording and it just so happened that it fell on an evening with Bow Wow Wow, a band that I am actually very fond of and really enjoyed as a kid in the 80s. The vocals are great and also the guitar work in their classic hit “I Want Candy”. So it just all sort of fell together.

(Photo: Joey Stuckey)

Blues, Rock and Americana … a lot of these genres are trying to be more inclusive, but sometimes it feels like they’re forcing it. Where’s the balance, and how do we find it?

That's a very interesting question and one that is difficult to answer. The truth is that at the end of the day the Music business is just that—a business. You have to sell your product to people so you can keep making your product. In this case, the product is Music, which has a host of difficulties in finding the right audience. When I went to school the first time as a teenager as I started college when I was 16, I eventually landed in the communication department where I studied marketing and public relations before I landed in the music department. One of the things that was an early concept for me is what we would call today targeting your audience. I later returned to Berkeley online where I continue studying music business. And there again we encountered marketing funnels, etc. These things are absolutely necessary and part of any strategy of anyone selling a product or service.

However, music is very complex because it is less tangible than selling a product like a new iPhone or a car. It's also one that has radically different appeals to different people depending on what it is they like. So sometimes the creation of the art and the spiritual expression of music is at odds with the idea of marketing the art and making enough money that you can stay in the Music business and provide for yourself and your family. This conflict is sometimes resulting in genres feeling forced or disingenuous. It's very tough to market music! And as I mentioned earlier, the streaming services certainly like to understand what you like and funnel you towards more of that so that you stay on their service longer. I think the real trick if you're a Music lover is to try new things be open to new ideas and to really support the artists you love, especially by going to live shows and buying merch. We make a lot more money with those processes than we do with the stream or the download. Once you go to a show with an artist if they have an opening act, they will most likely be simpatico with the artist you love while not necessarily sounding anything like them. There is more to Music being a style or a genre than chord, progressions lyrics, etc.

There's also a shared social consciousness perhaps or some other less tangible things that make them compatible with each other and enjoyable to the listener. Authenticity is often hard to find especially in a music business that values profit over Art, which, of course it does and again there is some sympathy for this position because if you can't sell the art, you can't make more of it. I am able to pay a little less attention to fitting in a box with my Art for a couple of reasons. First as a blind brain tumor survivor. I've decided to live a life that I feel has meaning, and put other concerns further to the side, such as being wealthy lol. But I also make a living as an educator, a recording engineer and a producer, and these things provide more financial stability, which allows me in turn to be less concerned about making my Art fit into a box.

(Photo: Joey Stuckey)

Why do you think that Les Paul music legacy continues to generate such a devoted following?

Well, first of all, I have a great privilege of meeting him about two years before he passed away. He was still playing though arthritis had slowed him down a little bit. But it was still extremely compelling Music. He also was a larger than life personality, funny, and kind. We also have to remember, that he made a lot of wonderful records with his then wife, Mary Ford, who was an incredible artist in her own right! But Les was a master musician and arranger and perhaps more importantly, and less widely known an innovator in music technology. He is considered the forefather of multi track recording, which is the ability to layer sounds upon sounds. This is a deep dive rabbit hole kind of thing that I could go into forever lol but I won't lol. However I do recommend if you're interested in the history of Les Paul and what he has done for the music industry, check out my podcast called Stuck on Sound where we interview the Les Paul foundation’s official recording engineer Tom Camuso and chat about this in some detail. You can find the podcast at stuckonsound. The devotees of Les are basically people that recognize talent, heart, and brilliance and cherish those things and want to keep them going! I think that's why he's still such a compelling a figure all these years later.   

What's the balance in music between technique (skills) and soul/emotions? Why is it important to we preserve and spread the blues?

This is a tricky one lol. I could probably do an entire master class on this, but in short, the goal of technical mastery of your instrument is important so that you are only limited by your imagination and inspiration. You don't want to have an idea that you're not able to bring forth into the world. That's why you should know as much about your instrument as you can and put in your 10,000 hours to become a professional! One of the reasons that I feel so offended by people that say learning instruments is too hard so I'll just have artificial intelligence whip me up a song. It's not that some AI creations are not well put together, but they are surface level. They simulate music well but the machine has nothing to tell you because it's never lived. It is not sentient therefore it has no goal, no purpose, no heart or soul to share with anyone. So I am a big fan of technical mastery, study, application and hard work. But all those things are so that the only thing limiting you is your imagination, your inspiration and those things are uniquely yours, and therefore valuable. There are many many many outstanding legendary artists who don't have a 10th of the theoretical knowledge or physical prowess  that I have and they are still extremely compelling so education is not a prerequisite.

There are lots of people that play straight from the heart with no filter, but it does mean that they are more limited in their choices. However, how can you complain about BB King being limited lol. His music is perfect the way it is and he certainly was not limited in his emotional content. lol. I made the choice to study music partly because I'm obsessed with it and want to know everything about it and my mind is curious and constantly seeks to improve through knowledge. But that is not the only path forward. Indeed, the blues is usually tied closer to emotional output than technical output, though one of my great heroes, Joe Bonamassa, rides this line quite expertly. He's a master blues musician, both technically and spiritually. Much like the output of another great guitar player, John Mayer when he goes down his blues rabbit hole lol. Again I think the honesty of the lived experience of blues makes it compelling and presents us with important spiritual content, which is why it's so important to keep the genre alive. We have plenty of content that has surface level good music out there, but somewhat lacking in philosophical or emotional depth.

(Photo: Joey Stuckey)

What keeps a musician passionate over the years? What is the role of music/musicians in today’s society?

You can certainly get burned out in the Music business when you allow people that are unreasonable to have control over you. There are artists such as Adele and Meghan Trainor that on tour had to be hospitalized due to exhaustion because they were being worked too hard by their labels or their management or maybe themselves. It's hard to say no when you love music and you also know that you have a finite amount of time on this earth to accomplish your goals and sometimes you only get one bite at the apple so again you like to say yes to everything, but that is not really practical. In addition there are those people who are glad to use you and then discard you when you're no longer useful, that is just part of being in business and interacting in a world where not everyone has the same moral and ethical compass. And again, Music is a tough business. You tend to be at the bottom or the top there's not as much room in the middle. So it can be a real struggle to make ends meet!! But assuming that you place boundaries and say no when it's appropriate staying passionate about music in my mind is a pretty easy thing to do because for those of us that are truly in it for the Art we do it not because we want to but because we have to or we are not spiritually fulfilled. I often tell students that if they don't hurt more when they're not doing music than when they are, this might not be the right business for them. You've got to love it so much that you can't be away from it. That's the only way to survive in an industry that has extreme highs and lows, and again lots of people somewhat divorced from reality lol.

I spoke a little bit about this earlier, but I do believe that the artist has a significant societal function and is just as important as scientist, doctors, lawyers, etc. it is our job to promote new thoughts and ideas and also to record the past. Music is also political and should be. You look at some of the wonderful content from artists like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen and they help drive and engage conversations that are important to the health of our society. I honestly believe that you can tell the true health of any society from the artistic content that's being produced. If the arts are thriving, then most likely, the society is thriving and if the arts are stagnating, the society may be closing in on its end. That sounds melodramatic, but I believe it's true, especially when you look at things like the collapse of the Roman empire where the arts became less important and people were more interested in decadence and self-aggrandizement.

(Photo: Joey Stuckey)

What are you doing to keep your music relevant today, to develop it and present it to the new generation?

I'm not sure that keeping relevant is something that one should be overly concerned about. I find generally when that kind of idea is at the forefront of creation, you're trying to catch the wave and that is almost always impossible. You will tend to find yourself behind the trends and not where you need to be artistically. The best thing to do is to do what you do to the best of your ability and present as much content as you are able to. Recording your songs, performing them live, doing interviews like this one, these are all ways of staying relevant without trying to chase some unreasonable and intangible formula. If you want to hit a trend and ride that wave to greater success the best way to do that is to keep doing what you do and eventually with constant Effort people will begin to find you and spread the word on their own doing a lot of the work for you lol. I believe that the best practice is to be where things are happening and to be part of that scene. This can be difficult if your town doesn't really have a scene or proper musical infrastructure, but it is possible and of course with the advent of the Internet, Fedex, airplanes, etc. it's possible to be where things are happening even if you don't live there. This is one of the reasons that I go to LA every year because it has an infrastructure and seen that I can tap into and I know enough people on the inside that will welcome me so I'm not having to fight my way in or break lots of new ground. Of course these relationships take years to create and maintain but it's all worth it. I'll also say that trying new things and presenting unique experiences to your fans is an important part of staying in people's consciousness and having your music have a healthy shelflife.

One of the many reasons I made the decision to advocate to be the first artist to do a real recording session at the Les Paul studio in LA, which is currently not open to the public generally. Though they are moving in that direction. Recording on the restored equipment from the late 40s and early 50s is certainly a novel experience and something that I think my fans and other people that are new to my music will enjoy experiencing. Going back to the way things were done in the past with music that is current is a lot of fun and I think sonically interesting enough to give people something to sink their teeth into. It's interesting that so many people rediscover artists of the past when they start really getting into music. I know that when I was in my teens, my friends and I thought we had discovered something new when we found Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd lol. Of course we hadn't but it was new to us and it had been popular enough and times gone by, but it was easier to find and then checkout. So again proliferation of content that is to say good content lol is really critical to shaping new generations of musicians and giving them art from which to be inspired and from which to grow. 

Joey Stuckey - Home

(Photo: Joey Stuckey)