Jesse Frank, owner of Lowcountry Music Academy, talks about teaching, making music and the perils of technology.
REGAN: Tell me about the academy and how you like teaching.
FRANK: I teach guitar, drums, bass, piano, voice, and violin. My mom and I started the Academy in 2009. I learn a lot by interacting with students and developing methods of teaching to help them grow. It’s very rewarding working with people of all ages and different ethnic backgrounds. Music is truly the universal language. We are planning our next recital to be held at the Steinway Piano Gallery of Charleston. We also now offer piano tuning and sales.
R: You majored in music education in college? Tell us about your start in music.
F: I completed the music program at Brookdale College in New Jersey and taught private lessons there for many years. I am primarily self-taught. I gained most of my experience from growing up around family and friends who were all very skilled musicians and great teachers. Frank ‘n’ Davison was my first group. Chris Davison and I were friends and started writing music together in seventh grade. He took bass lessons from my dad and we would hang out and jam all the time. We then added another member to the group. Chris Macock was already a good piano player, but then took guitar lessons from my dad, too. He and I would alternate playing guitar and drums. We played shows together on the Jersey Shore for about seven years. We put out a few albums, the first one in 1999 entitled "The Beginning."
R: Who influenced your music? You list yourself as an “autobiographical artist”?
F: My first guitar hero was Eddie Van Halen and my dad brought me to see Van Halen from front row seats at age 13! I’ve since been to many shows and was inspired by many musicians. Some of my favorites are: The Beatles, Hendrix, Allman Brothers, The Outlaws, Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse Band, Stone Temple Pilots, J.S. Bach and Beethoven. I write all of my music about my own personal experiences. I try to be diverse, using as many different styles and incorporating techniques from those who have influenced me the most which has helped me create my own sound. I’m unable to conform to one style or genre, it’s all tonal music! I take great pride in being as versatile as I can to compose all different types of music. That is how I pay homage to the ones I have learned from.
R: How has your music evolved? You are on an independent label?
F: My music is relevant to a specific time in my life. I try to write in a different genre for every album or even change styles to fit the mood of the song. I own Industry Standerd Records, a label I started in 2006. I use it to officially produce and publish my music and also the projects I work on with friends and other musicians. All of my music can be purchased on iTunes or through my website, jessefrankmusic.com.
R: What’s your sense of the young people you’re teaching?
F: They all learn very well as I make a point to relate to that individual on a personal level. I have taught quite a few younger students who didn’t know the first thing about music and, years later, were accepted at prestigious colleges. Seeing them continue to get better is what drives me to find ways to teach them skills which will benefit them throughout their life. A problem I’ve noticed in the youth of today is the increase of digital technology has taken away from the fundamentals of learning and has stunted their natural ability to be creative which is very important in music and learning how to improvise. But, it’s not the fault of technology. You can learn to use anything to benefit your productivity. The key is having supportive parents, positive role models and mentors to instill passion in a child at a young age. Ultimately, it is up to that person to force him or herself to practice and never give up. It’s not easy and it takes a long time to show results and develop technique. Eventually, playing music should become a part of your daily exercise routine.
R: You’ve published many releases and like to capture nature sounds, etc.—why is that? And you do your own photos and artwork?
F: I love hearing the natural tone and dynamics of instruments and voices. I record on a computer-based system but I like using outboard analogue equipment. It’s more hands-on and produces a sound heard in earlier music. I use my own pictures and artwork for my album covers and am pretty experimental. My personal music comes from the more emotional side of me. Being an independent artist, I have the ability to exercise my freedom of expression. It’s special to me, documenting an illustrated work by myself, marking a period of my life that I can always revisit in audio and real time. I’m very passionate about the outdoors and wildlife. I use those sounds in my music, so I can capture the atmosphere of where I was when the song was written and recorded.
R: Anything else?
F: My next release will be "Yesteryear," a full-length album of past, unreleased material coming out in mid-2018 on digital, CD and vinyl LP. I am also writing and recording "Hollow Victory", a 14-song acoustic album that will be the answer to the "Hollow Victory Drafts" I put out in 2012. Stay tuned!
