Joseph Coker

Reflections from a 28 year old college freshman

 Ok, first off, doesn’t “The 28 year old freshman” sound like a name for a sitcom, or movie a la “40 year old virgin”?. 

I got accepted to Berklee on the 31st of January.  Today, I have been thinking about my life so far, education, and passion.   Here is what I have learned.

What motivates me to learn is specific, useable, knowledge.  There are few subjects I will listen to for the “that’s interesting” factor.  Something in my brain demands focus.  It’s almost like, if I don’t plan on getting good at it, I would rather be ignorant of the subject.  Take me and computers for example.   I am, as my brother used to call me, a “techtard”.   I first learned to attach a file when I was in my early twenties, embarrassing. 

The other side of this coin is that when I do chose to learn, I go after it with zeal and an almost autistic fascination with the subject.  I decide to pursue the subject past the point of intermediate ability.  If the average person feels satisfied at 50% proficiency, I have to get to 80%.  Maybe it’s a guy thing, that need to show competence.  As Napoleon Dynamite wisely said, “girls only want guys with skills”. 

My twenties, so far at least, has been about trying on different hats.  Some were inherited and some were of my own discovery.  Teenage Joseph had several futures bubbling around in his brain.  The European life experience, the karate athlete and karate teacher, the religious worker, the entrepreneur, etc..

If you know me, you know I have tried many of the aforementioned lifestyles on for size.  The problem has been this:  for every step one goes forward in pursuit of any goal or dream, one has to be able to look down into the soul and see that your goal and your “guts” are a match.  I was pretty damn good at karate, but inside, I always knew it was close, but not a perfect match to what was in my heart to do.

But three years ago, I made a profound discovery.  At twenty five, I felt like I came to understand myself for the first time.  What gives me the most pleasure in the life is writing songs, recording them, and playing them for people.  There is not a more fulfilling task.  More than that, I can’t escape it, I am wired for this.

 My brain is always working on new ideas, I can’t turn it off.  I can’t read something or listen to a conversation without gathering words and feelings from things, and trying to fit them into rhyming couplets. 

I feel like I have finally found the “match”.  There is no promise that this will add up to anything but struggle, but I am still content.

Years ago, I was talking to Bradley about music, and we came up with this phrase of “being willing to embarrass yourself for the thing you loved”.  I have done that.

Just for fun, here are some things I have experienced while pursuing this thing I love

1. The day before I was supposed to go in the studio for my first recording, a certain prominent Mt. Pleasant studio owner cancelled my session and said the following about me:

“I’ve seen far too many folks with “American Idol” disease, thinking they have what it takes. I can tell from what you told me yesterday that you don’t.”

1. I applied for the Danish songwriting conservatory last year.  I was told, that not only was I not good enough to make the final cut, I was not good enough to make it out of the first round. 

1.  The hardest thing has probably been the general cold shoulder you get from people when you are going after something that isn’t “safe”.  It sucks when you feel like people think you are a bit silly; that never said but often felt “maybe you just aren’t cut out for this”. 

I am under no illusion that getting into Berklee means I have arrived, quite the opposite.  But it does mean something.  To me, it means this: in spite of all the opposition and rejection I may one day reach the level of mastery and success in music that I can envision in my head. 

Thanks to everyone who has been kind to me on my journey.  We are all becoming, and I hope for you that your goals match your guts. J

Experience is all

Here is some good advice for all of you artists or anybody trying to learn something new in 2012.  Yes, it comes from a website for magicians, shut up.

Read the rest of this entry »

My Berklee Audition by the numbers

Sitting in my hostel in Boston, killing time until I hop a flight to Charleston.  Here is the story of my trip to Boston, audition, and interview told by the numbers I encountered. 

0 number of people in my hostel room the first night, score. 

2 complete strangers who talked to me on the way to the hostel.

7 the hour of the morning I woke the next day feeling fresh and ready for anything.

3. number of hours it took for that to crash into a powerful jetlag that had me feeling high drunk and crazy at the same time.

12 dollars to get my neck and burns trimmed up at the cheesy chain haircut place. 

Audition day

5  times I woke in the middle of the night in fear I overslept

0 Starbucks employee’s who knew what the hell a Cortado was

5 bricks i could have shitted (or is it shat?) due to nerves

 2 times I was asked “so…are you like a senior in highschool?”.  To which I replied “no, I just look that way when I shave.  I’m actually really old”.  Gonna be a long semester if I make it in here. 

1 amount of things I feel like I totally bombed (jazz chords), the rest of the audition went pretty well. 

15 number of minutes the sweet interviewer talked to me after the official interview was over. 

3 new friend from staying in the hostel (shout out to Kousan, Nacho, and Paula

31 the last day in January that I will learn if I am accepted. 

Top 5 things Haan taught me

Haan with an axe…not sure why the block of wood is stuck like that…

My roomie, fellow foreigner, and good friend Haan is moving back to Canada today.  I will miss him, but not too much.  I have a feeling that somehow, we will see each other again soon.  Nevertheless, here is a list of things ole’ Haan-dog has taught me over our time here.

1.  How to make a delicious cheese sauce.

Haan knows food, as he should.  He is a cook. 

2.  How cool Canada is. 

I don’t want to speak for all southerners, but Canada and Canadians seem to come up in a lot of jokes in the Bible belt.  Living in Europe and meeting so many fun, selfless, and interesting Canadians has definately changed my preconceptions.  All that being said, this joke will never stop being funny: whats the difference between a Canadian and a canoe?  A canoe can tip.  Zinger.

3.  How to not be such a baby when it comes to Jujitsu conditioning. 

I noticed once that Haan never takes breaks during sparring in Jujitsu class.  His repsonse was something like “I came here to train, I can feel like dying after I get home”.  I immediately adopted this habit. 

4.  How to be confident without talking.  

 I think in America, we associate confidence with talk.  Its fun to be around someone who doesn’t talk much about their pursuits, but underneath the calm, they have an iron will.

5.  How to be proactive.

Its so refreshing to see someone “kicking ass and take names” with their own goals.  I remember being shocked at how fast Haan and Lisa established themselves in Copenhagen.  It seemed like they knew more about the city in two weeks than I did in two years.  Go-getters. 

Til we meet again, I will drink a King beer in your honor some time soon.

One of my earliest and most profound influences

Listening to this song really brings up a lot for me.

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For all of highschool, and a long stretch of time after that, the music of Waterdeep embodied all that I ever wanted to do with music.  I think I owned around ten of their albums, and could probably recite the lyrics and play convincing reditions of most of their songs. 

  The band is fronted by husband and wife Don and Lori Chaffer, a double dose of songwriting talent and soul.  The thing about these guys that still gets me is how honest they are.  They are people of faith, they don’t try to hide that, but they don’t use it as a marketing ploy either. 

Their music has always been so honest.  I cringe at the whitewash most “Christian” music relys on.  You won’t find any of that with Waterdeep.  You find true human suffering, you find true spiritual bliss, and you find everday humor.  Here are some of my favorite lines:

“In the gas station bathroom by the condom machine

I heard the word of the Lord

He said ‘take off your shoes, this is holy ground too,

you know I came for the sick and the bored”

“He will come, He will come, and remove His flaming garment

place it on the lowest harlot, we all will see His face

He will come, He will come, all you watchmen life your voices

every boy and girl rejoices, we’ll all be overwhelmed”

Music, in my opinion, should have contrast.  White is not always appropriate.  There are times when dark colors are the most accurate, and to brighten things up is dishonest.  The opposite is true.  I am so grateful for people like Don and Lori who dug deep into their souls and their surroundings to find colors worth listening to. 

To discover more of Waterdeep, look here :  http://www.waterdeep.com/

October gig at Tjili Pop and an important update

Hey ladies and germs,

I’m playing a set at the songwriters night at Tjili Pop, October 19. I will be joined by Jacob Lind, my favorite Danish guitarist and maybe others, we will see. If you have never been to Tjili Pop, its quite a cute little cafe with long picnic-like tables and good beer. I can’t wait to play some of my new songs for you guys.

http://www.tjili.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=55

2011 has been, to put it delicately, a pretty shitty year. And things have been getting worse in some ways. In spite of everything, I am trying to stay committed to my goals and my passion, and am trying to make positives from negatives. On a brighter note, I have probably churned out about 30 plus songs. No not all of them are totally finished, no, not all of them are great, but that isn’t the point.

The point is this, forward movement. Thats what I am desperate for now. To give my gifts to the world before its my time to go.

IMPORTANT UPDATE

So yeah, I am planning on moving back to America next year. No promises on when, but I am starting to feel like its time. Maybe as early as next summer.

Funny thing happened the other day. I was walking in the midst of a crowded street fair type of thing on a trendy cobblestone street in Nørrebro. There was quite a throng of people and tables selling old clothes, crafts, CDs, furniture, etc.. just picture a classy Euro flee market.

I looked down at one table as I pushed through the crowd and saw a license plate, from America. Guess what state? Yep, good ole SC. The last two digits in the right corner were 86. I don’t like to make a big deal out of stuff like this, and I sure as heck am not basing my decision on it, but its still cool.

Love to all of you guys,

Joseph

Let me buy you this book

Posted in Uncategorized | August 26th, 2011 | 2 Comments »