1.Growing Up

My dad played hand percussion a lot in the house, and was always tapping along to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon and whatever else. I remember thinking I could play drums just by listening to him tap along, so when my sister and I had to take piano lessons, I really wanted to be drumming. I did take up the drums and played for quite a few years. My sister Elana Stone is an accomplished jazz, soul and pop singer, and when we were growing up she hated my taste in music.

2.Inspirations

I loved Faith No More because they could write such a wide variety of styles. I loved Public Enemy, Cypress Hill and N.W.A because gangsta really had edge in the ’90s and was very exciting from a production perspective also.

3.Your Crew

I played in Bluejuice for 13 years, so they are really my ‘crew’, but I also hung around a lot of the indie bands of that era like Red Riders and Dappled, Philadelphia Grand Jury, Deep Sea Arcade and The Jezabels. Holly Throsby and her folk crew were a huge influence, and I saw Cat Power and Will Oldham and Red House Painters and acts like that through her. I have to acknowledge the influence of Martin Novosel and Purple Sneakers as a social and cultural hub also, because it was a magnet for aspiring musicians and industry. When I was coming up, I was working as a bartender at the Annandale Hotel, the Hopetoun Hotel, and interviewed everyone for the BRAG, SMH Metro and Rolling Stone.

4.The Music You Make And Play

At the moment I’m really playing an intersection of house, hip hop, modern R&B and retro R&B, because that’s what kids want to hear, and an eclectic take on classic disco that includes acts like Boney M and others. I also love electro like Yelle and French house like Cassius and classic acts like that, who stray more into the traditional disco vibe as well. I have quite a cheesy side that I like to indulge, and currently that encompasses a lot of early 2000s pop and Ministry Of Sound releases like Eric Prydz.

5.Music, Right Here, Right Now

There are brilliant acts out there, many of them in their early 20s. They all seem to be very savvy and very computers-literate. Basically the whole game is kind of more complex and more money-oriented and competitive. The stages of music have sped up, and generally an artist will be making big moves overseas early in their careers. They are image-savvy and marketing-savvy early on. As such, I find some of what is going on a little front-loaded. The tunes aren’t as good as the marketing, but sometimes they totally are, and that’s awesome! When they are, they are usually really futuristic and accomplished. People have much better jiu jitsu than they used to have, if you know what I mean.

Jake Stone plays Courtyard Sessions 2016 at the Seymour Centre on Sunday February 21.

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