After performing with the GVSU orchestra last year and becoming more familiar with their music program I discovered the great quality and quantity of concerts they put on every school year. Most of them free! I encourage you to visit the link below. It is a link to their “upcoming events” page. Go see some live music! There is something for everyone.
Jazz Jam at the Grand in downtown Grand Haven. Tell your friends and bring your instrument! All skill levels encouraged to participate!
7:30-10:30pm
This week: Lee Heerspink – Guitar
Kevin Depree -Drums
Mike Drost- Bass
What town do you live in?
-Grand Haven
How long have you been contributing to the local music scene?
-I started performing regularly about 6 years ago. But I’ve been playing music since I was about 18 (I’m 30 now)
Tell us about how your group “Four Finger Five” was started:
-I had Jammed on and off with Steve Harris(drummer for 4F5) starting sometime around 2000. Then in the winter of 02/03 I was moving back to Michigan from New York City where I had been working in a recording studio. It was at this time that Steve and I started talking about putting a project together. Steve introduced me to bassist Mike Phillips and we started Jamming together and working up some original material. We performed one show together under the name Funktion and then disbanded for about 6 months or so. We started rehearsing again added a few musicians to the mix and called ourselves the Elements. We played under that name until we discovered there already was a band by that name and we landed on Four Finger Five , mostly because it was not taken by anyone else. Over the years the other musicians quit the band and we found ourselves back where we started, a power trio.
When you are writing new tunes for the band, do you bring them as a finished product or is it more of a collaborative effort?
-I usually bring in a complete idea, in the form of a demo or just chords/lyrics. Then we work on it together and through the process of rehearsing / recording, it becomes a Four Finger Five song. Steve and Mike add so much to the finished product that the song takes on a new life after we work it up together.
Where are you guys playing this summer?
- We just played at the Rothbury Music Festival on the 4th o July. We are going to be at the Ann Arbor summer Art Fair this Weekend. We are also putting on our own show in Muskegon on Sept 5th. It is our 2nd annual Rock the Boat Party on the deck of the LST 393 WWII ship at the Mart dock in Downtown Muskegon. We will be joined this year by our friends Ultra Violet Hippopotamus. All the info for the event is on our myspace page.
Any new recording projects in the works for the band?
- We just finished our latest album which is not yet released about three weeks ago. We had been working on it since about January. I just started getting back to writing this week. I hope to finish most of the tracks for another album before the end of the year.
What other groups do you play with locally?
-I play with the Hotpockets, which includes Scotty Pellegrom on Drums and Jim Shaneberger on bass. It’s a side project for all of us. We just get together once or twice a month and jam out on some old funk, rock and soul tunes. I also perform about once a month solo.
Are you working on any other projects outside of Four Finger Five? What are you up to?
-I’ve been so busy with 4F5 I haven’t gotten into any other original projects but I am anxious to start working on something different.
Who are your main musical influences?
-I have so many it’s hard to say really. I love and admire so many great musicians, but I guess the most influential music to me has to be old soul music from the Motown/Stax era. It’s what I grew up listening to and it’s the music that made me want to play.
Where are some of your favorite places to play in West Michigan and why?
-Bells and Founders: Great Beer and People
What gear are you using on your gigs these days? Guitars, amps, pedals etc.
-I play a Rene Martinez customized Strat, or a Heritage 555. I use a Ibanez tube screamer turbo and a proco Rat for distortion. I use boss delay and reverb pedals and I split my signal stereo out of my delay into a mid 70’s Fender super Reverb and a THD 50 watt head into a Motion Sound rotating speaker cab.
What other styles of music would you like to play more of?
-In my next life I am going to play bass in a reggae band
Who have you been listening to?
-In my 25 top played tab in itunes right now is Lettuce, Aretha Franklin, The White Stripes, Jimi Hendrix, Al Green, soulive, the Black Keys, The Beatles, John Scofield, N.E.R.D etc…….
Did you study guitar or voice formally? If yes, with who?
-I did take a few years of choir but never private voice lessons. I studied Guitar under Rich Martin for about a year and a half. And I had a couple other guitar teachers that were very short lived. i mostly learned from jamming with other musicians and asking questions and listening to music.
How do you continue to challenge and educate yourself musically?
-Writing is the most challenging thing for me lately. I haven’t been putting in a lot of time as far a practicing goes. But working on new ideas and concepts for songs has been a great challenge and also very rewarding.
What advice might you give to someone who has some talent as a singer/songwriter would like to be successful in the music business?
-Don’t give up. A friend of mine recently told me that it takes 10,000 hours of your time to become an expert at something. If you can continue to stay focused and positive and engaged in what you are working towards eventually something is going to happen for you. Or rather you will make it happen…
What qualities musical and personal do you possess that have helped you be successful musically in West Michigan?
-Once again i think perseverance is the most important aspect of success. That would be the personal quality that is important. Musically speaking, I think as long as you are sincere in your delivery and performance then you can win over a crowd.
Name five of your most memorable achievements/musical experiences:
Rothbury 08/09
Winning back to back Jammies in 08/09
Playing with Karl Denson at the Fraunthal on the 4th of July 07
First tour down to New Orleans in 08 and all the shows in between here and there
Playing at the bar in Olympia Washington that Matt Groening based Moe’s Tavern on from the Simpson’s
Where can we purchase your music?
-Itunes is the easiest way to get it, or come out to a show and pick it up there
Where do you see yourself in 10 years musically?
-Hopefully still writing and pushing myself to the edge of my abilities.
Links? Videos? Audio? Shameless plugs?
www.fourfingerfive.com
www.myspace.com/fourfingerfive
Hey there folks,
Sorry for the lack of content lately. It has been a busy couple weeks! My interview with Joe Sturgill and some great new local band videos coming down the pipeline! Stay tuned.
A great night of orchestra music and jazz! Check out the Holland Symphonies “Pops at the Piper” series on June 18th. Featuring vocalist Kathy Wagner and the HSO.
Pops at the Piper
“Jazzy Broadway”
Thursday, June 18, 2009, 7:30pm
Location: Eldean’s Boat Shed near the Piper Restaurant
Folks, don’t forget to check out the Jazz Jam session at the Grand in downtown Grand Haven. Located in the heart of Grand Haven on Washington St. Bring your axe and sit in!