2016 is lacking in many various qualities but if there’s anything we need more right now, it’s a voice for intellectual music. While Hollywood keeps busy rebooting classic 80’s films, the music industry is doing the same with classic genres. It’s rare to find fresh, young talent that’s not a carbon copy of their influence. While it’s not bad per say, it certainly lacks originality. Out of this bland repetition, comes a new hope. Oklahoma singer JD McPherson hopes to give the old rock a new soul.
JD MCPHERSON: NOT YOUR AVERAGE ROCK STAR
JD McPherson did not get his start slumming the dirty rock clubs of America or growing up in the posh London music scene. McPherson had humble beginnings in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he served as the chair of the art department. There, he took an avant-garde approach to education which later came to stab him in the back. When he lost his job, McPherson did what any dad with a graduate degree would do. Get in a band and play around.
THE INTELLECTUAL SIDE OF JD MCPHERSON
While JD McPherson did grow up on a 160-acre cattle ranch in Oklahoma, he hardly lived the average farm boy life. JD spent his youth engaging in intellectual activities such as making videos, drawing and playing guitar. In college, he studied film and went to grad school on an open media degree. Here, he studied everything from jazz guitar, art, and even magic. When he wasn’t busy studying, his down time consisted of listening to classic rock and roll and post-rockabilly. It was here that McPherson began to craft his musical identity and sought out to change the way rock is played.
JD MCPHERSON PRESERVES THE OLD IN A NEW WAY
McPherson isn’t trying to re-write the book on rock. He knows the music so well and understands that’s not possible. Instead, he brings an intellectual approach to an old genre and thus, makes it new in a way. Listening to any of his records, you will hear the obvious influences but that doesn’t mean he’s afraid to steer away from the rock and roll basics. It’s like he’s reverse engineering ing the concept of rock. Piece by piece, McPherson is able to rearrange the sounds to create new, and innovative sound to inspire future generations of musicians.
