Order of songs featured in video:
The Chicken (Jaco Pastorius) – performed by Ship of Foolz
Dun Dun Dun Dun – Ship of Foolz
Bridged Burned – Take With Food
Quarterhorse Dragster – Fat City Jokers
Cry Baby Jam – Jonathan Michelsen
They Reminisce Over You (Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth) – performed by Ship of Foolz
Saye So – Ship of Foolz
If You Want Me To Stay (Sly and the Family Stone) – performed by Ship of Foolz
Low Rider (War) – performed by Ship of Foolz
Chameleon (Herbie Hancock) – performed by Ship of Foolz
Hip Hop Show – Ship of Foolz
*Band websites listed below!*
Profile:
Music seeps from the soul of the young man standing on the stage. His hands glide across the fretless fret board of a bass as his thumb works overtime making the strings bellow in beautiful harmony. His face scrunches as his eyes roll back in deep musical pleasure; he’s in a different world that no one else will ever know. He comes out of his trance, arching his auburn mustache as his lips curl up in a smile, feeling the residual power of his last solo and laughing at the “bass faces” he knows he made.
A simple black fedora is present atop his head this evening, as it is every other evening: the signature of a true jazz bassist. He is a sharply dressed twenty one year old, wearing jewel toned dress shirts and slacks on a daily basis. His long, wavy strawberry blonde hair is tied back into a low ponytail that rests between his shoulder blades. The formalness of his appearance is only interrupted by the presence of the zebra stripped strap that hugs his bass to his body, and the cowboy boots on his feet, a signature of his style since he turned fifteen.
He is mellow and relaxed with friendly brown eyes that disappear when he laughs. His easygoing nature allows him to be compatible with almost any kind of person and is undoubtedly part of why he is a member of so many different bands, six to be exact.
Jeff Anderson is a very talented musician from Stockton, California. Specializing on guitar and bass, Jeff collaborates with other musicians of varying styles and influences including jazz, hip hop, rock, rockabilly, punk and reggae to create bands with unique and eclectic sounds.
Jeff was born in 1990 to a family of musicians. His parents are both graduates from the University of the Pacific’s music department. His mother Joan is a singer, pianist, the director of the Stockton Youth Chorale and the principal of Don Riggio, an elementary school with an emphasis on the arts. His father Chris is the band director at Don Riggio as well as a member of several big bands in Stockton including the Swingaires and Tropical Nights in which he plays the trombone.
Being born into such a musical family allowed for Jeff to flourish as a musician at a young age. He began playing trumpet in third grade with mild enthusiasm, but picked up a guitar in the 7th grade and realized it was the instrument for him.
He received extensive training in jazz on both the trumpet and guitar throughout high school and has stuck with the genre on guitar ever since. Now a music student at Delta College, Jeff plays guitar in both the Jazz Band and in the Top Jazz Combo.
Shortly after graduating high school Jeff picked up the bass and found a second calling. He used his knowledge of guitar to learn the ins and outs of the bass and started joining bands as a double threat.
He is now the member of 4 different bands outside of college where he flourishes as a skilled composer and musician. Each band has been a learning experience for Jeff, and he values the diverse range of style and influences each band possesses.
He and drummer Ryan Blodgett have formed a dynamic duo that works together on all of their musical projects. They met in the marching band at Lincoln High but did not become musical alliances until after Jeff graduated in 2008.
One night Ryan invited Jeff to play with his friend Josh at an open mic night, and after blowing then both away with his technical and improvisational skill, they invited him to become the bassist for the reggae jam band Take With Food.
Not long after joining Take With Food, Josh and Ryan asked Jeff to be the lead guitarist of the psychobilly band Fat City Jokers. Psychobilly is a dynamic mix of classic country, rock n’ roll, and punk music characterized by the presence of a large stand up bass and shredding guitar lines.
Jeff was treated as an outsider by other bands in the psychobilly scene for several months after first joining Fat City Jokers. Other musicians hassled him for not being “part of the scene”, and said he and his playing style didn’t fit in. Tiring of the harassment, Jeff studied the genre relentlessly, worked on his chops and soon became one of the best new guitarists on the Northern California psychobilly scene. Now many of his former critics are his biggest fans.
Since then, Ryan and Jeff have collaborated on other musical projects together, most notably the multi-faceted band Ship of Foolz. The band features a classic jazz set up with drums, guitar, bass, and a horn section of saxophone, trumpet and trombone. A hip hop flair is tossed in with a DJ and some violin, creating a unique mixture of funk, hip hop, jazz, and reggae with tidbits of other influences thrown in as well.
Though many residents and critics of Stockton believe that the city has no music scene, Jeff asserts that, “Stockton actually has a really great music scene. The problem is… no one knows where to find it.”
Stockton has no designated musical venue in the form of concert halls or theaters where local musicians can easily play. Rather, live music can be found at cafes, bars, restaurants, wineries, festivals and other cultural staples. Ship of Foolz has had great success playing at these locations, so much so that they have been asked to record the soundtrack to an independent film by a local University of the Pacific student and play several summer festivals all over San Joaquin County.
By playing in these local and accessible locations they have built up quite a fan base in Stockton and surrounding areas, including nearby San Francisco where they played at the Thrasher Magazine skateboard warehouse last month.
Ship of Foolz is one of many talented up and coming bands out of the central valley and Jeff will undoubtedly be cooking up more fantastic musical ventures in the future.
Jeff plans use his musical skills and knowledge to pursue a career in music recording and producing. He loathes the music industry’s current mass production of “talentless” artists that lack sincerity and skill. He looks forward to learning more about recording and using his education to produce music as genuine as his own.
In the near future, Jeff wants to see Stockton’s art and music scene gain a bit more gusto and public attention. He plans to collaborate with other Stockton musicians at large venues where their talents can be properly showcased along with that of local visual artists. This concoction has undeniable appeal and will be adding some spunk to Stockton’s cultural heartbeat this summer.
In the meantime, check out Jeff’s music, band information and show dates via facebook and youtube, and be sure to pay some attention to your own local music scene; talented locals like Jeff Anderson are the celebrities of the near future.
Band Websites:
Ship of Foolz: Facebook & Youtube
Take With Food: Facebook
Fat City Jokers: Myspace
Venues mentioned:
Empresso Coffeehouse: website & Facebook
The Blackwater Cafe: Facebook
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