Interview with Jamie Bonk

John Beaudin : Hi Jamie and thanks for joining us on Smooth Jazz Now.com. Are you working on a new CD yet?

Jamie Bonk : I'm working on some new tunes right now. Hopefully I'll have a new record out by the Fall or maybe early 2003. I'm part of the home studio generation so I'm always working on new material. I generally put my ideas in the computer as they come to me or write them down on paper. Sometimes they're just fragments maybe a bass part or a loop and sometimes they're almost complete arrangements. If I think the piece is strong enough I'll make a lead sheet for it and start really hammering it out. My plan for this record is to try out some of the new pieces in a live setting so that I can make a few tweaks to the tracks before I release the album.

John : You have the luxury of being an artist who can be played on both New Age and Smooth Jazz formats. Your sound has this uncluttered feel to it and I think that appeals to a lot of people. It's true stress-less music.

Jamie : Thank you very much. It's amazing how much stress I have to go through to sound stress-less. Ballads in particular are a real challenge for me. Finding the point where the music seems to disappear and all the listener is feeling is emotion is a difficult thing. Part of it is letting yourself be open and not hiding behind chops or even the lure of the technology. As the old saying goes sometimes one note is all that you need. You're right that I have the luxury to be played on both New Age and Smooth Jazz but I never think about formats when I'm writing. I'm just trying to make the best possible music I can at that moment. I grew up listening to all kinds of music so I guess you could say I'm a crossover listener. I love what Parker, Miles and Coltrane did and I also love Yaz, Fleetwood Mac, Chuck Mangione, Michael Hedges and a lot of other music. I enjoy learning from a wide variety of styles and try to put those different flavors in my music.

John : How long has your Dad been working for you?

Jamie : We started working together in 1997. I knew from talking to other musicians how much business is involved in running your own label and that I would need some help with that side of it. My Dad has done a great job. I'm just trying to get my Mom, brother and sister to carry my gear to my gigs and my plan will be complete. No luck so far!

John : (laughing) Maybe Ican get my Mom to do a little heavy lifting! I've had long talks with your Dad. He'd call me for tracking information and we'd go off on industry, psychology and spiritual tangents. It's great and he's really got the gift of the gab doesn't he?

Jamie : Yes he does. You really have to put aside a bunch of time when Ed Bonk calls! I think it's just part of getting to know people in the industry and sharing common interests. There is a lot more to life than music or the business.

John : I really like your Dad alot. He's a good man. Was your family always supportive?

Jamie : Definitely. There was never a problem with me playing all the time. I'm sure listening to me practice three or four hours a day must have been trying. My parents helped me find some excellent teachers also. I was lucky enough to get to study classical guitar with Eli Kassner and Alan Torok. My wife has a background in music and has been a critical ear that I rely on. She also played on my last record for free which helped!

John : Isn't your wife from Vancouver?

Jamie : She was born and raised there and she would love to move back someday. I think Vancouver is one of the most beautiful places in Canada. I'm inspired by my surroundings and I find Vancouver and B.C. just amazing. I have one West Coast inspired tune called "Tofino" off of my last record. A trip we took to Vancouver Island was the kick-off inspiration to the whole "A Perfect Tomorrow" album. I'm sure there's a "Port Moody" knockin' around in my head somewhere.

John : How did you meet her?

Jamie : I met Sonya when we were both at Queen's. I lived in this house that was essentially on its last legs and I think it was ripped down after I moved out. I had rented the house along with a couple of friends and we decided to have a house warming party which Sonya ended up coming to. I really just gave her the standard, "Hey, do you want to play with my pedals" line that guitar players have been using since the beginning of time. Lucky for me she'd never heard it!

John : (laughing) Hey your pretty smooth! Your Debut was New Age Voice (NAV) Magazine's Radio Album of the Year for 1999. Did you see it coming and were you surprised your debut did that well?

Jamie : Absolutely surprised. Before I started releasing records I had no idea about the various formats and related magazines. I had never heard of NAV. I just found shows that seemed like they'd be interested in what I do and I sent them a disc. There really wasn't anything more to it than that. Over time I learned about the different charts and which ones were accessible to my kind of music but initially it was just looking at play lists and seeing if I was a good fit for the show. I don't think this approach would work for mainstream pop but the approach worked pretty well for my style.

John : New Age Voice has been a great help hasn't it?

Jamie : Well, the people at NAV have been really supportive of my music and They have really helped me out. The magazine has given me some great exposure, and I'm truly thankful. They've done a fantastic job with their charts and samplers and they are very indie friendly. Maybe one day they'll put me on the cover!

John : I interviewed Barbara Taylor (Editor of New Age Voice) a while back. She's a great lady and she doesn't pull any punches. She's very real!

Jamie : You know, I've never talked with Barbara but I've always enjoyed her editorials and have heard good things about her. I hope you'll put your interview with her on the Smooth Jazz Now web site so I can check it out.

John : It should be up in a month. She has some great insights on the genre. You like that Strunz and Farah's and Ottmar Liebert sound. Anything else in that Flamenco guitar sound that you like?

Jamie : I like just about everybody else. I like Paco de Lucia, his command over the instrument is really inspiring. I've been listening to Tonino Baliardo's "Essences" lately. He's the guitarist for the Gipsy Kings and "Essences" is his solo record. I think this album is just great and take a listen to track 3 "Redemption," it's a beautiful ballad. I'm also a huge fan of Jesse Cook. He's an amazing player with a real flair for melody and he just keeps on getting better.

John : Give me your top 10 albums of all time in any genre.

Jamie : This is going to be tough as I go through phases where I'm convinced that the record I'm currently listening to is the best I've heard. Here's ten of the albums that I've felt that about but in no particular order:

1. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
2. Mickey Hart - Planet Drum
3. George Benson - Breezin'
4. Pat Metheny Group - First Circle
5. Yaz - Upstairs at Eric's
6. Ennio Morricone - The Mission
7. Paul Simon - Graceland
8. Steve Reich - Drumming
9. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
10. Marc Johnson - Bass Desires

And I'll just add a few records that I'm listening to now:

1. Bela Fleck - Perpetual Motion
2. Baaba Maal - Missing You (Mi Yeewnii)
3. Tonino Baliardo - Essences
4. Nigel Kennedy - Classics
5. Kálmán Balogh & The Gypsy Cimbalom Band - Gypsy Jazz
6. Márcio Faraco - Ciranda

I could go on as there are so many fantastic albums and musicians out there.

John : Tell me about your big "guilty pleasure" album in High School. One of mine was Saturday Night Fever and all my friends thought I was nuts to even look at this album but I loved it. Did you have one of those?

Jamie : Maybe this doesn't exactly answer your question but in high school I never allowed myself to like Zeppelin. I grew up in Scarborough and it seemed like everybody had either a Zeppelin, Rush or Maiden patch/painting on the back of their jean jacket. I remember one article in the Toronto Star had a map showing my school as the heavy metal epic center of Toronto. I've never wanted to be exactly like everyone else so I just never listened to metal at home not that I didn't hear enough of it everywhere else. Of course now I just love "Black Dog" and I don't feel one bit guilty. And I must admit now I also like my wife's ABBA and Bee Gee's albums too!

John : Also on that topic did you have what we used to call "our own secret Band?" I think each one of my friends had a love for an artist or group who wasn't known at all. For me, it was some of the early Lee Ritenour and Bob James stuff. In rock I used to love this band from Holland called Kayak. They were almost completely unknown in North America. The delete bins were great places to discover unknown bands. Did you have favorite unknown bands in your collection?

Jamie : Most of the music I listened to was somewhat obscure at least initially. I loved the Jam, Specials, English Beat, early Clash and lots of other English groups that became famous later in their careers. I had a few friends who listened to jazz but truthfully not all that many who were really into it. Even artists that I considered famous like Jeff Beck and Pat Metheny I would mention their names in school and I'd get blank stares for the most part. Now what fourteen-year-old was listening to Cecil Taylor?

John : I hear you. Do you remember any of your time in Holland as a kid?

Jamie : A little bit, I actually remember a lot of rain and eating eels. I also remember my Dad bringing home Cream's "Disreali Gears" on cassette. That record is the first music that I can remember and I still like it.

John : You obviously love improvised music. What guitarist does that best?

Jamie : That's such a hard question. The best improvisers are playing themselves. It's their personality that comes through and you can hear their voice in any setting. I think Pat Metheny is great. Bill Frisell and John Scofield are two players that I've learned a lot from. Jeff Beck has always blown me away. The list of talented players could be very long. The guitar is such a malleable instrument and it has such a wide range of styles that it fits in that it's difficult to name just a few great players.

John : Do you like teaching?

Jamie : I love it but usually only with students who are focused on music and enjoy learning. I like moving between diffferent styles and teaching gives me that opportunity. It's such a great feeling to help someone to
learn and expose them to new concepts. I hope I get a chance to do a lot more teaching in the future.

John : Jamie, thanks for joining us and good luck with the next album.

Jamie : Thanks and good luck to you with the Smooth Jazz Now web site.