By Jonathan Burger, Craven Arts Council & Gallery, Inc.
Where are you from and how’d you end up in eastern North Carolina?
I am from eastern, NC — Cumberland County. I moved to New Bern 18 years ago because I thought downtown would be a good location for a surf/outdoor retail store.
How did you get started in music? Do you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
I was lucky to grow up in a home that had a dedicated music room and a mother that was a very talented musician. She strongly encouraged (forced) me to take piano lessons. By the time I started middle school, I joined the school band learning percussion instruments. This would lead to my short drumming career in garage bands. By the time I was 13 or 14, I became very interested in guitar and spent the next several years (until high school graduation) formally training – and learning on my own – many genres of music on the guitar. As a teenager, I performed with several rock garage bands, a country band and would often perform recitals in the folk and classical genre. I did start college with the idea of studying music but eventually changed direction. I boxed up my instruments after college and they mostly collected dust, with the occasional exception of pulling out an instrument as a party trick. About 15 years ago, I got very interested in music again and dusted off my instruments and actually started learning a few new instruments.
You play several instruments; can you tell us them all? Do you have a favorite?
I primarily play stringed, fretted instruments — guitar and banjo. The drum kit I purchased as a teenager still gets used today. I also play the harmonica. I play the guitar more than any other instrument so I would have to say it is my favorite.
You are a longtime member of the Bonafides, can you tell us more about the band and how it came it be?
We started the band during the covid pandemic. We were supposed to be socially isolated, but we still had a need to connect. Several friends decided to meet on stage at the New Bern Civic Theater to play music and to see if that could develop into a band. The band is large but I think that reflects the size and quality of our community of music friends. The other interesting thing about the band is the varying interests in music genres. We all come from different music backgrounds. Our drummer is from Venezuela and you can often catch a hint of his latin rhythm skills. Of course George is a banjo player and Doug is a fiddle and mandolin instrumentalist. No matter what genre of music we perform, there will always be a hint of roots music at the foundation. At the core, my guitar foundation will always be slightly blues focused (as well as my harmonica). I have an interest in heavily reverb, twangy notes so my playing style consistently has a hint of country and surf-rock – those two genres, believe it or not, are very similar.
You are also the owner of Surf Wind and Fire, and S.L. Revival Company, both very unique companies with fun products. Do you see any sort of creative link or feedback between your work with those companies and your work as a musician?
Certainly anyone could argue that I am in the business of imagination and creativity. Both art and music use the temporal lobes and the right hemisphere in the brain. We are constantly imagining and reimagining the store concept and look, product selection and how to make it continually fresh and interesting. At S.L. Revival Co. we design hats and apparel which is simply another medium to display art. On a daily basis, both Surf, Wind and Fire and S.L. Revival Co. takes imagination and an activated right hemisphere; playing and learning music is the same. Between my hobbies and my work, I am able to enjoy the creative process every day and of course this makes life very interesting.
Do you have another musician who work you admire or inspires you?
Yes, an album titled Mambo Sinuendo. I was blown away with the differing genres incorporated into this 2003 recording of Cuban 1950s inspired music. The electric guitar parts are very spaghetti western or surf rock style. As much as I have listened to this album, I still cannot decide if this music is mostly Latin, surf-rock, rockabilly, 50s doo wop or lounge music.
What performance, event, concert, or other achievement as a musician are you particularly proud of, and why?
I am grateful for the opportunity to perform every time and there is excitement and nervousness with each performance. I remember around age 13 or 14 we first put together a garage band and we practiced at my house. After a few weeks, we set up in the garage and invited the neighbors. It was the first time we were going to play in front of an audience (a very small audience). It was also the first time we would perform amplified beyond my bedroom. I remember those first few seconds of guitar, drums and bass amplifying through the neighborhood and watching all the neighbors following the beat. They smiled and liked it and I was hooked. It was an amazing realization that you could create music with friends and make people smile. It still feels the same.
In one sentence, what is art to you?
Art is when I get lost in my imagination, time slows down and I sense the beauty of the moment. It is a moment that is unique and will not be re-created. I may have similar experiences but that exact creative moment is a one-time experience. Brevity and uniqueness is what makes it so special.
I know you’ll be performing with the Bonafide’s for the At the Gallery: Jerry Garcia concert at Bank of the Arts in March, but where else can people find you? (feel free to promote other upcoming shows and the like)
We are very focused on the upcoming Jerry Garcia show at the Bank of Arts and we will take the show to Oriental and Morehead as well.
Next year, I think the Bonafides will be creating a variety show much like the old variety shows from the past with skits, music and stories. It is a way to expand our creative process.
Starting in March, The Bonafides will start hosting a regular jam session at Surf, Wind and Fire. We are calling it A Bonafide Old Time Jam session. The first session will be in March.