01. At what age did you first become interested in a musical career? And what and/or who most inspired you?
* The first album I owned was a Beatles record and I really loved their music. I started taking piano lessons at age six. I became interested in the guitar around age twelve. I had my first rock band and started playing professionally in 1973. Our band was called FULL MOON. (We should have known better than to choose that name. There were quite a few jokes about it going around. We were all very young ambitious kids. We were playing some originals I had written along with doing songs by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Grand Funk, Moody Blues, Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple, Aerosmith, Mott the Hoople, Ten Years After, Free, Kansas, Queen, The Eagles, Humble Pie, Foghat, Chuck Berry, ELO, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Styx, Cheap Trick, ZZ Top, Neil Young, CCR, Rush, and a host of others.
02. You are a multi-instrumentalist. Can you please list all the instruments you play and tell us what instrument is your favorite, and which was the most difficult for you to learn?
* I play assorted vintage guitars, (Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker etc...) mandolin, banjo, bass, drums, piano, and assorted keyboards and synthesizers. I kept all my old keyboards from the 70's so I have an original Mini Moog, Arp synthesizer etc, and all kinds of assorted vintage gear. I still use them to this day! My favorite instrument is the guitar! I think acoustic solo piano is the hardest to play.
03. In regards to question #2, who were your music instructors, and whom do you most credit for helping you to kick start your musical career?
* I had many musical instructors over the years. Sometimes taking several lessons from different teachers a week. I was like a sponge learning every style of music there was. I credit my Father the most for helping. He bought a sound system, microphones, and amplifiers for the band.
04. What was the very first song you learned to play & sing?
* It was a classical piece of music by Beethoven on the piano. I was really into it at the time. By age thirteen I began writing my own songs on the guitar. I was a shy person, so this was my main outlet for expression. I bought a 12 string guitar and the original line up of The Byrds were a major inspiration for me. I even dressed and wore my hair like them for awhile. (My mother couldn't figure out why I was wearing straight legged jeans when bell bottom pants were all the rage).
05. Aside from recording/performing under the name of Jeremy/Jeremy Morris, what other bands or acts have you been a member of or associated with previously?
* I have played many different bands over the years. I would play in my father's jazz band, played in the symphony orchestra (classical guitar) and more recently with Guillermo Cazenave (from Argentina), Progressor (from Russia) and John Rabbit Bundrick, (The Who's keyboardist) and Jon Dawson.
06. At what age did you first start writing your own songs and what is the title of the first song you wrote & recorded?
* The first recordings I did were in 1973 of some originals I had written. The band FULL MOON was going for the progressive rock sound. Prog rock was peaking that year with bands like Yes, Flash, Gentle Giant, and Genesis. These recordings have never been released and they were all lengthy prog rock instrumentals.
07. You record several different genres of music, Including Pop/Powerpop, Prog-rock, classical, intrumental, inspirational, experimental, etc. Out of all of these which do you feel has been the most complex for you? And which most reflects your full instrumental abilities & talents as a matured/seasoned artist?
* The progressive rock is the most complex and demanding music to record. The song "Pilgrim's Journey" for example is 25 minutes long while "Kingdom Come" is 35 minutes. It takes a long time to compose an opus of this sort. These pieces all change trough out with many themes, time signatures, key changes and instruments. It will often take a few years to compose and record a piece of music like that. The fact that I play all the instruments makes it take even longer to record. It's similar in approach to Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" album which I still think is the best thing he ever did. He made a nice blue print for instrumental prog rock.
08. Many songwriters write songs about their own personal life experiences. What percentage of your songs would you say are a true reflection of your own life?
* Most of the music I write is some kind of reflection of my own life. It's all written in such a way so that the listener can take ownership of the song. So rarely will I use people's names in my songs. I like the listener to have freedom to make it their own experience.
09. Out of all of the songs you have written & recorded, name a couple of your personal favorites that hold the most meaning to you and why?
* "Open Your Heart" is an early favorite because I was such a shy person and needed to grow. I think the message is timeless. "It's getting Better" is one of my favorite pop songs because it was a turning point in my personal life to consciously become a more positive person. "Highway to Heaven" is another favorite because I got so sick of hearing AC/DC's "Highway to Hell". Since I am not going to hell, I felt there needed to be an anthem for those who will go to heaven. "Celestial City" is my favorite piano piece I have ever written. "Still Waters" is my favorite guitar piece I have written. The best though is yet to come.
10.You perform annually at the International Pop Overthrow Festival. In what year did you first perform at this venue and how did it come about? In addition please feel welcome to share a few words about the Festival for those who may not be familiar with it.
* I met David Bash in 1995 a few years before he started the IPO festival. He is one of the most passionate music fans I have ever met and we immediately became friends.
I have played all the International Pop Overthrow festivals and the very first one was in Los Angeles in 1998. I was amazed by the positive atmosphere of this festival. This was no battle of the bands . Here were over 120 bands playing and enjoying each other. At these festivals everybody is a music fan and everybody is a star. It simply puts everyone on the level. There is no difference between performer and audience. No competition. That kind of humility is rarely found in a world of huge egomaniacs. So this festival is really great. It takes place yearly in Los Angeles, New York, Liverpool, Chicago, Detroit, and many other places. I truly recommend this festival to everyone. Check out the IPO, you will be glad you did. You can find the IPO festival at:
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