For Newfoundland's Jerry Stamp writing music has almost always been an interest.
"My parents had me in piano lessons as a child. When I was really young I would sit at the piano and make stuff up, which my mother tells me actually sounded OK," said Stamp who performs at 5th Avenue Cup & Saucer this Saturday, June 11. "So lessons followed.
"In high school I started playing drums which led to me joining a band. And I joined the choir as well. One day my band, who was without a lead singer, were all sitting around outside on a summer day with acoustic guitars and we were all singing tunes we all knew. Afterwards they told me I was now the singer and we would find a new drummer.
"Now here I am."
The where for Stamp is solidly pursuing a solo career, something he has done since returning to his native Newfoundland in 2006.
"I released five albums in one calendar year. I didn't plan to as such. I was going on tour in the fall of 2008 and didn't have a proper solo CD because all of previous recordings were with my band (King Nancy)," he said.
"So I took a collection of demos I was working on and spruced them up a bit and released it as a tour CD (Racing Bad Weather 2008).
"Then in February of the following winter I took part in this thing called the RPM challenge. You are supposed to write and record an album in 28 days (10 songs or 35 minutes of music). I somehow ended up with 19 songs. So I wrote a few more in March culled it down a bit and began properly recording them aiming to release two more albums (There is something in me that makes me like to think I wish I could be July 2009 and Bloodwork August 2009).
"I had already planned to release a Christmas CD that year which turned into two, one classic Christmas full of the stuff mom and dad would like (This Noel 2009) and one full of sadder Rockier Christmas fare (I, Noel 2009)."
With a vault of recorded material Stamp spends a lot of time touring in support of his disks.
"I have had a pretty blessed career so far," he said. "Over the years I have toured most of Canada, did concerts in Europe, shared the stage with acts like Broken Social Scene, Amelia Curran, Arkells, Sam Roberts, Hey Rosetta! amongst many more.
"And through choral singing (in several award winning choirs) I have performed at several international festivals.
"Every gig is different and each one has just as much merit as the last if you are always prepared to take something away from it."
Stamp said recording and live performance are completely different as a musician.
"Recording is an entirely different beast than the stage," he said. "Some folks like one over the other but I think I like them equally for different reasons.
"Stage is immediate gratification. You play. The audience applauds. You feel warm and cuddly.
"But the studio makes you excited to get something new out there. Especially if it has never been performed live before.
"On stage you have to be good and know your stuff but you can also make minor mistakes or push and pull with the tempo a bit for dramatic emphasis, but in the studio you have to be concise even if you are going for a rawer and more live off the floor feel like I go with. I try to do things in one take rather than editing and punching in. I just feel it flows better."
In terms of recording, it is a personal effort for Stamp.
"I recorded the albums in my home studio," he said. "I had spent a long time acquiring gear with the plan to perpetually record. So I guess I had to put my money where my mouth is.
"Normally, in the past I had always gone to a studio to record so due to the expense I and my band had to be very concise with our pre-production and know exactly what we wanted so we didn't waste time and money. But as I was doing it at home I could do it whenever I wanted, which turned out to be all the time."
The resulting disks are something Stamp said have turned out well.
"I am very happy with the finished products," he said. "I was also lucky enough to win and be nominated for several awards from MusicNL (the Music Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador) and the ECMAs (East Coast Music Association). While winning awards is never the goal it is always nice to be acknowledged by your peers for your hard work."
