JOEY STUCKEY

October 12, 2020 INTERVIEWS

We are excited to have you with us today.

Thanks for having me, always glad to chat about music!

Please tell us more about ALIVE DAY! Seems like it was an amazing day for you!

Alive Day is something my parents came up with to help me as a very sick child focus on the positive affirmation of life and not the fear of having a brain tumor. I was around 2 years old when I had to have surgery and the doctors told my folks that I probably wouldn’t make it, or if I did, I would never walk or talk. But on September 29^th at the ripe old age of 2, I beat the odds and though the tumor left me blind and with other health challenges, I am most gloriously alive and I walk and talk quite a lot LOL.

In 2017 I felt like I wanted to give back something to my community and came up with “Joey Stuckey Alive Day” which is a free family friendly music festival in the heart of downtown Macon, GA. I wanted to share my story of hope and my love of music with everyone and give us all a chance to reconnect with our friends, family and neighbors.

The mayor of Macon/Bibb actually proclaimed September 29^th officially as “Joey Stuckey Alive Day ” in Macon/Bibb, which was a true honor for me and one for which I am most humbled to be recognized for this day of triumph in my life. I also have the privilege to serve my hometown as its official music ambassador.

The first “Joey Stuckey Alive Day” had about 500 attendees and the second had around 1500, though half of the festival got rained out. In 2019 I was recovering from a complete shoulder replacement and then had to hit the road with my band in support of our “In The Shadow Of The Sun” record, so I just couldn’t make the festival happen. But this year, despite COVID, we held the festival once again via Facebook live and it was a great success.

I am most particular that the artists I invite to perform at each festival are not only very talented in a multitude of genres, but also share my spirit of love of music and community.

Every year, my sweet wife, Jennifer, arranges surprise messages from friends, family and others from around the world and this year I had 22 video messages from so many people wishing me well and sharing their thoughts on what “Alive Day” meant to them.

I heard from my dear friends Alan Parsons, Ron Saint Germain, Ricky Kej and so many more! But the biggest surprise was hearing from Katy Manning of Doctor Who fame. She was always my favorite companion from the show and she meant so much to me as a sick child! I didn’t know Katy, but I do now and it is so wonderful to meet someone you felt like you have known from being part of one of your favorite shows to find that you did know her and that beautiful spirit you connected with was a child is the real person!

You can find all 3 years of Alive Day messages on YouTube if you search “Joey Stuckey Alive Day” and I encourage you to do so as it puts the lie to a common feeling that there is no hope in this world and that people are bad. People are mostly good, but for some reason part of being human is that we have to work harder to remember the good. These messages remind us of how good people can be!

If you could tell your younger self anything, what would it be and why?

LOL, well I believe I know more now than I did 20 years ago, so I am sure I could save myself some heart ache in several ways, but I would tell myself that life is going to be harder and at the same time more fulfilling then you can imagine. Have faith and enjoy the ride!

How does Georgia treat the independent artist and tell us about your beginnings in music!

Georgia is a great state and so many amazing and iconic artists have called it home. In regard to independent artists, we’re no different than anywhere else in the world. Being an artist is a hard life—independent or otherwise. Of course our state has its perfections and things it needs to work on, but with the magic of the internet and next day shipping, you can have a thriving career here. There are very few reasons that you have to live in LA or NYC these days, though there are still some jobs in music and entertainment that still favor specific places. But again, by-in-large, it doesn’t matter where you live as much these days. For me living in Macon, GA, the southern rock capital of the world, is something I love. I am so proud of Macon being the birth place of Otis Redding, Little Richard, Jason Aldean and many more. And many others have called Macon home like my friend Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie and the Jeff Beck band, and even Ian Copland, whose brother Stewart was the drummer for The Police, lived here for a while. Ian worked in Macon when he was just getting his start as a booking agent. He went on to book almost every famous band you have ever heard of and I count it as a real honor that I got to know him before he passed away.

I got my start in Macon at the age of 15 years old as a sound tech at the local planetarium and then started recording bands in my parents’ attic. By the time I was 19 I had moved into a building downtown and I have been making a living as a recording artist, producer, sound engineer and educator ever since.

Where do you see your music taking you in the next year?

God only knows! The industry is really hurting right now with all the things that have happened because of COVID19 and of course we had problems in the biz before that with streaming royalty rates, etc. But I know that I’ll be here making the best music I can and also helping others on their own musical journey.

I had several exciting projects that have suffered set backs because of COVID, including a major studio upgrade, and I hope to get all that back on track early next year, but first and foremost, we must be safe and healthy.

How can our readers continue getting updates and more info about your latest releases?

Website https://www.joeystuckey.com

Studio https://www.shadowsoundstudio.com

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/SenateRecords

Twitter https://twitter.com/Jstuckeymusic

IG https://www.instagram.com/jstuckeymusic/

FB https://www.facebook.com/JoeyStuckeyMusic/

Newsletter https://eepurl.com/dg6LqT

Bandsintown http://www.bandsintown.com/joey-stuckey

Spotify for JS3 https://open.spotify.com/artist/4H5sd7R9Or0DSHbiWobGll?si=xWNjaR5jTlSywK1bCOpywA

iTunes for JS3 Sun Sessions https://music.apple.com/us/album/in-the-shadow-of-the-sun/1450976425

Merch https://www.joeystuckey.com/music