We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jeffrey Marshall a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jeffrey, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I believe that in the music business people with disabilities have been very unrepresented. It seems like it is the only industry that has less representation now than it did 50 years ago. In the 70s, you had disabled musicians such as, Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles. They were both excepted in their industries and went on to have tremendous success. Today it seems like disable musicians are nothing more than a focus of inspiration. It is extremely difficult in today’s society to be taken seriously as a valuable asset in the music business.
Jeffrey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Jeffrey Marshall. I am a musician, filmmaker, DJ, and artist. I didn’t discover all my disciplines all that once. The journey has been going since probably about 13 years old when I first started playing and writing my own music. I think the thing that sets me apart from others, is probably the way I play. I was born with a congenital birth defect that left me with no arms or full size legs. I play music using the seven toes connected to my feet. I am proud to be alive and to have lived the life I have lived. I have been able to travel the world doing what I love while inspiring people to do the same just by sharing with people the way I live.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My journey into the arts is a long journey indeed. I was about the age of 13 when I decided that music was my passion. Because of my disability, my parents were extremely apprehensive when they decided to spend their hard-earned money to buy me my first guitar. But on Christmas that year, I came in the living room to find a nice brand new red electric guitar (it was probably from a pawn shop but brand new to me). I literally played that guitar until my toes bled. Even though I was completely dedicated to my craft, I didn’t dare try to get lessons because where would I find someone to teach me to play guitar with my feet. So with young innocence and rebellion, I decided to form a band with my best friends, and began my musical journey starting from horrible like everyone else.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
So I get a call one day asking me if I would like to move to Venice California and work at a freak show. A year before, I starred in a documentary film entitled, “The Last Freakshow” directed by Simon Tatum. I had no interest or desire to join a freak show, but the Director courted me for almost a year until I decided, “what the hell… let’s do this shit!” I’m always fascinated doing projects that are outside my comfort zone and it just so happened to fit perfectly in my schedule. The basic premise was, “a normal” disabled musician joins the last running American freak show on a journey of self discovery while learning the history of disabled artists of the past. I did the documentary, was very proud of the finished product, but afterwards it was something that I never wanted to experience again.
But I get this call. At the time, moving to Venice California was right up my alley. There was always something about living in the same place that Jim Morrison and Janes Addiction once lived. But I was extremely trepidatious about working for a freak show. I felt like a character in the Godfather being pulled back in to something that I left far behind me. But anybody who has ever lived in Southern California knows that moving there without some sort of money stream, is the recipe for failure. So I took the job.
After being in Venice for over four weeks, the renovation on the freak show still had not been completed, and I was bleeding money fast. I kept hearing the words, “we’re gonna open next week… for sure”, to no avail. Every day I would wake up in my tiny studio apartment, strap my guitar onto my wheelchair, and spend my days riding up and down the Venice Beach Boardwalk. One day a drummer (who was one of the many street musician locals) approached me and asked me if I could actually play the instrument strapped to my wheelchair. He looked as skeptical as he was curious. I told him if he found me a band the next day, I would come to the boardwalk and turn his skepticism into humility. The next day me and my new band, “The Not All White Band”, became the new sensations of the Venice Beach Boardwalk. I made more in two hours then I would’ve made in two 10 hour days. As you can imagine, the owner of the freak show was not happy when I quit the job even before it started. Especially when he could see me on the other side of the boardwalk with all the money and attention I could ask for. One day after finishing performing and counting my money at the end of the day, I thought to myself, “it doesn’t matter if I am a freak or not… it only matters if I’m the boss.” 
Contact Info:
- Website: allaboutjeffey.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itisallaboutjeffrey/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey1307/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQMLV6Ad8vMd7YzOQ9INq9A