Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to John Coker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
John, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?
Certainly. I would say dismissed, rather than people not getting what I do. Miles Davis summed it up: “If you understood everything I said, you’d be me.”
Two of the things I love doing: bending existing sounds into new ones, and wearing a Cthulhu mask while I sing and play rock and roll.
With the first, I don’t use synths – I record notes with my own hands or voice, then break them down to a kind of molecular level. Then I build them up as new. With this, I’ve had folks dismiss my work as difficult to hear, or just lazy mistakes I’m trying to pass off as music.
With the second – I wear the mask because people connect with it, and because it doesn’t conceal me – it reveals. Folks might think it’s a gimmick; it’s not. Masks are used pervasively in the cultures of the world to unleash and to realize.
With both, the answer is to be calmly confident in following your bliss – it’s all about the work, and getting it out there. People respond to authenticity, especially with the strange – as Lao Tzu said: “To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.”
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I’m a musician; I write and record for theatre/film/tv, and perform live. I trained at a famous conservatory, have two music degrees, and play in orchestras professionally. I also perform rock music – wearing a Cthulhu mask.
On Instagram (@coker_sound), I read poetry daily, and perform tunes on electric guitar and voice while wearing my mask. I love to connect with people – my aesthetic comes from an obsession with old horror films (such as those from the Silent era), so I keep everything black and white.
I’m primarily influenced by old arts, old aesthetics, and old myths; meditation is everything. In addition to Instagram, you can find my work on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever music is streamed.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Definitely – meditation and self-care. Both can be summed up in two words – “get present.”
Always being present when practicing and when performing is paramount; otherwise, you’re in loops, and just an avatar of what you have within, not unlike a video game persona.
Self-care is so important – put your own oxygen mask on before aiding others kind of thing. Leave the self-tortured artist figure for that novel you’ve been working on.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Several years ago I was performing with an orchestra onstage. A large lighting rig was mishandled by the staff in charge, and a stagelight was set to such a high level that it burned through my eyes into the visual cortex of my brain, permanently altering my head into a hyperactive state (migraine).
The stage was overcrowded, and no one noticed what was happening to me. I soon altered to where I had partial blindness and severe disorientation; couldn’t see or move. I leaned myself over my instrument, breathed, and waited for the event to end.
This was when I began to lose the grip fear had always held over my life; my metanoia.
Contact Info:
- Website: cokerochre.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/coker_sound
Image Credits
John Coker, Kaitlin Muse