Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Justin Joyce. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Justin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Although I started learning drums in middle/high school, I would definitely say my time at SDSU is where I found my love for music and began playing drum set and composing. I entered SDSU as a drum set performance major and began taking my first formal lessons on the kit with Mike Holguin (besides a few lessons with Larry Grano beforehand to prepare me for my auditions). I had never really played much drum set before college, so I had a lot of catching up to do compared to my peers at school. Mikey really helped me learn from the ground up and helped me build a very solid foundation as a jazz drummer in many ways. I didn’t know much about jazz at the time either, so I ventured out to learn as much as I could. I would sit in every rehearsal of Bill Yeager’s jazz ensemble, shadowing the drummer and taking in as much as I could on how he would interpret the charts. I would ask just about everyone what and who I needed to listen to in order to get a better understanding of the jazz idiom. And at the time, my grasp on music theory wasn’t too great either, so along with the theory classes I was enrolled in, I would sit in Rick Helzer’s “Elements of Jazz” theory classes–before I took them myself–and stay after class so I could pick his brain sitting by the piano. This is where my desire to compose really flourished. The more I learned about theory, the more I sat at the piano clunking away at chords and melodies trying to figure out what I could create with all the information I was absorbing. I would regularly bring Rick these very mediocre tunes I was writing to check out, and he would give me advice on how to spice them up and why his advice worked and made sense. As I kept learning more and more, my compositions and playing would just keep getting better and better. Around this time, I also started taking vibraphone lessons with Anthony Smith, which revealed a love for the instrument I didn’t know I even had. My practice regiment was very rigorous as well, to say the least. I was well aware of how much catching up I had to do, so I spent at least six hours a day in the practice rooms and another six listening to all the music my mentors and peers were telling me I needed to know. Needless to say, I wasn’t sleeping much during this time. Outside of the practice rooms, I was playing in the school jazz combos, playing percussion in Bill Yeager’s jazz ensemble (since I already attended every rehearsal), and I also began playing gigs outside of school with a group called Tiffany Jane and the Kicks. Playing gigs outside of school was truly vital into learning the craft of performance, because that’s the real world. In school you test your limits musically in many different areas and prepare for end-of-semester performances (which is also very important to artistically bettering your craft), but playing gigs and all the things that go into it–both music related and not–give you real world experience that is so vital to succeed as a performing musician. When you put all of these things together along with the will and desire to keep getting better, that’s how I’ve gotten to where I am today with my craft. In terms of what skills were most essential in learning the craft, the ability to let yourself be wrong and ask questions along the way is probably the most important in my opinion. I think that goes far beyond just learning music. I’m so grateful I was aware and accepting of where I was lacking when I began my music career–and now for that matter–because it has always allowed me to be comfortable asking questions in order to continue to improve. The other skill is the more obvious one I would say. Having the diligence to practice your ass off. You always only get out of something what you’re willing to put in. The obstacles I had to overcome were really a major lacking of context. It’s one of those “you don’t know what you don’t know” situations, and that’s often one of the biggest personal obstacles I come across. I didn’t know what I had to be seeking, so I asked questions in order to find out what I should be looking for. Then once I found things I had to learn, I did my best to put them to practice and really KNOW them. It’s a process that will forever be ingrained in me, so I still do it these days when I’m picking people’s brains and practicing. When I look back at my time in college initially learning my craft, it’s a little difficult to think of things I could have done to speed it up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m SURE there’s something I could have done, there always is, but it certainly felt like I was making all the right moves at the time. One thing I can think that would have helped as a composer would have been to take formal piano lessons. Often I am at the limitations of my piano playing when I compose, so I regularly send charts to my pianist friends to get their inputs and interpretations. Which honestly, is one of my favorite things I get to do because I love hearing how my friends interpret my music differently. That being said, I stay well aware that if I was a better piano player, my composition process would be much more comfortable when writing certain styles of music.
Justin, 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?
Well to start, my name is Justin Joyce and I am a composer/drummer/vibraphonist in the greater San Diego area. I’ve been working in the music industry now for over a decade, and I provide multiple musical services. I have played and am available for gigs/performances/recordings of all styles (i.e. jazz, rock, hip-hop, brazilian, afro-cuban, etc.) on both drums and vibraphone. I also teach drums, mallets, piano, and music theory privately. As a composer/arranger, I absolutely LOVE to get commissioned to write or arrange for people’s projects! I’m a lover of all music, so I’m always open to collaborate on a wide array of projects. I’m very proud of many moments in my career thus far, but specific ones that come to mind are the release of my debut album as leader in 2022–featuring all original compositions–entitled STORY TALES, and most recently, I was nominated for Best Jazz Artist at the 2023 San Diego Music Awards. It’s recognition like that which reminds me that I’m on the right path.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I’ve mentioned this part of my journey in just about every interview I’ve ever done, but I feel it’s important to repeat because it could really help any reader struggling with a similar problem. When I was reaching the end of my undergrad and entering my graduate studies, I began seeing a lot of my very close friends pass away from many things, though the vast majority were victims of suicide and overdose. This sent me down the deepest depression I’ve ever had to go through. Just as I was doing the best with my craft and my studies, I derailed and entered the darkest time of my life yet. I began drinking heavily and abusing substances to numb the pain of my friends’ absence. And just as all this was happening, my father began his fifth bout with cancer. One he would ultimately lose just a few years later. It felt like my whole world was crashing down, day after day. In many ways, it always felt like I could be the next to go with the life I was leading at the time. I’m sure those who knew me then and now would be inclined to agree with me when I say, at a time not so long ago, I had more of a chance to wind up dead or in jail than I did to be writing this today. During that time, music felt like such an afterthought. I wasn’t composing, I wasn’t playing gigs, and was even asked if I preferred to take a leave of absence from my studies. I ultimately decided to stick with it and finish out my degree, and looking back at that time, staying in school did a lot of good for me. I may not have been in the right headspace to take all I could out of my studies like I had been before, but it kept me surrounded by music, friends that cared for me, and it at least kept me playing a little bit. My downward spiral lasted only shortly after earning my masters degree, and the support from my mentors and friends is truly what kept me going (even when I personally didn’t want to keep at it). By the time I kicked most of my bad habits and was ready to re-enter the music scene again, the COVID pandemic hit. In many ways the pandemic saved my life. Before the pandemic, I didn’t even know how I would start gigging again, even when I wanted to. Most of my friends who I was regularly gigging with beforehand had left town, and I had been so far removed from the scene that I felt ill prepared. But when the pandemic came along, EVERYONE had to take a leave of absence from the music scene for a while. So during the pandemic, I started a diligent practice routine again, began having a weekly jam session at my house (I called it the “COVID Quarantet” with cats like, Ian Harland, Michael Till, Nathan Collins, Marc Olsher, Nate BeuMaher, and others), got in contact with more and more friends in the music scene I hadn’t talked to in a while and eventually, snuck myself back into the gigging world when everything began reopening. The pandemic allowed me to take the time and get my playing and mindset to the best it had ever been before, and it helped me prepare to get back out into the world as a “new and improved” version of myself. As I write this, I feel the best I ever have in regards to my abilities as a composer, performer, and just my overall health and happiness. Just a short while ago, I didn’t think it would be possible to ever build my life back up from all the trauma I had gone through and all the poor decisions I had made, both musically and just my life as a whole. Now I’m back and better than ever, and getting better every day. So for anyone who reads this and might be dealing with something similar, or just feels to be in a place where it’s not possible to build yourself back up, know that it is possible! It’s ALWAYS possible! It’s all about focusing on progress, not perfection.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
There are so many rewarding aspects of being a creative. The list goes on and on, truly. One that comes to mind though is that I get to see my closest friends regularly, and I get to work WITH them! I love getting to see my friends regardless, but when you have logistical reasons to see and create with your friends, it’s hard to have a bad day at “work.” Another very rewarding aspect is just the outlet to be able to put a piece of yourself out there. As a composer, playing your original music for an audience in incredibly vulnerable, and sometimes it doesn’t get the reaction you intended, but more times than not, somebody really likes and appreciates you sharing it with them. It’s an incredible feeling when someone enjoys your original music because it’s such a part of you as a composer. But if I had to say the MOST rewarding aspect of being a creative, it’s simply just making a difference in somebody’s day. In most gigs I play, there’s at least one person who is absolutely thrilled to hear you make music. Maybe you played their favorite song, or exposed them to something they like but had never heard before. Whatever the case, there are so many instances as a gigging musician where you make someone’s day in the audience, and it’s just a blessing to be able to do that for people in the community.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @imjsquared
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JJoyceMusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCBE2ylVqpzO7G7yB5AXdQg
Image Credits
Anastasya Korol, Tony Navarro