Today we’d like to introduce you to Jefferson Joseph.
Jefferson, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
To be honest, music saved my life. I’m an extrovert by nature, but throughout grade school, I was a bit of an outcast. I craved the social interaction, but often enough, I’d face rejection because I didn’t quite connect with what was popular at the time. I craved connection, and music became a catalyst for me to create it. It opened me up and let me find common ground with folks from all walks of life. But most of all, playing made me feel powerful. Practicing songs until I played them effortlessly gave me a sense of accomplishment. Having someone walk up to me after a live performance and express how the music moved them emotionally, that gave a sense of purpose to it all.
It all started after graduating from high school, I recently learned how to play bass and after only performing on stage 4 times, I had an urge to be infant of an audience once again. I was able to generate an opportunity once I got into Florida International University and formed a Photography Club. We provided our services to other clubs and campus groups, but we used our resources to host open mics and other events that pushed our personal agendas a bit further. I actually met my guitarist, M.A.D. MaN (who’ll be referred to as MAD from this point on) at a fashion show that my group hosted.
Eventually, we got together with some other folks formed a band called Crimson Reservoir. I told pretty much everyone I knew about this new band and eventually, one of my old friends from high school reached out to me about an opportunity. He was featured as a performing artist for an open mic, and they were looking for a house band for the occasion. I honestly had no idea what to expect, but I convinced MAD and our drummer to try it out. The first night at the open mic was where we would meet both L. Michele (hostess and spoken word artists) and Marcus Blake (host, visual and spoken word artist). We would spend the next serval years performing as part of their house band for various events.
Our original band eventually imploded and we were faced with an interesting challenge: we were still getting performance offers but we no longer had a name to use. We were known as the 3rd Party Band while working with Marcus Blake and Rod Deal, but Marcus saw it as a conflict of interest if we used the name outside of their brand’s events. So we came up with The Sunday Crew because our circle of musicians came together on Sundays to jam.
The Sunday Crew had a rotating set of drummers for the next couple of months, but we eventually found a consistent member with Nay The Handcannon. At that point, we decided to rebrand ourselves and The UnCanny Reservoir was born. We still worked with Marcus and Rod as 3rd Party for The Imperial Open Mic (previously known as Stone Groove) but eventually, we gained traction and opportunities outside of their network. We started performing at college events, festivals, private parties and even recorded two albums. But eventually, life did what it usually does, and we had to part ways with Nay shortly after the release of our second album.
We continued to operate as The UnCanny Reservoir with a new set of rotating musicians (who each had their own creative projects that we would collaborate with them on). Eventually, it became clear that the two of use were the only constant factors within our business structure. So we decided to move forward as a duumvirate, performing and recording with our own collective of artists and musicians to this day. As of recently, we added Steve Darksyde (drummer) and Saintcome (vocalist) to our primary line up. You can spot the two in our recent promotional material as well as our latest recordings.
Outside of The UnCanny Reservoir, my reputation as a bassist and bandleader grew simultaneously. I started my own LLC, Miami MoJo Entertainment LLC, to conduct official business with corporations and institutions. My time spent working with Rod Deal gave me the soft skills needed to expand my network and generate new opportunities for myself.
Throughput the years, I’ve played different roles in the local entertainment scene. Promoter, sound engineer, marketing advisor, and stage manager. Yet, I’ll always feel the most comfortable with my bass guitar in my hand, on stage or in the studio.
The overall goal is to make a living off of my craft and eventually leverage my network to encourage an economy in South Florida that’ll make it easier for the next generation to break into the market. But these things can’t be rushed. Honest, consistent work is the only way I’ll be able to achieve this. I’m a lot better with socializing now than I ever was before, but the music still helps me foster deeper connections than the average conversation. I hope to spend many years cultivating more of these connections.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest obstacle that I still feel like I have to overcome is convincing my family and friends that I can make a lucrative living as a musician. During the first couple of weeks of performing with as part of a house band, I’d have to get lectures the next morning about coming home during the late-night hours, with little to show for it. Eventually, the shows would pick up and I would spend less nights going home empty-handed. Everyone started warming up to the idea of me being a performer until I stopped going to school.
I dropped out of Florida International University after a total of six semesters, partly due to a lack of inspiration to complete a degree, but mostly due to a desire to capitalize on opportunities that were presented to me. I wouldn’t see the results of this risk until serval years after the fact, but It definitely felt like the odds were stacked against me.
There’s still a lot of stigma surrounding the term “college drop-out.” There’s only been a recent shift to happiness being the best Return On Investment. Beforehand, only pretentious fools believed that they could do much of anything without a college degree. The entertainment industry isn’t one to judge, though. Being great at your craft and being in the right network will get you further than any degree. But at the same time, I have the rest of my life to go back. Who knows what’ll happen?
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
Miami MoJo Entertainment LLC is a production company that specializes in providing live music entertainment for private and small scale events. Weddings, anniversaries, grand openings, showcases. Open mics, the list goes on. We specialize in Rock, Hip-hop, RnB, and Fusion Jazz. I try not to compete with the typical Top 40 cover bands that have been operating in South Florida for the better half of a decade, so expect to see younger musicians performing covers of newer music as well as a healthy amount of originals.
Personally speaking, I provide my services as a session musician, specializing in electric bass. I’ve had the pleasure of performing live with upwards of 100 artists throughout my career. My reputation in the recording world is much more humble if I’m to be honest. In regards to Miami MoJo Ent as a whole, when you hire us, you don’t just hire a band to perform. We have our P.A system as well as personnel that can provide live sound engineering services.
Our proudest achievement to date would be curating a performing artists’ stage for three days while simultaneously providing live music for a separate stage (for four days) in the heart of Wynwood during Miami Art Basel 2017. It stretched our resources but allowed us to grow in ways that we never expected.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me, is based on passing specific milestones. During my first year of being active in Miami’s scene, I set a milestone of performing 100 shows before the 2nd of my first paid gig. I started in October and ended up passing the milestone in May.
Every three months, I end up developing new milestones for myself that I need to achieve. Some being personal, some being financial, and some being generic to the dream of being a performing artist. As long as I reach serval of them, I consider myself successful.
Contact Info:
- Email: miamimojoent@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiseguyjeff/?hl=en
Image Credit:
Quentin Peele. Samuel Etienne. Paul Morris
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