Artist Q&A: Pandemic won’t slow down local R&B artist – Journalscene.com

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You may have heard or seen Jerimiah King’s name around town as he has regular gigs in the area. King’s been here in Summerville since the fifth grade, but is originally from Land O’Lakes, Florida.

A multi-talented musician, King plays piano, drums and guitar—but predominantly plays keyboards. He also performs at weddings, corporate events, or parties.

He just had tracks released on Sept. 1. King said he often gets compared to Stevie Wonder. He played at Homegrown Brewery last Friday and he will do an outdoor show at the Pineapple Fountain at 1 Vendue Range, downtown Charleston at 4 p.m. on Sept. 5.

Mary E. Regan

Live calendar for Sept. 2-8

Regan: You got started in music really young—talk about your journey—drums then piano, then guitar?

Jerimiah King: (When I was) maybe 4 years old, my parents noticed I had an abnormally great sense of rhythm as I banged pots and pans. My father purchased a drum set, and I began playing. Piano came next. As a pianist, I was self-taught for a while. I had a very good ear for music and would often pretend to read music because my ear was good enough to mimic the record or performance of classical songs. Eventually, I did learn to read and became infatuated with theory. My parents would often find me in my room at 2 a.m. playing piano and (they would) have to tell me to go to sleep. Guitar came quite quickly to me as I already had music theory on my side. I studied at Charleston Academy of Music under Academy Director and pianist Irina Pevsner and guitarist Marco Sartor, and also at Charleston Southern University. I still practice whenever I can because music can never be perfected. I find a lot of joy in the pursuit of knowledge when it comes to music.

Regan: Do you prefer the piano or do you play the guitar almost as equally?

K: Piano is definitely my first love, but I do find myself composing on guitar often as it is so portable. I studied piano for longer than any other instrument and most of my accomplishments at the district and state level were on the piano early on. My music career in Charleston really started as I began sitting in with other bands as a pianist for hire. I eventually found myself getting the call to play keys a lot as well as getting asked to perform solo; a band of my own friends followed.

Regan: What is your favorite type of venue and why?

K: I love dinner restaurants, wineries and weddings because they lend themselves to more reserved genres of music. Many of my friends do not know that I love jazz and R&B music, so these venues allow me to venture. Uncork Charleston is an excellent winery where I perform often. Summerville staples like Coastal Coffee Roasters, Cuppa Manna and Homegrown Brewhouse have all given me such a warm welcome with open mics. Now I perform all around Charleston and even travel for weddings.

R: How are you coping during this time of the Coronavirus?

K: Writing music has been a focus for me as the pandemic slows the live performance opportunities for musicians around the country. I spent a lot of time preparing and practicing new music with a new band of friends and musicians who are all around my age and share the same taste in jazz/funk/R&B/and classical music.

R: How long have you been teaching piano and guitar over at Impact Creative Arts Academy?

K: I have taught for about two and a half years — piano, guitar and Rollings prep lessons. Approximately 95 percent of my students are accepted into Rollings Middle School of the Arts or The Charleston County School through the Arts and Governors School.

R: Tell us about your new single that was released yesterday?

K: The album is a journey over my past three years of life and love. These songs — with all different genres — show my love of R&B, pop, jazz and funk. There will even be a hip-hop track on which I rap. I really tried to push myself. The first two songs will be acoustic soul and hip-hop tracks.

R: What is your genre? Who do you look up to musically in terms of their overall style and talent?

K: I consider myself an R&B/soul artist. Yet, my unique sounds come from a classical/jazz background rooted in music theory. My favorite artists are PJ Morton, Stevie Wonder, Daniel Caesar, Prince and Snarky Puppy. As far as classically trained musicians, I currently listen to keyboardists like Corey Henry, Jacob Collier, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, guitarists Mark Lettieri and Eric Gales, and drummers Sean Wright and Larnell Lewis.

R: When would you like your seven other tracks to be done? What’s next?

K: I would love to finish over the next three weeks. I am so excited to share my work with everyone. Recently, I have begun to form a band of talented young musicians.

We have gotten to perform together at a few venues and these musicians are not only my friends but also blow my mind on a nightly basis with their skill. I’m excited to see what we can create together and look forward to an official announcement of a new band in the local music scene.