The following was an interview where Jerry A.K.A. The Fly Kingdom, discusses what led him to start playing the sitar and how it has influenced his music…
So Jerry, why the sitar?
Jerry: I took interest in the sitar a few years back (i.e. 2000) when I purchased a CD of a sitarist by the name of Ravi Shankar… Little did I know that I what I was purchasing was gold in the form of music… Years later I decided that I had heard enough and wanted to purchase a sitar… I really didn’t care about the fact that I wasn’t studying the classical way… I had just one teacher, Ravi Shankar… His music was enough to inspire me to teach myself.
I have heard the CD’s you released under the name of The Fly Kingdom but none sound like “My Medz”… Why did you decide to make a CD of only sitar pieces?
Jerry: Actually every Fly Kingdom CD is different… the first, The Mechanikal Khrist was my view of Christianity as I saw the religion at the time. The music was pretty explicit and to the point in every aspect as could be said about my second CD How to write a Satanic Song. But style-wise, those were two very different CD’s...and the same could be said about my third CD A Small Lesson in Karma. All of the CD’s I’ve released had the intension on being a direct reflection of me, including the musical style. My Medz was recorded in like about a week. I would get home from work and just turn the recorder and start to play, none of it was edited...it was completely live and "Raw" which is why the full title is My Medz (RAW Version). So I didn’t really think about releasing it 'til I had heard the whole CD. And that’s how I make music. I care about what I like---whether it makes anything passed that is none of my concern…
So you don’t really care for making it big by getting signed and touring all over the world?
Jerry: I would like to tour and play all over. However, I don’t believe that my personal taste should matter. There’s a flavor for everyone out there. Not only that but also, with how the world is right now, connected via the internet, so long as you can upload your music to the internet and have a page to advertise where you will be playing, you really don’t need a middle man. The thought of having a record deal to make it out there is old thinking. Anyone with enough potential can make it...all they need is drive.
You sound like you really have researched this… any references to back this up?
Jerry: Well, I’ll start with the old timers first... when Prince was forced to become a symbol due to the legal battles he had with his label, Prince sold his music through the internet. As far I know he was the first to do it, but despite that he returned to the old fashioned way of selling music... then Trent Reznor A.K.A. NIN broke ties with Nothing records and he too, started selling his music on the internet. However before that happened, a new band, the Artic Monkeys did something I had never seen or heard of before---they recorded their album, made enough copies and sold it individually, without the use of a record label! They were even on Comcast On Demand! The fact that they did that really inspired me. But really, it’s a different time...it’s come to the point that people need to wake up before more musicians get taken advantage of by Record labels and managers.
Going back on something, you didn’t mention any musicians when talking about any of the albums... did you record everything yourself?
Jerry: I think my MySpace profile says it all under the band members section...
(i.e. Jerry Oviedo --- Everything but drums, which are samples edited by me.)
So you play guitar, bass, piano, sitar, and you sing?
Jerry: That is correct… I also play the banjo and soon to come the mandolin, the Tres, the Cuatro and Charrango… And when my financial situation allows, the vichitra veena (the eastern version of the lap steel guitar) as well as a lap steel guitar (the one that looks like a table)…
So how did you find the time to have so many lessons?
Jerry: I didn’t... I taught all these instruments to myself (well, except the ones I mentioned as “soon to come”) The only one that I actually learned with a professional was singing. Yeah, it sounds weird, especially if you have heard my CD’s, but I have a Bachelors Degree in Music Performance and my instrument is the Voice...Classical style to be exact! I didn’t pursue it further because it was too fake for my taste! [laughs] I had to do exactly as I was told...[sarcastically] I am too creative and stubborn to do something like that! [laughs] So I quit but not before taking from a vast source of knowledge that I passed on to my students… Did I mention I teach too?
Ok, so let me get this straight, you say you teach but only have formal training in one instrument, the voice... How’s that possible?
Jerry: Well, I teach at the Kendall Conservatory of Music, not at a middle or high school… I teach guitar, bass, piano, voice and banjo there. All that my boss cares about is that I teach the correct technique, which is something I researched thoroughly in every case (instrument). In fact, this is something I’ve never really mentioned before, but my grandfather was a gypsy and he was an excellent guitarist… From that side of the family my uncle is too. But neither one decided to pursue music other than to coarse the ladies! [laughs]. So in reality I just use what I have learned in the past in terms of technique, which, believe it or not has to do a lot with the body just as Karate and Yoga do! People don’t realize that so long as you know where to turn the wrist and bend the fingers, you too can teach yourself pretty much any instrument! [sarcastically] Cuz you know what they say: Practice makes perfect!!! [laughs].
So, one last question… When will be playing next?
Jerry: Well, I’ll be playing this Friday at 11:00 in the Tobacco Road Down Stairs Stage… I will be playing my sitar, possibly my guitar too… I don’t know, I’ll take it as it comes… this will be a very improv. show.
So Rememeber, check out Jerry Oviedo A.K.A. The Fly Kingdom at 11:00 in the Tobacco Road Downstairs Stage.
