It's hard finding musicians who perform so well live that it sounds like a professional recording. Any performer that can step up on a stage and captivate their audience with ease is very rare. I had the pleasure to sit down with a very talented artist after an open mic by the name of Michael Jacquinto.
How long have you been playing music and what got you into it?
I've been dabbling with music since high school, but being a lefty, I was always stuck fiddling with my buddy's right handed guitars. I didn't get my own guitar until I was 20 in college. I messed around with some rock tunes and soundscapes, but couldn't manage to sing while playing. Finally, a little over a year ago I picked up my sister's old acoustic, converted it to lefty, and committed to learning Iron & Wine's "Naked As We Came"; both the vocals and guitar. Within three days, I was hooked and haven't stopped playing since.
I remember you mentioning you had been writing for about a year; is that right?
Music has been vital to my life since I can remember, I always considered it emotion on tap. I was a bit of a loner through high school, and my favorite thing to do was go on drives and contemplate everything while listening to my favorite tunes. Everywhere I went in college, the ear buds were in. (Now I get laughed at for having a dedicated mp3 player, I didn't realize those had gone out of style). I always daydreamed about how it would feel to put your heart out there in front of people, playing live. So I made it a goal to start playing live this summer, it's all really new, exciting and terrifying at the same time.
Do you have any originals released?
About a year ago, after learning many of my favorite acoustic tunes, I wrote down a couple songs and played them for some friends and family. I stopped writing for nearly six months until the bug hit me again, then ended up writing about fourteen songs within a three month period, and I haven't stopped since, though I did slow down a bit. I have committed myself to learning the skills necessary to record and mix my own songs, I have a basic home studio. That being said I don't want to rush it so I made the goal for a full album release early 2017. In the meantime, I'll be releasing an ongoing video series called "Creekside Sessions". Just posted the first video yesterday. Would love to involve more local talent with it as well.
Is there any background story to the name "Whitemarsh?"
Whitemarsh is the name of the township I grew up in just north of Philadelphia. It just seemed to fit.
Do you play in any other groups/duos?
I don't play in any other groups, my sister Ashley does come in with some backing vocals sometimes, I plan on having her there for recording too. I would certainly welcome collaborating with anyone who would want to add to the sound; there's a lot of talent out there.
Do you play any other instruments besides piano/ vocals?
Right now I play mainly acoustic, vocals, and you'll definitely hear some banjo in some recordings, maybe on stage eventually. I have played around with pianos and synths as well.
Any locals who enjoy clean guitar playing and soothing vocals, come out and see Michael at his next gig September 2nd from 8-11p.m. at Argilla Brewing Company.
