Prince of Soul Jazz: Nick Stefanacci on Quitting, Quincy Jones, and Saying Yes

TEASER: NICK STEFANACCI INTERVIEW

NICK STEFANACCI: I was actually just talking about this with a friend the other day. They were looking at my bio and everything that I've done. And I said, " It's really simple. it's a one-syllable word, you know, and it's yes."

It's just go out there and put yourself in situations where you could say yes to things, right? Because if you say no, then I can tell you what the outcome is. The outcome is you're not gonna do anything, and if you just start saying that word yes to whether it's performing with a wedding band or performing at a bar or whatever the situation is.

But just by saying yes, I mean, you open that door.

INTRODUCTION

BECKY BOYLAND: Welcome back to Second Verse, the podcast for artists who are picking their music back up, whether that means a comeback, a second act, or finally saying yes to the thing they put off for someone else's paycheck.

Today's guest has been playing saxophone since fourth grade in a New Jersey elementary school, when a kid just going around the room happened to land on the one instrument that fit. Two decades later, he's shared stages with Derek Trucks, Ja Rule, The Four Tops, and Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, and he spent 15 years as a full-time music educator before making a decision this year that he says is one of the only times in his life he's actually taken his own advice.

We're talking about walking away from a stable teaching career in his 40s, starting his own record label after labels told him he didn't fit anywhere, and the one-word philosophy, literally one syllable, that he says explains almost everything good that's happened in his career. Plus, we get into his new record, Right Here, Right Now, and the story behind his reimagined cover of "Oye Como Va" with Santana's longtime lead singer Tony Lindsay.

I'm Becky Boyland, and this is Nick Stefanacci's Second Verse.

WELCOME AND ORIGINS

BECKY BOYLAND: Welcome, Nick. Thank you so much for being with me today on Second Verse.

NICK STEFANACCI: Becky, thank you so much for having me, and, uh, you know, yeah, just looking forward to, to getting to know you and talking a bit.

BECKY BOYLAND: Awesome. Awesome. Well, I love to start with everyone's origin story. When did you first fall in love with music?

NICK STEFANACCI: Ooh. Uh, you know, I, I grew up around music, uh, my entire life. My whole family on my dad's side, um, were musicians, local musicians, part of the local in New Jersey. , So I grew up with music from, you know, day one in the womb, I would say. Um, you know, my, my father's a guitarist and so I was heavily influenced by, you know, The Beatles, uh, growing up and, and Cream and, you know, just classic rock stuff, you know. But in fourth grade in New Jersey, that's where the public school system starts their band programs or whatever. And it was funny, you know, because most kids, the conversation with the parents are, you know, "Well, do you wanna do band?" You know, "What do you think?"

And you know, my house it was just, "Well, you're doing band, so what, what instrument do you wanna play?" You know? Um, and I was really blessed that I had, you know, just an amazing teacher in, in elementary school and, and he became one of my close mentors. We'll get more into that later on. But um, he was an upright jazz bass player, studied at University of Miami with, with the great Eddie Gomez. I got to start music with him and in Jersey you kinda go around the room and you kinda pick what instrument you think you wanna try, you know, because it looks a certain way to you or whatever.

And for some reason I, I picked the saxophone and, and we tried it, and it was just, it was the right fit, you know, from early on, I just had a natural gift for it. And here we are all these years later.

BECKY BOYLAND: I, I'm a band kid too, so there was no, there was no question I wanted to play probably several years earlier than I was allowed to, to join. But yeah, there's just something so amazing about that.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah, for sure. For sure. That's awesome.

SPOTLIGHT AND MENTORS

BECKY BOYLAND: So where did that lead you into your musical journey?

NICK STEFANACCI: Wow. Um, Prior, you know, when, when we get to, like, the second verse part of this, I was a full-time music educator in, in another life. And it really was just a natural calling for me because when I was a student in school myself, I never really took to academics. I mean, I, I did well, but I wasn't, you know, I wasn't like my sisters, I wasn't like my cousins who I grew up with, I was, you know, very close with.

So music was really my, my saving grace, was really my, my way out, you know? In fifth grade, I played a, a solo with the choral teacher, so it was just, like, sax and piano. And so that was, like, my first step into the spotlight as a really young artist.

And then in sixth grade, I was able to start studying privately with another one of my mentors and, you know, from that, that's where it, it totally exploded for me. In sixth grade I also did the middle school talent show, and so I was one of, like, the few sixth graders selected for it, and I, I played a Charlie Parker piece with, with the choral director at the middle school.

She played piano, she accompanied me on piano. I played, I played some, like, you know, real bebop jazz. Um, and the funniest thing that, you know, one of the things that hooked me on music was after that performance an, an eighth grade girl approached me in the hallway and said, you know, "Oh my God, what a, what a great job. I, I never expected that," you know? And I was like, whoa, someone like, you know, an eighth grade girl is talking to me? So right there I would say this is, this is cool, man. There's a lot of power to this thing. And then, you know, it just really kinda, you know, bloomed and flourished in high school, where, I mean, I just had so many opportunities to play music and, and, and play solos and, you know, be, be in that spotlight or whatever, um, that it really just captivated my life.

And I'm forever blessed because it's, it's taken me around the world, you know?

BECKY BOYLAND: Oh, that's amazing. And I love that story about the eighth grade girl, and when you get some of those accolades from, from not only your peers, but the kids that are older is just, yeah, intoxicating.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah. Uh, uh, I mean, 100%. I mean, 'cause I don't think she talked to me the rest of the school year, you know? It was just after that show that night, you know, it was, like, accepted that she could talk to me or whatever. Um, but that was something that just stayed in, in the back of the brain and I said, "All right, yeah, this is cool. This is something I could do."

TEACHING CAREER STARTS

BECKY BOYLAND: So then you found yourself teaching.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah. You know, I, I studied, uh, classical saxophone and music education in my undergrad, and so, it wasn't a choice for me, um, financially to just go into music full time. You know, I had to pay back student loans and, grow up, you know, become an adult. And so, that same teacher, J. Chuck Sastre, that I had in fourth grade, he helped me get my first teaching job in my old school district, in Wayne, New Jersey. And so I, I got to teach at the high school that I graduated from, like, right out of college, so that was bizarre. Um,

yeah, yeah. I mean, really, really kind of bizarre.

MENTOR LOSS AND GIVING BACK

NICK STEFANACCI: And so, and then unfortunately that year, that same year, we lost Chuck to pulmonary fibrosis, and he was, 49 years old.

You know, he was, he was young. And he, I mean, he took me to gigs when I was in high school. As a senior in high school, he called my parents, like, the night before a couple times and said, "Hey, you know, I'm, I'm leaving school, you know, at lunch to go play a gig in the city. Can I sign Nick out because he's of age and take him with me to the gig?" And all that stuff. And I mean, you know, those are experiences that I, I don't think many high school students have. And so he really took me under his wing, and then in college, you know, he started to call me for gigs. I mean, it was, you know, so special, and then, I just lost him so, so young.

But that really led to philanthropy becoming a part of my career, which is something that I hold so dear. Here I am a, a 22-year-old, and I'm at his wake, and I, I didn't, I didn't plan any of this, you know, but the, the pastor asked if someone wanted to come up and speak, and I just, I just stood up.

I mean, it was like second nature, you know? Um, and I had no idea what I was going to say once I got up to the pulpit and so I, you know, I started talking about our relationship, and then sooner or later, the head of the jazz department at William Paterson University, which is a, a big-time jazz program, and it happens to be located in my hometown of Wayne, New Jersey, he happened to be there 'cause he knew Chuck as a professional.

And I happened to know Dr. Dempsey because I did their high school, like, jazz programs in the summer. And I saw him there, and all of a sudden it just came out, like, I looked and I said, "Dr. Dempsey, I'm sure William Paterson would love to host a benefit concert to start a memorial scholarship for Chuck." And he couldn't say no because we're in a church, you know? Like, like, how do you say no to that? Um, and so I, I painted him into a real bad corner, you know, and, and that's where my philanthropy started.

And I mean, that was, that was amazing, that, that concert. You know, I had a list of a lot of Chuck's friends and musician friends that he performed with over the years, and I called them all up. And this was, like, you know, really before the internet really kicked in, so it was phone calls, you know.

And I said, "Hey, we're doing this, this benefit concert at William Paterson. Do you wanna be a part of it?" And I think we had something like eight or nine acts of musicians perform. And we raised over $20,000 that night, and that scholarship is still handed out on a yearly basis to graduating high school seniors who are going on, you know, to study the arts in some capacity.

And so that was kinda my first dive into philanthropy. Those are some of the, the best moments of my career is, is when you can give back and when you can create something that truly has an impact, you know?

BECKY BOYLAND: Yeah, and what an incredible legacy to continue to build that and keep that going. Do you continue to do concerts around that for fundraising each year?

NICK STEFANACCI: You know, we haven't done one in, in a while. And it's just, it's just harder and harder. Dempsey is not at William Paterson anymore, so it's, it's harder to get the room. Um, and then, you know, people move away and, or they stop performing. So we haven't touched that in a while, but it's, it's still there, and that's all that matters.

BECKY BOYLAND: Yeah, and to be able to have it continue to stay funded is a great legacy as well, so that's, that's really powerful.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah, for sure, for sure.

BECKY BOYLAND: Oh that's awesome.

LEAVING TEACHING FOR MUSIC

BECKY BOYLAND: So then talk about as you got into teaching or m- or maybe your pivot out of teaching, what did that look like?

NICK STEFANACCI: Oh, well, I mean, I, I was teaching for, for 15 years in New Jersey, and that, that pivot out of teaching was literally this past school year where I resigned in January to pursue music full-time. But also, it's funny 'cause, you know, I've, I've been thinking about this a lot since we decided to do this podcast, and it's one of the few times in my life that I've actually taken my own advice, Because, you know, to, to my students, and I've had so many great students over the years, Oh my God. Um, I, you know, a lot of my teaching as, as a music educator was really about building them up as, as people and young adults and, and how to survive the world. Because, you know, my, my whole philosophy, especially in public school, was if I had one student graduate every year to go on to music, that's a success, you know?

So how do I reach th- those 99% other kids who are doing this because it's a hobby, it's a passion, or, or they do it because they like me as a teacher, you know? Which is, like, so many of those kids that you find out over the years, you know? And so how do you connect with them and how do you help them grow and become just better, better citizens?

And so a lot of my teaching, we would just talk about things and, you know, so many times in my life telling students and, and preaching to them, I would say, "Look, sometimes you have to make those hard decisions and, and do what's best for you." And that was exactly what happened this past school year where I had to take a, a serious, serious mental health break and make a really tough decision for myself for a change.

Which is, you know, as an educator, we always find ourselves doing things for our students and, and that's a beautiful thing, right? That, that's so amazing. But I had to do something for myself and, and it was one of the hardest decisions to walk away from education. And I hated how it ended. You know, um, you know, briefly my school district hired a supervisor that was completely not qualified.

And unfortunately instead of her being a leader she became a bully. And, I called my sisters because I was really contemplating this thing and I said, "Look, I'm not gonna be bullied in my 40s, you know, you know, by someone who, who has no accreditation to be in this role."

And it could have went both ways, right? She could have been a fantastic supervisor who, like, understands that the music people know what they're doing, let them do their job, um, and then just, just aid and, and supplement if, if we needed something. But it got to the point where she was, she was harassing me about taking too long to set up a stage for a concert. You know? "You need to be back in the room teaching faster." Well, I'm sorry that I need to move all the equipment in the band room to the stage, and, you know, the students helped out a lot, but, you know, a lot of things I would have to do on my own or reset because it just wasn't how it had to be, you know what I mean?

So that, that stuff takes time, and it's, you know, it's not like it took me a week. It would take me two days to set the stage up for a concert, and it would take me a day to break it down. That's not that much time, and so, when you get pushed like that by someone who has no clue about it, it's...

I had to take my own advice, and it, it's still, it's something, um, that I, I struggle with even to today because it's still really fresh, you know? But, the long-term health benefits and mental benefits are gonna be, far outweigh all this, you know, this little bit, this short period of time of, like, just, you know, feeling that, that kind of grief, you know, for leaving, for leaving your students, you know?

BECKY BOYLAND: It's such a hard pivot to make. No, no matter what change we go through, whether it's career or other life changes, all of them are traumatic even if they're good. And so it's, it's that, uh, it's that transition. I remember learning about that actually when I was probably in high school, that you did an inventory of, of all the stressors in your life, and I'm like, "Oh, man."

My, my ... Even then, my life was, seemed stressful as a, as a student, and now that just sticks in my mind that, yes, every time there's a change, that change is still stressful even if it's the good thing that I wanna do.

NICK STEFANACCI: Right. Exactly. Exactly. Um, you know, so, so we're, we're just in the, in the middle of it, but, you know, when we talk again in another year or a couple years, it's gonna be a different story, and that's, and that's the beautiful part of it.

BECKY BOYLAND: Yeah, I imagine there's a lot of sort of imagining or predicting what is gonna come next, but I, I also imagine just leaning into the music is, is so powerful and impactful.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah. You know, I mean, throughout this whole, like, timeframe of, of when I was trying to make this decision and, and, and this life impact, I really was able to reconnect with my faith. I always refer to it as, like, the big guy upstairs, you know? And I, I... You know, because a lot of my family members and my friends, they said, "You're, you're gonna stop teaching? Like, y- you're crazy. You must be crazy, you know? Like, there's benefits. You have a steady income. It's, it's all this great stuff." And I would just, you know, I would tell them, I said, "Look, I, I can't believe that I've been given this opportunity to fail. I just, I just can't believe that." In, in, in, in the deepest, darkest places of my soul, you know, I, I, I just...

It's that feeling like, okay, yeah, this, this is a really tough decision, but it- you have to make it, you know?

BECKY BOYLAND: Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of like clearing the plate so that you can see what comes next

NICK STEFANACCI: Absolutely. Absolutely. Oh my God. Teaching and, and being an educator will be a part of my life forever. Um, and it's just how, it's just how I try to help people and approach people. It's, you know, "Tell, tell me what's going on. How, how can I help you a little bit?" And we just kinda go from there.

BECKY BOYLAND: Oh, amazing. That's wonderful.

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NEW FULL TIME CHAPTER

BECKY BOYLAND: So talk about your, now that you are in this new journey, what is that looking like from a music standpoint, and what do you have happening now and coming on the horizon?

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah, you know, I've just been so blessed with my career overall, um, that it's- it's just great. I'm getting to spend a lot more time with my mother who is, who's dealing with some health issues, so that's just a win, you know? and it's funny because it's like the small things that probably would've been a really big pain in my butt if I was still teaching, like taking her to the grocery store or going and picking up her medicine or, uh, you know, taking her to doctors.

But, like, now that I have this, this time and this freedom, you know, it- it's just, it's more moments to spend with her and, you know, th- that won't last forever, so I'm trying to enjoy all of those moments even though they add stress to my life and all that stuff. Um, but musically, there's, there's so much good stuff.

And, and once it kicks in, it's, it's gonna be, it's gonna be a blast, you know? I'm, I'm happy for that.

BECKY BOYLAND: Oh, amazing.

HOW HE WRITES MUSIC

BECKY BOYLAND: So talk about your music process and how you develop your, your pieces and the singles that you're working on, the albums that you're working on. What does that creative space look like?

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah, I'll go back to like my, my education days of, of being a student, where just academics, it just didn't click. But the creative stuff was always kinda lingering or lurking in the background, you know.

I, I didn't know really how to access it. Um, and then as a young musician, I was told so many times by so many different people that I'm not good enough or I'll never, I'll never make it, whatever. And, and that was like college auditions and all, all that world of, of nonsense, and so I said, "Well, cool. There's, there's a lot of doubt there. So why don't we try to start writing my own music? Because people can't stop me from playing my stuff, you know. They may not, think I'm good enough to be in such a band or whatever, um, or, or a program, but they can't stop me if I write my own stuff."

And so that's, that's kind of re- really where it started, and it started in high school, because I would sit down and, and, you know, Chuck would play piano for me, and I would just play blues, right? And so in high school, I started to write my own blues melodies, right? 'Cause you don't have to worry about the chord progression.

The chord progression's already set for you. So you, so you find a key that you like to play in, and, and you just, you start writing new heads. And so it kind of really started there, right? And then as an undergraduate student, you know, studying music and classical performance, um, my writing really had a chance to explode because, because of the classical side, I was performing in like a saxophone quartet, and I had the opportunity to write my own original saxophone quartet piece.

And so again, that was just like a different side of my creative stuff coming out. And then I started to write more and more in, in like the jazz and blues vein in, in college. And then- after college, I had the great honor of, of playing for a couple of years and touring with a doo-wop group called Emil Stucchio & The Classics, and they were based out in Long Island, and I, you know, I had to go audition for, for the, for the role and all that stuff.

Um, but those were some of the, the best years of playing in my life because I was around all these older doo-wop guys who have been on the scene, you know, since the '50s and '60s. Um, and they'd been through it all, you know, and they were still making music later in life, still enjoying performing.

And they would just have the best stories about, you know, what it was like touring in the '60s on a bus and, and not making a, a penny off a show because, you know, the booking agent or the promoter stole it from them, and, you know, there were... You know, they didn't have lawyers back then for that stuff, so, you know, it, it was just, just a, a really good awakening about the music industry and how it really is.

But it was also during that experience with that music director where he kind of really started to push me to write more of my own stuff. And then so I, I wrote my first album, and that's called 26 Years, and then I recorded it at his studio, um, out in Long Island. And once I stepped in the studio as an artist, it just, it just hit me, like, this is really what I wanna do.

And I, I love being in the studio. I love being able to create. I love, I love writing. I, I love pushing the envelope of what I write, and I think if you go back and, and check out my entire discography, which is pretty lengthy already for, for this, for this part of my life, every single album is going to have a different sound to it, a different feel to it.

Growing up listening to The Beatles, I think that had a, had a really big inspiration on, on my style of writing because listening from one Beatles album to the next, I mean, it's, it's like, holy smoke, what, what did they do and why is it so different, you know? And to me, that's, that's what being an artist is, is about, you know.

I don't wanna stay stagnant with my sound. I don't wanna stay stagnant with my creativity. And so every album I'm trying to push it some way, some form, somehow, to make it just a little bit different, a little bit fresher, and keep me, myself, and I on my toes as, as a performer and as an artist.

You know, A few years back I was approached by a contemporary classical pianist to compose some new contemporary classical duets for saxophone and piano, and I said, "Yeah, count me in. This is, this is amazing." And so I got to flex, like, all these classical training muscles that I haven't used, you know, in, like, decades, and I mean, I, I'm, I'm in love with the stuff I wrote for that because it's just so different and so fresh-sounding to me.

And then, and we had a chance to record it, and we're trying to, we're trying to book some shows to actually perform some of that stuff. So it's just really has been a blessing and, and, and I just, I'm just so, so lucky for all of it, you know? I, I've worked hard, but just so lucky to have all of these experiences.

BECKY BOYLAND: And that's such a great example for a lot of indie artists who think they either have to stay in one lane or they feel like they have to follow all these different paths, and none of them are necessarily who they are as an artist. But by doing it on a project-by-project basis, there's, I imagine, a through line even though there's so much difference in creativity.

And, and you don't get bored either, and it's- that just sounds like such a wonderful approach. And I love how you also took the criticism early on and said, " Fine, I'll just, I'll just do me." And I think a lot of, a lot of artists, you know, have those same stories. I have stories like that as well of, "Oh, maybe, maybe just stick to your instrument and maybe not sing."

And I'm glad I didn't listen to that. I mean, I heard it in the moment. It didn't feel great. But as time went on, I'm like, "You know what? I don't think they knew what they were saying, and they didn't know what was coming." And I'm glad that I, I just leaned into doing what I wanted to do.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah.

BREAKING RULES AND LABELS

NICK STEFANACCI: You know, I mean, I think, I think while I was an educator, I think that was one of the things that I really tried to preach to my students is, you know, who am I to say that you're not good enough? Like, who am I, you know? Like, yeah, I, I, I have degrees, I have albums, whatever, but man, like you're, you're still just like such a young sapling in this world.

Like, you need to keep on pushing and growing and, find what you love to do, and then chase that relentlessly and don't let, don't let anyone tell you that you're not good enough because, because they, they have no clue. They, they have no clue what's good enough in this world. And so I think, from my experiences of, of hearing no all those times, then when I had the chance to say yes to kids, it was really kind of like, yeah, this is, this, this what feels right to me, you know?

Is, is just try to inspire them, just be great, and just, just go be you. Um, and then as an artist, I mean, I've had, you know, different like record labels and stuff like that. "Well, yeah, you're good, but like, you know, you don't really fit in the smooth jazz world," or, "You don't really fit in the pop world," or, "You don't fit in the contemporary jazz world, like, so we can't really, we can't sign you to anything."

All right, so then I, I started my own record label, so Sweet Lion Music puts out all my records. Again, it's that mentality, cool, like if you don't think it's good enough, that's, that's on you, and we'll just y- we'll shake hands and we'll walk away, you know, m- mutual friends.

And you know, at the end of the day, we'll see where it stacks up and where it piles up. But I'm gonna keep on just doing what feels good for my soul. And that's kind of, I think, as an artist, I think that's really how you have to approach it, you know. You have to do what, what feels good for your soul.

BECKY BOYLAND: Yes. Yes, absolutely. And it's really interesting that when we talk about so many other subjects that we want people to learn and, and develop over time, that there is that concept of development. But when it comes to art, so many times people are just like, "Well, you haven't arrived," and so this apparently is all the further that this person can go, you know?

And it's, it's absolutely crazy because you can clearly develop. We see people develop over time, and one of the things that, uh, you know, whether it's a particular instrument or the voice, it's just like everyone assumes it's either you have it or you don't. And it's like, well, how do you think I got this far?

It didn't come in a vacuum, so there's, there's definitely more that has to happen. And so it's really silly, I guess, that that's the way that we tend to look at it, uh, broadly in society, and I think that's the other really amazing thing about artists like The Beatles, who they didn't really sound like anybody else either.

They just created a new genre and a f- and a few more, to be honest. So, so that's, you know, the, the artists that we remember are the ones who broke all the rules and did something that was completely new that no one had heard before. And so trying to just sound like everybody else, uh, feels old and dated and it's safe but not safe because it's an easy way to disappear into the horizon of, or basically the giant ocean of music that's being put out on a daily basis.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah. It's so interesting because, like you said, The Beatles, they, they broke the rules, you know? And then if, if you look back through music history, the rules weren't there for Mozart. The rules weren't there for Beethoven. The rules came after, right?

They, the rules came after when people, they went back and listened to it, they transcribed it, and then they, then they studied it, and they put the rules to it and this is why Mozart sounds this way, because he did this and this and that. But he wasn't thinking about that when he was writing.

He was just writing, right? And like you said, and that's what really the, the artists that we remember, that's what they do. They, they color outside those lines. And that's how it works for them. That's how they, they get noticed, right? And so, you know, I think a lot of it is just because of the silly music industry, you know, and they just want cookie cutters 'cause they could, rinse, repeat, and sell or whatever their, their lingo is.

But that doesn't have a lasting effect, right? And I think as an artist, I mean, I want my music to be listened to for a long time after I'm gone, hopefully. You know, that, that's the goal. I, you know, I don't want it to be out there doing nothing. So you keep on pushing. You keep, you keep kind of redefining yourself as an artist.

And it, it comes into that thing of like just not being satisfied, you know? And I, I think that's just something that people have or they, or, or they don't have, you know? And I think, um, artists that constantly push the boundaries, they're just not satisfied. And, and I think, as an educator, I would always relate you know, music to sports because the comparisons are, are so, so there, but we, we separate them so much, which is so, so wild.

And you know, you just look at the great athletes over time. They're never satisfied, right? That's why like you have Michael Jordans who win five championships or, or whatever, or you have Tiger Woods that win how many champ- You know, because they're, they're, it's just this relentless pursuit of perfection.

And that's kinda how I treat my career. And hopefully it's, it's the right path, you know?

BECKY BOYLAND: Yeah, I think that's a really great illustration, and there's, uh, you're gonna have me thinking about that now as far as overlapping those, those two areas. And there is that, not only that perfectionism, but the discipline to continue to pursue it. And that's always an interesting challenge for the indie artist who goes from hobbyist to professional because there's a, a huge difference in how we treat our music when it's a hobby.

You know, we squeeze it in when we can, and we do it for fun, and then we stop. And there are so many other things that we have to do if we really wanna make it a viable career, and the discipline behind that is, i- is what separates the, the hobbyist and the pro

NICK STEFANACCI: Right. Right.

ARTS PIPELINE LIKE SPORTS

NICK STEFANACCI: You know, and, I'm trying to figure out in my brain and how to better advertise music, but also create a better pipeline for young artists to succeed, right? And, and again, like I, I taught for so many years and I, I was always using sports analogies because that, that's what everybody knows in this society, which is a little crazy, but it is what it is.

You know, sports have done such a great way of creating a pipeline for young, for young athletes to find success in college and then find, find, you know, the professional leagues. And so there has to be a way in music to try to create that same pipeline, and really give, really give kids a chance, you know?

And so, like, I would always say to my students is, you know, high school athletes that are good, they come in, they get scouted by, you know, colleges to be recruited, right? There were no A&R reps coming to my high school concerts, but maybe there has to be, right? Maybe there has to be college scouts for Juilliard and college scouts for Manhattan School of Music, Berklee College of Music, whatever, to go around to, to high schools and actually scout talent to try to get them to their programs.

You know, there has to be a way to do it and maybe one day I'll, I'll meet the right people and, and try to put that into place somehow. But there needs to be a way to do it because if sports can do it, why, why not the arts? You know, the arts are just as important, if not more important for, for, for growth and educational and learning than sports are.

And, and like I said, like I would tell my students all the time, you know, I can't teach height and speed. You know? Like you're either gonna be 6'4" and, and be able to run a 40 or what, you know, whatever they measure for their metrics, but I could teach anybody how to play a blues scale.

It doesn't take size, it doesn't take strength. It's a little bit of finger coordination and, and I got you. And so there has to be a way to create a pipeline to help kids find more success in the arts so it becomes a little more prevalent in society, you know?

BECKY BOYLAND: That really goes back to what you said just about going into college, and, and this has been said several times on this podcast, that you had to grow up and get a job. And that's what we're told. Music is something that, that you can't... You can always be in an ensemble, you can always do these things on the side, but it gets pushed away unless you're gonna be an educator because of that same line of, like, you gotta go get a job.

And and it's like, well, this could be a job. This can be a job. And so it, it is really interesting because I know that especially for athletes that go on to college and play in college and then don't get drafted, it's sort of like, what do I do now?

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah, they're lost

BECKY BOYLAND: and of course they have to go get a job. That's why they have their other degree, but,

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah

BECKY BOYLAND: but for the musician, many times that feeling of loss and, and what do I do now starts right after high school because, again, they can be in an ensemble, but like you said, there's no path. And, um, that's, uh, that's profoundly sad.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it, it, it is because, I mean, you're just, you're just stripping away so much from, from kids, you know? And they're just trying to find their potential, right? And so, there has to be a way to create a pipeline, and, and so that's, that's definitely gonna be something I'm, I'm gonna start thinking about because now I have, I have a little bit more time to kinda go in, go on these, you know, adventures in my mind.

BECKY BOYLAND: Yes. Yes, that's for sure.

ADVICE TO JUST SAY YES

BECKY BOYLAND: So for those who are at a point in their life now where they're like, "Um, maybe I should make the leap. Maybe this is something that has to go from hobby to pro," what advice would you give to them?

NICK STEFANACCI: You know, I was actually just talking about this with, with a, with a friend the other day. And, you know, they, they were looking at like, at my bio and, and everything that I've, I've done. And I said, "It's really simple. It's, it's a one-syllable word, you know, and it's, it's yes."

It's just go out there and put yourself in situations where you could say yes to things, right? Because if you say no, then I, I can tell you what the outcome is. The outcome is you're not gonna do anything, and if you just start saying that word yes to whether it's, you know, performing, you know, with a wedding band or, or performing at, at a bar or, or, or whatever, you know, whatever the s- the situation is.

But just by saying yes, I mean, you open that door and you step through that door and you're not sure what you're gonna find on the other side. Um, but it's a hell of a lot better than saying no and just closing that door shut in your face. Um, so I, I think, I think that's really the best and easiest advice is you just have to say yes to things.

And, you know, some things are not gonna go your way, and they're gonna be bad experiences, but all those experiences lead to being an artist, right? If you don't have the downs, then you don't know how to celebrate the ups. And then if you don't have the downs, how can you ever write a sad ballad?

You know, i- if you don't have that experience, you can't write it. So you, you need to go through all these emotions and, and just, just say yes. And, and trust me, like, some of the craziest things are gonna happen, and you're gonna say, "Oh my God, how, how is that possible?" Um, and it's really just from saying the word yes.

So that's, that's my advice.

BECKY BOYLAND: I l- I love that, and I was thinking, "Oh, yes, you're turning these no's into opportunities," but I, I love it even better the way that you said it, because basically you're turning a no into material.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah. Right. Exactly. Um, and I mean, there's been so many gigs that I've said yes to over the years that, like, you know, I shouldn't have or whatever, but they led to something else. You know, undoubtedly they led to something else, and, and that's, that's just such a win, and you can't, you can't replicate that, right?

You can't replicate that by looking at your phone and, and counting your streams or counting your followers. Take all that data and those metrics and just throw them out the window because it, it doesn't matter, you know? At the end of the day, you're either gonna write really great music or be able to perform really great music, or you're not.

And, and having followers and stream, like, I, I didn't grow up with it, you know, so I'm late to that whole party, so I don't really care about any of that party because it's, it's not real. It's all, it's all fictional, you know? Um, so I say get away from the phone, put down the, the two-inch screen, and just go, go live life.

Just go be outside.

BECKY BOYLAND: Yeah, and make connections and the people that are, two or three people further away, you don't, you don't know who that's gonna be. There's no way that you can even predict who that's going to be, and it's those serendipitous moments that, a lot of times, just totally change everything.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yes

BECKY BOYLAND: you can't, like you said, you can't manufacture that because you just don't know it's even available.

NICK STEFANACCI: That's right. That's right. So y- yeah, you just, you just have to say yes. It's, it's, it's cool. It's just that simple.

NEW ALBUM AND SINGLES

BECKY BOYLAND: So, uh, talk a little bit about what music is coming up next, and I know you're doing singles off of this current album, so share a little bit about that.

NICK STEFANACCI: Sure. Um, so, you know, the, the current release is called Right Here, Right Now. I thought that title just worked perfectly for where I am in my world. I didn't plan that, but it, you know, again, it's just like this thing that just, it just came out of nowhere, and it just worked.

You know? I said, "Okay, that's, that's perfect for where I am." So, um, you know, there's s- some really great music on the, on this album. The last single that we just released a couple weeks ago is, you know, the famous Tito Puente "Oye Como Va." And, you know, if, if I do a cover of a song, I really try to expand it and make it my own, right?

And so, I was really fortunate to get the great Tony Lindsay to sing it. And, you know, if, if you don't know who Tony is, Tony was Santana's lead singer for, like, the past 20 years. And so I called Tony up. I said, "Tony, man, we're, we're doing 'Oye.'" And he, you know, I wish it was a video call, 'cause I'm sure his, his face just like went, went, "Oh, man!"

You know? Um, but, but so I could only imagine what his face was, what, what his facial expression was. But, um, I said, "Yeah, we're doing Oye, but it's gonna be different, man. It's gonna be something like you've never sang it before." And he's like, "Well, Nick, I've only sang it one way for 20 years, you know, around the world. So how do you want me to sing it?" And so it was funny, because if you listen to the first chorus, right, and it's just a chorus. There's no, there's no verses in it, right? It's just the coro, um, like a typical Spanish thing. It's brilliant. I said, "Tony, like, I wanna do the first chorus different. You know, I want you to kinda, like, almost, like vocalise the melody, right? And, and take a lot of, lot of freedoms, a lot of expression, and make it different. And then, and then subsequently every time we get back to the chorus, it'll be more of the traditional route. But like, just give me, like, one chorus where it's not 'Oye Como Va.'"

Right? And so he was having, he was having a really hard time, and that's, like, the fun stuff of being a producer, right? Because it's like, man, this guy has Grammy awards. He has, you know, gold records, platinum records with Santana. He's been all over the world. How do I get him to free up and, and do what I need him to do?

And so what ended up happening was I ended up just recording a couple of, like, saxophone lines that I thought could work, you know. And I said, "Tony, now just, just vocalize this. You know, take, strip out my saxophone and, and make your voice do this." And he did it, man. And he did it and, and, you know, I, I love what he did with the first chorus.

I, I think it's, it's really fresh and original, and then I added some horns to it, and I kinda changed the arrangement a little bit just to, to make it my own. So I love this version that we did and I'll be at the Asbury Jazz Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey, so we're gonna do it live and it's, it's just gonna be a lot of fun for the crowd.

So I'm excited about that. And then, you know, the rest of the album kind of basically encapsulates my, my approach as an artist, right? So there's, like, some funky stuff in there that's definitely like a James Brown, Maceo Parker-type thing. I have a beautiful ballad, you know, uh, that I wrote as like a lullaby.

And there's lyrics to it, I just haven't done the, the vocal version yet, so I'll release that later as a separate vocal rendition. And then, you know, there's like a lot of Quincy Jones influence on it, and people always ask me, like, "How do you describe your sound or whatever?"

And so about a year ago, someone kind of came up with dubbing me, like, the Prince of Soul Jazz, and this was a club owner after he heard me, and I really love that, that kind of, that phrase, right? And it, it really makes sense for me because I always say that my artistry is kind of like a Quincy Jones mashed up with Maceo Parker, so a lot of, like, orchestrated pop hook songs just with a saxophone, like a funky saxophone, soulful, you know, lead.

And so I think, like, that, that Prince of Soul Jazz really kind of works as who I am as an artist. And Quincy's just one of those people that, you know, he, he studied orchestration as, as a young person and then he wrote for everybody, he produced everybody. And, you know, obviously everybody knows his Michael Jackson stuff, but, you know, his breadth of work is, is so astonishing and, and that's what I try to emulate as an artist and a producer, right?

Is how can, how can we touch all these worlds and, and be great at all of them. And so that's kind of what I take into the studio when I write, you know, in that kind of mantra, that kind of mindset.

BECKY BOYLAND: That's incredible. Those influences are just phenomenal, so that's, yeah, that's amazing.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah.

BECKY BOYLAND: Yes. Yes, absolutely.

WHERE TO FOLLOW AND CLOSING

BECKY BOYLAND: So how can people keep up with you and find you on all the places?

NICK STEFANACCI: Sure. I mean, the easiest way is just through my website, so nickstefanaccimusic.com. And that has all my social links. And I will be completely honest, if you follow me on Facebook and you message me on Facebook, I will eventually get to it. I'm way more proactive on my Instagram page. It's just easier for me for some reason.

I, you know, I d- I don't know why. So if, if you wanna reach out, you know, feel free to do it on the Instagram page. If you do do it on the Facebook, I will eventually get there, but I apologize 'cause it, it's, it's something that I, I just don't, I don't look at very often. Um, you know, there was, there was a time I had the, a great chance of, of living in Europe for over a year and playing all throughout Europe.

And while I was on that journey, I deleted all my socials. I said, "You know what?" Like, "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'm, I'm living in Europe. I just need to be here. I need to be present in this moment." And I mean, that was probably the worst thing I could do as an artist, you know, is delete your social media accounts. But, uh, you know, i- I just needed it. I needed it for my soul. And so, when I got back to the States and I started to, like, really record and produce again, uh, you know, full time, you know, everyone's like, "Oh, man, you really need to start your socials again so you could start getting bookings for gigs and stuff," 'cause that's all that these people care about, you know, is, like, how many followers and all that nonsense.

So, like, Facebook was the l- was the last one I started again, so that's why I just, I just don't interact that much. But Instagram is probably the best. And yeah, you'll, you'll find, like, all my, my tour dates, ticket links, all that, all that good stuff, latest videos, latest, like, interviews and, you know, all that cool stuff.

BECKY BOYLAND: Awesome. And we'll have everything in the show notes. And you make me nostalgic for when I was in college, I spent a semester in London, and the way that the, uh, email was set up for campus was on actual physical servers. And so you didn't have, we didn't have our own computers at that point, and you didn't have to set a password because you were logging into your entire, uh, virtual, you know, environment.

So nobody told me that I needed to set a password so that I could access it remotely. So I had no email for an entire semester, and it didn't, you know, this was pre-social media, but I was kinda like, "You know, this is cool."

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah, this is, yeah, this is actually healthy. This is good. This is, this-- Yeah, I agree.

BECKY BOYLAND: I couldn't, could not possibly do that now because my whole, you know, life would shut down. But, um, but man, it is tempting.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah, no, I, I, hey, I agree. Um, and it was, it was probably one of the best cleanses I ever did for my soul. You know? It was just, just get away from all of that and just, you know, again, be present, be in that moment and, and live, you know? Um, so yeah. But now, like, you know, whatever. There, there's consequences to everything you do, you know?

BECKY BOYLAND: It's true, it's true. A little simplicity would be great, but, you know, it, this is what it is. This is where we're at.

NICK STEFANACCI: Exa- exactly, exactly. Oh, that's so funny

BECKY BOYLAND: Well, this has been a wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for being here.

NICK STEFANACCI: Yeah, Becky, it was my pleasure, and I hope, I hope we can do it again soon.

CODA

BECKY BOYLAND: What stood out most for me in this conversation was Nick's record label story. When the industry kept telling him he didn't fit, not smooth jazz enough, not pop enough, not contemporary jazz enough, he didn't shrink the sound to fit their box. He started Sweet Lion Music and built his own lane.

That's a brand lesson as much as it is a music lesson. If you're an indie artist trying to get a gatekeeper to say yes, and you keep getting a version of "you don't fit," that's not always a sign to change who you are. Sometimes it's a sign your message needs its own category, not someone else's. Here's your actionable step this week.

Pull up your artist bio or your website's homepage and ask, "Does this describe me by comparison to other artists, or does it say clearly who I am and who this is for?" If it's the former, that's your rewrite.

And Nick's other piece of advice bears repeating. It's a one-syllable word, and it's yes. Say yes to the gig, the collaboration, the weird idea. You can't manufacture where it leads, but you also can't get there by staying home.

If this episode moved you, hit subscribe and leave a review. It's the single best way to help another artist find their way back to the music. And now, here's Nick Stefanacci with "Midnight Affair."

FEATURED SONG: "MIDNIGHT AFFAIR" BY NICK STEFANACCI