{"id":13222,"date":"2016-04-07T07:05:40","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T11:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=13222"},"modified":"2016-08-17T07:09:59","modified_gmt":"2016-08-17T11:09:59","slug":"music-man-its-a-powerful-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/music-man-its-a-powerful-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Music, man. It\u2019s a powerful thing\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at laura.maclean@doppleronline.ca.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jeff Stamp does not look like the kind of guy who would join his grandma for bingo on Tuesday nights.<\/p>\n

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He is the kind of guy, however, who looks a bit rock and roll. From the signature denim overalls he often wears (that appear to be more of a colourful canvas for art not just a clothing item) when he\u2019s getting into the role of his alter-ego, to his shaggy do, goatee and tattoos, Jeff just looks like the kind of guy who\u2019s into music. Actually, his style of music has a classification of its own: redneck rock.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026, a little bit rock, country, blues, and it can be jazzy at times, which is fun,\u201d he explains. \u201cOverall, it\u2019s just good music to drink and dance to.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ve heard Jeff singing his heart out on local airwaves. He\u2019s a regular on Hunters Bay Radio and he\u2019s also made appearances on Moose FM. He\u2019s the frontman in the Jukebox Scoundrels, a cover band that plays everything from Elvis Presley to the current top 20 hits. Ol\u2019 Stampy\u2019s Saloon, well, he tells me, that\u2019s his own thing.<\/p>\n

\"He'll

He’ll make music until the end of his days, he says.<\/p><\/div>\n

Jeff has released four albums since 2006 but has been part of more than a dozen others. He is currently working on an album that features duets with a variety of local female singers. He will be donating proceeds from CD sales to Cystic Fibrosis Canada and has set up a GoFundMe account<\/a><\/span> for the cause. It\u2019s an organization that has a special spot in his heart.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s an extrovert who can be a hermit. Sometimes he likes to tuck himself away in the \u201clittle saloon\u201d he built outside of town. He won\u2019t see anyone for months. He likes the peace and solitude of being alone. But when he\u2019s ready to come out of hiding, he\u2019ll emerge as a social butterfly and go out every weekend. Aside from being a dedicated musician and really driven, musically speaking, Jeff has also been a carpenter for over two decades. He has an apartment in town. It makes for convenient living. Especially if he\u2019s performing live at one of the local bars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have an alter-ego who\u2019s sort of this shit-kicking red neck hillbilly,\u201d says Jeff. I try not to laugh. But I\u2019m thinking that\u2019s a pretty hilarious description of his other self.<\/p>\n

\"Jeff

Jeff getting into the role of his alter-ego. His overalls are an added touch to his image as a rowdy hillbilly.<\/p><\/div>\n

He comes across as being self-aware. He\u2019s tuned in to who he is. He collects crystals, does Reiki and quantum healing and he\u2019s a big supporter of organ donating. He\u2019s got a unique vibe going on. His body is a canvas for some pretty cool tattoos. I forgot to ask him if the one on his knee hurt terribly. It seems like an interesting spot. Many of them tell a story, like the one he bares on his upper arm that\u2019s a symbol for Cystic Fibrosis. He lost his close cousin and his wife to the disease. Her name was Carla and he met her at a Toronto hospital while he was paying one of his many visits to his cousin.<\/p>\n

He got to spend three-and-a-half years with Carla, but they were only married for two weeks before she died in 2011. It was a dream of hers. He still deals with the loss. It\u2019s an ongoing process and he\u2019s come a long way. For Jeff, immersing himself in his music was a way to distract himself from the sorrow he felt. Check out his touching video for his tune Hers was Gold<\/em> on YouTube<\/a><\/span>. It was number one in the top 20 countdown on Hunters Bay Radio 88.7 FM for five weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree years of it were ridiculously hard,\u201d he says of dealing with his wife\u2019s death. \u201cBeing a single father, I had to keep my shit together and not fall off the charts like I wanted to. I went from crying several times a day for two years, to maybe breaking down once a week and then it slowly dissipated. I wrote a handful of songs about [losing his wife]. When we hooked up, she came with a dog. After six months the dog was more mine than hers. It was a special pet and I just had to put her down in February so it was my last connection to my wife, really. My last release, I guess. The circle was complete.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t