Jesse Stockton

From encore magazine: Wilmington’s music scene always seems to wax and wane over the years—never really reaching critical mass, never really floundering either. But it’s always present. Part of that constant seems to be the small fraternity of full-time musicians who make their livings playing out at the clubs and bars as much as humanly possible. It’s part entertainment, part survival, but it’s a job nevertheless, and patrons tend to picture them as being as much of their experience as their favorite bartender. Jesse Stockton is a member of that order. For at least the past year, Stockton has gone from the occasional gig to working as much as six nights a week some weeks, playing in heavy rotation at the Wrightsville Beach bars as much as the downtown scene. He’s become part of that relatively small group of local musicians who can play nearly every night because he’s good. He’s really good, actually. But not because he’s the most technically proficient or a walking catalog of hit singles. He just has something when he performs that seems to come from somewhere much deeper, something that seems to have found its outlet through music. “I’ve always played, it seems,” he says sitting down with me at a coffee shop. “I’ve always sang. My mom actually has recordings of me when I was 4 singing Elvis songs. And I’ve just been waiting for the means to share that over the years.” While he doesn’t often conjure up The King these days, Stockton does evoke something classic and timeless in his performances. He never stays within a certain genre for very long, and he certainly doesn’t sound like someone else. He’s his own man. It’s evocative, it’s emotional, and it’s unequivocally Americana. “Whenever I sing and play, I think of Bob Dylan, Jeff Buckley and Jim Morrison,” he says. “But the first concert that I went to when I was 7 years old was Doc Watson. And the love of that type of music continued on forever. Even when I was an angry teenager who was completely into Nirvana . . . I was still like, ‘This is awesome; this is amazing.’” And when Stockton performs throughout the week, he somehow manages to seamlessly blend the Buckley with the Watson. It doesn’t hurt that he often plays with friends and bluegrass players Benji Smith (bass) and Ryan Eversole (fiddle/mandolin) from local favorites, No Dollar Shoes. But regardless of whose song he plays, Stockton always manages to make it his own, and that’s something that’s kept him in demand, even as some bars have cut back on live music due to the economic woes. It’s something he sees on a regular basis, he says. “I see a lot of bars struggling except for one or two nights a week,” he says. “When I first moved here, [a lot of people] went out every night, even if it was just until 11 or midnight. I just don’t see that as much today.” It’s a fact that affects him directly, even if he’s one of the lucky ones who keeps working. The guaranteed pay days have become less and less, and some have disappeared altogether. Although it’s not gotten to the severity where he wishes he continued to have his previous day jobs of carpentering or line-cooking, he is considering finishing school as a sort of back-up plan should he tire of the lifestyle of a professional musician. “I do want a degree,” he says. “I’ve tried to operate in the system too long without one. I’m really tired of starving. So if I can get a real job because I have a degree, then I want a degree. I do wanna make a living and not constantly worry about rent, and say to myself, ‘Oh, God, I can’t pay the water bill if I pay rent.’” In the meantime Stockton says he’ll just continue to write, record and play out as much as possible—and hope for a better economic forecast. Even as frustrating as it can be as an artist sometimes, he remains hopeful, thankful and optimistic, and clearly enjoys what he does for a living, every night of the week. Especially when it means he can live at the beach. “The day I left Boone it was snowing, and I got here and it was 72 degrees,” he says. “I love waking up every day and seeing that ocean, and riding my bike, and hanging out in the sun.” Drive fast and take chances. Love often, it cost's nothing. New album "Thank You Very Kindly" is out on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon MP3 & you can listen on Spotify. https://play.spotify.com/artist/2CsItsDLN7S2qib1nvWPHb