John Simpkins + Muchly Suchwise

We caught up with trumpet master, John Simpkins of Muchly Suchwise.

When did you first get into music?

The moment when I truly got into music was when my older brother Dave Simpkins asked me to join his band, Askimbo. At age 14, I was the youngest in the group. I can’t fully express how cool it was to feel a part of something that was so much bigger than me. For years, our group of 6 did everything together. Initially, it was hard to get gigs. We rehearsed nightly. Eventually, the band got a side gig cleaning a preschool so we could buy a P.A. and start putting on our own shows. This group of musicians became as important to me as my own family. We all still play music, and are a major part of each other’s lives. To this day, we play in projects together, help one another find work, and help to raise each other’s children. One of the most exciting parts of my current project, “Muchly Suchwise” is that Dave Simpkins is on bass, James Romine on drums, and Candra Rios on Tenor Sax were all members of that original version of Askimbo with me.

Who or What inspired you to pursue a career in music?

At a young age, my mother Judy Gardner definitely instilled a love of art and self expression in me and my brothers. She is an amazing artist and teacher, her studio is called Alchemical Eye Studio. My family as a whole has always been artistic. Some of the greatest memories of my childhood are creating art projects with my mom, or sitting with family members as we paint or craft. I was never a very good painter but the time I got with my grandmother, mom, and brothers was priceless.

Muchly Suchwise

Photo by Dave Simpkins

What probably got me into music was my dad, saying he didn’t approve. He is a Pentecostal Minister, and him telling me I could not listen to secular music or play it, only made me want it more. I didn’t rebel too hard though, the music I really got into was Ron Miles. He had come to my middle school to perform with a quartet. Not too long after that performance I tracked down a copy of Ron Miles’ album “Women’s Day”, which has been a huge influence on my life and career as a trumpet player. In fact, I finished my High School courses as quick as I could so that Denver North High School would pay for me to attend Metropolitan State University where I studied trumpet with Ron Miles.

How would you describe the music that you create?

The group I enjoy playing with the most right now is called, “Muchly Suchwise.” What we play is best described as Nerd Rock. I like the lighthearted seriousness we bring to our craft with this band. Sometimes, the group feels like being goofy and might write a funky tune about how sexy calligraphy is, or at other times I might write a song about how much I enjoy being a father where I can lay my heart on the line.

How has your music evolved since you first began playing music?

Certainly, in the last few years, I have been better at deciding what I like to play on the trumpet and allowing that to form my voice. As a young trumpet player, the pursuit of gigs can really dictate what you play and what you sound like. In a pursuit to appease everyone and show you can play anything and everything, you spend little time appeasing yourself. While this was good in my formative years, as I have gotten older, had children, I have had to be more selective with my time. Playing the style of trumpet that I want may not resonate with everyone, but I would like to think that the people it does resonate with tend to have a stronger connection to it because it is authentic and passionate.

If you were forced to choose only one, which emotion, more than any other drives you to stay in this tough business? Is it joy, anger, desire, passion or pride and why?

Definitely joy! The music industry can be hard at times, time and experience has taught me what I enjoy about music and how to seek those types of experiences out. I volunteer with my neighborhood school music program, I teach lessons to aspiring musicians and I play with a group of musicians that are lifelong friends. Even when I am not playing, I have a great deal of pride in the work I do repairing band instruments. Playing the trumpet is like a form of meditation for me. As the coronavirus closed everything down and work started to disappear, it has been normal to freak out, but sitting down and playing the trumpet really helps me to clear my mind and be in the moment which is invaluable at times like these.

Which ingredient do you think makes you special and unique as a performing artist in a genre overflowing with new faces and ideas?

I have a lot of pride in the trumpet I play on. It started out as a standard trumpet you could buy off the shelf. It was used, sold to me by my first trumpet teacher Keith Harms, it was all I could afford at the time. It was the perfect horn for what I was doing, and in the years that followed I played it so much that pieces started to wear out. My desire to keep my horn up and running got me introduced to a local music shop where I eventually started working. At first the guys in the shop helped me replace parts, I put on a variety of custom pieces, and over the years I learned how to machine parts, and replace pieces on my own. The trumpet currently has parts from five different manufactures,

Photo by Sonia Gonzalez-Ortega

Photo by Sonia Gonzalez-Ortega

pieces I have made myself, and pieces former teachers made for me. The trumpet is not the same horn that I started with but neither am I. In so many ways my trumpet carries my life story. My handprints are worn into the metal from the thousands of shows I’ve played and countless hours of lessons and practicing. I couldn’t count all the meaningful friendships I have made learning and playing. I was playing the trumpet the night I met my wife. I sat in with the band the night of my wedding. Played for my daughters in the hospital the nights they were born. There is not another trumpet in the world like mine, and I like to think when the bell rings out it sends a piece of all the joy and pain the two of us have lived together.

What has been your biggest challenge as a musician/ songwriter? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

It took a long time for me to get used to the idea that art needs to be fluid. You get something beautiful or comfortable and you just want to hold onto it forever. But fans or musicians that you play with might get bored and you’re forced to let go, and move on. This made me sad at times in my life, but now I feel I am better at embracing the change and allowing it to push me forward. In the end I am glad I am not doing the same things I was 10 years ago.

Photo by Sonia Gonzalez-Ortega

A common phrase in the industry is, “you must suffer for your art”. Do you agree with this statement? If so, how have you suffered for your art?

I once had a great trumpet teacher named Gerald Endsley. In a lesson we started talking about how I could practice the trumpet without actually having to practice the trumpet. I could work on the tonguing required to separate the notes when talking. I could practice breathing in a variety of workouts to keep myself healthy. I could practice focus and task completions in each day’s tedious projects. In return, the trumpet could make me a better communicator, healthier, and more task oriented. He wasn’t suggesting that I don’t have to practice, his big point was that to be a great trumpet player you should try to live your best life. The message in the lesson was amplified by the fact that this lesson was a series of free lessons Gerry gave me as a part of a mentor program for young artists, through which he helped hundreds of kids in. Many artists strive to instill a passion for their art that dictates every aspect of their life. I feel lucky that I was taught such an optimistic approach to this concept, that all the hard work never really felt like suffering.

How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?

I have always been a big fan of music being made more available to the masses. While the internet in some ways has made it harder for career musicians to make a good living, it has made music distribution and education more accessible. I am excited to see how this platform will expand music in ways we can’t imagine just like the invention of the printing press or the record player. Having so many more people creating and distributing music is scary when you’re trying to compete against it all. But, it is wonderful and inspiring if you love art for art’s sake.

If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?

Since you brought it up earlier, I don’t like the message: that you have to suffer in order to be a serious musician. Young musicians are told that they should just accept some of the unhealthy aspects of our industry, because one day it will make them a better musician. We work within an environment that often creates drug addiction, promotes depression and suffering in order to create music with depth, and leaves more people struggling to pay their bills or get by than not. I have lost a handful of friends to a combination of drug addiction and suicide. I would rather have my friends back, over the life experience.

What are the 5 albums that have helped make you the person you are today and why?

Ron Miles’ “Woman’s Day” - This one is hard to find in the digital realm, but well worth it in my opinion. His most recent album “I am a Man” is equally as good. I just don’t have the years of memories I associate with it...yet!! The first track, Dew on “Women’s Day” is one that I have turned to in times of turmoil or loss for decades. It reminds me to find beauty and stay rooted in who I am despite what the world throws at me.

Muchly Suchwise

Photo by Dave Simpkins

Fishbone’s “Give a Monkey a Brain” - It was this album in combination with a local band called The Psychedelic Zombies “Evening At the Zoo,” that strongly influenced the first group of musicians that I played with, Askimbo. Askimbo eventually got to open up for both acts.

Weird Al Yankovic’s “Straight Outta Lynwood” - I recently saw Weird Al at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony. While what he does is goofy, he makes me and a lot of other people crazy happy. I think it is good for all us to be reminded we don’t have to take ourselves and life so seriously all the time.

Shane Endsley’s “2nd Guess” - Shane’s father was a teacher and mentor of mine and I am often inspired by Shane’s cool modern approach to jazz. He is also in the group Kneebody, which is worth checking out as well.

Dr. Dog’s “Shame, Shame” - This is an album me and my current band mates in “Muchly Suchwise“ have bonded over. We found their mixture of different singers and writing styles inspiring and it encouraged us to experiment with the idea of having different narratives and voices throughout our shows and albums.

Tell us about your current project.

My current project is “Muchly Suchwise”, while I still continue to sub and collaborate with other groups, this is where my heart lies. Muchly Suchwise is a unique blend of wit over an eclectic mix of genres and styles. My brother Dave Simpkins, and our long time friend, Jim Disner and I started a songwriting club. The three of us were bouncing ideas off each other for years and collaborating for other projects like our zombie rock opera “Vitaphilia,” and over time we realized how much we enjoyed working together. We sent up the jam flare and our good friends James Romine (drummer), Candra Rios (Tenor Sax), and Dillion Jefferies (guitar) came to answer our call. The only downside to the band, is that it is hard to play the trumpet well when you have a big stupid ass grin on your face all the time.

What’s next for you?

Muchly Suchwise is currently recording an album, we had hoped to release it this summer. The debut will be postponed due to the chaos surrounding Covid-19, but it is coming soon. The other groups that I collaborate with at times are The Ordinary Two, Grown Ass Man Band, That Damn Sasquatch, and Cure For Pain.

How can fans-to-be gain access to your music?

https://suchwise.com/ https://www.facebook.com/muchlysuchwise 16 https://twitter.com/Muchly_Suchwise https://www.instagram.com/muchlysuchwise/