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Student spends 7 years on LP
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Though Jaret Campisi said he enjoys going to class as little as possible and playing video games, th...Though Jaret Campisi said he enjoys going to class as little as possible and playing video games, the past seven years of his life have been spent creating his first LP, Pineapple Sunrise.
Inspired by Dave Matthews Band, Campisi (senior-geography) began to teach himself the guitar when he was 15.
"My mom grounded me, so I picked up my brother's guitar one day and started fooling around with it in my room," he said.
Campisi said he began teaching himself chords by using tabs from the Internet, and before he knew it he was playing in local places around town and writing his own music. His lyrics mostly center on the girlfriend he has had since sixth grade.
"Not all of my music is about love," he said. "Some of them are about weird ideas. Ideas that come into your head about pursuing your dreams."
Campisi said unlike many artists nowadays, his lyrics are 100 percent original.
"I am so surprised to find how many artists don't write their own music. That is what distinguishes me from other young artists," he said.
What also distinguishes Campisi from others is that, after graduating from Mechanicsburg's Cumberland Valley High School in 2001, he came to Penn State on a track and field scholarship and placed in the 2005 Big Ten Championships.
Campisi said he continues to run for Penn State while trying to jumpstart his music career.
Jordan Coulson, a senior electronic media and film major at Towson University and a friend of Campisi's, incorporated Campisi's music into a short film he created, titled Raising the Bar, and sent it to HBO.
"Jaret's music is melodic, deep and its content relates to real life experiences presented in my film," he said.
Campisi has already written about 30 songs on his own and continues to come up with ideas every day with the help of the music of some of his influences, including John Mayer and Gavin DeGraw, he said.
"I hope my music is uplifting and a little different from what people are used to, which is why it's so hard playing Penn State," he said. "Everyone is looking to hear cover songs."
The musician played at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., twice last year at a benefit for a member of his track team who died. He also said he tries to play at parties -- as many as possible.
"I would love to be in a band and I hope to someday go on tour," Campisi said. "I would love to walk into a stadium of 50,000 people and just start playing."
Campisi said he has sold about 50 CDs in the last month on CDbaby.com. His added that his album is called Pineapple Sunrise because it offers people a way of looking at life in a new light.
A friend of Campisi, Lauren Gross (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said she will buy his LP because he is talented and has passion for what he does.
"As his peers, why shouldn't we support something someone puts so much time, effort and heart into?" she asked.
Campisi said he has come a long way from playing guitar in his room and having his mom yell at him to close his door.
"Jaret is 90 percent better than any popular artist out there. The future for his music career is limitless," Coulson said.
Sample songs can be found at www.myspace.com/jaretacoustic
and www.jaretcampisi.com.
"I want to do this for the rest of my life, even if no one is listening," Campisi said.
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Jaret Campisi "We Come and Go"
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Way back in 2007, Santa Barbaran Jaret Campisi caught our attention in no small way. Among piles of ...Way back in 2007, Santa Barbaran Jaret Campisi caught our attention in no small way. Among piles of CDs collected for our inaugural S.B. Band Guide, Campisi’s sweet-yet-sultry vocals and laidback melodies immediately stood out from the pack. Two years and one new album later, this young singer/songwriter continues to make us proud. On his latest, We Come and Go, Campisi offers up cheerful jams (“Falling Into Place”) and wistful folksy numbers (“We Come and Go”) with some serious heart and soul. The result is a six-track collection of tunes that immediately bring to mind the sounds of a young Matt Nathanson or pop-minded Sam Beam. Campisi will play Muddy Waters Café with Grover Anderson this Sunday, April 12, at 8 p.m. Visit myspace.com/jaretacoustic for songs and show dates.
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Featured Bands
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Jaret Campisi may’ve been born in Pennsylvania, but his sound is firmly rooted in Santa Barbara. Pla...Jaret Campisi may’ve been born in Pennsylvania, but his sound is firmly rooted in Santa Barbara. Playing deceptively simple melodies spiced with unconventional chords and frantic finger work, Campisi is a master at the kind of sweet, surf-inspired acoustic rock that made Santa Barbara’s music scene famous.
“My style is like Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, and John Mayer, kind of all combined,” Campisi said. “Ninety percent of the reason I moved out here was that Jack Johnson started here, which is a sad reason, but I was kind of obsessed with him.”
From the occasional breaking voice on “Pineapple Sunrise” to the pensive pauses on his track “I’ll Get Around,” Campisi injects an earnestness and expressiveness into all of his songs. And, according to the man himself, that’s what sets him apart from other area musicians.
Campisi’s honesty extends to all aspects of his career. When asked whether he’s planning a follow up to his 2006 iTunes release “Pineapple Sunrise,” his answer was refreshingly candid.
“I moved from Pennsylvania, and I was playing music there for a living, and when I moved here I realized it’s kind of expensive, so I ended up getting a real job,” Campisi said. “Now I’m trying to work a real job and play music … I record all my stuff myself. I’ve been lazy lately, but normally I’m always recording new songs. In the past couple months, I’ve written 10 or 15 new songs; now, I just have to lay them down.”
In the meantime, you can catch Campisi at Sandbar from 6-9 p.m. on Friday nights. Visit myspace.com/jaretacoustic.
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Live Music Gets Hectic with Shows from The Lovemakers, Jaret Campisi
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On Thursday, August 20, Gap stores around the country (including our own Paseo Nuevo location) will ...On Thursday, August 20, Gap stores around the country (including our own Paseo Nuevo location) will team up for a huge simultaneous acoustic music party from 7-9 p.m. to launch their 1969 Premium Jeans. Representing for S.B. will be our very own Jaret Campisi, who was hand-selected to play the event. Visit Gap’s Facebook page for details.
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Stoli Kicks off Summer on the beach with Jaret Campisi
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The first day of summer is here, and we wanted to have a guest on that reflects that summer feel! Co...The first day of summer is here, and we wanted to have a guest on that reflects that summer feel! Coming out of Santa Barbara, CA is Jaret Campisi. Jaret has a new EP out ‘We Come and Go’ and it is a reflection of how talented he is. As you know I like to let the music speak for itself and that is why Jaret is offering the MP3 to “Staring Up.” Do yourself a favor and start the week off with Jaret Campisi!
Stoli: Where are we talking from today and are you playing live tonight?
Jaret Campisi: I am sitting on an oversized couch in a little house just down from the mission in Santa Barbara. Its 70 degrees outside and I’ll probably head to the beach after this interview.
I’m not playing live tonight but next week we have two shows including Santa Barbara’s Earth Day Festival.
Stoli: With the spring & summer here are you planning on hitting the road and touring?
Jaret Campisi: As of now I have a bunch of shows in and around Santa Barbara and I’ll be spending time in the studio. Looks like it’s going to be a great summer, but I won’t be hitting the road hard just yet.
Stoli: How has living in beautiful Santa Barbara helped shape your style of music?
Jaret Campisi: It’s funny because I grew up in Pennsylvania and that’s where my style was established. I would always dread the winters because I hate cold weather and so I would write songs dreaming of being in a place where the winters were warm. Being in Santa Barbara just kind of reinforces my style. I remember the first day I arrived in SB I felt like I was returning home from a long vacation. So it’s provided me with a certain amount of comfort, which has allowed me to embrace my style and just run with it.
Jaret Campisi “Staring Up” MP3:
SKOPE IT HERE!
Stoli: Please offer some insight into some of your favorite venues & spots to play & hear live music in Santa Barbara?
Jaret Campisi: My favorite club to hear and play music is Soho in Santa Barbara. There are a great variety of people who come through. One of my favorite shows I’ve seen was Zach Gill; he’s a great performer and very inspiring. Soho has a great atmosphere, the people are sweet and I always seem to put on a fun show there.
Stoli: Your EP, ‘We Come & Go’ is excellent. Who did you work with on that and where did you do most of the recording?
Jaret Campisi: I recorded my EP in a local studio in Santa Barbara called Playback Recording Studio. It really is a world-class facility. Every room has its own theme and it’s a dream to record there. Tucker Bodine owns and runs the studio and he did all the engineering and then we mixed and produced the album together. Two of my good friends, and Berklee musicians, Adam Stehr and Tom Mitchell came in to back me up on the album. “Tasty Tom” as I call him, laid down all the bass for the tracks, while Adam put down all the drums and lead guitar.
I really wanted the EP to have a live sound to it so we tracked all the bass and drums together and ended up finishing all the music for the EP in one weekend. I wanted the songs to stand out and taking this approach helped us capture the right energy and mood, which comes across on the EP.
Stoli: How supportive have your family & friends been towards your musical ambitions?
Jaret Campisi: I’ve always considered myself lucky because my parents have been nothing but supportive of everything I’ve wanted to do in my life. They were the type of parents that encouraged me to pursue my dreams and live life with no regrets. That mentality has really stuck with me and I think that’s what life is all about. My friends have always been behind me 100% percent as well. They are the ones I bounce song ideas off of and are the first to tell me when something is great or when it’s terrible.
Stoli: I really like your song, “Falling Into Place.” Please explain what happened in life to inspire that song?
Jaret Campisi: I went to Penn State on a scholarship for Track and Field, so studying and running took up a lot of my time. Playing guitar and writing songs was an outlet I could not have lived without during those years and for a while I was secretly waiting for school to be over so I could pursue music as a career. After four long years, I grabbed my guitar and hit the road, but was met by some hostility from friends and even people I barely knew.
It’s funny because as supportive as my parents are, there are always other people who look down on pursuing music as a career. It’s the type of person who asks what you do for a living and when you tell them, they smirk or ask when you’re going to get a real job like everyone else. It was conversations like these that inspired the song. Forget about what you’ve been told to do or how you’re supposed to live your life. It’s the notion that if you just follow your heart, things will “Fall Into Place.”
Stoli: You are on all the cool music sites. What have you found to be most effective in making new fans online?
Jaret Campisi: First of all, I must say sometimes it seems like I spend more time online on all kinds of music sites then actually playing my guitar. Since I came to that conclusion, I’ve really tried to cut back on the amount of online social sites I use. Basically, its come down to Facebook and Myspace. But I’d still say most of the friends I make on those sites come from playing live shows. I find myself using Facebook as kind of like a mailing list. Instead of having people put down their emails at shows, I just get names and stay in touch on Facebook.
Stoli: Will California be the first state to legalize marijuana and is that good or bad?
Jaret Campisi: I’d say for sure California will be the first state to legalize marijuana use. But who knows when that will be. I know they are voting on it soon but I doubt it will go through yet. I’ve never seen a problem with people smoking weed and in general I wish we could live in a society where the government didn’t have to tell us what we can and can’t do. I’ve always felt a lot of the things that are regulated by outside forces should be more in the hands of the parents. In general, I think there are bigger problems in the world than worrying about people smoking marijuana.
Stoli: What other musicians and genres do you enjoy that might surprise readers?
Jaret Campisi: I grew up listening to 80’s hair bands in my mothers’ car. We would blast Poison, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and sing a long at the top of our lungs. Just thinking about it makes me laugh. Luckily, I had an older brother who really was the reason I started playing guitar. He had a guitar, and like any little brother, I had to do everything my big brother did. He was always looking for music that wasn’t mainstream and I ended up listening to a lot of jam bands because of that. Bands like Phish, Moe, Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, String Cheese Incident, etc.
Lately I’ve become very interested in the electric guitar. I’ve been listening to Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton.
Stoli: What is coming up for Jaret Campisi that we can all look for?
Jaret Campisi: I’ve been in the studio a lot recently working on new stuff and pulling out some old songs that I never got a chance to work with. I wouldn’t say a full-length album is out of the question this year and I seem to be meeting just the right people at just the right time for that to happen.
We are also going to be filming for a TV show next month called “Santa Barbara Back Beat,” on Cox cable, so that should be fun.
And I recently picked up a hot rod deluxe tube amp with a Fender Stratocaster that I can’t seem to put down. So you might be hearing some songs on the electric guitar soon.
