By Brenna Wiegand
Joel Stevens picked up his first saxophone in fifth grade. In his family, you take band. When he opened the closet of instruments at his grandmother’s house, it beckoned.
“I liked the way it looked – kind of weird, like something out of Dr. Seuss,” he said.
Band wasn’t much fun – “I just kind of pretended to play and made sure he never called on me” – until eighth grade when he heard about tryouts for high school jazz band. He practiced and practiced In the Mood.
“I actually had to learn the notes then; it was hard work but I was motivated,” he said. “I found out that practicing was its own reward; I like how you couldn’t do it this day, and you could the next. From then on, I got into it pretty heavy.
“I did guitar just because everyone was playing guitar; I do it because I’m in a band. The saxophone’s just way cooler. It’s pretty difficult but I practice a lot.” The discipline it takes, he says, builds character.
Stevens has set his course for becoming a professional saxophone player and is determined nothing get in his way. The 18-year-old, 2011 graduate of Silverton High School is the son of Rod and Patti Stevens of Silverton.
Although he enjoys math, what got him through the first three years of high school were the last two classes of the day – jazz and concert band.
“Last year, they were at the beginning of the day, so that got me to school.”
Band teacher Tim Duffy, Stevens said, is his all-time biggest inspiration.
Stevens took piano lessons but rarely practiced, yet a wise teacher capitalized on his interest in music theory – something that has proved invaluable over the past few years as Stevens has composed, transposed and performed nonstop.
“Theory comes in handy for me every day; it’s crucial,” he said.
He has been in seven or eight bands since high school, but the one he and Logan Schneider started about a year ago is different. “Disco for Deer” is made up of Jake Vanderwall, vocals; Schneider, guitar and backup vocals; Alex Farris on drums; Taylor Bradberry on bass and Stevens plays guitar and sax. All reside in Silverton.
“You really have to wake up every day and just want it really, really bad; it has to be your main goal, and I really see that with every single member,” he said. “If it wasn’t for these guys I’d have to move to L.A. or something to get that same momentum.
“You can be the most unskilled; worst player in the entire world, but if you want it, you’re gradually going to get better. So long as the extreme desire is there, you’ll go far. If it’s just a hobby, you’re not going to make it to practice; you’re not going to ever play a show.”
With that commitment and the help of their manager Sean Bell of 3BOYZ Promotions in Independence, their first album, if not released by now, soon shall.
In February Disco for Deer played in the “Next Big Thing Tour: Battle of the Bands” at Roseland Theater in Portland. They perform at Hawthorne Theatre about twice a month, and at a number of other venues. They’re hoping to embark on a tour in the near future – Washington, Oregon, California – but need a drummer to stand in for Farris, who is still in high school.
“The goal is just to get our name out,” he said. “It’s going to cost money; I don’t expect any returns. We have lots of things to sell. Nowadays, besides performance fees, bands only make money off the T-shirts and stuff because people can download music (illegally); there’s no illusion there. All bands recognize it, so most put their music up the downloading sites. At shows, we give our CDs away.”
Stevens also belongs to “Fourcast,” a jazz quartet that plays at events. For Stevens, it’s a tossup between jazz and metalcore, which is a newly evolved genre under which Disco for Deer’s music falls.
“…but we’ve been calling it ‘experimental’ because people tend to get turned off by ‘metal.’”
He says it is a broad genre all about having fun and being outgoing, crazy, cartoony T-shirts, skinny jeans.
“There’s a lot of screaming (a new form of vocals) but it’s all about having a really high girl voice and playing
lots of crazy breakdowns and lots of fun techno beats.”
While many people focus on the melody or lyrics of a song, Stevens has trained his ear to dissect the music.
“I usually try to find out what’s happening with the bass; the guitars, horns, piano, drums rather than listen to the melody,” he said.
Maybe it’s because of the way he “feels” rather than hears music, but when Stevens composes, he likes to brings lots of emotion – make that, emotions – into his songs.
“Let’s say happy is yellow and sad is purple and anger is red,” he said. “I like to make a gross, muddy color.”
Disco for Deer’s music is further characterized by “pivots” that add power to a key change, countermelodies – and “moving” performances. Stevens has long curly that he thrashes about to his advantage.
“Since we’re only making money off our shows and ‘merch,’ we try to put on the best show we can,” he said. “We move around as much as possible; I get something hurt at every show.”
Performing, he said, will never get old.
“You really feed off the energy of the people,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a spiritual thing; it’s the constant knowing people are watching you; the pressure that builds. When I’m alone practicing a lick or a riff and I nail it, that’s cool for me, but when you’re in front of everyone and you nail it, it’s indescribable.”
His life goal is simple: play the sax.
“I just want to make my living from it,” he said. “Anything above that is just great.”
