Behind The Music

Burgers and Bands For Suicide Prevention showcased a handful of talented musicians from around town in May at Severna Park Taphouse. Get to know two of these musicians better.

Name: Colin Gontkof

Hometown: Arnold
Age: 13
Instrument: Guitar
Affiliated Acts: Savage In Nature, solo

How old were you when you started playing guitar? What inspired you to play?
I was 9 years old when I started. I remember we were on a vacation and my grandpa was playing the guitar.

What do you like about Priddy Music Academy?
I like how at Priddy, it’s a family-owned business. The community is really nice.

Your band covers a range of genres from grunge to modern rock. What are your influences?
My favorite bands are Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden. Stone Temple Pilots uses a lot of weird chord shapes, so the solos are funky. Soundgarden uses a lot of effects and different time signatures and has some progressive rock. Usually, you don’t have much progressive rock in grunge music.

You also play some Blink-182 and Creed? What do you enjoy about those songs?
Creed has riffs that are melodic. (Guitarist Mark Tremonti) goes down chromatically and in this one song, “My Own Prison,” he goes down chromatically and it’s really cool. Some solos are a lot of fun to play, like “Alive” by Pearl Jam. Stone Temple Pilots have this song called “Interstate Love Song,” and the way that the melody is played is cool and it’s a cool feeling listening to that song as a band.

Savage In Nature features Jude Strawley on lead vocals, Colin Gontkof on lead guitar, Conor Young on bass and Connor Marshall on drums. The band will perform at the Cape St. Claire Strawberry Festival on June 7.

Name: Jocelyn Renn

Hometown: Severna Park
Age: 16
Instrument: Drums
Affiliated Acts: Don’t Fret, Q-Funk

Was there one moment that inspired you to play the drums or was it a combination of factors?
I have been playing drums since I was 8. Actually, that’s a funny story; my whole family plays music and my parents forced me to play an instrument that we had in the house. At one point, my mom got so sick of my indecisiveness that she pulled up a Google stock image of a rock band and told me to pick one from there. I’m obviously biased now, but even back then, I had always thought that drums were the “coolest” instrument, so I pointed to them on the photo from Google and was enrolled in lessons with my teacher, Andrew Priddy, by the next day.

What are your influences, either the bands, drummers or both?
As far as drumming goes, I find there to be two categories I’m influenced in — music itself and then the performance aspect. My biggest musical influences are probably Rush and Foo Fighters; Neil Peart and Taylor Hawkins (the respective drummers for those bands) were both incredible drummers in their own right. Other than that, I would say I find myself listening to a lot of rock/alt-rock music in general, which has definitely influenced my style.

Performance wise, my biggest influence is definitely my dad. He’s about the shyest person I know, but when I had my first show at 9 years old, I still remember him telling me that, “It doesn’t matter how well you play. It just matters that you leave everything on the stage.” To me, that “everything” has been tuning into the natural adrenaline rush I get onstage; the energy I bring to every performance is 100% natural and just me tapping into whatever feels right that day. Over the years, my dad has talked me into every show I’ve been nervous to perform. Anything from a local show at Vida Taco (Bar) when I was maybe 10 or so to playing Naptown Music Feast last year, he’s been my personal cheerleader in the world of performance.

As the name suggests, Q-Funk is more funk based and Don’t Fret performs more rock (based on the cover of “Everlong”). What do you like about each band’s style?
Thank you. “Everlong” is one of my personal favorites to play; and yes, both bands play the styles you listed (funk and rock, respectively). In respect to Q-Funk, I love the simplicity of the music we play as a whole (that band has Corinne Rivera, Alex Eloff, Lucas Olenec and Gibson Bradbury). I personally find that the simpler a song is at its core, the more energy I have to focus on dynamics and technique. When playing funk music in particular, the aforementioned focuses are incredibly important; funk is characterized by what we call “pocket.” To define that, “pocket” is feeling created by slightly delaying the snare to create a groovier feel. With more energy left to focus on technique and elements of music such as “being in pocket,” I’ve found that Q-Funk’s music tends to be tighter and more precise.

On the other hand, Don’t Fret plays a lot of the rock/heavier music that I tend to enjoy, which I find easier to perform. The fun part of that band is the natural energy on the stage; wherever there’s heavier music and a little speed on the stage, I tend to find myself in my natural element. Performing with all four of them in Don’t Fret (Jude Strawley, Jonah Infante, Billy Grimm and Conor Young) is always a blast.

How would you describe your style?
My style is definitely performance based. I focus less on what I’m playing as a whole and more on the visuals and atmosphere of the performance itself. When watching musicians, people tend to gravitate toward entertainment, and one of the best ways to do that is to do something no one has ever seen before. My personal favorite part of playing is when I can throw “stick flips” (also known as stick tricks) into a song; I find that an extra visual component to my songs adds to the overall enjoyment of both the audience and myself.

I started learning stick flips when the lovely Jennifer Marie, a local vocal instructor at Priddy Music Academy, challenged me to a competition to see who could successfully do the most tricks. I took the flip home and mastered it all week so I could come back and beat her. Over time, my aptitude for tricks increased and I found myself aching to put them wherever I could. To not sidetrack myself further, my overall style is energy based; when I get onstage, I honestly just do whatever feels “natural” and or “right” that day.

Do you have any long-term goals for your music career?
Honestly, the long-term goal is to balance drums with wherever else I find myself in the future. My best guess is that it’s going to look like gigs every so often with a band I make as an adult, but that’s just a guess. I’d be more than happy to take drums to a more serious level than just a weekend endeavor if the opportunity ever arose.

Do you have hobbies outside of music or do you have something quirky about yourself you would like to share?
Whenever I’m not onstage or in the practice room, you can typically find me baking, skateboarding, reading or chilling in my room, listening to my assortment of personal playlists. I find that having some music playing or occasionally playing a podcast episode while doing necessities around the house makes them all just a little easier. If I’m not doing any of those things, chances are that I have friends over at my house; we’re most likely watching reality TV with a few sodas and a gigantic bowl of popcorn at our disposal.

Don’t Fret won the inaugural Children’s Theatre of Annapolis Battle of the Bands earlier this year. Q-Funk has earned Rammie Awards for performing at Rams Head On Stage in Annapolis.