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Arts & Entertainment

Music Teacher Plays Solo Show

Jeremy Cochran, member of The Simple Beats, played a solo show for audience members at Woodstock Coffeehouse Saturday.

Jeremy Cochran, Georgia resident for all of his 33 years, grew up in Woodstock and returned on to perform a live set at .

“The coffeehouse is a place where being an original artist is appreciated. Most bars you play at only want to hear covers, and the people are there mostly to get drunk. When you play the coffeehouse you know some people are genuinely listening, and that is golden,” Cochran said.

Though he said he prefers to play with a band, he does not avoid solo gigs.

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“I can rock a solo gig and sometimes enjoy that as well, especially if I have time to practice for it and can embellish my solo performance with some creative one-man- band kind of stuff."

He played lots of originals, including some quirky ones. His favorite songs are Imaginary Lover and Cleve...etta and appear to be crowd favorites.

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Imaginary Lover is about a crazed young man who introduces people to his perfect love who happens to be an imaginary woman. And Cleve...etta is about a transvestite prostitute who is murdered, but only made the recent transition because he was bored with the daily routine of life.

Cochran's vocal impersonations during these performances add to his humorous lyrics. Cochran takes an inspirational approach to songwriting, saying that the best songs are the spontaneous ones.

“The finest songs just flow out of you in a kind of mystical ah-ha moment. I believe they come through a good songwriter's spirit then soul then body to the world outside in an almost unstoppable flood of emotions, thoughts, ideas, words and sounds. They are gifts from the unknown reality to our present reality,” explained Cochran.

Cochran genuinely loves music, and has since childhood.

“The reason why I play is simple, music is huge part of who I am."

Cochran became a music major at Kennesaw State University during his second year. He spent two years focusing on jazz guitar and music education, but was not receiving the education he wanted.

“Their jazz program was really weak back then, and I grew increasingly dissatisfied with it, so in 1998 I auditioned for the Georgia State University program and got in. At Georgia State the Jazz program was equally as strong as the classical program, and I spent my final three years of study at GSU,” Cochran said.

He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgia State University in 2001 with a Bachelors of Music Degree and has been teaching music since 1997. He was and still is heavily influenced by musicians like Bob Dylan, Mose Allison, Santana, The Beatles, The Doors and Ben Harper. He is also affected by the music of former decades.

Growing up in the 90s will have an obvious influence on his style, Cochran said, but his love for classic rock from the 60s and 70s will not be ignored.

He has a lengthy description for his musical style.

“Swank-adelic boogie groove music with Introspective lyrics and a heavy helping of Americana with a hint of alt-country, rock and jazz,” said Cochran.

His current band, The Simple Beats, performs often at Woodstock Coffeehouse. The band consists of drummer Don Olsen, trumpet player George O'Neal and saxophone player .

In college, Cochran formed Faded Azure & Latter, later to be called just Azure. The band performed locally from 1996 to 2009 and recorded five original CDs. Despite its success, the group disbanded.

“We are all still good friends but most of us have gotten busy with having families and children of our own. We played so long together I guess we just needed a break to explore other things,” said Cochran.

Cochran said he enjoys playing live with The Simple Beats, saying the connections created by live music are valuable.

“I love playing live especially with a full band," Cochran said. "Their is an energy that you can tap into from time to time with your fellow musicians and with your audience that is powerful and inspiring. It makes you realize you are deeply connected to something much greater than yourself as a musician."

His aspirations for The Simple Beats include a record that they hope to complete in the next two months.

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