Getting to Know… Torie Jock | Interview 🎤

On our 198^th interview on The Musical Hype, 20-year-old musician and actress Torie Jock speaks extensively about her craft.   

“I am twenty years old, but I am definitely an old soul!” Right on 🎙 Torie Jock, right on!  Jock, the interviewee on our 198^th Q&A, isn’t shy answering our burning questions. She may be merely 20, but this lover of classic she exhibits maturity beyond her years.  Torie provides extensive, detailed responses, which is nothing short of awesome – we love depth here at The Musical Hype!  Also, her story about one particular musical influence, Cher, is a must-hear! “I think stage presence and performing is just as important as the music,” she adds to her response to our first question regarding distinctness and uniqueness.  Torie, we echo your wise thoughts on stage presence, which she probably knows a thing or two about being an actress as well.  Furthermore, we agree that everybody and his brother, sister, cousing, mama, father and otherwise, should check out 🎤 Getting to Know… Torie Jock: Interview No. 198!

Starting things off, for those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Torie Jock One distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?  

🎤 Hey! I’m Torie Jock and it’s awesome to be here chatting with you today! I think what makes me unique as an artist is that I really embrace classic rock music and try to recreate that sound in my original music. I am twenty years old, but I am definitely an old soul! I try to steer away from “the herd” and popular trends. Life would be so boring if we all were exactly the same! I really love connecting with my audience and drawing them into my performances and music. I usually get the audience to sing with me during known covers. I play to really engage them in what I’m doing. I think stage presence and performing is just as important as the music!

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did your band form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?  

🎤 I wish I had something super juicy band wise to tell you! My current band is pretty new to me though, so nothing super juicy has happened … LOL! I met my drummer about nine months ago. It was pretty crazy actually … I believe the universe played a huge role in laying the path out for us to meet. My former vocal coach called me in a panic one day saying she needed someone to go to her house immediately because she was having some work done and didn’t want all these workers she didn’t know in her house unsupervised. Normally, I would not have been available to run over there that last minute, but I just so happened to be free at that time that day.

After sitting at her house for a bit, I remembered I had to run down the street for a quick appointment. I wasn’t sure what to do, because I couldn’t leave the house alone with all the workers there. Just as I was texting the person I had the appointment with to see if she could reschedule, Josh, my drummer, walked in the front door. He is my former vocal coach’s son, and I had never really talked to him even after working with/knowing my vocal coach for about ten years. I asked him if he was staying home, and he said he just came to grab some gloves for work. I think I must’ve sighed or something, because he asked me if I needed to leave. I told him I just needed to run down the street real quick, and he said, “I can hang.” Before I headed out, we talked for a few minutes about music and how I was looking for a new band. He told me he was a drummer and that he would totally love to get something going with me. We exchanged phone numbers, and I left, expecting him to take off as soon as I got back.

When I returned, he said, “I really don’t wanna go back to work now, Torie.” I replied with, “Well, then don’t.” I guess I’m a bad influence … LOL!  We ended up spending the day together listening to music and playing some guitar. If I wasn’t available to housesit, and if he didn’t come home to grab gloves he most likely could’ve done without, we may never have even met. Maybe it doesn’t seem like a super crazy story, but being through it, it still kind of blows my mind when I think about all of the coincidences that happened that day. THE UNIVERSE, MAN! Originally, Josh and I were just going to be a duo until we found other band members, but he very quickly thought of his friend, Eric, who played guitar. He asked him if he wanted to join us, and he was down. We then were just going to be a three-member band until we found a bass player. Eric thought of his coworker/friend, Greg, and asked if he wanted to jump in on bass. The rest is history! As for goals, I knew that once we were ready with a set list, I wanted to be playing out as much as we could.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

🎤 I’ve known since I was able to walk and talk that this is what I wanted to do. My goals and aspirations have never changed. I will say that my perspective has changed in a lot of ways. As I got older, I realized it is important to be patient when working towards your goals. Nothing is guaranteed, and if everything was easy, everyone would do everything … What’s exciting about that?! I learned that nothing is a waste of time, and there are no wasted communications and conversations. Always be at your best, because you never know who is watching or who knows whom. Never rest on your laurels … You can always be improving and growing as an artist and as a person. My goal now, and always has been, to make a living doing what I love to do.

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

🎤 There are so many amazing artists that have influenced me in so many ways! I would say that the artists that have had the greatest impact in shaping me into the artist I am today would be, Cher, Joan Jett, Alanis Morissette, and Amy Winehouse. When I started singing at nine, my vocal coach actually thought I may be tone deaf. I had a really hard time learning to sing. I ended up quitting, and shortly after I saw the movie Burlesque, starring Cher, I absolutely fell in love! I started singing Welcome to Burlesque in my living room one day, and my mom ran out of the kitchen and said, “You sound just like Cher!” We called my old vocal coach and asked her to listen to me sing it, and when she did, she said, “We can work with this.” For some reason, I was able to hear the notes in Cher’s music. I never would’ve learned to sing if it wasn’t for her music. I was actually hired by a Cher Tribute Company to be a Mini Cher impersonator when I was eleven!

I started getting really into 80s rock when I was about twelve, and I stumbled upon Joan Jett. I thought she was the coolest chick I had ever seen! I loved her image and her rock ‘n roll attitude! Her music and style was what really made me want to be a rock ‘n roller! Alanis Morissette’s lyrics blow me away. 💿 Jagged Little Pill was an album of choice for me starting at the age of two. As I got older, I realized how brilliantly written her lyrics are. Her lyrics speak to me on a level I cannot even explain. I wanted to write like that! Or, at least try! I also loved her unique sound and the fact that she had a voice and certain vocal qualities that no one could replicate. I remember asking my vocal coach at nine when I first started with her if she could teach me to sing an Alanis song … The look on her face was priceless! I got into Amy Winehouse’s music around eleven. When I hit about fourteen, I was told by a lot of people that I had a blues/jazzy quality to my voice. I loved Amy’s music, and I liked the idea of trying to incorporate a jazzy sound into my rock music. An incredible artist, gone too soon.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

🎤 I don’t think anything too crazy has happened during a performance … I do remember singing at a small festival when I was about twelve and forgetting the lyrics to one of the songs on stage and humming THE ENTIRE SONG! I couldn’t even get myself back on track! I legit just hummed along to the music for the entire song … From that point forward, every time I performed that song, I forgot the damn lyrics. I usually was at least able to get myself back on track, but it got to a point where I just avoided the song entirely … which is unfortunate, because it’s a great song! It was 🎵 “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll” by Bob Seger. Maybe I should try to cover it again soon and redeem myself … LOL! I did have my boobs pop out of my shirt on stage during a dance competition once … That was pretty crazy …

Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?  

🎤 That’s super hard to choose! I just released a single, 🎵 “Outta Control”, that is off of my unreleased album, 💿 Damaged Goods. The album was co-written by me and my manager, Eric Gynan, of Leaving Eden. I was also just recently signed with Dark Star Records/ Sony/ Universal Worldwide Distribution! I haven’t performed any of the songs off of that album live yet, and it’s hard to pick one favorite song off of the entire album. I think 🎵 “Heal (The Truth)” is probably my favorite because it is incredibly meaningful to me. It is about something very personal and traumatic, and creating the song was very empowering for me. I think the ones that will be the most fun to perform though are, “Outta Control”, 🎵 “I’m ADickted” and 🎵 “If Hell Freezes Over Me.”.

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

🎤 Fun Fact: I am wicked double jointed … To the point where my fingers look bent unless I pull them straight … I suppose that’s an interesting tidbit … LOL!

Closing things out, what are you currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.   

🎤 My new album, 💿 Damaged Goods, will be released very soon! My band and I are gearing up for some upcoming gigs! Our soonest one is up in Salem, New Hampshire on August 7th! I will be filming for a feature film I was cast in starting in a couple weeks! There are lots of gigs that will soon be in the works … Stay tuned! 

Thank you so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward. 

Getting to Know… Torie Jock: Interview No. 198 🎤 [📷: Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay, Torie Jock]