Interview with Cody Seybert

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Cody Seybert

At April's Music Revue/Farrow's Music Hot Licks Guitar Contest, 13-year-old Cody Seybert emerged seemingly out of nowhere (Delton, Mich., actually) to drop jaws and spur interest with a two-minute blues guitar showcase good enough to land a second place finish against the area's heaviest competition.

Of his DeArmond guitar-winning performance, the modest, self-taught guitarist of four years said simply, "I was really nervous."

Fair enough. It's common for a musician to be nervous when performing unaccompanied for a peer-populated jury. But with the help of ultra-supportive parents, an increasingly confident attitude and a vast reserve of natural talent, there's little doubt that Seybert's nerves will soon become as comfortable on stage as his hands are on a guitar.

"My friend Ben got a guitar when we were 10 years old," Cody said of his first personal encounter with the instrument. "I always thought [the guitar] was cool. He showed me a couple of chords, easy stuff. I asked my dad for a guitar and a couple of weeks later he came home with a real cheap, forty-five dollar guitar and I played on the thing every day. My dad saw that I had an interest, so next Christmas he got me a better guitar.

"One of my mom's friends from work offered to give me lessons," Seybert continued. "I had been playing for about a year [at that point]... he taught me some basics. But we got through three lessons and eventually he just told me, 'Cody, your just getting too advanced. There's not much I can teach you. You'd be better off going to a professional music teacher.'"

Seybert never did, instead opting to learn the instrument through self-teaching and instinct.

Though primarily adhering to heavy metal music (Pantera, Metallica, White Zombie) during his first year of playing guitar, Seybert's listening preference soon shifted to classic rock and eventually to his current love: the blues. Mesmerized by Stevie Ray Vaughn's In Step, Seybert's playing style and guitar tone followed in transition.

"Stevie Ray [Vaughn (Seybert's biggest influence)] used a Stratocaster through a Super Reverb," Seybert explained. "So what do you think I use? A Stratocaster through a Super Reverb. And the tone you get out of the combination is just unbelievable. There's nothing like it."

What's unusual about Seybert, other than his age/ability ratio, is how quickly and effortlessly his skills are developing, when Seybert himself admits he doesn't practice nearly as much as one would think.

"I've never practiced a lot; the most would be about an hour and a half a day," Seybert said of his surprising practice regime. "Most of the time it's forty-five minutes. When I do practice, though, I crank it. Straight to ten. Always on ten. That's where the best tone on my amp is. If I can't play loud, I prefer to not play through anything, I'll just unplug the guitar and play it."

Having played guitar for only four years, Seybert is already the envy of many of the area's seasoned pros. He's also been called onstage to jam with such big blues names as Lonnie Brooks, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials and Magic Slim & the Teardrops. Having just completed eighth grade Jazz Band (a course proving too parochial for Seybert's advanced nature), the youngster plans to spend this summer immersed in schooling himself in other musical styles.

"I really want to become a good, established jazz guitarist... this summer I'll probably end up going out and buying two or three different books, learn [the basics] and go from there," Seybert said. "I want to challenge myself."

Also on Seybert's summer plate is the intent to construct a vehicle capable of carrying his brand of entertainment into the public eye: a full blues band. In March, Seybert met multi-instrumentalist Mike Porter, 22, who immediately recognized Seybert as a standout player. With Porter on drums, the two blues lovers are currently assembling a band capable of showcasing Seybert's uncommon talent. (With parental accompaniment, Seybert, though eight years under age, is allowed to perform at many area clubs.)

In the meantime, you can catch Seybert sitting in with many local blues bands at Wonderful's in Kalamazoo.