Left to right: Will Kimbrough, Tim Flannery, Steve Poltz, Jeffrey Alan Berkley
If you are involved in the San Diego music scene as either a performer or someone who enjoys going out to see live music, then you have most likely run into Jeff Berkley. Jeff Berkley is one of those iconic personalities who wield enormous influence on the music scene whether it be on-stage or behind the scenes, although he will be reluctant to acknowledge that fact.
Jeffrey Alan Berkley is a life-long resident of San Diego. His parents split up when he was three years old with his father moving on to Los Angeles. Jeff divided his time between LA and San Diego until his father moved back into North County. While growing up, Jeff attended several different schools here in the San Diego area.
Jeff’s father was a preacher and worship leader who also happened to play bass guitar in a rock and roll band. Jeff started out his musical career playing drums in those worship services. Music was always present in the house through the records of Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Chicago. The music in his mother’s house was totally different as she liked Seals and Croft and Fleetwood Mac. Jeff’s father was a music major in college and to get his degree, he charted a Chicago Transit Authority’s album and performed it live. Jeff’s whole family is musical and they sing and perform together whenever they have a gathering. His sisters are singers and his brother and nephew are both involved in musical loop creations.
Jeff started to find his own musical interests when he discovered recordings of ACDC, U2, The Alarm and Big Country. This led him to the music of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, The Cure, Echo and The Bunnymen, and Tears for Fears.
Jeff has been playing professionally since high school as a drummer/percussionist, and found that he is also a good songwriter and began writing songs at an early age. He was also around studios early on with his father and learned a lot on the writing side through all of these avenues. His first open mic was at Java Joes in Poway in 1992. Jeff has been a regular at Java Joes ever since.
One of his main influences was working with John Katchur, Joel Rafael, Dave Howard, and Patrick Dennis and The Cages where he learned a lot about writing and learning to play bass guitar. Through his friendship with Joel Rafael, Jeff got the opportunity to play with Jackson Browne, Pete Seeger, and Arlo Guthrie. The Redwoods came into being around that time where he met Calman Hart and that morphed into the duo Berkley Hart who have been together for 21 years and have 11 albums recorded. In 1999 Jeff won the Kerrville New Folk Emerging Songwriter Award which was was his first big musical recognition. The instincts of those early days of recording still guide him today in the music he records and produces.
Some of Jeff’s influences are Randy Newman, Steve Earl, Tony Bennett, David Wilcox, Lucinda Williams and Frank Sinatra. Playing with the Tim Flannery Band has introduced him to a number of musicians like Bob Weir and a few of the newer members of The Grateful Dead who invited him to jam with them on stage.
Jeff has also progressed into producing music for clients. He has produced between 200 and 300 albums for some of the best musical artists out of San Diego. He recorded out of houses and bedrooms for years and now has a beautiful professional studio in North County, bringing artists in from San Diego and Los Angeles to work on a varied list of projects.
A large part of successful production is having the trust of the musicians. Jeff brings high quality equipment into the process where the artists have individual controls on what they hear. Unlike most other studios, Jeff is not behind a glass wall, but actually in the room with the musicians so they can all interact together as a unit.
“It’s an amazing experience when musicians have nothing in the way.”
Jeff has many mentors who include Calman Hart, Gregory Page and Steve Poltz. Jeff says, “Music has empowered my career. Music has been the fuel to my life. My music is a music of the heart. Giving people a place to connect with their experiences.”
“It’s been an amazing run so far and I’m nowhere near through yet.”
You can find Jeff in different iterations of himself. He performs with Calman Hart as their duo of Berkley Hart, and is also part of Berkley Hart Selis Twang in which Jeff and Calman join with Eve Selis and Marc Intravaia of the Eve Selis Band for a group with amazing four part harmonies.
Jeff is also a member of Tim Flannery and The Lunatic Fringe and a member of Veronic May and The To Do List band.
If you are lucky enough to catch a show by The Luna Divas, he is part of that band as well. Wherever you might turn to see or hear live music in San Diego, there is a good chance Jeff Berkley will either be on stage or be playing an integral part of the recording process for numerous musicians such as:
and many more.
Click here for details on the next BHST show on April 12th at the new Java Joes location.
You can find more on Jeffrey Alan Berkley on facebook, Berkley Sound, Berkley Hart
This is the place for information on independent music in San Diego. Articles on musicians, bands, venues, promoters and from time to time some articles on various types of gear. The focus is on local, independent artists who are working their way up and those folks who help and support that music along the way. 