“I use music as therapy to combat chronic pain and chronic fatigue!” – Joey Stuckey. Joey lost his sight and sense of smell as an infant to a brain tumor. Belonging to a musical family, he was surrounded by music from an early age and Joey excelled at music with passion and hard work along with his parent’s support. He has released several albums over the last twenty-five years and has opened for famous artists like James Brown, Trisha Yearwood, Smashmouth, and Ted Nugent to name a few. Joey is a columnist and also a professor of Music Technology at Mercer University in Georgia and serves as an official mentor for the Recording Connections School in Los Angeles.

What role has music played in your life?J: There is no way to truly express how important music has been in my life!
My mom, way before such things were popular, played nature sounds and music to me in utero and after I was born my family always had music as a big part of our lives. From my dad playing country guitar with his twin brother Gene, to my mom singing in the church and listening to classical music at home, the house was always full of music.
And what a great way to fill the universe of a blind child! As I got older, I discovered rock and jazz along with the country, classical and sacred music I had heard all my life.
The first record that really meant a lot to me was The Beatles album "Yesterday and Today". I played that record over and over again and was so thankful to have it as I was a very sick child! I am a blind brain tumor survivor and almost died a number of times between the age of 2 years old and 13 years old and music was a great source of solace!
As I got older, I realized that music was something I was obsessed with and was just a part of my way of life. That is why at around 17 years old, I made the decision to be in the music business and I haven't done anything else ever. I make a full time living making and recording/producing music for myself and other clients at my studio www.shadowsoundstudio.com
I still have many health complications from the brain tumor including spending some time in a wheel chair and issues with my bones and with my endocrine system. I use music as therapy to combat chronic pain and chronic fatigue!
So you see, outside of my family and friends, music is everything to me. It is just as necessary as food and shelter!

What is your most memorable work and why?J: That is a hard one! I have done several things that I value from having the privilege to teach music technology at the university where I first attended college to having my album "Mixture" reach number 9 on the CMJ top 40 jazz charts along side and competing with many very famous artists, to working with some of my musical heroes like Randal Bramblett and Alan Parsons.
Most recently, I am very excited about how well my Christmas EP "A Santa That Plays Guitar" has been received and also that my debut performance at the world famous Whisky A Go Go was to a packed house!

What challenges did you face during your school days? How did you motivate yourself to face those challenges?J: As a blind student in the 70's and 80's, these would be my grammar and high school years. My parents had to constantly advocate for accessibility. As a child, I really wasn't able to do that for myself, however, I did tell my mom and dad when I felt I wasn't able to do something and also wasn't afraid to tell people I needed help. I was glad to try anything once! For the most part, as there was no special blind school in my area, I just toughed it out and did my best. I did make sure to tell my teachers when they weren't communicating something to me, like if they were writing something on the chalk board and didn't verbalize enough. When I got to college in the late 80's at the age of 16 years old, I found that the university system wasn't much better with accessibility than my earlier schools, so we had to work hard once again to make sure I had access as best we could.
One of the things I did was introduce myself at the beginning of each quarter and tell my classmates that I was blind and was looking for a study partner and someone that could assist me to get into class and read what was on the board to me. I offered to pay them a small fee and for the most part this worked out well.
Some of my professors were very helpful and some would give me my tests orally and some would even put it on tape and I would record my answers, but the bottom line is I wanted my education and the college experience and I was determined to fight for it and get it and I did!
To be honest, there were a few professors that didn't want to teach me as a blind student, like for a script writing class I wanted to take, but you can't spend your life fighting everything all the time, so I called that one a loss and moved on to work with those that had a true interest in accessibility and teaching. I will also say that I had an antithesis of that experience when I decided to take a conducting class. As you may know, conducting is a very visual activity, but my professor taught me privately, at no charge, and I passed that class! That is the hardest grade I ever worked for and while I will not be a blind conductor, I learned a lot and am so glad I took the class!

What are your other hobbies?J: I love reading books of all kinds from inspirational, to history to science fiction. I also love comedy from TV and film to stand up and I love a good meal. I also love baseball and want to experience a game in every park in North America. There are 30 parks and I have experienced games at 8 so far!

What is your favorite place to visit? What do you love about that place?J: Man so many special places, but I love London, just the vibe of that city and the amazing people. I also love Venice and the majesty of its canals and I love NYC and how immersed in the arts it is! Also I am a bit of a beach bum and love St. Augustine and any beach in Hawaii! One place I haven't been yet, and is on my bucket list, is Egypt so I can experience the pyramids!

What is your suggestion for families of children with disabilities to empower their children?J: You will have some hard times and you may even feel like no one understands what you are going through just to try and give your child a fair shot at a life of success and intention! I know all about it and my parents do to, but we persevered and kept fighting. While we never backed down and never gave up, we also never got angry. Most of the time, you are running in to road blocks because people have never had to deal with any disability of any kind and so they don't understand how tough it can be. Of course, sometimes you encounter people that are difficult for no good reason, but I believe that most people, once they understand what you need and why, will do their best to be of service.
Also, make sure your child has a feeling of self-worth. My parents made me feel like there was nothing I couldn't do, while at the same time, making sure I understood where I might have to do things differently as a blind brain tumor survivor. The main thing is to understand your limitations, but to never define yourself in those terms. Yes I am blind, but I am so much more.
Surround yourselves and your child with people that lift you up and empower you, not with those that want to limit your child or tell them they can't!
To be clear, of course there are things that aren't practical for me to do, like drive a car for example, but there are so many other things I can do, like music and so I work hard to be a voice for championing access for the blind for music technology.
We have to be reasonable and patient while never backing down from making sure we get a fair chance to do the things for which we are able!

What tips/advice do you have for those in our community who are interested in learning music?J: Educate yourself. Nowadays, you can find a lot of information on the internet, but that doesn't mean that that info is correct. I can't tell you how many times I have had a student come to me and say, look, I learned how to play a D chord online, only for me to have to say with a sigh, well, that is actually an F chord and your fingers are in the wrong place.
Go to a trusted source for your education and work hard at it. Nothing in life that is worthwhile is easy. It takes a lot of time and hard work to be good at anything, but if you love it and have a gift for it, it is totally worth it.
When it comes to what schools and what technology are best for blind students, that is an entire article unto itself, but we are making progress all the time on that front in regard to accessibility. Stay involved and make your voice heard. Do not be afraid to write schools and companies and tell them what you need and how they can serve you better. Just remember to always be respectful! It can be very frustrating to be a blind person in what is a sighted world, but you will accomplish your goals with kindness and patience and you will get no where with a bad attitude!

Any special message for our community?J: Love yourself! Know that you are worthwhile and a unique creation. Work hard, but give yourself grace. Understand that life is a journey and take the time it takes to live your life in whatever way it has meaning for you!
Be kind to yourself and to others and never stop believing that you can accomplish your dreams!
I can't promise that you won't fail from time to time nor can I promise that it will be easy. I can't even promise that your dreams won't change over time or that you might not get to do everything you want. What I can promise is that you can live a life that is beautiful and meaningful to yourself and to your community! I know I have done so and will continue to do so!