By Sloane Samberson

Staff Writer

Growing up with a love for classic rock, Coppell High School sophomore Jackson Culp’s taste in music graduated into a large passion for electronic music after hearing band Flux Pavillion. This newfound passion for electronic music, quickly evolved into a passion for making electronic music of his own.

Culp realized he had a passion for music in fourth grade while he was playing Xbox.

“I started thinking, ‘Man [Xbox] is really boring,’ so I went into my brother’s room, grabbed his guitar, and just started playing,” Culp said. “It sounded awful and I had no clue what I was doing, but I kept trying.”

Despite not really knowing how to play guitar, Culp signed up to perform in his fourth grade talent show.

“I just went for it,” Culp said. “I played what I thought were chords and notes and what I thought was ‘Dream On’ by Aerosmith. Everyone was cheering for me, giving me applause when I was done. It was such a cool feeling, playing music and getting to share that with others.”

It was not until seventh grade when Culp began to make his own music.

“I saved up my money and bought an MPC (Music Production Center) 1000 from a guy who was having a music garage sale for $200,” Culp said. “I would make beats on that and record it. The first beats I made were very embarrassing, I would never show anyone them. My passion grew, I got more and more into it, more serious with it.”

Along with the guitar, Culp plays the xylophone, marimba and occasionally the drums.

“I self-taught myself how to make my own music, but with guitar, xylophone and the marimba I learned through teachers,” Culp said.

In 2010, Culp met his current manager, Mike Gilliam, who is an audio engineer at Irving Bible Church.

“Jackson was a part of my small group at church,” Gilliam said. “We just had a good connection, and have been really good friends since then.”

As Culp’s manager, Gilliam has a lot of duties to fulfil.

“I coordinate his DJ gigs,” Gilliam said. “I also work with him on his music production as far as bringing in new skills, working with him on developing his process and really just mentoring him through that.”

What drew Gilliam and Culp together was their common interest in electronic/dance music.

“It’s been a passion of mine for many years and Jackson got involved in that, and really wanted to focus his efforts in that way,” Gilliam said. “It made it that much more special for us to work together.”

Gilliam sees great potential in Culp’s future career.

“Jackson is always learning, growing and evolving,” Gilliam said. “His music has really developed over the past five years. He is gifted in a lot of different ways that allows him to refine his skills. He has a drive to succeed at whatever he does.”

Culp has yet to do a public concert, but has experience disc jockeying at Camp Sweeney, a camp for children with diabetes in Gainesville, Texas.

“This summer, I got to come up to three of the camp dances and play for an hour and a half,” Culp said. “It was awesome because it was the first time I had done anything like that. I learned to DJ in eighth grade, off of a $20 mixer that I got at Walmart. At first it was nothing to me, but two years later I was on stage with $3,000 worth of equipment, playing in front of over 300 people.”

The whole experience was very surreal for Culp.

“For a few days I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! Did that really happen?’ and that’s when I realized this is something I can actually do,” Culp said. “I’ve always considered working in the music field, but in that moment I was thinking ‘I do have a shot at this.’ If I continue to work hard enough and get my name out there, just get better and learn as much as I can about music, then this is something I do have a shot at.”

Culp’s mother, Phoebe Culp, is very supportive of her son’s passion.

“I try to support Jackson in any way that I can,” Phoebe said. “I try to be very respectful of his interests and his passion, I take it very seriously. I support him by listening to what he is listening to, and providing him with as much equipment as I can reasonably afford.”

One day Jackson hopes to turn this passion into a career.

“All I really want to do for the rest of my life is make music,” Jackson said. “Just being able to make music day in and day out, and enough money off of my music to support a family, is my ultimate goal.”

With so much potential in store for Jackson, Ms. Culp only wishes the best for her son.

“My hope for Jackson is that he will pursue it as passionately as he wants, for as long as he wants,” Ms. Culp said. “I hope that he will never give up, even when he becomes discouraged. No matter how he ends up, I know that music will be a part of his life in some way.”

You can listen to Jackson’s music at: www.soundcloud.com/jackson-culp