Interview 2021

In the Autumn of 2021 I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Samantha Urash (Bachelor of Arts in Media/Film, Kean University). Here’s how the conversation went:

I.

SU: "Do you find it difficult sometimes to share personal stories?"

JeffreyCobbold.com: "I do when the related event is negative and recent in occurrence. But it always helps to have time away from a negative event and consider the story within it that carries the most meaning. Working with that story should help you heal, propel you forward and amount to more than what actually occurred."

"Ken Burns shares the idea that great stories are like “1+1=3” in the video Ken Burns: On Story. His advice is an excellent touchstone for storytellers. Whenever I search through my personal archive of composed music, sound, audio & video, I can usually pinpoint the story I want to tell about a negative event where I lost something I once felt I needed. It helps me move on and grow beyond what I experienced within that event."

II.

SU: "How would you define what digital storytelling is, and what does it mean to you?"

JeffreyCobbold.com: "I did my research in digital storytelling as a graduate music student in Spain. From 2015 - 2017 I exposed myself to several iterations of digital storytelling found within telecommunications, education, language studies and video production to name a few areas and also a number of other subjects. I was ultimately concerned with autobiographical expressions of digital storytelling, particularly my own as a matter of putting my personal and professional life in alignment after graduating seminary and also choosing to return to study music again. This alignment meant pushing forward into an independent lifestyle as a creative person where I would set goals and limitations on what I would choose to do in order to be successful. I was deciding how to tell my own story and express it digitally in all the ways one can in the 21st century (digital video & audio creation, digital photography, social media posts with texts, etc.) in order to actualize the success I wanted for my life and inform others of my new and burgeoning identity.

"What helped the most with defining digital storytelling for myself was interviewing professors and program directors at colleges & universities who specialize and engage in the field. These interviews helped me develop base points on what digital storytelling is. The base points from these interviews were curated in my digital audio work, METADS | Wisdom From Scholars In Digital Storytelling…, which is available on SoundCloud and Bandcamp."

III.

SU: Your debut album, Crave No More, is currently 11 years old. After releasing the 10-year-anniversary addition, is there anything that you learned from listening to your past works?

JeffreyCobbold.com: "When pursuing the 10 year anniversary of Crave No More I became better acquainted with my turn toward experimentation within my process as an artist/musician/creative. Most of the album is alternative rock sounding with use of electronic beats, but the end of the album divorces from that sound and becomes much weightier emotionally. Tracks like Ms. Disinterested pt. 2 and The Constituency (chaos & horror) showcased my desire for obscurity and my affinity for melancholy. There is a macabre nature to my music that I really love and want others to feel open to experiencing. I always feel a warm light after listening to my music, it’s much like listening to American Blues. It’s so sad that it opens the door to seeing a more realistic happiness. Crave No More set the stage for me as an artist in 2010 and re-oriented me during the initial uncertainty of 2020 due to the pandemic. I am so thankful for those who made the creation of the album and anniversary edition a success."

IV.

SU: "Do you have any advice for future up-and-coming artists and musicians who may take the route of digital storytelling?"

JeffreyCobbold.com: "I went the route of digital storytelling as my core creative method because it can help an artist take on a burgeoning humility through engagement with DS as an every person's type of art form. I believe anyone can be a digital storyteller of the highest level. Your sense of courage to actualize the unknown of who you are is what makes your story special. Through its autobiographical expressions it can help an artist articulate what is emerging and aspiring in their journey, always pointing them toward greater personal truth."

"Whether it is found in your old voice memo journals, digital selfies, favorite music playlists, social media posts, etc, you can share these expressions individually or intersectionality to tell your story to your sense of community. It is the articulation of your journey through storytelling and support from your community that makes a creative life worth pursuing. It also makes you the master of your soul through a process of deep reflection which has long term benefits for your sense of integrity and decision making. Basically, you are going after YOUR greater truth."

"The video George Saunders - On Story has very useful explanations for understanding what quality storytelling is, which can be applied to an artist's or musician's digital storytelling process."