October 24, 2024 | 11:45am
Nigeria, music, soccer and love.
Joe Ulrich Joe has been interested in audio and music since childhood. A love of both performing and recording was born from a fascination with the vinyl records and cassette tapes that his parents owned. He grew up in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, and moved to Pittsburgh in 1999 to major in photography at the University of Pittsburgh.
In 2004, she enrolled at the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Tempe, Arizona. He returned to Pittsburgh and worked in a recording studio.
In 2008, Joe arrived at WITF where his skills served as an on-air host, audio engineer, and producer of WITF music. In 2016, Joe won the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Use of Sound.
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Joe Ulrich: Tell me about your upbringing. Have you been encouraged to do something like this?
Soji Otuyele: I don’t know if it was the parents’ intention, but one of the blessings was that all the kids were able to go to piano lessons. So we sat down and just composed songs on the piano, recreating songs we heard and putting our spin on them. And I had no idea that all of that would now mean something. And for my kids, they have designated times to practice songs, but they can also come up with songs. They love it more than playing chords or checking scales. And I think that’s great. It wasn’t really encouraged. It was very boring. This allows you to use your time creatively.
Because when your kids ask, “Daddy, why are you making us play the guitar?” this might save your life, just like it saved mine. This was something I clung to during the most difficult times in my life. And the most fun part.
Joe Ulrich: If we don’t provide that, some kids won’t have the opportunity to discover things about themselves or look at future career paths.
Soji Otuyelu: For me, it’s actually still strange to be paid as an artist. I’m sorry to say this, but I get paid for my hobby, so I’ve never felt uncomfortable calling myself a musician from time to time. Now, that’s valuable to someone, and that’s a great thing. I’m going to do that. But I think the real driving force for people who are interested in art is to use art to learn a lot about themselves and connect with people.
At some point I quit my job, this was 15 years ago. It took me a year to play music, and it became my job, and I became like a human being, which is terrible. I hate booking gigs. The parts I had grown to like weren’t interesting anymore. And it got interesting when I said it wasn’t work. I really just love creating. I want to connect with people and I think that’s a real benefit.
Joe Ulrich: “Falling in Love in York.” Is that a true story?
Soji Otuel: That’s the real story. yes. I moved to York around 2011. And York represented a new beginning for me. I had to figure out what kind of person I wanted to be.
I had a choice: move to Texas to be with my sisters, move back to Massachusetts where I went to college, or just move somewhere more suitable. And I chose York. I thought it was a place where I could get to know myself and seriously hone my skills while being surrounded by an unfamiliar environment. Sometimes when you’re around people who know you well, you feel trapped and want to transform.
And within that year, I met my wife. If I had met her before then, I wouldn’t have recognized some of the things I did when I met her. And that song, “Fell in Love in York,” is about meeting someone who fell in love with me and made it okay to love me.
When my kids ask me, “Daddy, why are you making us play guitar?” I tell them, “Just like it saved my life, it might save yours.” Because there isn’t.
Joe Ulrich: Did you have any difficulty moving to a completely new place where you didn’t know anyone?
Soji Otuyelu: This is the blessing of being a musician, that music is a universal language. Most of the people I met growing up were through music. When I pull out my guitar and sing, I have no qualms about talking about the deepest, darkest things I’m going through or have been through as long as I have the guitar in my hand. And people connect with it. And that’s how friendships are formed.
Joe Ulrich: In another Instagram post I saw, you said something about how a Nigerian is less likely to marry a country girl. Is she a country music fan?
Soji Otuyelu: She’s all about the countryside. When we get in her car, the radio is on a country music station, and most of the time she sings along. Sometimes I wonder, oh, what is this song? Sometimes I think. She’s like, oh yeah, I don’t really get it. The thing about country music for me is that it’s a genre of music when you want to be vulnerable. I know there’s all kinds of country now, but it’s a really fragile genre and I’m like, “Oh, I like that.”
Joe Ulrich: Did I hear correctly in that song that this is how we met, playing music?
Soji Otuel: Yes. I can’t believe you would admit something like this. I also play soccer. I’m a soccer coach. That’s my passion. When I first met her, we were playing in the same coed league. Now, getting off on a soccer field is not a good idea. And what happened was, she saw me on the soccer field and like most of 95 percent of the people I’ve ever met on a soccer field, she didn’t like that version of me. I think so. And she saw me playing music somewhere and thought, “Wait, this can’t be the same person.”
One of the things that appeals to me about music is that it keeps me centered. Actually, I need music for self-therapy. We need music to communicate, to understand ourselves better, to understand where we have been.
Soji Otuyelu performs with WITF Music on April 15, 2024 (Jeremy Long – WITF) Soji Otuyelu performs with WITF Music on April 15, 2024 (Jeremy Long – WITF) Soji Otuyelu will be performed at WITF Music on April 15, 2024 (Jeremy Long – WITF)
Joe Ulrich: How old were you when you came to America?
Soji Otuel: I was 14 years old.
Joe Ulrich: But you were in Nigeria for a long time, so you have memories.
Soji Otuel: I am very Nigerian. This is the only place in the world where I feel like everyone else.
When I get to Nigeria, I don’t realize I’ve been holding my breath. I’m at home right now. And I think it restarts some of the programming that was built into us as kids. It was like someone started the engine and I thought, “Oh yeah, I know how to move the conversation forward in a different way.” As I speak now, I used to speak English in Nigeria, but sometimes I find myself looking for words that I can’t think of in English that make more sense in Yoruba.
Joe Ulrich: What was it like moving here as a teenager?
Soji Otuyelu: As an immigrant, everyone says, “Oh my God, it’s like winning the lottery.” So you’re told you should be happy about it, whether you’re happy about it or not. I feel very blessed to have been able to spend time in Nigeria. Because it gave me the idea that you shouldn’t take things for granted.
Joe Ulrich: What is your favorite smartphone app?
Soji Otuyelu: It’s called InShot. It is just a video editing tool or an image editing tool. I’m not good at verbal communication, so I show them a lot. I use that to great advantage and teach kids as a soccer coach.
Joe Ulrich: Do you have a favorite local restaurant in the area?
Soji Otuyelu: I’m not a foodie. Anywhere that has an IPA and a burger is my favorite restaurant. It makes working when you go out a lot easier.
Joe Ulrich: Do you have any other favorite local businesses?
Soji Otuyelu: You have to plug the gift hose into the yoke. Gift Horse is a brewery. The food menu is limited, but there are lots of cold beers, but they also support the arts. They play music maybe three nights a week, sometimes four nights in advance. I feel like they are doing everything in their power to support it. This environment is a perfect example of what York has to offer.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos. We feature local musicians who stop by the WITF Performance Studio for a quick discussion and share their sounds. Produced by Joe Ulrich of WITF.