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JOCK BARTLEY
Born in Hutchinson, Kansas, Jock moved to the mountains above Manitou Springs, Colorado in 1959. He began taking guitar lessons from the jazz legend Johnny Smith in Colorado Springs, calling that five-year relationship "about the best thing that ever happened to me." He was playing Bach and Duke Ellington by the age of twelve, but hearing recordings of Eric Clapton and B.B. King changed his musical focus. After graduating high school, where he'd been an honor roll student and top scorer on the basketball team, Jock attended the University of Colorado in Boulder as an art major. "When I had to finally decide what I was going to do with my life—art, music, writing, drama—it was a very easy decision. Playing guitar was the single best thing I did and the most enjoyable."
Leaving college to pursue music, he joined the Boulder-based band Zephyr, replacing Tommy Bolin as lead guitarist. Months after the Sunset Ride album came out, Zephyr broke up. In 1972, Jock was asked to join the touring band of Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels featuring Emmy Lou Harris. The Fallen Angels tour made many memorable stops from Texas to Boston, including a show in Houston where Neil Young and Linda Rondstadt sat in onstage. At Max's Kansas City in New York City, Jock met Boulder resident Rick Roberts, who'd replaced Gram in the Flying Burrito Brothers and had two solo albums out.
In 1974, Rick and Jock began jamming in Boulder with Mark Andes, bassist from the progressive L.A. bands Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne. When Larry Burnett arrived from Washington D.C., Firefall was formed. A few months in, drummer Michael Clarke, formerly of The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, joined the band. Rick, Mark, and Jock were on tour with Chris Hillman on the east coast when Chris became ill. Larry and Michael were flown in and Firefall finished the engagement at the Bitter End in NYC, where Atlantic Records came to hear, soon signing them to a long-term recording contract. David Muse joined the band in rehearsals with producer Jim Mason. Firefall recorded their first album at Criteria Studios in the winter of 1975, during which his guitar hero, Eric Clapton, was in the control room while Jock played the one-take lead guitar track on Mexico. "It was a good thing I didn't know he was watching, I wouldn't have been able to hold my pick or play one note."
Jock has played on stage with artists like Stephen Stills, Neil Young, The Doobie Brothers, Dan Fogelberg, Journey, Heart, Poco, and many others. He has continued his artistic pursuits, having conceptualized and executed Firefall album covers, and he is currently preparing for art galley showings in selected U.S. cities. He is a spokesperson for suicide prevention, working with the American Association of Suicidology and the Kristin Brooks Hope Center to put on benefit concerts to raise awareness, help fund the first national crisis line, and save lives. He's also involved with causes including child abuse, domestic violence, burn victims camps, environmental issues, and others. Jock is also a record producer, and he travels frequently to Nashville to write songs and give seminars on creativity and songwriting for the Nashville Songwriters Association and the Songwriter's Guild.
Jock's son Jamey, 26, is the drummer and lead vocalist in a rock band, and his daughter Jessica, 16, is a high school student wanting to become an astrophysicist. Both are accomplished fine artists. He has produced an acclaimed instructional songwriting video called The Complete Guide To Songwriting—How To Write A Song. With his partner Greg Schreiner, Jock has started Razor Entertainment, a management and artist development company in Denver.