Jerry Biss (left), a geophysicist, is a stay-at-home dad for son Zack, 18, and daughter KaLeigh, 15.
BY MICHAEL BUTLER
NNB Student Reporter
ST. PETERSBURG – Jerry Biss is one of those parents who make you feel like the old nature- versus-nurture debate has ended.
Game over. It’s nurture.
The 49-year-old father sits calmly and contentedly behind his son Zack as he plays guitar and sings for a room full of admirers. There’s a look of love and admiration on his face as he listens. He’s heard these songs hundreds of times, but never seems to tire of a single note.
With the same ease that most kids his age play video games, Zack Biss, now 18, skillfully plays his spruce colored Takamine guitar and sings a song he composed himself. He can also charm a room with effortless conversation.
And it all started with a video game.
In 2009 Zack started becoming noticeably good at the game “Guitar Hero.” By his own admission, he also started to show off a bit. That’s when dad stepped in.
“He kind of challenged me. He’s like, you know, ‘You’ll never be cool with a video game. So why don’t you pick up the real thing’?” said Zack.
Jerry Biss remembers putting it more succinctly: “Dude, you’re pretty good at this. You’re never going to meet girls playing that fake guitar.”
Biss, a geophysicist, now enjoys life as a stay-at-home dad for Zack and daughter KaLeigh, 15. His wife, Dr. Kimberly Biss, is an obstetrician and gynecologist in St. Petersburg.
Biss helped propel his son’s dream every step of the way. He bought him his first guitar – an electric Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster that he claims was “a good deal on eBay.”
He drove Zack to early gigs in places most 13-year-olds don’t go and persuaded the Entertainment Division of the Florida Department of Child Labor to issue a permit for Zack to play in such places.
The next stop for Zack is college in Nashville, the capital of country music.
“He was the only kid in the state with a permit to play in bars,” said Biss with a grin. But Zack, now a senior at Canterbury School, is not allowed to play on too many school nights.
Biss helped Zack find the best vocal instructor he could, Al Koehn, a renowned teacher whose students included Grammy Award winning guitarist Rick Derringer.
Zack’s first paid job was in a now-defunct St. Petersburg dive bar called The Yard. He was 13 and, with his two band mates, made $30 for the night. “I put my $10 in my savings account. I’m very cheap,” said Zack.
With equal maturity, Zack shrugs off the idea of performing on televised talent contests like American Idol out of concern others won’t recognize how hard he worked for his success.
Biss wears his admiration for his son with a gentle smile and the easy comfort of soft shirt. And he quickly dispels any notions that life as a young performer is too much temptation for a boyish and talented teen.
“I’ve had 30-year-old women beg me to let them take him home with them,” he said with a laugh. “But he’s more mature than I am.”
Zack’s dad appears completely at peace watching his son sing.
“I just wanna be the one she’s thinking of,
The one that makes you fall in love,
The one who’ll always be there by your side.
I wanna be the guy she always talks about,
The one she just can’t do without,
The one who takes her out on Friday nights.
I wanna be the one she thinks about at night,
The one that she calls mine.”
College is the next step for Zack. He plans to attend Belmont University in Nashville, the capital of country music, and major in music business.
For now, Zack still takes rides from his father to gigs in smoky bars. Biss admits it’s a little different now. The gigs frequently last up to four hours. So he finds the perfect balance between fatherly and feckless.
“I usually drive him there,” says dad with a smile. “But he usually drives me home.”