on by

Screen Shot 2014-09-12 at 8.43.32 AMWe were lucky be on a bill with Christina Trulio and Nate Currin last night at Uncommon Ground. Everything clicked! Nick, Uncommon Ground’s sound-tech did a superb job, and the audience was attentive and supportive. It was just the perfect line-up, the perfect vibe. Christina and Nate are two very inspiring singer-songwriters. They are working in a great tradition steeped in well-constructed songs delivered with beauty, heart and soul. Christina was backed by a excellent band, Nate was all alone with his Gibson acoustic guitar.

We really felt part of a greater thing last night, welcomed by fellow musicians and by an enthusiastic audience that seemed to really listen. It’s a rare, good thing. Nate is in the midst of an on-going National tour, he’s living in a motor-home taking his music to towns all over the States. Pretty amazing. Nate is a great story-teller too, and he kept the audience engaged with his between song banter. The music from these two songwriters was just first-class.

We were the openers, continuing our never-ending Chicago tour, and we did our best in a stripped down mode, just guitar, percussion and vocals for us. It was a little bit intimidating to hear some of our songs in such a stark setting, but it all seemed to go over well, and the vocals really stood out, it was gratifying to hear afterwards that the lyrics really came across. We sold some CDs, made new friends. Got warms words of encouragement from some really cool people. Nothing better! – Jammer

 

 

on by 1 Comment

open door 09.07.14Last night we trekked out to Oak Park for the Songwriters NOT from the Great American Songbook show.  Hannah Frank did a set of Bob Dylan songs and we did a set of Rolling Stones songs.  Turns out the Open Door Repertory is gem of a home for theater and music.  Acoustically perfect. A first-class setting – hardwood stage, oriental carpet – a great theater space for audience and performers alike.  A handful of folks got an earful of great songs.  We did our best with a pretty ambitious set of Stones songs.  It was challenging to take on “As Tears Go By” and “Wild Horses.” They are such beautiful, and delicate, numbers. We did our best to fill that space with our vintage, over-caffienated energy. It was one of those is the cup “half-full,” or “half-empty” experiences? I’ll go with “half-full!” – Jammer

photo by Linda Solotaire

on by

10+1 on iTunes NowYes, we have finally, and fully, launched our album 10+1 into the digital universe.  This is not a stealth campaign, just a slow roll-out. It’s the “long tail” approach. So yes, now you can find us on iTunes, Spotify and a long list of other digital outlets. And of course the album is available on bandcamp. And if you are still into “old world technology,” don’t forget to check out the first-run, limited-edition CD, it comes with a cool booklet of lyrics and photos.  – Jammer

 

 

 

 

photo by Mr. Mo

on by

UnknownWorking on Rolling Stones songs for our upcoming show at the Open Door Rep on 09.06.14. We are on a bill with the Hannah Frank Group. They will open with a set of Dylan songs, then it’s us doing the Stones. We know a few already: Paint it Black, Sister Morphine, Dead Flowers, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Shine a Light.  We are trying some others on for size, working them out on acoustic guitar in the kitchen: As Tears Go By, Wild Horses, Under My Thumb, Jumping Jack Flash, Beast of Burden.  Can’t wait to try these out with the band at the next rehearsal.

These are all such great guitar songs. There’s an effortless logic to the riffs and chord changes. The Stones totally absorbed American music: Blues, Country, R&R. Their catalog of songs is impressive and overwhelming.  We want to pick songs we think we can make our own. As Tim Obrien, our bass player said, we don’t so much “cover” songs, as “interpret” them. These songs are so good, they can stand up to interpretation. It’s only r&r, but of course, we love it! – Jammer

photo by Dominic Tarle

 

on by

0361It turns out that you never really know what’s gonna happen until it happens. At least, that’s how it usually goes for us. Next show, what’s gonna happen? There are always surprises along the way. Last night we performed at the Cake & Whiskey Club’s “The Peat Goes On,” at the Ugly Mug Cafe, hosted by the Actor, Director, Producer, all around impresario and “Wunderkind” Carlo Lorenzo Garcia. It was a night dedicated to fine whiskey, tasty cake and “1960’s beatnik stuff.” There was a healthy smattering of perfectly out-fitted beatniks in the audience. How to describe the audience? Beautiful, cool, artistic, sexy & swanky.

What is 60’s beatnik music? We wrestled with that one. If you do a Google search you will find all kinds of jokey, hokey 60’s tunes. Seems by the early-mid sixties, the beatnik thing was basically a fad of coolness. The mainstream culture didn’t take it very seriously. It was right up there with hula hoops, Slinkys, and Silly Putty.  Think Maynard G. Krebs. Berets. Striped shirts. Bongos. Sort of a daffy, goofy coolness. No threat. A sort of “down-market” fashion statement.

We weren’t really up for learning “Bongos, Bongos, Bongos,” so our idea was to go back to the original beats. Ginsberg, Kerouac, Ferlinghetti. These were the voices, a sort of beat counter-culture before the big sixties counter-culture. The beats were kind of “dirty,” they talked about sex & drugs, and spontaneity, and living in the moment, and risking it all for a poem, or a glimpse of some kind of transcendence. Street life & Eastern mysticism mashed up with crazy, mad, emotion and the daily muck of life.  Real stuff. An alternate vision of life in America. A mad, schizoid narrative – overflowing with life, and joy, and pain.

So Carla and I picked a handful of poems including “Footnote to Howl,” and “Mexico City Blues,” and then improvised some jazzy-type jams with the band. It was all sort of off the cuff and spontaneous, and it pretty much worked, it worked better than we thought it would work. The audience was loud and doing their own thing while we played, it was like we were in some mad ecstatic dance with the crowd, but afterwards, we found that some people really did listen, that some of the words really did penetrate. And detonate. It was cool. We gave the beats new life. For a night. It was mad and fun. Surprising. You never know what’s gonna happen… until it happens… – Jammer

 

Footnote To Howl By Allen Ginsberg

The world is holy! The soul is holy! The skin is holy! The nose is holy! The tongue and cock and hand and asshole holy! Everything is holy! everybody’s holy! everywhere is holy! everyday is eternity! Everyman’s an angel!

etc.

on by

wwsp @ the denToday we are releasing “Inner Light” as the first official single from our record 10+1. The single is being launched out into the international radio universe by Danie Cortese Entertainment. The full album is available as a limited-edition CD, or high-quality digital download, on bandcamp! We are so excited to be working with Danie and DCE. “Inner Light,” features just the four of us: Carla, Tim, Rich and I. The song is near and dear to our hearts. It’s a little message in a bottle. Wonder where it lands? What’s the sound of “one hand waving free?” – Jammer

“A voice said to me, ‘I am the one,’ was it a holy one, was it a demon… I follow an inner light…”

 

on by

jammer & carla @ jerrysWhat do you get when you add 3 Gunnelpumpers to the whitewolfsonicprincess core line-up (Carla, Tim & Jammer)? I know it sounds like a set-up to a joke. But no joke, our Saturday night set at Jerry’s featured 3 Gunnelpumpers (Doug Johnson on Clevinger bass, Randy Farr on percussion and Steve Rutstein on drums). Someone remarked that it all sounded a little bit like “Desire-era Dylan,” which to my ears translates to Rolling Thunder Revue. Which is music to my ears. If we are even anywhere close to that raucous, rolling circus of a band, we are on the right track for sure! – Jammer

on by 1 Comment

uncommon 4.25A lot of love.  There was a lot of love in the room last night at our Uncommon Ground show. We shared a bill with the powerful, natural force of sound that is Nicholas Barron, and it seemed that all the cosmic forces somehow converged for an extraordinary evening. It was the kind of show where we should have put the audience on stage. There were actors, writers, directors, clairvoyants, painters, poets, film critics, singers, musicians, teachers, and a few amazing “regular citizens” in attendance. There’s nothing better than performing for an inspiring, engaged, audience. What a lively crowd, what a rollicking good time! A great music room, excellent sound, superb food and drink. One of our best outings for sure. Randy Farr from the Gunnelpumpers joined us on percussion for this one, and he provided such a natural groove to our songs, there was an ease, and space between the instruments that just felt so right. We were tight, focused and alive. Nothing better! – Jammer

on by

vision of lightChicago is a great town for doing the work. Especially in winter. Brief visions of light. An over-powering darkness. Makes you want to stay inside and apply yourself to dreaming. Our band has been busy recording songs in the studio, and writing and rehearsing new songs.

It’s best to just do the work, and not talk about it. I mean, talking about it can kill it. Still, I’m pleased to say that we continue to come up with new songs, and the band is riding a cool groove.

We came up with one song, a Fairport Convention/Celtic blues kind of tune. We thought it would be great to add a Celtic drum to the sound. Tim, our one of a kind bass player, said that he owned one, and that, of course, we could use it. Extraordinary. We are that kind of band! – Jammer

on by

rollingstone-7475Lately some friends of mine have played that game of naming records that “changed their lives.” It’s been kicking around in my head. Yesterday, taking shelter from the bitter cold, I decided to fill the CD carousel with my choices.  This carousel only holds 5 CDs, so here are the 5.  I put them on shuffle and listened to the tracks in a randomized order.  All the songs stood toe to toe with each other.  All of these records still resonate with me very, very deeply.  They help make me who I am today. Yes, really.

1. John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band — Lennon’s first post-Beatles record. Stripped down, elemental, brutally real. Powerful, razor-sharp, with great production by Phil Spector.  The wall of sound meets r&r minimalism – bass, drums, guitar, piano and Lennon’s amazing, heartfelt, cutting voice.  Still brings chills.

2. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited— A blast of exuberance. Funny, over the top, genre busting. No one ever recorded songs like these before. Dylan fronts an incredible band featuring Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper. A shock. A blast. Mind-bending. Dylan never sounded more engaged, more intense, more alive and funny.

3. Neil Young – Tonight’s the Night — Shakey’s “dark night of the soul.” A death-haunted record. A great shaggy band of misfits pushed to the ragged edge. Raw, bleak, darkly funny. Neil opens a vein.  Spooky and cool.  L.A. Dark shades. Bleary nights. The record is filled with flaws, quirks – perfect.

4. The Rolling Stones – Let it Bleed — The Stones at their darkest. Decadent blues, desiccated country. Perfectly realized rock and roll.  Jagger and Richards at the peak of their amazing collaboration.  Perfectly recorded. Produced by Jimmy Miller.  The Stones made other great records, but this one is complete. Flawless. Thrilling.

5. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows this is Nowhere — Neil emerges into the light with the first, and greatest, Crazy Horse lineup. Danny Whitten on vocals and guitar is the secret weapon.  Long guitar jams. Overpowering sound. Produced by David Briggs & Neil Young. Blistering. Raggedy. Elegiac. When the “Horse” kicks it up, there is nothing better.

— Jammer