Currently officially:
Little Jack Melody- singing, songwriting, sometimes bassing
Brad Williams- piano, harmonium
Don Cento- electric guitar
Informally: Rob Avsharian, drums
and James Driscoll, bass
Past members may include:
Drummers Steve Calhoon, Chopper Bergeron, Chris Michael, Bill Shupp, Joel Fountain, Danny Lueck, Chris Sipe, who am I forgetting?
Keyboardists Mark Spicer, Scott Loehr, Lee Tomboulian, Jerome Rossen, Jim Cocke, Matt Duncan, who am I forgetting?
Tubaist Dave Dorbin
Bassists Mike Davis, Jeff Novack, Jeff Curry, Anthony Caceres
Saxophonists Lee Schloss, Vic Anderson, Mike Stinnett, Jacob Duncan, Eric Morones, Jeff Fort, Neil Johnson, Christian Parkess, Matt Rothstein, who am I forgetting?
Influences
Brecht/Weill, Randy Newman, Carla Bley, Hubert Selby Jr., Weimar Cabaret, Tom Waits, Nino Rota, Stephen Sondheim, Raymond Carver, Frank Sinatra, Jonathan Swift, streetcorner Salvation Army bands, Banda Sinaloense el Recodo de Don Cruz Lizárraga, W.B. Yeats, Teddy Edwards, Guy Lombardo, Joni Mitchell, the Beats, Astor Piazzolla, Edward Hopper, Francis Bacon, early Leonard Cohen, the old world, harmoniums, 2" tape, Nick Drake, William Blake, Henry Miller, Lewis Furey, Andrew Wyeth, Thomas Hart Benton, Magma, Richard Sinclair, Henry Cow, Robert Wyatt, coffee, more on the way...
Sounds Like
A cave painting of a bison from Altamira; "kilroy was here" in chalk on the side of a moving boxcar.
(Pre PS: Regarding the Benadryl commercial which my music is reported to be featured in: I finally saw the commercial recently, and sorry to disappoint you, but it's not me and it's not any of my songs. I don't know how the rumor got started, but it's just not true.
I don't know who the actual artist involved is, but the voice reminds me a bit of the Real Tuesday Weld (http://www.myspace.com/therealtuesdayweld) or maybe Magnetic Fields (http://www.myspace.com/themagneticfields).
If I do hear anything definitive about who the artist is, I'll let you know. I've tried to write to everyone who's written to me about this, but in some cases your profile won't accept messages from people who aren't your myspace friends. When that's been the case I've attempted to befriend you, but in many cases your account won't accept friend requests from bands. So I haven't been able to respond to you, even though I've tried. I really have.
Nonetheless, all the best to you all, and thanks for writing,
LJM
http://littlejackmelody.com
THE OFFICIAL BIO AS OF RIGHT THIS MINUTE
Little Jack Melody adopted his current nom de guerre from a Beat Generation minor player, and fashioned LJM and his Young Turks as a protest group on two fronts: first, with its anachronistic instrumentation of harmonium (pump organ), tuba, tenor banjo, sax/clarinet, and Roaring 20's style trap kit, the band was a Luddite response to the age of digital synths and "the mandate of creating every sound under the sun plus a bunch of new ones that we don't even have names for yet"; secondly, many of his original songs shared the tradition of protest and commentary that characterized the spirit of the cabaret movement in Europe.Little Jack Melody and his Young Turks became a melting pot of its leader's enthusiasms. Jack found inspiration in the confessionals of Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski and Tom Waits; he was intrigued by the subtleties of Raymond Carver, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill; he was moved by the sheer power and humanity of Hubert Selby Jr., Henry Miller and Carla Bley; he found metaphors in circuses, Salvation Army bands and Melville."On the Blank Generation" was released in 1991 and met with conspicuous critical acclaim. Effusive reviews rolled in from "Musician," "Rolling Stone," Kurt Loder in "Esquire," "Keyboard," "Texas Monthly," and National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" did a feature spot on the band and the CD, raising LJM's national profile.1994 saw the release of "World of Fireworks," which managed to elude critical notice almost entirely. "my charmed life" was unleashed in 1997 and marked a turning point in the band's evolution, a transitional period that saw the departure of tuba, its replacement with upright bass, and a more open-ended approach to instrumentation. "I decided to let the songs call the shots on that CD," LJM suggests. "If it said, 'gimme some field bells,' then we found it some. If the song said, 'I really need a couple of suspended Chinese tam-tam googongs and an analog synth,' then we brought 'em in."A live album, "Noise and Smoke" was recorded at a club in Denton and released in 1999. Harnessing the live energy of the band, complete with between-song banter and various spontaneous serendipities, the CD comes close to representing the genuine article.The band's personnel has been in a near-continual state of flux, with Young Turks coming and going with maddening regularity. By latest count, there have been at least 28 full time members of the band, and a full reckoning of occasional subs might yield a head count of another 25.At present, Little Jack is experimenting with a scaled-down approach to his music. "Right now I'm playing bass, Brad Williams is on all sorts of keyboards, and Don Cento has joined on guitar," Melody reports. "First time I've had a guitarist in the band, and it's really pretty cool. Maybe that's why every other band in the world has one. Man, if I'd only known…"
Here's a couple of videos by the great Suzie Kidnap. First, "My Charmed Life," a day in the life of Little Jack Melody and his Young Turks-- playing, driving, breaking down, playing, driving, getting lost. Repeat. Followed by Kidnap's poignant take on "On the Blank Generation (The Cake Song)," the title cut from the first LJM CD.
Little Jack Melody and His Young Turks's Friend Space (Top 17)
Little Jack Melody and His Young Turks has 755 friends.
Dear Little Jack, Thanks for the kind words you wrote the other day. Such an honor. Wish Heather and I could have seen you on the 26th. We think about you often and keep your music in rotation. Love you!
Hey man, I just noticed that after the bridge in 'When I was a River' when the bass trickles in...whatever computer effect is playing behind it is reminiscent of the ornamental electronic sound prevalent in much of OK Computer. Way cool.
If it's too far from your home, if you have better things to do, if you're scared to go out...discover
Jack Dupon's video almost live at a private concert...
Oppression
Si c'est trop loin de chez vous, si vous avez mieux a faire, si sortir vous fait peur... Découvrez la vidéo de Jack Dupon presque en live lors d'un concert privé filmé sur Clermont-1ère en octobre 2008...
Notre nouveau clip, entièrement fait à la main... PIG MONSTER.
Déjanté, hors normes, expérimental, décalé, théâtral, déglingué.
Our new music video, entirely handstitched .... PIG MONSTER.
Crazy, non-standard, out of norme, unusual, experimental, out of phase, theatrical, delirious.
Pig Monster
BONNE ANNÉE, GROSSES BISES et VIVE le ROCK...
Hi, Steve! Jeff surprised me by popping My Charmed Life into the cd player whilst I was cleaning the kitchen, so I felt compelled to drop you a note and wish you Happy New Year! I hope you stayed cool today and will stay warm tomorrow. Let's make an album of jazz/calliope lullabies.
featuring songs by LJM hisself Lisa Markley CD release
Lisa Markley and her Entourage of Handsome Men: Full band includes Paul Slavens (Ten Hands, KERA sunday nights) on piano Jeffrey Barnes (grammy winner of Brave Combo) woodwinds Bach Wilder Norwood on upright bass special guest Bruce Balmer guitars
Friday January 2nd Uncle Calvins Coffeehouse (held at Northpark Presbyterian Church) 9555 N. Central Expy, Dallas TX 75231, 214-363-0044 http://www. unclecalvins. org
Please help spread the word, it's a holiday weekend, and my first time headlining there. I need a big turnout. Besides, I almost never get all 4 of these fantastic musicians together on the same stage! a show not to be missed.
Thanks for the add. I used to record with Scott Jacob Loehr From Dallas home of the art and media revolution includeing Post-Bands music - so simple no one understands it, so radical no media will talk about it, so fun -
The album. Download it. Let it breathe on your playlist for a while. May it grace your chips, wires, ears. Then again, maybe you don't like presents. Which is perfectly fine.
It's right here:
Click the 'free user' button and wait a few seconds for a download to start. Tell me if you have problems.
While the songs drip onto your hard disk, rest your eyes on my clumsy love confession: GIRL WITHOUT A SOCK
ohh thats ok. you guys still rock. Yeah i really wanted to know who did it but all the internet said was you guys and im like hey i know those guys i wonder if they have a myspace so. keep playin. -Peter
YOu GUYS ROCK! my friend told me about you. and i listened and you rocked. but now i heard you did the song on benadryl. YOU ROCK MORE. cuz that song was cool you should put it on your profile. i think you would get alot of hits. if not send it to me or something. KEEP ON PLAYING! -Peter
