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.
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 20)
Little Jack Melody and His Young Turks has 588 friends.
happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday little jack melody, happy birthday to you.... and many more.... still your little sister, julie
Was just thinking of you and your fantastic muse-ic and wanted to drop a line to say hola! Are you ever down in the other "D?" If so, you must come see us at the yoga studio for a sun salutation and a cuppa chai. Jeff sends his greetings and a warm handshake. Did you know he will be FIFTY years old later this year? What, oh what, can I do to help this old man celebrate this milestone?
Brother Jack -- Hope all is peach-toned and perpendicular. Did I tell you that I acquired another harmonium, and a toy piano? Because one just can't have too many instruments that one can only play when the building is empty.
umm. i am not sure exactly what channel but i am sure that in the commerical there is a guy standing there..and the scenes are changing around him. it is a great song that is playing!!
Ciao Little Jack Melody and His Young Turks - Una canzone è davvero bella quando le sue note giungono dritte al cuore! - A song is really beautiful when his notes come straight to the heart! - Una canción es realmente hermosa cuando sus notas vienen directamente al corazón!
With much LOVE ,a dream has come true...As promised Im letting those who may have asked know......Please let me announce to my friends that my solo effort " DreamSong " is now at CD baby and you can try out the entire work for free...I think you will enjoy it as it is a new and different pop rock concept album, Maybe the first of its kind done exclusively with guitar synths ...An eclectic soundtrack of those forgotten previous lives. Wishing you the best of music and creativity ! Love makes dreams come true.
greetings from the dirty south, enchanted land of moonshine, cockfights and tent revivals. my name is burma shave and i play in a two-piece trash rock band that we like to call bathtub gin. i'm so glad that i found your profile on here. i've liked your music for a long time. i first say you at sxsw '93. it was down on 6'th street at a place called hondo's. i was there watching a band from my home state called donkey. i was hanging out talking to mark rubin of the bad livers and he told me i should stay and watch you, because i shouldn't miss it. he was sure right. saw you later in atlanta at the star bar and in chattanooga at the nightfall concert series. loved all of your performances. hope to see you again sometime. thanks for adding me to your group of friends. cheers!
Thanks for the kind words. I agree on the preference of folkish vs blues-ish. I've entered "Came a Child" in a songwriting competition. Throw some salt over your shoulder for me.
