SPRING 2008
NEW RECORD!
It’s what you need. It’s new. It’s a fresh dose of JT, 14 tracks in all. It’s WESTERN FRONT, and it’s waiting for you! Click HERE to get yours:
JT ON YOUR RADIO DIAL
I sat in on the morning show at HITS 97.9 up in Glens Falls, NY on Friday, April 18th. Aside from reading the news, taking romance advice calls from women, and jamming live on the air, I was there for the official unveiling of "Glory Bound", the first single from Western Front. We’ll have the whole show up online soon, but for now you can hear the first few minutes just by going to the JT website. It’ll kick right in when you hit the site. Check it out:
TOUR DATES
Officially kicking off in New York’s Union Square on June 8th, the Live Mayhem Traveling Circus takes to the highway yet again! Come out and see me. It’s really the least you can do, since I’m coming out to see YOU. Details are HERE:
THAT DAMNED MOVIE IS FINALLY OUT
The long awaited film Finding Miranda, featuring Matthew Broderick and Brittany Snow (and more importantly, music from Jefferson Thomas!) is a finally a happening thing. It’ll be relased in June, but if you’re in the New York area and wanna brag that you saw it before the masses, it’s premiering at the TriBeCa Film Festival this week. Check it out, and if you suddenly think you hear my song "Thursday’s Girl" in it, that ‘cause like, um, my song "Thursday’s Girl" is in it. Details are HERE:
LYRICS
It was an outrage. It was downright scandalous. There, in the liner notes of Western Front it specifically tells you to go to the JT website for all the lyrics. Apparently that’s really important to folks, because we got a little behind updating things, and when some people bought theirs and went to the site and saw no lyrics, well damn, you’d think we’d withheld their economic stimulus package tax rebate checks. Or Miley Cyrus flesh pics. Or whatever. Anyway, the uprising has been quelled, and it’s all waiting for you HERE:
HEY, JT RADIO IS ONLINE!
It’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week of nothing but Jefferson Thomas music! Album tracks, live bootlegs, out-takes, radio interviews, friends of JT, new music I’ve discovered, and pretty much anything else I feel like programming. Why didn’t anybody think of this earlier?
All you have to do is log onto the JT website and it’ll kick in right away. Why, it’s so simple even Mike Bloomberg could probably do it!
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“No it is NOT a ‘concept’ album,” insists an indignant Jefferson Thomas. “What are you, stuck in 1974?”
OK, but when you crank out a dozen pieces of guitar-driven "indie/twang/alt-rock with a hangover" and then call it WESTERN FRONT, you’re bound to stir up some heady expectations. And when the subject matter strays from love songs, sexual encounters, and exorcising personal demons into the territory of current events, tackling everything from middle-eastern wars and leftist demagogues to illegal immigration and the dumbing-down of American society, you have to be careful. And if you bake your cake with American rock and roots music and then frost it with a smattering of sturm-and-drang string arrangements, forget it - you can’t really cry foul if someone accuses you of going for something iconic, maybe seeking your “Bono” moment.
“By ‘Western Front’ I mean things confronting us, from outside and from within,” explains Thomas. “Globally, America is everybody’s asshole these days, but at the same time, we’re not being particularly brilliant on the home front, either. I went for a dichotomy; the micro and the macro. You can internalize the songs and find your own meanings, but if you want to do the whole sociological trip, applying a larger meaning to society in general, I indulged you. Yes, that I did intentionally, no apologies offered. If it hits you as a ‘concept album’, then I hope that means I did my job in making a coherent statement. Hell, we live in an ‘iTunes’ world. It ain’t like anybody listens to whole albums anymore anyway.”
There isn’t much room for interpretation on the opening cut. "American Ghost", with its marching drums and fife, makes no attempt to hide that it’s about the war. “Sure, but it’s not a protest song,” explains Thomas. “It sounds like one at first, but lyrically it’s completely neutral; it deals more with the toll the war has taken on us; how fractured we are about the whole thing, and how ambivalent I’d be if I were one of the people fighting it, which very easily could be the case. I tried to write it from the soldier’s perspective, perhaps trying to get a word in while everyone not in the line of fire is shouting each other down”
"Starting To Turn" begins as a solo journey, but soon widens lyrically and sonically into something bigger, if not quite ever clearly defined. “Virtually everyone I know went through something big this year, and came out the other side not knowing where they stood,” says Thomas. “Some of the things that were good went bad, and some the things that were bad went good. And we had some things as a society that followed suit; a war that saw some good and bad turns, some people who supposedly could suddenly afford homes and then suddenly couldn’t. It isn’t a positive song. It isn’t a negative song. It’s more an inventory of change. It starts out with a four-piece band and ends up with a big dramatic orchestral ending that stretches it out over six minutes. OK, guilty as charged, that’s my ‘huge’ moment on the album. But I like to think I tempered it everywhere else, with a lot of understatement, which in 21st Century America is about as outdated as the ‘concept’ album.”
If there’s anything on Western Front that Jefferson Thomas is going to take heat for, it’s "Back To Maria", a satirical send-up of the illegal immigration issue that’s invaded the national discourse lately. If the short drug-dealer/border agent skit before the song doesn’t tip you off, the full Mariachi accompaniment and decidedly un-PC lyrics will. “Yeah, but I’ve got an out there,” says Thomas. The antagonist in that song is the dealer from California, as a metaphor for American businesses who are exploiting everyone on both sides of the border. There is nothing in that song derisive about Mexicans or Mexican culture at all. I learned a long time ago, as long as you make the white male the asshole, you can pretty much get away with anything.”
Keeping Western Front fresh throughout is Thomas’ willingness to step back and push others up to the front. “I decided to be an offensive lineman on this, rather than the quarterback all the time. I play a lot of instruments, but I don’t need to put out a record that’s a business card. You don't dictate, you delegate. You surround yourself with good players, and you try to write songs that are strong enough to pull good things out of them. It’s like ‘bump-set-spike’ in volleyball; set somebody else up to score. I used regular band members and tried lots of new blood as well, and ended up making some great new friends. The very last thing we cut was the violin on 'Jacksonville'. Lorenza Ponce (violinist with Sheryl Crow, Dixie Chicks, and Bon Jovi) came in at the last minute, and her first take is what you hear. She liked the fact that she didn’t really know the song, and I told her we’d done much of the record that way on purpose, keeping things dangerous."
Thomas values cohesion to the point of including two strategically-placed topical covers. 'Dumb Down" is a smart and funny take on daytime TV, written by James Maddock (former frontman of the Columbia Records critics’ darling Wood), and Phil Spoor’s "Old Red" chronicles the decline of classic liberalism, if not its very death. Both are rendered with a laid-back detachment that scores without trying to preach.
The new release doesn’t street until late March, but Jefferson Thomas is already off and running in 2008, with a track from his last release, "Thursday’s Girl", in the Matthew Broderick film Finding Miranda, as well as plenty of touring, and the resumption of his outdoor Artist Residency series in New York’s Central Park and Union Square.
Western Front may not be the grand cultural statement of a lifetime. Then again, its strongest suit is that it doesn’t try to be. But Jefferson Thomas certainly does know how to take America’s temperature.
- Shelley Rosen, (reprinted by permission)
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WINTER 2008
PRISON BREAK!
OK, so this new record is done, and I am emerging from the inner sanctum and re-joining the human race. Thanks to everyone who appeared on this thang; the guitarists - Robb Torres (west coast), Riley McMahon (east coast) and uh, ME (everywhere!), the keyboard dudes - Joe Andreacchi (east coast) and Armen Chakmakian (west coast), the bassists - Pemberton Roach, Tony Gregory, and - uh, ME, the drummers - Neil Nunziato (east coast) and Will Buchette (west coast), Tiffany Feo (vocals), Lorenza Ponce (violin), Kiku Collins (brass), Brian Taylor (woodwinds), Roberto Perez (accordion), and the orchestra: Liu Chang, Alfred Zirinsky, Camille Lucino, Peggy Phelan (violins), James McGary, Philip Gould, Kathleen Hershey, Gia Scarpelli (violas), Wayne Kennedy, Claire Kahn, Mae Chen, Alexis Glick (celli), Arthur Massimo and Joseph Sommers (basses)…the Jackson Heights Tequila Posse: George and Carlyn Adams, Allison Cipris, Ben Cockerham, Bettina Covo, Billy DeMase, Tiffany Feo, Kevin Gallerello, Johanna Kodlick, Anthony Lattarulo, Britton Matthews, John Liepold, Collette McLafferty, Mark Reynolds, Steve Roberts, Ally Stewart. And of course, George Adams' special appearance on Eb alto cellphone...
FALL 2007
SORRY HONEY, HAVE TO WORK LATE AT THE OFFICE...
The bad news is that I’m having to kill a few tour dates that have been pending for a while. I left them kind of up in the air because I knew there’d be a lot of recording this fall. The good news is there is a NEW RECORD quickly coming together for an early 2008 release, so we’re keeping the New York, Los Angeles, and overseas stuff and postponing everything else into 2008. Hey, look on the bright side - you’ll be hearing new music when I come to you next time. Phoenix, Nashville, Charleston, Atlanta, etc. - sorry, but we’ll see you in the spring!
DANIEL PEARL TRIBUTE...
I was invited to play the Daniel Pearl tribute shows; a series of shows called “FODFEST”, in Memphis, Asheville, Atlanta, Washington, Boston. “FODFEST” is an annual concert tour honoring the life & ideals of the late Wall St. Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who you may recall was beheaded by subhuman elements in Pakistan in 2002. I was amazed to find out that, in addition to being a journalist, Danny was a talented musician who played a variety of instruments including violin and mandolin. Wherever he traveled and lived, Danny was actively involved in the local music scene. FOD stands for Friends of Danny and the concert tour features many of the musicians who played in bands or jammed with Danny while he was alive, as well as many who never knew him but connect with his story.
Unfortunately, the FODFEST itinerary was finalized with only a couple weeks notice, and we already have a rather “fluid” (diplo-speak for “utterly chaotic and ulcer-provoking”) recording schedule taking place in four different cities, so it pains me to bow out. I really wanted in on this! But I wanted to at least make you aware of a great event put together by some great people. If the planets align correctly next time, I’m totally down. In fact, I’m gonna try to help them add a NYC date next time.
SUMMER 2007
“THEY’RRRRRE GONNA PUT ME IN THE MOVIEEEEEEEES”...
Success in the whole TV and film thing has eluded me until lately; we have three placements just this month, the most recent being a little swatch of Thursday’s Girl in that Matthew Broderick film that we now know will be called “Finding Miranda”. I could wax philosophical about the artistic merits of all this and whatever, but quite frankly, there’s some serious MONEY comin’ now. That’ll do!
WHAT IS THAT THING?
Some of you guitar aficionados have noticed that I seem to have more instruments than changes of clothes these days. Well, you’re RIGHT! But the most astute of you have observed that I haven’t been seen playing the ubiquitous black Strat lately. Indeed, I sold it and an old Peavey T-60 (which sounds like something the Navy trained WWII fighter pilots in) so I could acquire the ultimate weapon; a Schecter Ultra III (which sounds like Gillette’s new electric razor). It is the most kick-ass guitar I’ve ever owned. And as if that ain’t enough, it even LOOKS like a ’62 Cadillac! It was only available in two colors, both really cool vintage 60s style: pale yellow and wine red. I chose the yellow. Which of course means, by the time you read this, I will have also scored a wine red one as a backup.
SPRING 2007
NEW RECORD...
Spring has sprung, and somehow, it seems I have a new record for ya! Jefferson Thomas Live was a lot of fun to put together. For one thing it didn’t involve endless tedious hours sitting in the vacuum of a studio, since everything was already recorded. It was more a case of a lot of listening. After we wrapped up the 2006 tour in October in Central Park, I went through a lot of stuff from the last couple of years; full-production outdoor shows, band shows in clubs, and solo shows around the country. The record actually took only a few weeks to put together; I spent October through February listening and choosing what to use, and that was the real meat of the project.
In the end, I didn’t necessarily go with the best shows or the best recordings, but a combination of the two. Overall, I wanted to offer up a little cross-section of how I spent the past 18 months supporting 2005’s Come Alive. By myself, with the band, indoors, outdoors, jetlagged, sober, drunk, packed house or intimate gathering, it’s all on there, warts and all. I also played in a lot of places that were new for me - cities in the south and west - and people were discovering me for the first time, and REALLY digging a couple of older tunes - “Grand Central Station” and “Thursday’s Girl”. I didn’t really find any good recordings of either one, and I knew I’d wanna do a couple of singles off this thing, so we dashed into the studio in January and re-cut them, and they finish out the new record. You’ll be able to get Jefferson Thomas Live just about anywhere this summer, but in the meantime, it’s available on iTunes, and Amazon is doing a special reduced-price pre-order promotion, but you gotta make it happen before July 10th, the official release date, in order to qualify. Go to the BUY STUFF page for details
NEW TOUR...
Of course, just in time for a new record, I’m back in Central Park for the kickoff of this year’s “JTCP” artist residency series. And I have an (almost) completely new band, which is kinda wonderfully terrifying. I was introducing everyone to each other in the first rehearsal, and it suddenly dawned on me that the bass player’s name is Ben Zwerin and the drummer’s name is Jerry Arias. How can you go wrong with BEN AND JERRY as your rhythm section? It’s quite literally, SWEET! Riley McMahon is still on guitar, and Joe Andreacchi comes to the fold on keyboards, backing vocals, and hockey tickets.
We’re adding an extra show to the JTCP series, but taking it downtown…last year’s Union Square show was a great success, so they’re having me back. We’ll play there on June 16th, then I’ll be hitting the road this summer, then swinging back through New York for another visit to Central Park on July 28th, opening for - no, we can’t say just yet. Stay tuned…and of course, we’ll have some more outdoor dates in the fall as well, followed by some overseas dates.
IN THE MOVIES...
I got a call last week from the Music Supervisor for an as-yet-untitled Matthew Broderick film, who said he needed some music for a couple things, including a drug-buy scene in a rundown apartment with some chick going down on some guy. I said “Gee, thanks…so when you think drugs and oral sex, you call Jefferson Thomas.” Remember, kids, it’s important to always go with your strengths, and keep honing that image. It’s called “branding”.
So, as of this writing, the film will feature “Eyeball” and “Mary’s Night Out”, and I’m cooking up some new stuff for that particular scene. And buying drugs and inviting chicks over, of course, to get into the character’s head. “Now, what’s my motivation in this scene…baby, you’re not LISTENING to me…what’s my motivation?”
STUFF! WE GOT STUFF!
Hey, we got STUFF now! The only thing better than a "T-shirt" is a "JT-shirt!". And we got mugs and magnets and stuff...just drop in at the "buy stuff" page so's you can git yer bad ass some STUFF!
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