Jammerzine presents an exclusive Zoom interview with Janna Jamison, an LA/Nashville-based singer-songwriter, vocalist, and multi-talented musician. She is most known for her 2020 EP entitled ‘White Guys That Play Jazz’ accompanied with her single ‘Paris’.
As a student at Belmont University School of Music, Janna Jamison shares her incredibly interesting perspective on the music scene as she explores her hometown influences and how they interact in a country/indie-rock music environment.
Initially giving off an Indie singer-songwriter vibe, Janna Jamison is hesitant to label herself: as of now, her sound is extremely experimental. By incorporating elements such as Jazz and indie rock, Janna Jamison explores and tests around with different genres, bringing something entirely unique to the table.
In this interview, Janna details her history and background in music, as well as her pop-music influences and advice to other aspiring young musicians.
Janna Jamison is releasing an upcoming EP this year called ‘Pulling My Clothes’ on all major streaming platforms. She is also premiering a music video for a song on her upcoming project called ‘Invitation to A Beheading’ which includes vintage-musical theater influences.
Her released projects and social media can be found below!
Janna Jamison’s Music:
Contact Information:
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An Interview with King’s X
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with dUg Pinnick of King’s X. Today is the release of the first King’s X album in 14 years titled ‘Three Sides Of One’.
In this interview, we talk with dUg about the process of getting the band back together and recording the new album while getting reacquainted musically and continuing the ever evolving legacy that is King’s X.
Check out our previous interview with dUg HERE.
Check out our interview with Jerry Gaskill HERE.
About King’s X
Lifelong friends communicate in a language of their own peppered with shared memories, inside jokes, and dreams fulfilled. King’s X partake in a similar musical conversation informed by over four decades together as a band. The trio—Dug Pinnick [bass, vocals], Jerry Gaskill [drums, vocals], and Ty Tabor [guitar, vocals]—lock into an unspoken groove where each element shapes a signature sound singular to these three individual souls alone. No other band in history has pushed hard rock, alternative, metal, progressive, and soul into a galaxy quite like the one King’s X occupy.
Along the way, they architected a catalog of seminal releases. KERRANG! famously scored their 1988 full-length debut, Out of the Silent Planet, with a rare “5-out-of-5-stars.” On its heels, the landmark Gretchen Goes To Nebraska continues to inspire think pieces with Ultimate Classic Rock going as far to proclaim, “no one else has crafted anything remotely like it.” They notably appeared on the soundtrack to Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, and Guitar World christened the self-titled King’s X one of “The 30 Greatest Rock Guitar Albums of 1992” (a year notably highlighted by Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power, Alice In Chains’ Dirt, Megadeth’s Countdown To Extinction, Dream Theater’s Images and Words, and many more). Following Dogman, the group graced the stage of Woodstock 1994 and toured with everyone from Pearl Jam and AC/DC to Mötley Crüe and Iron Maiden. They also attracted one of the most diehard fanbases in music with Ear Candy [1996], Tape Head [1998], Please Come Home… Mr. Bulbous [2000], Manic Moonlight [2001], Black Like Sunday [2003], Ogre Tones [2005], and XV [2008].
In 2019, author Greg Prato’s book King’s X: The Oral History featured testimonials from the likes of Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Andy Summers of The Police, Scott Ian of Anthrax, Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots, Rex Brown of Pantera, and more. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone crowned them “Internationally renowned cult heroes,” Devin Townsend included Gretchen Goes To Nebraska on “The 5 Albums That Made Me,” and VH1 touted them among “The 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.”
About ‘Three Sides Of One’
Their first full-length studio offering in 14 years, Three Sides of One [Inside Out Music], represents the culmination of this trip and of a bond forged way back in 1979.
“When I think of it, King’s X feels like a couple of old best friends coming together, shooting the shit, and having a good time,” affirms Dug. “It’s instinctual. When I would listen to demo tapes of Jerry and Ty for the record, it gave me a great perspective on how blessed I am to be in King’s X. What they did on Three Sides of One sounded so good. For as familiar as it is, it’s like I’m in a new band.”
“This time, we sat around, listened to each other’s ideas, and would collectively say, ‘Let’s work on that’,” recalls Ty. “It was the most enjoyable album I’ve personally ever recorded in my entire life, period.”
“I’ll cherish what we did in my heart forever,” agrees Jerry. “Everything lined up perfectly.”
During 2019, the members congregated at Black Sound Studio in Pasadena, CA with producer Michael Parnin to bring Three Sides of One to life. Despite consistent touring, they hadn’t cut a new LP since 2008. Nevertheless, the guys picked up where they left off. Creative confidant and collaborator Wally Farkas rolled through, and they channeled their incredible chemistry on tape. During the sessions, Ty and Jerry sang more and expanded the vocal interplay. At the same time, they hung out in the house and enjoyed the summer—even listening to a nearby Rolling Stones concert from The Rose Bowl outside one evening.
“We wanted it to be very special,” Jerry goes on. “We all brought in songs we believed in. We were excited to see each other. We had a wonderful house to stay in, and it was the best situation.”
“We didn’t want to make a record until we knew our fans would love it,” Dug goes on. “It took us a while, but we got there. Once we did, we got on the same page and said, ‘Let’s make this thing the best we can’.”
The opener and first single “Let It Rain” kickstarts this chapter. Clean guitar echoes over a steady beat before a deluge of distortion submerses the chorus’s plea, “So let it rain.”
“I wanted to write a heavy song about the world as I see it,” Dug states. “It was like a prayer to the unknown god to do something. It seems like everything is a mess, and we’ve got no solutions. I was trying to agree with everyone and join the program.”
A bluesy lick swings like a wrecking ball into a swaggering groove on “Give It Up,” which culminates on a manic gang chant. “After I turned 71, death was on my mind every day,” Dug confesses. “Chris Cornell killed himself, and I was thinking of that. Lyrically, it’s about not giving up until you naturally die. I want to ride it out until it’s over. I’m laughing about how I haven’t gotten a will yet, but I should have one. Musically, I wanted it to be really simple, so you can dance to it.”
Then, there’s “All God’s Children.” A dreamy clean guitar melody sets the tone before a trudging groove kicks in. It builds towards a towering chant.
“It’s probably going to be one of the most misunderstood songs of the bunch,” muses Ty. “I was looking around at all of these people who call themselves Christians, but they believe a whole lot of non-Christian things. They choose to believe anyway despite everything collapsing with all of the death and ugliness around their beliefs.”
On “Flood,” a pummeling polyrhythmic riff bludgeons and bruises as Dug croons an apocalyptic affirmation, “I used to say that all we need is love, now I’m thinking that what we need is a flood.”
“Back in the day, we used to do songs where the rhythms changed like ‘We Were Born To Be Loved’ or ‘Far, Far Away’, so we wanted to do a couple of songs that lent toward that,” Dug elaborates. “I looked around and said, ‘Man, we need a reset’. It’s only my opinion. Maybe it’s not a very positive record,” he laughs.
“She Called Me Home” slips into a delicate darkness uplifted to the light by the siren’s call of a soaring guitar solo. “I was thinking of when I was kind of dead and had to recover,” admits Jerry. “I didn’t think I was ever going to play again, but a friend said, ‘You are going to play. You will get out there’. It came from those conversations.”
The closer “Every Everywhere” hinges on a powerful last word, “The world is crying for love, every everywhere.”
“I tried to write a Beatles-type song everyone could sing along with,” Dug adds. “It says what it is.”
In the end, Three Sides of One is everything King’s X were, are, and always will be.
“To me, the train is rolling, and I’m on it like we’ve been doing for 43 years,” Dug leaves off. “We’re just old friends.”
LINKS:
https://www.kingsxrocks.com
https://www.facebook.com/KingsXofficial
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKPi0krtGBOdUP9iSIyaB4A
https://twitter.com/kingsx
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKPi0krtGBOdUP9iSIyaB4A?feature=gws_kp_artist&feature=gws_kp_artist
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3tn79LMMIdIT1T0TXumjaH?autoplay=true
https://music.youtube.com/channel/UC8sh_EbAtbYvJHLg302q1Tg?feature=gws_kp_artist&feature=gws_kp_artist
http://www.pandora.com/?sc=miR15886 -
An Interview with The Church
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with The Church’s Steve Kilbey. With today being the release of the Church’s new concept ‘prog’ album titled ‘The Hypnogogue’, Steve gives up the ghosts and gives us a glimpse of the process that became ‘The Hypnogogue’ in this vivid and candid conversation.
‘The Hypnogogue’
For those of you that think you know The Church, think again. this is as much a continuation as it is a reimage. ‘The Hypnogogue’ is a loose concept. An album inside a story idea. Past that, it’s left to interpretation.
You cannot help but ask yourself if you are not hearing that transition within each song. The first thing I notice as I write this, having just come off the interview and talking about this being The Church’s 26th album is that The Church still manage to remain relevant with their 26th album. As someone who has been in music as long as I have, as well as being a writer, I can be the first to tell you about writer’s block.
Having said that; I can’t also help but notice those little signatures that tell you it’s The Church. But we also hear the new elements. Or is it a newfound inspiration. Or just the consistent love for music. And, while the experimentation element is there, it’s there sparingly. Not done for anything other than spreading the wings. Not doing it for the sake of saying it was done. And, while I can honestly say I have had a fondness for all of The Church’s albums, I can now count ‘The Hypnogogue’ among those albums.
About The Church & ‘The Hypnogogue’
“The Hypnogogue is the most prog rock thing we have ever done. ‘We’ve also never had a concept album before,” says Steve Kilbey. “It is the most ‘teamwork record’ we have ever had. Everyone in the band is so justifiably proud of this record and everyone helped to make sure it was as good as it could be.
Personally, I think it’s in our top three records.” Entering their fourth decade of making music and playing live shows with all the fierce creative energy of their early years, The Church have announced a North American tour that kicks off on March 11 th in Los Angeles and circles the States, concluding on April 8th in Pelham, TN.
Starting out in 1980, The Church have continued to expand their highly cinematic and atmospheric blend of indie rock, shimmering post-punk, icy dreampop and psychedelic post-rock without any retread. Their expansive music career yielded a string of hit songs including “Under the Milky Way,” “Reptile,” “The Unguarded Moment” and “Almost With You” amongst others and their equally stellar live shows have been deemed “spectacular” by MAGNET Magazine, citing their “dreamy psychedelia that will daub your evening with shades of paisley.”
Their most recent U.S. performance at 2022’s Cruel World Festival alongside Blondie, Bauhaus and Morrissey was heralded as “a subtle delight… that captivated the late afternoon audience” (Orange County Register), “providing the perfect soundtrack” (Rock Cellar Magazine).
The 2022 epic five-piece line-up is bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey; with long-time collaborator Tim Powles, drummer and producer across 17 albums since ’94; guitarist Ian Haug formerly of Australian rock icons Powderfinger, who joined the band in 2013 and Jeffrey Cain (Remy Zero), touring multi-instrumentalist who is now a full-time member of The Church since the departure of Peter Koppes in early 2020. The band have also recruited Ashley Naylor, long-time member of Paul Kelly’s touring band and one of Australia’s finest and most respected guitarists (Even, The Grapes, The Stems).
Featured image by Hugh Stewart.
LINKS:
https://www.thechurchband.net
https://linktr.ee/thechurchband
https://www.facebook.com/thechurchband
https://twitter.com/thechurchband
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE4pG8VtygweNYuwXjJVpiA
https://www.instagram.com/thechurch_band -
An Interview with Sweet Justice
Jammerzine has an exclusive interview with a pair of sheer talents in the form of Frank Meyer and Bruce Duff, a.k.a. two-thirds of Sweet Justice. Add drummer Mike Sessa to the mix and you have the absolute definition of a power trio. And that is what you hear in their new EP titled ‘Redline’. You get the sheer face of true rock n’ roll. That sucker punch of rebel rock with the stank of slide and the power of mojo. Fleeting moments of heart for the soft-spoken surrounded by the grit and grime of a constant rock anthem.
And today we get to talk with Frank and Bruce about the power of music, the power of THEIR music, and how that music is going to help ease us out of the pandemic and put the unity of music back in music.
About Sweet Justice
Featuring the founding members Frank Meyer (vocals, guitar) and Bruce Duff (vocals, bass, guitar) of indie punk vets The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs with drummer Mike Sessa of Rosie Flores, Cracker, The Joneses, and Cheetahs fame joining in for the fun, Sweet Justice delivers consistently strong and pure modern blues rock that follows the stylistic paths of Gary Clarke Jr, Rival Sons, and the Black Crowes.
Produced and written by Duff and Meyer The Redline EP tackles a White Stripes-style stomp-clap (“Tell the Preacher”), swampy pop (“Sunny Daze”), Texas blues (“Medicine Show”), glam-boogie (“I Get More”), and the Robert Johnson-by-way-of-AC/DC strut (“Redline”). “Aww Shucks,” “Feeling Fine,” and “Gotta Get That” round out this hot ‘n’ juicy classic rock swagger platter.
“These songs are a little harder-edged than the first album and a lot catchier,” explains Meyer. “We got inspired by all the great blues-rock acts happening these days and wondered if our first album wasn’t a bit ahead of its time. It seemed like the time was right to revisit the Sweet Justice sound, but we gave it a modern twist on this one. This new album is less traditional than our earlier work and fits much comfortably in the modern rock landscape.”
“I think both Frank and I have evolved a great deal as producers since the first Sweet Justice record which was one of the very first LPs we produced as a team,” notes Duff. “Applying all of that combined experience to these songs was a blast; that, and plugging in all the crazy fuzztones we’ve acquired in the past 15 years!”
All three Sweet Justice members arose as underground emissaries from the real rock world, as well as also playing in The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs, though each member has their own impressive pedigree. Meyer is also the frontman for Iggy & The Stooges guitarist James Williamson, a member of Long Beach supergroup Blind House, and bandmate of Eddie Spaghetti (Supersuckers) in their side project Spaghetti & Frank. Duff is an established music producer and manager who cut his teeth in 45 Grave, ADZ, Jeff Dahl, and plays in Jesters of Destiny, The Magnificent, and Scared Cowboys. Meanwhile, Sessa has toured with everyone from Cracker, Rosie Flores, The Joneses, and Wayne Kramer.
Featured image by Jason Valdez
LINKS:
https://www.instagram.com/sweetjustice_music
https://www.facebook.com/sweetjusticetheband
https://lnk.to/SweetJusticeRedlineEP