September Gurl - Clients

JERRY JOSEPH / THE DENMARK VESEYS http://www.jerryjoseph.com/ & http://www.thedenmarkveseys.com/ [BIOGRAPHY] [PHOTOS] [PRESS] [TOUR DATES] [AUDIO]

BIOGRAPHY Some songwriters just strike down to the heart of things. Even when they're being tender they nail you in the soul's solar plexus, shaking us with words and wires and something inescapably human. Jerry Joseph is this kind of composer – a rocker with emotional scalpel that cuts deep every time. He wears his influences on his sleeve – Elvis Costello, Neil Young, John Lennon, Steve Earle – but tailors them in ways that are always distinctly himself, probing the politics of love and nations with equal dexterity. By turns tough and unbelievably bruised, Joseph's work manages to be joyfully pissed off and achingly bittersweet, often within the space of just a few verses. There's a healthy restlessness to his music, a stripe of his modernity and tireless engagement with the world that places him next to younger contemporaries like Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) and Ryan Adams. Joseph has worked tirelessly since his late '80s/early '90s days in Little Women, averaging an album a year since 1994. Often live-on-the-floor affairs, there's an immediacy and personal reach to his albums like kindred spirits Chris Whitley and Vic Chesnutt, his fellow toilers in the under-sung singer-songwriter field. Like the best musicians, there's always a forward motion to his work, some force that compels things ahead from where they've been, something one hears loud & clear on his latest project, The Denmark Veseys, a malleable band named a controversial slave revolt leader from the 1800's and based around the core of Joseph and master percussionist Steve Drizos that released their self-titled debut in early 2008, which ranges from the Buzzcocks-like punk pop of "Helena Bucket" to the masterful Americana sway of "Cochise" to incendiary agit-prop rockers like "Ho Chi Minh." Produced by David Barbe (Drive-By Truckers, Son Volt), the new record has the measured intelligence of craftsmen able to whisper and scream on several levels at once, a callback to a time when real musicians made thoughtful rock 'n' roll albums that thrive on repeat, revealing fresh details and nuances over time hidden amongst the lesions and frustrations Joseph & Drizos etch so eloquently on their debut. All the miles and stage hours of this tireless road dog simmer into his recordings, which manage to capture some of the brilliant flame of his take-no-prisoners live performances. There's an intensity to Joseph that dates back to his early days in could-have-contenders Little Women in the late '80s and continues through his collaborations with jam scene kings Widespread Panic ("Climb To Safety") and pleasantly eviscerating releases with his Jackmormons band like Mouthful of Copper, a 2003 live double disc set that showcases the fury and focused intelligence Joseph brings to his music. Creatively restless, he has crafted acoustic ruminations (2004's Cherry) and muscular rock cycles (2005's Into The Lovely), always keeping himself open to where the muses will steer his passionate, beautifully jaded songwriting. Currently living in Harlem, NYC, he's a tireless listener to everything that comes his way, filtering in the hip-hop of Aesop Rock and Jamaican strains that drift through his window as easily as he incorporates the more brainy, confessional strains of his core inspirations. He embodies original rock's boundary-free spirit that pulled happy handfuls from country, blues, jazz and folk to create something that struts and wails. From dub to backwoods laments, his music stretches to incorporate whatever is flipping his switch at a given moment, yet always grounded in something indefinably Jerry J. This free-ranging is most delightfully loose in the Stockholm Syndrome, his on-again, off-again collaboration with Dave Schools (Widespread Panic), Eric McFadden (EMT, P-Funk), Wally Ingram (David Lindley, Sheryl Crow) and Danny Louis (Gov't Mule), where the boys can swing from roadhouse hard to psychedelically bent. "Usually, if I think something's cool it stays with me," says Joseph. "When I write I go to my brother's house in Mexico, and I don't write with drum machines or four-tracks. I tend to write on just acoustic guitar, and sometimes I can get out a couple songs a day if I'm in the groove. I'm finally getting old enough that I might actually get good at this (laughs). I think the writers that are aging and growing with their art are fascinating. This is really the first time with pop music that we've been able to watch people get old. If they're cool and writing about it, like Dylan or Neil Young, they're sort of documenting the process. In my own broken way, I'm trying to do that, too." Whether "Swimming To Phuket," introducing us to "Ten Killer Fairies," climbing "The Jacob Ladder" or singing the "Zombie Blues," Jerry Joseph is both a student of the human condition and a grand, melodic, poetic teacher for anyone with the ears to listen. Whether pouring out your speakers in sharply angled cries or lifting your heels in concert with his barefoot intensity, Jerry Joseph is a musician's musician, a chronicler of modern times and a force of nature in concert. Isn't it time you met one of the best independent rockers going?

PHOTOS Click on a thumbnail to download that hi-res JPEG (suitable for publication):

TOUR DATES 12/13/08 * Bozeman, MT * Zebra Cocktail Lounge 12/14/08 * Livingston, MT * The Mint - MT 12/17/08 * Victor, ID * The Knotty Pine 12/18/08 * Salt Lake City, UT * Bar Deluxe 12/19/08 * Salt Lake City, UT * Bar Deluxe 12/29/08 * New York, NY * Crash Mansion 12/30/08 * New York, NY * Crash Mansion 12/31/08 * New York, NY * The Delancy 1/19/09 * Tucson, AZ * Plush 1/17/09 * Flagstaff, AZ * Green Room 1/18/09 * Durango, CO * The Summit 1/20/09 * Telluride, CO * Fly Me To The Moon Saloon 1/21/09 * Crested Butte, CO * The Eldo 1/22/09 * Steamboat Springs, CO * Old Town Pub 1/23/09 * Denver, CO * Bluebird Theatre 1/24/09 * Keystone, CO * The Goat Tavern 1/25/09 * Winter Park, CO * Winter Park Pub

PRESS The Denmark Veseys Honest Tune Magazine 3/23/2008 Jerry Joseph’s career has coursed consistently below mainstream recognition, his prolific songwriting more known as staples in other musicians’ canons than as his own. But that doesn’t seem to bother Joseph. For his newest project, Joseph and drummer Steve Drizos forsake even name recognition with The Denmark Veseys, a nod to the slave rebel who planned an uprising in Charleston, S.C. whereby slaves would kill their owners and seize the city. The Denmark Veseys eponymous debut certainly still boasts the songwriting acumen and delivery Joseph has been honing since his early days with Little Women. “Letter to Chico” rides the beat of muted strings through the verse, only to burst into a cascading, hook-laden chorus. “Broken” displays the stripped-down approach of the duo, propelled by Drizos’ robust drumming and Joseph’s subterranean guitarwork, while live staple “Supper’s Ready” gets similar treatment with little more than surging keys and lock-step drumming. But it is tracks like the subdued “Cochise” and the stirring “Ho Chi Minh” where The Denmark Veseys fully define their sound, a vital union of words and music, significant and ultimately powerful. Despite a turn toward a more indie rock and pop-inflected feel, those familiar with Joseph’s body of work will feel right at home with The Denmark Veseys. It is important to remember that this is something new, a new name, a new collective, and a fresh perspective on Joseph’s craft. This stands as a reintroduction of sorts to one of the most fertile songwriters making music today. The Denmark Veseys is out now on Cosmo Sex School Records. Jerry Joseph April Nineteenth Creative Loafing - Atlanta, GA July 31, 2007 JERRY JOSEPH AND FRIENDS - You may know Joseph from his days in the cult-fave combo Little Women, or you may know him from his Jackmormons period, or you may have seen his name in the writing credits of the most recent Widespread Panic album, Earth to America. After tonight, you'll know him intimately because he plans a cozy "and friends" gathering, meaning almost anyone could show up and jam on and around his temperamental, Graham Parker-meets-Bob Weir, observational rock 'n' roll. Jerry Joseph April Nineteenth Missoulian April Nineteenth on March 8 by Michael Moore March 8, 2007 Jerry Joseph is the real deal, authentic, sophisticated yet rough and tumble. Joseph fronted the raucous Jackmormons for years, but his new record, which he is touring to promote, is more acoustically oriented, in a John Hiatt sort of way. Like Hiatt, Joseph's lyrics are probing, pulsing explorations of real life. It's lived-in music, organic and joyous, even when it's depressing. One of the tunes on his new CD, "April Nineteenth," is called "Montana," a gorgeous piece of songwriting and an enthralling duet with the Decemberists' Jennee Conlee. Joseph is the sort of guy who proves there's no justice in the music business. If there were, he'd be famous and Kenny G would be taking orders at an un-air-conditioned Burger King in Phoenix in mid-summer, while Britney Spears gives haircuts in the back room. If you are as old as we are, you may remember Jerry as the front man of a Colorado band called Little Women, which used to play the Top Hat in the early 1980s and absolutely rocked the joint. Alas, Jerry was on drugs in those days, but he's cleaned up now and his music is all the better for it. Jerry Joseph April Nineteenth Cosmo Sex School Missoula News by Caroline Keys March 8, 2007 April Nineteenth began, oddly enough, on August 27 and 28, 2006, when Jerry Joseph, multi-instrumentalist Steven James Wright and drummer Steve Drizos formed the backbone of the album while playing live in front of an audience at Mississippi Studios, located, oddly enough, in Portland, Ore. Despite its origin, April Nineteenth is not merely a live album capturing the trio's sound. Several guest artists, including The Decemberists' formidable keyboardist Jenny Conlee and harmonica player David Lipkind of I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House, chip in during the performances. Several overdubs also make it onto the album, including pedal steel by Jim Brunberg, horns by Rick Homer and Marilee Ford on fiddle. The dramatic swells provided by the musicians supplementing Joseph's songwriting never dumb-down or drown him out. Further, any heckles questioning the authenticity of overdubbing on this "live" album should be quieted by the legitimacy of Joseph's original work—story songs dealing, with something like fondness, in his own rock-bottom experience of living on the streets of Oregon's Rose Town. Jerry Joseph April Nineteenth Great Falls Tribune Musician Jerry Joseph performs around Montana this week March 6, 2007 You can almost guarantee every year around this time gyms will be busy with high school basketball tournaments, stores will start bringing out spring merchandise and Jerry Joseph will be spending a week in Montana. The musician has always had a soft spot for Montana and made a habit of including the state in his annual late winter, early spring tour through the Northwest. While it's easy to predict when Joseph will be in the neighborhood, guessing who he will be bringing with him is the hard part. This particular tour will include drummer Steve Drizos and bassist Lewi Longmire, who is a relative newcomer to the Joseph camp. "Lew came down and was the bass player for us in Costa Rica for our annual New Year's (show)," Joseph said in a recent interview with the Tribune from Harlem in New York City. "He's awesome." When Joseph chooses an entourage to bring on the road, he leaves the song selection up to them. "I have them pick what they wanna learn, and I have no clue as to what that's gonna be," he said with a laugh. "That's good for me because it keeps it fresh and exciting. We go through a lot of material." Having just returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic with his girlfriend, Joseph was excited about hitting the road as a musician again. "I haven't toured, it seems, for a while," he said, adding that he was using his stay in the Dominican as an escape from the world. "It's a good place to hide. (We) were hiding under the coconut trees and not answering my telephone. It was much needed." Each year, Joseph is one of the hardest touring musicians in the business, often playing upwards of 200 engagements a year. Although it gets more difficult to pull off as each year goes by, Joseph is grateful for the opportunity. "I'm really envious of my friends that have jobs that keep them at home," said Joseph, who now lives in Harlem in addition to sharing an apartment with his 18-year-old daughter in Portland. "I enjoy playing music and I feel very fortunate that I'm allowed to get paid for it and play my own music as opposed to having to go on a Carnival Cruise and play Van Morrison covers or something." While Joseph hasn't broken through to the mainstream in his more than 25 years as a touring musician, he's amassed a large following of fans all over the world. That obscure popularity has allowed Joseph to mold and shape his music in whatever way he wishes. On his latest album, "April Nineteenth," Joseph re-recorded some of his classic tunes and presented them in a different fashion along with a few brand new songs. "I'm one of those guys (who) never had a big record deal or a hit record or anything like that," he said. "I'm kind of able to go back and look at (older songs) and re-record 'em at will. For me, it's fun. I could do that 'til I drop and it'd be interesting and fun for me (but) it's indicative of being old." The tracks on "April Nineteenth" were recorded in front of a studio audience in a stripped-down format with dubs from other musicians added later. Joseph teamed up with Drizos and Steve James Wright for the record, but also brought in a handful of guest musicians, including Jenny Conlee from the Decemberists, to add their take on the music. Collaborating with musicians is nothing new for Joseph, who has an easily explanation for his penchant for sharing his workspace with so many. "They're friends and I don't have to pay 'em," he said with a laugh. "That's a big plus." Trusting his fellow musicians is also a key reason Joseph has succeeded in his collaborations. "Fortunately I've got musicians that I trust and they've got good ears and they've played with me a long time and they were able to make stuff their own pretty fast," Joseph explained. "My approach is, here's the song, play whatever the hell you want and you trust 'em. It's rewarding 'cause usually, people come up with some pretty great stuff." Fans of Jerry Joseph living on the north-south I-15 corridor in Great Falls, Helena and Butte will have to wait another year to see if he'll set up gigs in the area. "We haven't played in Butte or any of those other Montana markets for so long," he said. "I keep saying to my agent that I'd love to do some other things." Jerry Joseph April Nineteenth (Cosmo Sex School) Willamette Week by CASEY JARMAN January 31st, 2007 [HONEST MUSIC] We live in disingenuous times. From our cowboy president on down to the support-our-troops "country" anthems that clutter the FM dial (the proceeds of which march nobly into the pockets of their down-home millionaire performers), ours is a country full of apple-pie hucksters who wouldn't know America if it punched them in the face. The point is, it feels really good to hear someone whose words come from actual life experience rather than the Heritage Foundation. Jerry Joseph's new album, April Nineteenth, isn't perfect, but it carries the weight of authenticity-quite a heavy weight indeed. Joseph, a seldom-sung hero of the Portland roots community, opens the album (a pseudo-live affair recorded at Mississippi Studios and doctored up in the studio) with "White Stag," a homecoming anthem that captures some last-night-of-the-tour magic and pays tribute to Burnside Street's homeless. Where many songwriters would resort to clichés or even degrading stereotypes (cough, Phil Collins' "Another Day in Paradise"), Joseph, an ex-heroin addict, speaks of street life with familiarity and warmth. "Under the White Stag," he sings, "Everybody knows that you're back again." While such warmth continues throughout-helped in no small part by Mississippi Studios' cozy setting and formidable guest appearances by the Decemberists' Jenny Conlee and the SOB's David Lipkind-it sometimes seems, as on "Break It Down" and "Miles From Here," that the band is just lying in wait for the chorus. The choruses, though, lush with vocal harmonies á la Joe Cocker or Van Morrison, are almost always worth the wait. At his best, Joseph tells his own story and provides comfort for similarly wayward souls in one fell swoop. On "The Night I Got Drunk," for instance, the narrator (presumably betraying his 12-step program) admits, "On the night I got drunk/ I looked to my heart/ And all the relationships I tore apart." I've never been an alcoholic or an addict, and I've never lived on the streets, but Jerry Joseph speaks to me anyway. The America he has experienced seems a lot more familiar, and a lot more real, than the one that's stuck all over my neighbor's bumper or burning up the country charts. I guess a little authenticity goes a long way. Joseph celebrates the release of April Nineteenth Friday, Feb. 2, at Dante's. 9:30 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+. Jerry Joseph *Cherry* Yes, You CAN Believe the Hype: If you haven't heard of Jerry Joseph, you haven't been listening The Source Weekly Written by Mike Bookey Wednesday, 31 January 2007 People say a lot of things about Jerry Joseph. "He's the guy from the Jackmormons." Correct. "He used to play in a reggae band." Also true. "He's in Widespread Panic." Not quite. "Jerry once defeated a mob of pirates with only his guitar to protect him." Come on now, he's an accomplished man, but that's just ridiculous. Joseph's musical ventures over the years have taken him from one end of the musical spectrum to the other. His talent has manifested itself in a number of diverse sounds, styles, and bands during his career. Joseph's latest album, April Nineteenth, was recorded in front of a live audience, but the album isn't technically a live record. It's a studio recording a live studio recording. Confused? "The studio had a 50-seat theater in it. The idea was to record two nights and use that stuff as the basic tracks," Joseph says. The record has the crisp ring of a finely-tuned studio album, but also includes a satisfying chorus of applause at the conclusion of each track. Joseph and his band recorded the basic tracks and vocals in front of a paying audience before descending into the depths of Mississippi Studios in Portland to lay down some overdubs and licks from guest musicians, including Jenny Conlee of the Decemberists. A longtime Portland resident, Joseph now spends a good chunk of his time in Harlem when he's not touring. Of Joseph's many manifestations, he is best known at least in this neck of woods for his power rock outfit, Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons. Unfortunately, the future of the Jackmormons is uncertain after a recent lineup change, but even if that band calls it quits, Joseph will surely keep busy. "I'm always trying not to be bored, and recently I've been busy with all this solo stuff," he says. Lately Joseph has also teamed up with Widespread Panic bassist Dave Schools (his cohort in yet another side band, Stockholm Syndrome) to write a catalogue of songs, two of which appeared on Panic's latest release Earth to America. More tunes from the Schools/Joseph collaboration are likely to work their way into the band's records and live shows. It's been a long winding road for a man who once fronted a white reggae band called Little Women. (Hey, UB40 got away with it.) "I was 20 when I stared Little Women and I had a fake reggae accent," Joseph says, "I just really wanted to play in a roots reggae band." It's OK, Jerry, I think we all had that dream at some point. To see Jerry and hear his freshest tunes without the fake Jamaican accent drop by The Grove on Saturday. Jerry Joseph Band 9pm, Saturday, Feb 3. The Grove, 1033 NW Bond St. 318-8578. $10. Portland Tribune: ROCK by Barbara Mitchell Jerry Joseph - Barbara Mitchell Hometown hero Jerry Joseph is always on the road - which is probably why his relocation to New York City hasn't registered yet. The prolific singer-songwriter is just releasing a new album, titled "April Nineteenth," which was culled from summer shows and sessions at Mississippi Studios. Although tonight's performance is a solo acoustic affair, he'll be joined by a slew of friends, including Lewi Longmire, Steve Drizos, Jackmormon drummer Brad Rosen and Steve James. Joseph's shows are always an event - catch him while he's passing through. 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, Lola's Room, 1332 W. Burnside St., 503-225-0047, Creative Loafing - Atlanta, GA - Widespread Jerry Cult fave Jerry Joseph teams with his Panic-y pal Daily Record - New Jersey - Joseph's songs reflect dark years Great Falls Tribune - Great Falls, Montana - "His powerful and thought-provoking lyrics and haunting vocals are what gives him his own, unique flavor." Glide Magazine - Jerry Joseph & Dave Schools Almost Acoustic: Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta, GA - 04/15/2006 Jambands.com - Used with Jerry Joseph - 5/18/2006

AUDIO Click on an audio track below to download a mp3: Jerry Joseph - Cherry [2004] Revolution [mp3] - 4.13 mb Friendly Fire [mp3] - 4.01 mb