THE REBIRTH OF JWONDER
Jo Nathan Dudley Reporting.
4 years ago, right before we lost the best thing that ever happen to us as a group and before Fern the Third would enter this realm, we lost another bass player this time to football even though he disguised as he “found God”. Where he found him, I have no idea. But either way, we were about to lose the best practice space ever. Padded, carpeted, sound proofed with the size of two giant rooms separated only by the fact that one was a foot higher than the other. A musician’s paradise per se.
At this point Dave and I had waded through countless talented bass players but we had not found a good fit. Someone who actually was more than just a musician filling a roll.
We lost momentum as a group many a times because we could not figure out the missing puzzle piece. We knew all the bass players coming in were just going to fill a short term need for us. We must thank those 3 creative musicians for their contributions. They made us better but more times than not we sounded more like Jo Nathan & Dave featuring 1 bass player than we actually sounded like jwonder.
Don’t get us wrong, we are so thankful we were allowed to make mistakes and learn from them. We recorded our first full-length album only to find that what we got out of it was “how not to make an album”. I guess we really should of listened to the producer and waited but that was the way it went down. Sure, there have been many people we have met that liked that album and Righteous really actually turned out better than we actually sounded as a band. However, without J Steele the Great we would have never ever had that experience and would have never gained anything whether negative or positive.
Also playing with these fellas allowed us to discover the foundation of what is now our sound. The rest of the unearthing came in our cutting the umbilical chord of using studios to craft the final draft of the Jwonder sound. Either way. It is not a situation in which we are bitter. There is just no way that you can get “your sound” in an environment in which there are the lurking limits of time and money.
We weren’t completely ready the 1st time and although we were more prepared the 2nd time, we really only captured the peripheral part of our sound but not so much the essence of jwonder. We were prepared the 2nd time as in "ready" to do a good take every time but not a great take that is necessary for doing your best in the studio. As if you are preparing for a live show which is a way different ball of wax from recording. The live environment where rewinding, especially real time rewinding, does not occur. Live is much more of an energy based art form whether it is in the form of a play, a concert or a comedian's set.
We found that you just can't schedule the first drum/full band session without the intent of many follow-ups and listening sessions to ensure that we, the band, come across completely on tape. Sure, any decent producer can mold your sound into something he or she has heard before but this does not resolve the question of what do you sound like and who you are. Once again, time and money are your worst enemies at the local studio on a musician’s budget. You’re control of the most precious process, other than a live performance, is dictated to you.
Sure, I have heard bands that did get a good sound out of the local studio, but they paid a whole hell of lot of money and may have given up part of their soul to do so. (That was a little bit of a joke). And for what, to be eventually exposed for the frauds they are. Another joke.
From the musicians standpoint how could we know going in that this was going to happen and the studio owner deals with green bands who have never really entered the professional world of recording. So studio owners start to come up with short cuts and 1 size-fits-all solutions for these cash strapped deer in the headlights. This may save the producer s money and make the process easier and uniform but that is exactly what its not supposed to do in my humble opinion. Its supposed to be messy, fun, difficult, rewarding and challenging. You give part of yourself to the process. Unfortunately, our “gotta have now” culture and society we exist in is all about image and appearance. Just ask the beat writer David Simon. He will point out the flaws in the reliance on style and so little on substance in our current society. To me this same theory applies to the state of music. I am referring to a lack of substance in the music especially in the mainstream. Of course, I know that style is important when it comes to being musically original. But to many bands, style is not seen as a musical endeavor but rather a physical look or gimmick or fashion they use to "brand" their band.
The process of recording, however, does not need to be completely rethought and we knew this going. Looking at from the perspective of a major label made some sense to us. Major labels many times or at least in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, allowed their artists the time and resources to make a work of art.These major label artists have access to the studio 24/7 and they don’t leave until its done and done well. So when, at the moment when the practice space was done I knew I had to start recording to have something to do w/ my time. It was time to record. We didn’t have a bass player nor did we anywhere to jam with this imaginary bass player. I spent a good amount of money on visiting other studios, but this time all the money I spent was on equipment that I could use over and over. During our no practice space period I also was helped by Kevin Turner who allowed Dave and I his house for drum recording sessions.
So before we had EJ, we were wood shedding in order to get better at the recording process and without Kevin’s kindness, we would have been up a creek without a paddle. These sessions allowed us to release the ten song demo/album that was the wicked burn. Six songs from this release made up almost half of the songs that were on our latest album, the democratic republic of norFOLK. It was before this album was completed and after the wicked burn was released that we started playing with EJ at our new studio/practice space in the summer of 06’. It was then that EJ recut many of the bass lines on those 6 songs and also contributed to the writing process on a few new songs that in many ways are the prelude to the songs on this album. Those songs, along with US Today, which was co-written with Fern Glass, are the blueprint for our new sound which I was best describe as a rock n roll funk explosion that is peppered with group choruses, jazz based chord changes and some reggae rhythm. It is not much different from the original concept of Jwonder, just more purposeful and powerful. With EJ aboard on bass and vocals and Fern in the role of producer, Jwonder is not recording its first deliberate FunkPunkJazzRock Epic. The lyrical focus of this said epic? The Game, pure and simple. The name of the album is Parley: The Greek Gospel.
Even when I started off just recording in my tiny Ocean View Apartment I didn’t want to only rely on the digital box I purchased to record. I sought out in 2004 good inexpensive tube and analog pre-amps, channel strips and eq’s to assist with making our first record. Since then I have obtained more mics, both solid state and tube as well as plethora of analog and tube gear to craft our sound. We wanted it to sound interesting and warm, something that always didn’t go as plan but in the end the sound was still original. At the start of the recording Fern and Jwonder seemed to be in the same boat. During the time I was recording on my own and with Dave, Fern Glass was perfecting the art of being a complete musician. Parleying his extensive bass fret board knowledge, his creative songwriting style and his unique approach to production he became the equivolent of a GOOD one man band with the use of his digital recorder and his tube equipped keyboard as his mothership. He already had vast experience behind the board while at NSU and during his time with Crab Nebula he produced his band’s album as well as another band’s album. Every time Fern and I hung out during and after the “practice space” years our conversations and shared philosophy were on a crash course for not only collarborating on music and working on the democratic republic of norFOLK but also having him in the chair for the album Parley: The Greek Gospel. All those times while he lived above the practice space listening to our music and hearing the direction we were going in. Many times Fern would challenge me to let him or someone like him, a local musician who knew our music specifically and “got” our approach, should produce, mix, engineer and master the album. I did want to work with Fern and I must thank him for being diligent in his pursuit of this idea. We owe him a lot.
The last thing that I want to make sure is known about our survival and growth into the band is based on Dave Samson’s loyalty and patience with me coupled with the spark of gaining a band member like EJ. Without Dave staying aboard I may have given up a long time ago. He can play his ass off and is always appreciative of the original music. Thanks. EJ is our other new secret weapon and we owe are current state of affairs to him joining the band. He has arranged and written great bass parts for the song as well as written and co-written music on our latest 2 albums. Bringing in EJ has allowed a new perspective on our style.
