Saturday, September 12, 2015

Jukebox Saturday: the Freddy Jones Band



Today, I'm going to waste your time by talking about a band that won't ,  Chicago based, The Freddy Jones Band got lost in the shuffle with the rise of Grunge in the early 90s.  Where as Grunge harkened back to the days of punk,  The Freddy Jones Band was trying to remind us of the pure gutsy legacy of Rock.  Not as whiny as the counting crows, and not as precious as the Dave Matthews Band.  FJB reminded us that we loved the Allman Brothers and that our favorite album of the 80's was by David & David.

FJB never had the success of the BoDeans or Sister Hazel, but the bluesy influence in those twin guitars always makes me smile .

Most folks are familiar with their first hit "in a daydream"  bit cuts like "sing and play","waitress" and " Diamonds" stand out in my head as some of my faves by this forgotten roots rock powerhouse.

My first exposure to FJB was on volume 1 of XRT live from the archives.



Artist Biography by Richard Skelly


The Freddy Jones Band are roots-rock specialists in the tradition of groups like Little Feat, the Dave Matthews Band and the Allman Brothers Band. Having grown up in Chicago, the group has no particular aversion to blues, and much of their sound could be described as solid blues rock.




The group's third album for Nashville-based Capricorn Records, North Ave. Wake-Up Call, is about their experiences on the road, criss-crossing the country in their van, supporting their two earlier releases for Capricorn, Waiting for the Night, (1993) and their self-titled debut, The Freddy Jones Band (1993), a repackaged version of the group's independently released album. Lucid followed in 1997, and two years later they returned with Mile High Live.

The group consists of Marty Lloyd, vocals and acoustic guitar, Wayne Healy, vocals and guitar, Jim Bonaccorsi, bass, Ron Bonaccorsi, guitar and vocals, and Simon Horrocks, drums. While most of the songs on North Ave. Wake-Up Call focus on the band's experiences on the road, some songs on their earlier releases explore the more traditional love won and lost themes.

The band's sound at times is reminiscent of the Allman Brothers, and they have a unique two guitar sound that is augmented by some inspired slide playing and pumping Hammond organ, furthering the comparison.

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