Southside vs. Paul Jones - BBC Radio2 (Audio)

Posted on November 23, 2008 by JUKES.NET

BBC Radio2 Here’s something, which I missed, when it went on air, but our exclusive correspondent for all things British radio, Maggie Powell, reminded me via our JUKESVILLE forum.

Every Monday evening BBC Radio 2 host Paul Jones (ex Manfred Man’s Earthband, The Blues Band and President of the The British National Harmonica League), administers a weekly dose of Rhythm and Blues, combining classics, new releases, specially recorded sessions, and the occasional interview…

Broadcasted on October 27th, Southside Johnny gave a long interview about “Grapefruit Moon”, Tom Waits and all things Jukes during the London stay on their recent UK tour. Now the interview is streamed in full length on BBC2′s website. Though it’s missing the music tracks, just listening to John’s voice is priceless enough!

Click the RADIO STREAM LINK for the interview in real-audio.

Link: BBC RADIO 2 – PAUL JONES

Thank’s a lot, Maggie!

A Deep Shade of Soul on a Bar Mizvah From Hell

Posted on November 18, 2008 by

logo_rochester_city AANSCHAFFEN METEEN DUS – PRACHTIG EERBETOON… that’s what Frank van Engelen says at The Bluesmagazine in the Netherlands. Now since my Dutch is as good as my Kishuaeli, Google claims it stands for “BUY THIS NOW!”.

The Rochester City Newspaper carries a short but sweet review attesting Southside Johnny being competent in what he’s been doing… As if we didn’t knew that already. But it never hurts to realize:

Tom Waits tunes goosed with some full-blown brass ? Who knows, Waits might’ve even toyed with this idea himself, but Southside Johnny beat him to the punch. Waits is a genre unto himself, and to adequately convey the character-centric stories within his mix of jazz, blues, Tin Pan Alley, and arbitrary mayhem, you’d think one would have to cop to his persona. This is essentially impossible. Either you’re qualified, or you ain’t. Well, Southside Johnny is. With La Bamba’s Big Band bringing the big brass with more menace than Mancini, Southside’s raggedly soulful voice gives slightly cleaner takes of these tunes. The band even manages to recreate Waits’ Dixieland cacophony on “Tango ‘Til they’re Sore,” like a funeral march falling down an open manhole.

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It's Broadway Baby!

Posted on October 30, 2008 by JUKES.NET

Phil Rainone gives his account of the world-exclusive-one-night-only-on-broadway-full-big-band-extravaganza on October 24th by Southside Johnny and La Bamba at the NOKIA Theater in NYC on JERSEYBEAT:

Throughout the show, which lasted about an hour and a half, it was hard to separate The Sounds of Asbury Park from what could only be called the new Great American Songbook.

Jim had mentioned that he had interviewed Tony Bennett in the past, asking him who he thought the great new standards writers were. Bennett mentioned people like Marvin Hamlish, but no current writers. After the show I got to thinking about Jim’s interview and it hit me. Combining the high quality of Waits’ music with John’s vocal prowess, Richie’s amazing scoring, and a truly all-star band, this could very well be the next Great American Contemporary Songbook.

This is indeed a thought which did not strike me before. But Phil does hit quite a note here. This is a classic album already!

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Southside Johnny and the La Bamba Big Band

Posted on October 28, 2008 by JUKES.NET

A review by PHIL GALLO
Posted: Sun., Oct. 26, 2008, 12:23pm PT

The premiere of Southside Johnny’s big band project with trombonist Richard “La Bamba” Rosenberg was executed impressively in moments of power or playfulness, although the two-hour show was a bit out of sync early on and slightly drowsy at the end. The program, like Southside’s new self-released album “Grapefruit Moon,” is all Tom Waits songs, and with Southside’s voice sounding like a warmer version of Waits’ earliest gravel tone, Friday night’s show reveled in the balance between familiarity and invention.

The songs of Waits provide Southside Johnny Lyon with an opportunity to add an element of cynicism and noirish qualities to his soulful music, which has long been based on gritty horn-based blues and R&B of the 1950s and ’60s. Many of the songs performed have long been abandoned by Waits, tunes from the 1970s that he penned when Jackson Browne, the Eagles and Warren Zevon were among his peers.

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Big Band Amps Up Evening Of Tom Waits

Posted on October 26, 2008 by JUKES.NET

By Jay Lustig, The Star-Ledger Sunday October 26, 2008, 9:16 PM

NEW YORK — There has never been a Southside Johnny concert like the evening of Tom Waits songs he presented at the Nokia Theatre on Friday. There has never been a Waits show like it, either.

On his September album “Grapefruit Moon,” John “Southside Johnny” Lyon recorded 12 Waits compositions, with backing by a big band led by Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg. Many big band members, as well as LaBamba himself, are or have been members of Southside Johnny’s usual backing group, the Asbury Jukes.

On “Grapefruit Moon,” Southside Johnny and LaBamba thoroughly reinterpreted Waits’ songs rather than presenting faithful covers of them. Capitalizing on the size and power of the big band (and its large horn section in particular), they made songs like “Down, Down, Down,” “Please Call Me Baby” and “Yesterday Is Here” swing and swagger in ways the originals didn’t.

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Southside, La Bamba Salute Tom Waits

Posted on October 12, 2008 by JUKES.NET

THE ASBURY PARK PRESS, OCTOBER 12, 2008, BY KELLY-JANE COTTER – Southside Johnny Lyon needs to get home and do laundry before hitting the road for his European tour with the Asbury Jukes.

Nevertheless, he is spending a brisk, gusty morning on the Asbury Park boardwalk and showing infinite patience with a reporter and a photography team who aren’t sure what to do with him. Where would he feel most comfortable posing for pictures — in the hollowed-out Casino? In front of The Stone Pony? Is it too windy for him?

“You just tell me where to stand,” he says. “It’s up to you. You’re in charge.”

That’s not true. Genial though he is, John is definitely the leader of the pack. With his trademark sunglasses and his average-Joe attire, he is casual but commanding. He can go from small talk to serious talk at a minute’s notice, and what’s serious to Southside Johnny is, of course, his music.

His work with the Jukes continues apace. His dash through England, the Netherlands and Germany has became a tradition each autumn. European audiences are “so enthusiastic and delighted to see an American band with horns,” Lyon says, “and we get to show them that we’re still a lot of fun live. There’s this real cult of Jukes over there, so it’s fun.”

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Grapefruit Moon - The Songs Of Tom Waits

Posted on September 19, 2008 by JUKES.NET

Grapefruit Moon LEROY RECORDS (US) / EVANGELINE (UK) 2008

- Yesterday is Here
- Down, Down, Down
- Walk Away
- Please Call Me Baby
- Grapefruit Moon
- All the Time in the World
- Tango til They’re Sore
- Johnsburg, IL
- New Coat of Paint
- Shiver Me Timbers
- Dead and Lovely
- Temptation

Buy the album at: SouthsideJohnny.com | amazon.com | amazon.de | JPC.de

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New Record: Grapefruit Moon - The Songs Of Tom Waits

Posted on September 9, 2008 by JUKES.NET

Grapefruit Moon

“Let’s put a new coat of paint on this lonesome old town. Set ‘em up, we’ll be knockin’ ‘em down.” – Tom Waits

“Let’s put a new coat of paint on this lonesome old town. Set ‘em up, I’ll be knockin’ ‘em right on down.” – Southside Johnny.

When Southside Johnny sings these lines from Tom Waits’ classic “New Coat of Paint,” it’s with the weathered, street-smart, houserockin’ swagger that made him and his band the Asbury Jukes legendary. He also injects something new: the noir-ish, indigo mood of a city at night. And though the Jukes are the official house band of the wee hours, only a big—nay, bigger—band can really soundtrack the night. And while scores of songwriters nail the nuances of nocturne, nobody does it quite like Waits.

“The first time I heard a Tom Waits song,” says Southside, “was probably the Eagles doin’ “Old ’55.” I loved the lyrics. They were so evocative. I went to the record store and got one of [Waits’] early albums and it just knocked me out. His approach, his voice, the romanticism, and yet there’s that gritty realism that he captures, too.”

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Southside Johnny records Waits tribute

Posted on September 2, 2008 by JUKES.NET

By Anthony Venutolo/The Star-Ledger
August 29, 2008, 2:53PM

NEW COAT OF PAINT: “Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits” Southside Johnny with La Bamba’s Big Band (Leroy/Redeye)

You can’t beat Tom Waits at his own game. In other words, it doesn’t make much sense to sing his songs in an approximation of his inimitable growl, or with the kind of clattering musical arrangements he prefers. It’s better to find a new slant.

Wisely, John “Southside Johnny” Lyon approaches Waits’ material, on this album, with a different sensibility. He records 12 of them, including “New Coat of Paint” (which he first covered in 1984), with La Bamba’s Big Band, rather than his usual backing group, the Asbury Jukes. The 18-piece big band, led by longtime Jukes trombonist (and current Max Weinberg 7 member) Richie “La Bamba” Rosenberg, brings a swinging, swaggering feel to many of the songs, such as “Down, Down, Down,” “Please Call Me Baby” and “Yesterday Is Here.”

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Wiggling Air Molecules

Posted on September 2, 2008 by

Mark Saleski did a wonderful piece of work in his review of GRAPEFRUIT MOON at BLOGCRITICS MAGAZINE.

I wrote earlier about Scarlett Johanson at another place, about another thing, I LOVED her in LOST IN TRANSLATION, but I never thought that I’d come back on her in connection with a Tom Waits / Southside Johnny collaboration. Well, then she did this album last year, and here goes Mark…:

There are times when a person experiences moments of such extreme happiness that it’s difficult to contain the emotion. I suspect that even the most curmudgeonly people have them. I should know, because I have my moments of curmudgeon on a daily basis. Anyway…for me, this “super-happy” can feel like the top of my head popped off, letting a stream of brightly-colored prayer flags out, the message of bliss radiating out to the rest of the world.

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