Jennyanykind

I'll never forget meeting Mark and Michael Holland for the first time at Matt Long's house in Chapel Hill, NC.  I'd actually gone over to his house for a brief visit and there they were sitting on the couch. I remember saying something stupid to them on my way out like, I love your music, it sounds like you wrote it on a farm.

Paul Cardillo was the one who told me I would like Jennyanykind so one night I ventured off to a Frat Bar on Franklin Street where Jennyanykind held a weekly residence in Chapel Hill.  It was a Mexican restaurant/bar where Matt Long worked the door.  It was a cold and wet evening but inside the sounds were warm.  It was a two for one show, Jule Brown opening for Jennanykind and I was blown away. I'm pretty sure I was the only one paying attention to them, other than the musicians in the band, because most of the Greeks were there to get drunk on cheap margaritas. It was right before Revelater was to come out.  I'd bought the single of Wind Chimes and loved it, although they were moving away from that sound into a more matured sound.  I'd also bought Blues of the Afflicted and it was constantly in my CD player.  I subjected all the cooks at Margaret's Cantina to it as well, who really had no idea who Jennyanykind was. That's what was shocking to me, here was a great band right underneath our noses in Chapel Hill, yet hardly anyone in that small town knew who they were. Their shows were sparsely attended, yet they were on No.6 Records and their new one was coming out on Elektra. 

Never-the-less it wouldn't be long until I was to join forces with Jennyanykind playing bass on a couple tracks on Big John's and Money Can't Buy Mojo, a live album recorded at The Chicken Farm in rural North Carolina. My time came when bassist, Tom Royal left the band to get married and move on to other things. To say I was nervous about auditioning for the band would be an understatement. Tom was a damn good bass player and I wasn't sure I'd be able to fill his shoes. Needless to say, I did fill his shoes and more, I anchored down the band with low end in a way they could never imagine, nor myself.

We practiced in the basement of an old school house where Michael lived and where their studio was. It was just a short walk over from my house. I actually got to know them better when I started a record with my old band mate from The Omegans, Andy Herod at their studio. This eventually led to them asking me to play bass for the group and I was ecstatic. They'd let me in to the fold and soon they invited me over to the mixing sessions for Big John's and to play bass on Big John's.

Stay tuned...