Jellyfish Fans Here?

jaywa · #1 04-13-2011, 09:10 AM

The guitarist in my former band used to bring his iPod for us to play break music on. Most of the songs were pretty standard fare but this one song called "That Is Why" just blew me away. Finally I asked him who the band was and he said Jellyfish.

Well, I am now officially a die-hard fan. I've set up a Jellyfish channel on my Pandora and the more of their stuff I hear, the more I like! I am loving the bass work on their material and the production is right there... I mean, these tracks sound GOOD. And that's with being close to 20 years old already.

Any other fans of this band out there? Also, recommended tracks/discs to check out?

JPaulGeddy · #2 04-13-2011, 09:17 AM

They are exceptional, one of the most underrated ones ever. Some tasty bass work. They only did two CDs, Bellybutton & Spilt Milk. Both are awesome.

BookMDanelectro · #3 04-13-2011, 09:19 AM

They have only two discs, "Bellybutton" and "Spilt Milk." They are pretty easy to find used. In addition to Jellyfish, check out Roger Manning's post JF group Imperial Drag. Cool neo-glam stuff. Their tune "Boy or a Girl" is the best song Marc Bolan never wrote.

jaywa · #4 04-13-2011, 09:27 AM

Yeah, Pandora has pushed me a couple of Imperial Drag tunes as well and I like those too... although the production is definitely more "low-fi" than Jellyfish though that may have been by design.

mccartneyman · #5 04-13-2011, 09:29 AM

Absolutely! Love that band. On the CD "Bellybutton," Jason Falkner played most of the bass. He later went on to The Grays and also has several solo CDs. He's a multi-instrumentalist and has a real knack for pop hooks, very Beatleish. I interviewed and met Jason around 1996 when the Grays' "Ro Sham Bo" CD came out. If you like Jellyfish, you'll like The Grays. Jason used a Mustang bass on the Grays CD and it sounds great. He plays every melodic lines. That band broke up after one CD and tour. Jon Brion, who was also in the band, wen with Aimee Mann.

The Jellyfish CD I like best, though, is "Spilt Milk." It unfortunately was the band's last release. Drummer Andy Sturmer sings most of the leads, but Roger Manning played keys and guitar and sang some good songs. He has a Brian Wilson falsetto. That CD is quite amazing -- everything from circus music to Queen-like opera. I can't recall the bassits's name in that version ogf the band, but Jason had left by that time. Andy is one heck of adrummer, too. He plays standing up and sings just as well live.

Check out some of the Jellyfish videos on Youtube. Here's one I really like: YouTube - Jellyfish - The Ghost at Number One (Later)

Andy hasn't done much that I'm aware of lately, nor has Jason. Jason's solo CDs are pretty interesting -- he plays all the instruments on several of them. He also played guitar on a couple tunes from McCartney's "Chaos and Creation ..."

Sonicfrog · #6 04-13-2011, 09:32 AM

Jellyfish were AWESOME!

Andy Sturmer, the drummer / VOX / main songwriter does tons of scoring for TV and what.

BookMDanelectro · #7 04-13-2011, 09:33 AM

There is also a box set out there called "Fan Club" with lots of live performances and outtakes. Unfortunately, it's out of print and changes hands for mucho dinero.

mambo4 · #8 04-13-2011, 09:44 AM

Just checked them out because of this thread. Nice stuff!

jaywa · #9 04-13-2011, 09:47 AM

Wikipedia identifies a guy named Tim Smith as Jellyfish's bassist at least some of the time (live?).

It's kinda hard to put things together as far as their bass situation because it appears Jellyfish was a core of two multi-instrumentalists who pretty much did all the studio work and then added other musicians to recreate the tracks live.

JimK · #10 04-13-2011, 09:49 AM

Agree with everyone. The Beatles/Sgt. Pepper influence is big on "That Is Why"...among others.

IIRC, John Patitucci is listed in the Bellybutton credits.

electracoyote · #11 04-13-2011, 09:51 AM

Too bad those guys had a tenuous working relationship and could only hold it together for two releases. Sturmer didn't cotton to the touring recording rock star thing, he'd rather produce and do more behind the scenes. Vintage keyboard extraordinaire Manning is the rock star, but none of his other projects quite met the Jellyfish standard, as with the rest of the 'Fishes' solo outings.

I don't think I've ever heard another band combine some of the best vocal pop in the history of music the way Jellyfish did. Where else do you get Queen, Beatles, Beach Boys, and Electric Light Orchestra all in the same place?

And killer tunes too.

JimK · #12 04-13-2011, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

Wikipedia identifies a guy named Tim Smith as Jellyfish's bassist...

The friend that hipped me to both Jellyfish & The Producers was thrilled when he learned Tim Smith was the replacement for Kyle Henderson. Smith playes bass on The Producers' 3rd album, Run For Your Life.

Tim Smith is still playing many instruments (bass, guitar, etc) with Sheryl Crow, right?

jaywa · #13 04-13-2011, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by electracoyote

Too bad those guys had a tenuous working relationship and could only hold it together for two releases. Sturmer didn't cotton to the touring recording rock star thing, he'd rather produce and do more behind the scenes.

This sounds a lot like the fate of XTC... another underrated band with amazing bass work.

JimK · #14 04-13-2011, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I don't think I've ever heard another band combine some of the best vocal pop in the history of music the way Jellyfish did. Where else do you get Queen, Beatles, Beach Boys, and Electric Light Orchestra all in the same place?

Tears For Fears...maybe?

electracoyote · #15 04-13-2011, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaywa

Any other fans of this band out there? Also, recommended tracks/discs to check out?

Get both full-length studio releases. You won't be sorry, and you'll probably be compelled to track down the box set which contains some cool live stuff (they were VERY faithful to their songs on stage, which is also remarkable).

worxforme · #16 04-13-2011, 10:00 AM

I thought they were going to be the next big thing...

Wrong again.

jaywa · #17 04-13-2011, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by worxforme

I thought they were going to be the next big thing...

Wrong again.

Given the time frame, I'm guessing they were victims of the grunge movement.

mccartneyman · #18 04-13-2011, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonicfrog

Jellyfish were AWESOME!

Andy Sturmer, the drummer / VOX / main songwriter does tons of scoring for TV and what.

Andy sang and played on one tune on Bleu's ELO tribute CD "L.E.O."

When I interviewed Jason Falkner, he said that the Jellyfish experience had convinced him never to be in another band. He was in The Grays at the time, and he said that the three others guys in that band felt the same. I asked him to describe the quartet's 's working arrangement. He said, "We're like four fascist states." Last I knew, Jason has been doing shows in LA with a band.

wumusic · #19 04-13-2011, 11:01 AM

Killer band. The Best is a great compilation in lieu of Fan Club.

If you like them, you must check out Jason Falkner, both his solo work (which is just incredible) and his work with The Grays.

wumusic · #20 04-13-2011, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mccartneyman

Andy hasn't done much that I'm aware of lately, nor has Jason.

Falkner's "I'm Ok, You're Ok" was released in the States about a year ago. If you're a Falkner fan, I recommend picking it up.