week of 4/10/02
 
 
 

Fresh Squeezed
By Hunter Pope
Juice
With: Dave Jordan – bass, vocals; Jamie Galloway – vocals, harmonica, percussion; Aron Lambert – drums, percussion; Sam Hotchkiss – guitar; Nico – saxophone; Houston Riley – keyboards.
Where: Stella Blue – 236.2424
When: Friday, April 12
How Much: $8

The national release of their new album “All Lit Up” is May 7; advance copies will be sold in Asheville You will probably enjoy Juice if you’re a fan of ...

Dr. John’s “Desitively Bonaroo.” This album is New Orleans — Dr. John with the Funky Meters as his “backup” band, and the legendary Allen Touissant producing. If you ever want New Orleans in your house without the hangover and heartburn, get this album at all costs. “Desitively Bonaroo” is possibly my favorite album,” said bassist Dave Jordan. “The songwriting on it is amazing. Anytime you can put Dr. John and the Meters together with Allen Touissant producing, you’re going to come up with something pretty outstanding. For like six months, I just played it, played it, played it ...”

Bet you didn’t know ...

— Jamie Galloway’s (harmonica, vocals, percussion) penchant for cooking things up goes beyond the stage. He is also a consummate chef who has worked at celebrated New Orleans restaurants like Commanders Palace & Jacque-Imo’s.

— Drummer and percussionist Aron Lambert has been infused with the New Orleans sound before he could even elicit a crawl. His uncle (who also played tuba for the Olympia Brass Band) started the world famous Preservation Hall. You can even see Aron working the door when he’s not on tour.

— Bass player Dave Jordan is also an accomplished free-lance writer. He has interviewed folks like Cyril Neville and George Porter Jr., and his articles have appeared in the national publication, “An Honest Tune.”



The New Orleans malaise has struck again. Although she’s 12 hours from my door (yes, I have timed it during one of many red-eye jaunts to the sin mecca), the crusty gal has the ability to recreate her soiled self in my house.

“Go on, my dear boy, put on some ‘Guilded Splinters,’” she whispers with a voodoo hush.

“Yes, Ma’am, N’Awlins, Ma’am,” I stammer as I put on some Creole soul that turns my home into a Bayou with shaggy carpet.

If I ever tell her no (“please, Ma’am, I just want to hear some bluegrass!”), she gets feisty and pulls out the big guns — Professor Longhair, Galactic, the Radiators, or the ever-detrimental Funky Meters.

Lately, I’d been able to withstand the vixen’s cajoling ... or at least I thought.

“Hunter, my dear naïve one. Do you enjoy psychedelifunk?” she asked with faux innocence.

“Sorry, I’m not listening ...”

Before I could issue my insult, the madam laid some Juice on me. No, it wasn’t some volatile concoction brewed in a Bourbon Street cellar. Madame N’Awlins is much more devious than that. Juice is a New Orleans sextet that’s fast becoming the band to see in (or out of) the Crescent City.

Originally formed in Baton Rouge by bassist Dave Jordan in 1996, Juice has vaulted from “The Grateful Dead meets the Meters” band (one of a few monikers coined by Jordan) to a serious outfit that’s coziest laying out R&B staples in the tradition of Lee Dorsey, Fats Domino, and Dr. John.

The premature adolescent of Juice was Hoppergrass, a band Dave formed while he was in college in Baton Rouge. The home of L.S.U. was where he first teamed up Jamie Galloway (harmonica, vocals, percussion), who is the only member (besides Jordan) who has been there since the inception.

“Hoppergrass was doing a lot of Funky Meters before their rejuvenation, and before Galactic [another premier New Orleans funk/R&B/jazz/rock-n-roll band] hit everyone with it,” said Jordan from his home in New Orleans. “I got to the point after early times of Juice where I got sick of all the instrumental stuff, and then it got huge (laughs) ... I had pretty bad timing.”

Of course, when Juice came on the scene, they were known primarily as a good jam band. When Jordan moved back to hometown New Orleans in 1998, Juice became the house band at Tipitina’s for two months. With the help of radio station WWOZ, Juice became a marquee name in New Orleans and the demand for the band ascended.

In September 1998, the band went into the studio to record the debut, “Fortified,” which kept with their spontaneous philosophy. Serious funk instrumentals adorned the album, and it was decorated with guests from Iris May Tengo and Mulebone.

“The reason we recorded the first album was to get gigs, it wasn’t really meant for commercial sales. It’s a glorified demo (laughter). ‘Fortified’ was made completely for $4,000. It was enormously cheap. We cut all the tracks, mixed it all in four days. ‘Fortified’ was really my first extensive work I’d done in the studio. The songwriting was very much that of a college party band, which is exactly what we were.”

Purveyor of good times or not, Juice began getting serious attention. Their ivied reputation allowed them to perform with a catalog of musicians including the Funky Meters, Little Feat, and Los Lobos. They fulfilled a lifelong dream of being invited to Jazz Fest in 2000 (Louisiana Red Hot Records picked up “Fortified” to re-release and nationally distribute beginning at that year’s fest) and Jazz Fest 2001.

OffBeat Magazine (the music bible of New Orleans) voted Juice the “Best Emerging Funk/Soul/R&B Band in New Orleans for 2000.”

“It was such an honor, but we were on the road, and we never got to receive the award,” laughed Dave. “But that sums up our relationship in New Orleans, we’re on the road so much, that we’re never around for anything.”

The second album, “All Lit Up,” would be the opposite of “Fortified” in every respect.

“When I moved back to New Orleans, I really dove into the 50s and 60s New Orleans R&B catalog — Allen Touissant, Lee Dorsey, Fats Domino, Dr. John, Earl Kiing,” said Jordan. “I made a conscious effort (I told all the guys in the band) that I’m going to write tunes that are four minutes long with choruses and hooks, not just instrumentals.”

Hooked is right. When I first received the demo, I expected long, fun jams that would be perfect to bring out at select parties. Well, it’s still good to bust out for any celebration, but I’ve found I’ve been putting it in the player for all kinds of events — mood enhancement, backdrop for studying, cleaning music, bar music, winding down music, music that ... well, you get the idea.

“All Lit Up” is like having a utility player in your album collection. It’s all there. There’s harmonica-driven blues numbers, funk forays into the elastic universe of jazz, and catchy rock-n-roll tunes that hearken back to the purity of the ‘50s when Lee Dorsey and Fats Domino ruled the New Orleans roost.

The first thing you notice on the album is Jamie Galloway’s growl. It’s a sandpaper soul that echoes a more fluid Dr. John (and it’s only appropriate that the album opens up with “Back by the River,” a song written by Bill Quateman and popularized by Dr. John). The album is also speckled with Galloway’s deft harmonica playing that would have made Lee Oskar smile.

The next thing that becomes evident is the rhythm backbone. Aron Lambert is a drummer’s dream. He shies from the spotlight by never taking a solo. (Dr. John once said, “that’s the beauty of most New Orleans musicians, they don’t want to show off.” Aron’s second line background (“the sound of New Orleans,” Dave told me) and his brass band background allow him a discipline that most drummers never find. With Jordan and Lambert trading licks back and forth, the rhythm duo seam the album tightly, but in a way that still makes it enjoyable for even the mild palates.

The propensity for jam is there on every song but puberty has bygone the band, and in its place is a surety in musicianship and song tightness.

Of course, those who get the shakes if there’s not at least one foray into spontaneity will be delighted by the nine-minute instrumental, “Hey Kool Aid”(written by former sax-man Jason “Specialman” Sellers). Funk is its phylum name and is joined on the album by the shorter (but just as greasy) instrumental, “Special Nut Strut” (also written by Sellers).

Jordan writes most of the songs on “All Lit Up” and it’s evident that he wants to carry on the lineage of New Orleans lyric marksmen.

Jordan’s “My Neighbors” is a nice little word play on accepting everybody for what they are — “We’re different people/We got different needs/One thing in common, when we cut we all bleed/ So we put aside our differences, we put aside our past/We concentrate on the good things and we find some thing that lasts/You know my neighbor, he drives a tow truck ...”

The final polish of “All Lit Up” is credited to producer Anders Osborne, who owns a little acreage in the legend category. Osborne hails from the Crescent City and is an admired guitarist as well as being one of the best songwriters in the business. (He co-wrote “A Better Man” and “I Was Wrong” on Keb’ Mo’s Grammy-winning CD, “Slow Down.”

“(Before we began “All Lit Up”) I wanted to work with a producer, since I had never worked with one before,” said Jordan. “We really mulled it over, at the time we didn’t have a whole lot of money and we wondered if we could afford a producer. I was like, ‘we can’t afford not to.’”

Numerous names got thrown around, but none seemed to work out. The solution came straight from the halls of the judicial.

“My attorney mentioned working with Anders, which was something I’d never considered. I didn’t know him personally. I worked at Tipitinas, and I saw Anders there while I was working, so I didn’t have the chance to really pay attention.”

“I gotta give my lawyer credit. For me personally, it was an absolutely brilliant maneuver. Anders really brought out a bluesy side. I mean the songs were already there but he just had different ears, someone who thought, ‘OK, even though it’s a funky album, let’s take the funk out of the equation and bring it down to roots rock.”

Anders was also there to guide the musicians through any artistic blocks. The catchy “Song For You” was co-written by Osborne and Jordan, and displays some of the swampy slide that Osborne’s known for. It also made Jordan realize Osborne could caulk any artistic gap.

“I had a couple of lyrics I had written for my wife,” recalled Dave. “I hadn’t been able to write any music for it, and I really wanted to put it on the album to surprise her. I said to Anders I didn’t have any music. He walked out on the porch, came back in 30 minutes later, had the music, played it one time, played it again, recorded it, and that was it.”

Anders also helped get rid of all the “musical shellac” that Dave had accumulated over the years.

“For me, as a songwriter, (Anders) kind of chipped away all the layers I built up (listening to Blue Note Jazz, the Grateful Dead, Grant Green), he took me back down to really the roots of where my musical background started. I’m not saying getting away from the above music is a bad thing ... it’s kind of like addition by subtraction.

“I don’t have any more thoughts like, ‘OK, I have to write this sort of song.’ Instead of overanalyzing and overstressing every maneuver, I just write what comes naturally.”

Speaking of organic goodness, Dave’s biggest influence (as well as mentor and friend) is as natural as they come. George Porter Jr. (of Funky Meters fame, as well as his own band, The Running Partners) redefined what the bass could do. In Porter’s hands, the bass became a holy instrument of funk, and it induced people to either drop their jaws or dance the until sweat dried up. Legions of admirers picked up the bass because of Porter. Jordan became an ardent member of the flock of thump by meticulously studying Porter at live gigs.

Dave moved to New Orleans when he was 8, and he heard Meters’ staples like “Mardi Gras Mambo” and “Hey Pocky Way” every Mardi Gras. However, he never put two and two together (“it was a subconscious encounter,” he told me), and it wasn’t until he got turned on to rock goliaths, Widespread Panic, that he understood the Meters’ encompassing influence.

“I had some friends that were a year older than I am go up to college in the North Carolina and Virginia area, and they became huge Panic fans. They turned me on to them, and I think I heard the Meters’, ‘Just Kissed My Baby’ covered by Widespread in 1990.

“I remember being at a Meters show when I was 19 at Tips and then seeing them going into ‘Just Kissed My Baby’ and me going, ‘wow that Widespread Panic band plays this.’ I didn’t realize who was who. From that moment, seeing the Meters live and watching Porter, I was just hooked. I spent the better part of the next five years parked in front of Porter.”

The attentiveness paid off. Dave managed to get Porter’s band, the Running Partners, to help his Hoppergrass band open for Widespread in 1994 (Dave is responsible for introducing Porter to Panic). Since that inception, Dave and Porter have become good friends.

“My relationship with Porter (besides the musical influence) is beyond just an appreciation. When I’ve had questions about the industry, he and his family have been there for me.”

Juice had the honor of opening for the Funky Meters at the Fox in Boulder in 1998, and Porter even came on stage to jam with the young upstarts.

“He walked out and it was cool, because I always thought when I got to play with him, I would be really nervous. But he’s a friend of mine ( although I totally revere him as a musician). He walked out and the crowd went nuts. He came out to Center Stage and gave me a big hug.”

When it was time for Jordan to tie the knot, Porter bestowed a huge honor by playing at the younger’s wedding. And yes, Dave spent one more moment parked in front of Porter.

Juice continues to climb despite having had more than 20 members since 1996. Jordan seems non-plussed by the “Steely Dan rotation.”

“One of the interesting things because of the high turnover, you can go Tabula Rosa again. Obviously there are certain songs we have to continue to play because they’re on our albums and fans request them. But at the same time, we can use the influences and the dynamics of the new people to create a new sound for what we’re going to do.”

One of the mainstays (besides Galloway) has been drummer Aron Lambert, who joined several years ago. A highly disciplined drummer, Aron’s family opened the legendary Jazz Preservation Hall.

“It’s something Aron has that can’t be taught. It’s completely from his upbringing. Aron’s got to watch first-hand some of the greatest drummers in the world. Styles they’re playing down at the hall are styles you don’t hear anywhere else.

“When we go out West, there will be drummers at the show who are astounded by what Aron can do. He’s a very understated drummer. He’s not into solos. He’s not into flash, and he’s in the pocket. As a bass player, it’s awesome, he gives me so much more room to be flexible, and that’s where the funk comes from.”

Funk is only one of a squadron of sounds that flow out of Juice with ongoing diversity. The future only seems to hold more of the same succulent goodness. Dave plans to collaborate with Anders on more songwriting and there’s already talk of another album. The music’s all that matters, and Dave Jordan and Juice will continue to play for the sheer thrill of it.

“I picked up the bass and I kept playing it and decided I was going to be broke as long as it took (laughs). I figure if I keep putting out albums for 20 years, at some point someone will know who I am.”

I wouldn’t sweat it too much, Dave. There’s a voluptuous lady outside my door that won’t let me sleep until my pores reek of Juice. And she’s not just stopping at my house.

(Hunter Pope can be reached at w.h.pope@worldnet.att.net)