Bruce Joyner and the Reconstruction

Bruce Joyner and the Reconstruction
With vision reflected through one glass eye stemming from an accident as a boy, Bruce Joyner may see things more clearly than most. His voice was injured by a childhood prank – tricked into drinking a harmful chemical which left him without voice for almost a year. As a teen in late 1960’s and early 1970’s South-Georgia, martial arts become an outlet and often met with incidences of violence. A horrible auto accident left him partially paralyzed from the waist down. His early twenties were years of rehab, college, a brief teaching career, marriages to wild women, and run-ins with small town Georgia law enforcement. Bruce Joyner was poised for rock and roll infamy.
He began his musical career in 1977 with The Stroke Band alongside college chum Don Fleming, future producer of such acts as Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Smithereens, Teenage Fanclub, Nancy Sinatra, Pete Yorn, Alice Cooper, the Poises, Screaming Trees, etc. In 1978 they put out their first record, "Green and Yellow" which caught the ear of Peter Buck, Tom Gray (the Brains) and the B52s. Bruce relocated to San Diego with guitar player Mark Neil (future producer of Southern Culture on the Skids, the Black Keys). They lived out of their car for the first few months after forming the Unknowns before being discovered by Stiff Records producer Liam Sternberg (Walk like an Egyptian, 21 Jump Street). The Unknowns were signed to Sire/Warner Brothers and did 2 incredibly influential records.
In 1982 Bruce left the band. Battling through years of health issues, several extended hospital stays, surgeries, and bargains with death, Bruce still managed to put out 6 European record releases in the late 80s and early 90’s to critical acclaim and success, collaborating with guitarist/engineer/producer Tom Byars (Out of the Fire, Peter Buck, Jan & Dean, LA Guns, John Doe, Victoria Williams, Sky Saxon, Stan Ridgeway). The late 90’s were exceptionally difficult as Bruce suffered complete kidney failure and was consistently hooked up to dialysis machines. Once again navigating death, in April of 2002, Bruce received a new kidney along with a new lease on life and outlook on music.
The Reconstruction was formed in early 2003 as Bruce and Tom Byars joined up again…along with Tom’s younger brother Will and veteran rock drummer Tony Purrazella, the boys went into Mitch Easter’s Fidelitorium studio to record some tracks for producer Don Fleming. They held off on releasing anything for the next few years, laying low playing only occasional shows with the likes of Andrew W.K., Blue Oyster Cult, X, Ben Taylor, the Gore Gore Girls, just to name a few. Confined for the most part to a chair these days, Bruce’s voice, still pure and distinct like Orbison or Morrison, performs with the prowess and authenticity that only he can. After seeing recent performance in New York, Andrew W.K. was later quoted as saying, "The show was fantastic and I've continued to think about Bruce's performance a great deal. I've been telling everyone about how powerful the show was."
Bruce moved in with the Byars’ Brothers in small town Georgia where the Byars brothers built a recording studio in their rock and roll home. The tracks coming out these sessions, produced and mixed by Don Fleming along with sound savant Jimmy Guthrie (David Barbie, Turner Studios sound designer) reflect the soul that could only come with the trials Bruce has endured. And his legend like his sound, remains underground.
This new record transcends realism. It is a porthole to the man’s soul. The songwriting is purely something new, like swampy psychedelic pop with a touch of 1960’s garage – simple, pure and honest rock and roll. This effort of all original songs was crafted by the group as a whole..Together they made this happen...Today the group is Tom Byars on Guitar; Will Byars on Bass; Ryan Butler on drums; and Bruce Joyner on vocals.

Tom Byars is a multi-talented individual as a songwriter, guitar player musician, film maker, record producer, and former TV Show host. Will Byars is multi-faceted fellow who plays bass, guitar, writers and arranges, and engineer of music. Ryan Butler plays drums...As a professional he has played with various groups in South America and contributes a vast knowledge of percussion to the group and to whatever he does musically...
Together they are "Bruce Joyner and the Reconstruction".
- NEW PRESS MUSIC

Perpetual survivor Bruce Joyner has upped his ante significantly with Elements
broad musical palate serves him well on this album whereas, with most folks, blending sty
winds up as a pile of unlistenable mush.
The highlights here are the psychedelic garage
“Swamp Fox Foxy” (at least, I think that’s its
name; the track listing is all kinds of screwed up
on the artwork) which really should have been the
album’s opening track. Joyner’s voice is clear and
strong and retains a good amount of range for
someone who has been recording for over 30
years. The Brian Jones-ish lead guitar
complements Joyner’s mild-Eric-Burdon-ish
delivery. Indeed, the whole album is about as
authentically 1960s as possible in 2010. Heavily
influenced by British pop-blues as well as very
early prog-rock, it’s a surprising treat that it’s as
good as it is given those beat-to-death influences.
Joyner makes it all somewhat fresh again.
Sometimes, though, even at only 11 tracks, it
feels a little long, and not every song is a winner.
“Evil Smile” feels kinda forced, too, and seems
only half-finished. Also, the sequencing of the
record could have been much better. It doesn’t
flow as well as it should given the strength of the material. Overall, though, it’
receiving this completely out of the blue was a total treat and week-maker.
- Flagpole