JJ & The Real Jerks

Hace unos meses revisamos unos singles de esta banda californiana y hoy nos enfrentamos a su nuevo mini lp que llega de la mano del sello de Pat Todd que ya confió en ellos cuando puso en circulación “The Wringer. Edición en vinilo de color azul y seis temas que desde el primer guitarrazo hurgan en mi memoria y recuperan a Jeff Dahl, los Cowgirls y las bandas suecas mas incendiarias de finales de los 90’s. Abren fuego con “Downward & Outward” con una introducción tranquila, que de repente explosiona y saca a relucir lo mejor del punk rock de los 70’s y la imagen de Cheetah Crome dando el aprobado a un tema que adelanta un gran disco, “Economy class ego trip” es un cruce de guitarras entre los Monomen y la banda Nicke Andersson pero que te descoloca cuando un saxofón te vacila y un piano te chulea en la cara, cerrando esta primera cara “South of the borderline” un medio tiempo de guitarras limpias y mucho alma, una cara en donde el veterano Earle Mankey ha dejado su firma a los controles como ya hiciera con bandas como Runaways, Droogs o Long Ryders. De la cara b se hace cargo Bradley Cook y la banda arremete con “Thrift Baby” y se me pasa por esta alocada cabeza un intercambio de temas entre mis queridos Harla Horror que sin duda darían buena cuenta de este tema y los Real Jerks, un tema que es nitroglicerina vinílica. Cerrando vuelven a sacar la vena chula en ese “Finer Things” tanto en la manera de mascullar palabras como de retorcer la guitarra para hacerla escupir riffs empapados de blues canallescos fechados en los 70’s, a los que acompaña un saxofón que te hace temblar las piernas. Cinco temas que desde luego saben a poco y de los que solo hay 500 copias. - Kick Out The Jams - Spain

Hace unos meses revisamos unos singles de esta banda californiana y hoy nos enfrentamos a su nuevo mini lp que llega de la mano del sello de Pat Todd que ya confió en ellos cuando puso en circulación “The Wringer. Edición en vinilo de color azul y seis temas que desde el primer guitarrazo hurgan en mi memoria y recuperan a Jeff Dahl, los Cowgirls y las bandas suecas mas incendiarias de finales de los 90’s. Abren fuego con “Downward & Outward” con una introducción tranquila, que de repente explosiona y saca a relucir lo mejor del punk rock de los 70’s y la imagen de Cheetah Crome dando el aprobado a un tema que adelanta un gran disco, “Economy class ego trip” es un cruce de guitarras entre los Monomen y la banda Nicke Andersson pero que te descoloca cuando un saxofón te vacila y un piano te chulea en la cara, cerrando esta primera cara “South of the borderline” un medio tiempo de guitarras limpias y mucho alma, una cara en donde el veterano Earle Mankey ha dejado su firma a los controles como ya hiciera con bandas como Runaways, Droogs o Long Ryders. De la cara b se hace cargo Bradley Cook y la banda arremete con “Thrift Baby” y se me pasa por esta alocada cabeza un intercambio de temas entre mis queridos Harla Horror que sin duda darían buena cuenta de este tema y los Real Jerks, un tema que es nitroglicerina vinílica. Cerrando vuelven a sacar la vena chula en ese “Finer Things” tanto en la manera de mascullar palabras como de retorcer la guitarra para hacerla escupir riffs empapados de blues canallescos fechados en los 70’s, a los que acompaña un saxofón que te hace temblar las piernas. Cinco temas que desde luego saben a poco y de los que solo hay 500 copias. - Kick Out The Jams - Spain

Finally a 12” record from this fantastic Los Angeles band! More of their killer punk rock’n’roll that fans of the Humpers / Lazy Cowgirls / Dragons / Joneses will wanna be all over. I am fairly surprised to find that in this day and age L.A. has most of the very best rock’n’roll bands on the planet. Between Pat Todd and the Rank Outsiders, the Hangmen, Simon Stokes, The Blessings, and JJ And The Real Jerks, that city is just killing it on the real rock’n’roll front. Gonna need to make it out there to see a few of these bands share a bill as soon as I possibly can. –Mike Frame (RankOutsider, rankoutsiderrecords.com) - Razorcake

After first being introduced to JJ & The Real Jerks by Uber Rock's Mr H I've managed to get my grubby mitts on all the singles released to date, so why would I not want to investigate the latest and longest player by the band, the excellently titled 'Economy Class Ego Trip'? So here goes, pop pickers...



'Downwards And Outwards' kicks things off with some building uptempo rock 'n' roll and already my toes are a-tapping. With some blistering guitar work and a catchy chorus JJ & The Real Jerks are onto something here with an air of confidence about their songwriting, they sound like a band on top form and effortlessly hit an Uber cool groove. The title track follows and if you want some old school punk rock attitude wrapped in a banging up to date piece of rock then this is it. Of all the singles they've released so far there isn't one single iffy track amongst them and they are really soaring on this one with perhaps their finest piece to date. 'Economy Class Ego Trip' is right on the money with some mighty fine Thunders string bending on the chorus - this shit is flyin' and with the piano and saxophone solo it's offering something a little bit different as well.



With five songs on offer here it's short but oh so sweet. 'South Of The Border' offers something a little gentler with some acoustic guitar strumming and swirling organ this shows a diversity in songwriting and mood but the bottom line is the quality of the songs is top notch. It's no good changing the mood for the sake of it and unless you know what you're doing it sounds lame and forced but JJ has this knack down to a fine art.



'Thrift Baby' is full tilt rock 'n' roll nothing more and certainly nothing less. To close out this here EP we have the horn-honking swagger of 'Finer Things' and as the title says it is indeed one of the finer things in life when you come across a band who just kill it on record every time and JJ & The Real Jerks most certainly do that.



Keep 'em coming guys and whatever the next instalment is, be it EP or album, I'm excited. Isn't that the point of Rock 'n' Roll to get you excited and stir such emotions within the listener? Well JJ & The Real Jerks push all those buttons and 'Economy Class Ego Trip' is a most excellent short voyage. I suggest you jump on board peeps before there's no more room; guaranteed eargasm with every flight. - Uberrock UK

Ok, so yeah, this is a relatively old release. The band has released a new EP since, but that’s not an excuse to ignore this one though. This is my first venture into JJ & The Real Jerks—better late than never—and I must say, it was a pleasant one. I would not have expected a garage rock band hidden behind this record’s cover. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s certainly a fun listen.

The A-side, entitled “The Wringer,” is the perfect track to strut to. It’s stocked with tremolo effects and licks to go with its rock ’n’ roll sound. There’s a great horn solo in the bridge, and the song also features keys from TSOL’s, Greg Kuehn. On the flipside, you’ll find the track “Shootin’ From the Hip.” It’s a little catchier than the previous track, but nothing really stands out from it.

The sound could have been a little better. The vocals tend to get lost in the music and its grainy quality, but the music isn’t too bad. Chances are you’ll enjoy JJ & The Jerks if you’re a fan of Rocket From the Crypt. Be sure to check it out. - Scene Point Blank

Joe from JJ & the Real Jerks sent in a couple of his singles a little while back (I'm getting seriously behind these days, at one a day I'm seriously about a month behind already...and I have to start another year end list?) and I grabbed this one with the crazy Hot Rod, pin-up, tiki man style sleeve by Shawn Dickinson of what happens in the first track, thanks to a ladyfriend of course. She's got her hand on the handle and is cranking away in this slick, big roadhouse country punk A-Side track, "The Wringer". This California based trio is making a hell of a huge crisp racket starting with Hoss on drums pounding out a real booming kick/snare beat out of the silence. JJ of course is windmilling in serious tremolo distortion, in a real heavy country style, with a great howl of a vocal that's alternating between various levels of slight distortion, leading up to the big chorus begging her not to put him through the wringer. It's got a hint of something like the Black Keys, the raw straight ahead beefy guitar (almost cock rock?) with the cool, sunglasses at night saxaphone and little richard piano pounding. Stripped down without sounding unfriendly. This is the final attempt, he seriously can't take it anymore, but I bet this isn't the first time either.
B-Side's "Shootin' from the Hip" has JJ taking this right into a bluesy distortion bend from the very beginning, a booming, huge sounding, gleaming garage pop. Pretty epic in scale, and style, ,aking sure to include lots of these impassioned starts and stops, where the whole thing hangs up for a second and blasts right back way down into the gritty garage again. More driving rhythms and a wavery crackling solo that sounds to me more like the southern center of the country, the bbq's and the cattle than what you think of happening in California, what the hell do they have the powerful blues about?

Get this from Rankoutsider Records. - 7 Inches Blog

La de infinidad de veces que se ha preguntado uno cuantas buenas bandas hay por el mundo de las cuales no tenemos ni la mas remota idea.Pues como muestra un botón, Torrance (California) de donde llegan dos siete pulgadas de JJ and the Real Jerks banda de la cual solo tenía referencias gracias al blog del dibujante Shawn Dickinson que anunciaba haber hecho la portada de su último disco. Formados en Redondo Beach a mediados del años 2009 siguiendo las clases particulares de las bandas que prendían fuego de la ciudad del motor a finales de los 60’s y el punk rock que se fraguaba en los callejones de NY en los 70’s los Jerks facturan dos singles sin desperdicio alguno. Las guitarras son un continuo azote cuando puntean y la banda suda rock and roll por los cuatros costados, basta escuchar los tres temas de su single del año 2011, con “High Anxiety Society” sonando que sería la carta de presentación suficiente para que el recordado Kike Turmix les tirara los trastos para hacerse con sus favores para Safety Pins Records El piano y la harmónica de “Short Term Memory Lane” me calienta la sangre y me trae a la cabeza a esas vaqueras perezosas que me robaron el corazón desde que me hice con su primer lp. Cierran este single con “Punch out at the record shop” con la vena hinchada de adrenalina sueca. Con discos como este no es de extrañar que el mismísimo Pat Todd del sello Rank Outsider les tentara para hacer un single de edición limitada de 300 copias que, con la portada del nombrado y reconocido G Dickinson ha visto la luz este mismo año y del cual me niego a creer que aun queden copias disponibles si la edición es realmente de ese pequeño número de unidades. Este disco esta producido por Bradley Cook (Foo Fighters,…..) y de nuevo la banda suena abrasadora, sobre todo al incorporar ese saxofonista que da mas calor si cabe a las canciones de los Jerks, el medio tiempo que da título al disco es rock and roll estado puro y la cara b con ese “From the Hip” con ese mezcla de elegancia y chulería en las guitarras acompañadas por los golpes de piano, soplidos de saxo y un slide guitar que literalmente te pone las pilas y que te hace salivar ante el anuncio de todo un álbum para este sello. Sin duda una sorpresa conocer esta banda y sobre todo un placer darla a conocer a los lectores de este blog. (Oscarkotj-2012) - Kick Out The Jams Zine

Just when I thought this batch of releases couldn't get any better along came this next 3 tracker from totally out of left field and knocked me completely off my brothel creepered feet. What am I talking about? Well if the handwritten letter that accompanied this 7" from JJ & The Real Jerks is to be believed I was just about to discover (as you are) Uber Rock's fave new band from Los Angeles. And boy do these guys make a good case with their glorious punk rock 'n' roll racket!



Pressed on clear vinyl and released via Kung Pao Chicken Pickin' Records this limited to 300 EP should be possessed by every true Uber Rocker, it bleeds NYC punk rock chic from its grooves and even without seeing the band you just know they will also be clad in leather and black jeans with their effects pedals set to "Space Ace". It really is impossible to pick a standout track here, as every track is simply fricking awesome. The A side features the infectious 'High Anxiety Society', a song that when you hear it you will immediately want the band playing near you as soon as possible. This is a riotous celebration of what we all love in a great rock 'n' roll band. Next up you get to hear Short Term Memory Lane', and great song title aside it is also an indication of just how quickly JJ and his Real Jerks have been winning the scene over as it features both Nick Oliveri and Greg Kuehn's talents on this honky tonk Stooges romp. This is simply stunning stuff from start to finish and the temptation to simply have this side on constant repeat is certainly very high.



When you do finally get to the B Side, you're immediately greeted with JJ screaming "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme My Noise Pollution" as 'Punch Out At The Record Store' melts your speaker cones, and who am I to argue with the man?



Look.... If you love bands like The Chelsea Smiles, Bullets and Octane, The Hellacopters and Danko Jones you must click the link I've put in above taking you to the band's blogspot. DO IT NOW!!!! and JJ & The Real Jerks really will be your favourite new band from Los Angeles, TRUST ME.... - Uber Rock

More of that cool punk rock’n’roll from this awesome band. Can’t wait to hear a full length and, hopefully, there will be one in the near future. Features Greg Kuehn from the Joneses on keys and the band sounds a lot like another Jeff Drake outfit, the Vice Principals. Fans of Humpers, Lazy Cowgirls and the aforementioned bands will wanna find this. –Mike Frame (Rankoutsider, myspace.com/rankoutsiderrecord) - Razorcake

It’s always nice to get something for review that you were planning on picking up anyway. Even better when it turns out to be great! JJ And The Real Jerks play fantastic, mid tempo punk’n’roll that is really well done. “High Anxiety Society” is a great punk tune with a great chorus, and the other two tunes are good as well. This recording features Greg Kuehn of the Joneses on keys on one tune. Fans of that band or similarly-minded folks like Weaklings or Dragons—or really any of the Junk Records bands—will wanna be all over this. Here’s hoping they tour so I can see ‘em and sing along one of these days. –Mike Frame (Kung Pao Chicken Pickin’) - Razorcake