My Version Of It

Delaware Band Releases CD Celebrating Life In Delaware

The new songs on Delaware based rock band My Version of It's new CD "One Way" celebrate life and growing up in the First State. "All of us grew up within a five mile radius of each other in New Castle," says singer/guitarist Jared Morris whose day job is as a talk radio host for a Sussex County talk radio station. "I do a radio program everyday focusing on Delaware and issues affecting Delawarians, it's only natural that that subject matter would permeate into our song writing."

Several songs on the new CD tell the story of growing up in a changing First State. "Lesson 100 (South of the Canal)" centers on the changing face of Southern Delaware thanks, in part, to the construction of Route One. "Everybody finds their way on Route 13, Until they get south of the canal,"
sing Morris and company.

"A lot of people in our age group complain about life in our state, not us," Says Morris "Our songs are about places like Old New Castle, New Castle Square Mall, Air Transport Command, the old arcade at Christiana Mall, all the places that made growing up in Delaware in the 1980s great."

The band calls their style, a blend of punk infused blues, southern rock
and indie rock, "Southern Delware Rock." Even when they lyrics don't necessarily focus on Delaware, the band claims their music evokes a feeling of pride for their home, often reflecting upon Morris' 2005 move from New Castle to Sussex County. "You can hear the Sussex landscape and people in our melodies and songs," Morris says. "My Version of It wants to be the band from Delaware and who better to carry that flag?"

My Version of It was formed in 2000 in New Castle, Delaware and My Version of It blends the songwriting talents of all members: multi-instrumentalist Jared Morris-Guitar/Lead Vocals/Mandolin/Banjo (29), Dave Grind-Drums (27), Jon Grunes-Bass/Lead and Backing Vocals (26) and newest member Matt Schmidt-Lead Guitar (25). My Version of It's latest CD "One Way," recorded at Death Star III recording studio in South Philadelphia, PA is available now on the band's Website and will also be released in digitally on I-Tunes in December.


For more information contact via e-mail info@myversionofit.com, visit their Web site www.myversionofit.com or on myspace at www.myspace.com/mvoi2013

- Press Release

Former Resident Recalls Past

Jared Morris and his family moved away from Jeannette to Delaware following the demise of Jeanette Glass in the 1980s, though it's been over two decades since their relocation the song and spirit of Westmoreland County remain strong in Morris.

In 2005, Morris began working as a radio talk show host for a Rehoboth Beach, Del. talk radio station 92.7 FM WGMD. He found that no matter where you go, home is not that far away. "It's remarkable how many people in Delaware are from or know people in Jeannette and Westmoreland County," Morris said. "People come out to me at live broadcasts or call my radio show all the time and say 'Go Steelers' or 'Hey, remember Denunzios' or 'I'll meet you at the Polish Club'"

Morris, who sports a tattoo of Westmoreland County on his forearm, said he got the tattoo to always have a piece of home with him. "I am who I am because of Jeannette, none of us should ever forget where we come from."

Morris, whose true love has always been music, is eager for a homecoming. His rock band My Version of It has released a new CD and he said he's anxious to re-connect with the people of Westmoreland County. "I want to come home," Morris said. "I want to bring my band on tour and play areas of Western Pennsylvania." He said that his band's songs often reflect upon his family's former life in Jeannette.

"A lot of our songs are about family and work ethic," he said. "The songs reflect that feeling of growing up and having to leave home and that yearning to return to where you belong."

You can listen to the Jared Morris Talk Radio Show streaming live on the Internet at www.wgmd.com Monday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to Noon.

Scan: http://jared-morris.com/press/Jared-Paper.JPG

Press Photos:

My Version of It:
http://www.jared-morris.com/images/MVOI.BMP

Jared on the Air:
http://www.jared-morris.com/images/jaredradio.jpg

Westmoreland County Tattoo:
http://www.jared-morris.com/images/tattoo.jpg

Band Bio:
http://www.jared-morris.com/images/BIO2.doc
- Jeannette Spirit (11/29/07)

10/26 The Barn Door, Wilmington DEL. Zach Champagne, Road to Ruin, My Version of It

This show, in the very small Barn Door in Wilmington, was way cool. The Barn Door was very crowded and hard to get to the bar to grab a beer. My Version of It, Delawares most underrated indie punks. They played all the classics they could fit into the set and then some.

They closed out with an awesome Purple Rain cover. The song writing of this band is great, their live
shows unforgettable, it was sad to see them perform for the last time in this incarnation. I highly
reccommend picking up their 7" from sayten records and their full length CD if you can find it.

Added: October 26th
Reviewer: DJ SUICIETY - Delaware Hardcore

I got a very 60s psychedelic vibe. Jim Morrison. Jefferson Airplane. These last two seem Brit to me and I think it's best to show a lot of colors on a preview cd like this. Great timeless rock. What's this, now we're into George Harrisonland. Also cool. Sounds like the pub could sing along with this one in a drunken stupor. - Spacebar Recordings (stevedeutsch.com)

I've been listening to "One Way," and it rocks! Great stuff.
- Beachcomber Magazine

Delaware punkers return with wonderfully loud album
By Katie Wais
Editor
Delaware isn't exactly known for a thriving punk scene, particularly down in Lower Slower. But four guys from upstate are ready to make some noise all over their native territory.

It's been five years since My Version of It released a full-length album, but the band is back and rarin' to go with its latest effort, "One Way," released earlier this month.

But the band has an unlikely tie to Sussex County. My Version of It is fronted by Jared Morris, a host on the conservative local talk radio station WGMD 92.7 FM. While Morris spends his days talking news and regional politics, he says music has always been his main passion, and with bandmates Dave Grind (drums), Jon Grunes (bass) and Matt Schmidt (guitar) behind him, the band is doing what they love with no apologies.

My Version of It makes a wonderful racket that sounds something like Black Flag jamming in the garage with Iggy Pop and the Stoogies (complete with Ron Asheton-style guitar). Half punk, half hard rock with a smattering of classic rock, the band isn't exactly the kind you hear in Delmarva every day, but it will certainly get your attention.

BEACHCOMBER: It's so refreshing to have a punk band emerge from Delmarva. I'm shocked there aren't more. Any idea why that is?

JARED MORRIS: My guess is that because Delmarva isn't exactly into anything underground. There just isn't an independent or underground scene here. I've seen that kind of thing in some areas before. Most people are only into what they're fed or hear, and nobody is really spooning out punk around here. How do you expect people to be into anything different if they never hear about it? Why is that? Because people around here just don't know that there is other stuff out there. But, this is a great area ... so let's get a punk movement going. You in?

JON GRUNES: There have actually been a lot of punk bands from the area; it's just that most of them are pretty terrible. In my experience, most of my friends started out in punk bands and then moved on to other genres once they learned how to play. Maybe we just don't want to grow up.

DAVE GRIND: There may be more bands than you think -- I just don't think bands are trying as hard as they used to, and people are less interested in local music than they used to be ... nothing new or exciting has happened in a while.

BC: Jared, how does life as a rocker jive with life as a host on WGMD? WGMD has a reputation for being pretty conservative -- and conservatism and punk obviously have quite a history of animosity.

JM: You know, I don't even think of them as being on the same page at all. Being a talk show host is a lot like being on stage -- a lot of performing, a lot of giving the audience what they want and trying to figure out what that is. There have been conservative punk bands (The Circle Jerks) but, we don't do political music. We are not a conservative band (although I was booed once at Mojo 13 for mentioning Michael Savage on stage once). That being said, I still try to downplay the radio station connection. There's some elements of "being a rocker" that I'm sure some people wouldn't like, so I try to keep them as separate as I can, but, music is still and always will be my first and only love. I don't know. If you hear someone else on the radio in my place after this article comes out, then you'll know what happened.

BC: Do you think WGMD listeners will dig My Version of It?

JM: Umm... Sometimes people ask me on the air to play my own music. But, again, I try to keep work and my band totally separate. I have had a few listeners show up to a few rock shows and they seemed to dig it, but, it's like anything, there will be some people who like it and some who don't get it. But, I really don't think there is a typical WGMD listener, the ones that call in my show everyday and come meet me at remote broadcasts, the ones that are like family in a way, maybe they'd accept us in a way that a real family accepts the one oddball musician younger brother (oh wait, that's me too). Some would like our more tame stuff. Some of my audience is really into music and obscure music. I remember one Saturday where we had a half hour long conversation about Warren Zevon -- those people might like it.

BC: The band's first album, "Unknown Members," was released on a vinyl split 7" -- which is way cool. What was behind the decision to go vinyl?

JM: Well, I recorded a solo 7" in 1999 called "A Practical Guide To Beekeeping" and we've always loved vinyl. But, it's not a brilliant decision because not everyone has a record player anymore; I still have 400 of those solo 7"'s in my basement. The decision was actually that of the record label that released the record. They were doing all vinyl splits at the time. We actually released a CD-R alongside the 7" as well for those who were record player-impaired.

BC: It took My Version of It five years to r - Go! Magazine

Delaware isn't exactly known for a thriving punk scene, particularly down in Lower Slower. But four guys from upstate are ready to make some noise all over their native territory.

It's been five years since My Version of It released a full-length album, but the band is back and rarin' to go with its latest effort, "One Way," released earlier this month.

The quartet has an unlikely tie to coastal Sussex County. My Version of It is fronted by Jared Morris, a host on the conservative Rehoboth Beach talk radio station WGMD 92.7 FM.

While Morris spends his days talking news and regional politics, he says music has always been his main passion, and with bandmates Dave Grind (drums), Jon Grunes (bass) and Matt Schmidt (guitar) behind him, he is doing what he loves with no apologies.

Half punk, half hard rock with a smattering of classic rock, the band isn't exactly the kind you hear on Delmarva every day (they'll play The Khyber in Philadelphia on Jan. 20), but it will certainly get your attention.
- News Journal (Delaware)

Former Middletown resident releases new CD with My Version of It

By Shauna McVey
Staff Reporter
shauna@middletowntranscript.com

Every Sunday afternoon, and about two other days each month, Jared Morris gets to live his dream.

The former Middletown resident now lives in Lewes, but he travels back this way once a week to meet with his friends and make music.

Morris plays guitar and sings for the group My Version of It, an American classic rock with a touch of punk rock band. The other members are Dave Grind on drums, Jon Grunes on bass and vocals, and Matt Schmidt on lead guitar.

Together, My Version of It plays gigs in northern Delaware and Philadelphia.

"It's what I've always wanted to do my entire life," Morris said. "I guess you could call it my dream, but it's what I have always felt compelled to do."

He said he became a musician at age 10 when he learned to play the accordion. He switched to guitar at age 12 and hit the stage two years later.

About a decade and a half after that, Morris and Grind started playing together in a short-lived band called "Year of the Comet."

A few years after their short stint, Morris reconnected with Grind and they've "been playing together just about every week since."

"I was feeling antsy about wanting to get a band together and play live again," Morris said. "I've always respected Dave as a musician, he's a close friend. We like the music we make, but it's a bond of friendship."

Grunes brought his bass guitar to the band about two years ago, and the most recent addition, Schmidt, came in October.

"Matt has been an awesome addition to the band," Morris said. "His personality really fits with our personalities. It feels like all the pieces of the puzzle are put together with him. There's a right time for everything and that's what's happening right now."

Morris said My Version of It recently recorded a second album, titled "One Way." The songs are about Delaware or relate to Delaware in one way or another.

He said their sound has changed to a traditional American rock with a southern touch over the past year. The change was spurred by a Shooter Jennings show the band saw in Dewey Beach.

Each of the songs Morris writes are titled in the order they were written.

"I write the lyrics about a lesson I've learned or something I've gone through," he said. "Lesson No. 100 is about [U.S.] 13 and how the businesses have suffered since [Del.] 1 opened so many years ago. That's the first song in the new style of this record."

Another song is about old New Castle. One talks about the old Air Transport Command restaurant. Even the old Christiana Mall arcade is the subject for some of the lyrics on the record.

He said the band is both humorous and sincere.

"There's a lot of Delaware in our music," Morris said. "Whether you're from Middletown, Newark or downstate, you'll feel a connection."

He said the band plays mostly originals during their live shows. They have a large catalog of songs, at about 122.

"When we do covers, we do songs that aren't typically our genre," Morris said. "We've done songs written by Hulk Hogan and Boyz II Men."

He said whenever they play live, people always have a good time.

My Version of It's next local show is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 21, at the Pale Dog Tavern in Newark.

"Our shows aren't just a band on stage playing their songs," Morris said. "We really try to make it fun for the audience and get them involved."

"One Way" is available on iTunes. For more information about My Version of It, go to www.myversionofit.com or www.myspace.com/mvoi2013.

read the article online here http://middletowntranscript.com/pages/newsband.html or pick up a copy of this week's Middletown Transcript

- Middletown Transcript