Ten Cent Lure

Ten Cent Lure Living the Tahoe life Set to an Amazing Soundtrack
by Amber Fuger

The music of Ten Cent Lure has a warmth which allows us to heal, the gusto to provoke an array of emotions, and most of all, the sensibility that transcends generations to let us get down and groove.
Ten Cent Lure, based in South Lake Tahoe, is new on the scene and combines southern Rock, California funk, and some good ol’ country, creating what they consider “a trademark funkin’ swanky tonk sound.”
The music is influenced by a diverse array of artists from Ween, Beastie Boys, and Glove, to Duane Allman and Warren Haynes, to James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, and Parliament. Each of the five members of Ten Cent Lure accepted at a young age that music would be more than a mere outlet or mode of expression, but rather more of a significant partner sharing all of their ups and downs.
Jason Sherman, Sean Groover, Chad Oleson, Mike Wilder, and Jon “Fuzzy” Oxendine are the unique, talented, and passionate musicians who make up Ten Cent Lure and their ages range from the generation that spawned classic rocker Frank Zappa to the generation that gave us the Beastie Boys.
Performing live, each member’s ‘two cents’ become a sweet unified melody (making ‘cents’ of the name?). “Through basic musical theory we keep the beat,” Fuzzy said. But making their sound unique and fresh is the hard part; “When the sweet melody distinguishes a pattern, you have to listen to what the music is saying in order to lay it down,” he said.
For the most part Sean and Jason write the songs and according to the rest of the band they deliver gallons of heart and soul in their lyrics and vocals. Jason and Sean were raised on southern rock, which inspires the band’s combo of bluesy, rock riffs and electrifying guitar solos.
Yet each person contributes to the sound. Fuzzy grew up amidst the turmoil and chaos of Vietnam when Rock ‘n’ Roll transformed American culture and gave an entire generation a platform to express their thoughts on the state of society. Fuzzy’s music experience and his elaborate jam duo list, including Duane Allman, Jerry Garcia, Van Morrison and Jerry Miller, allow him to channel the classic old-school vibe on percussion, washboard, and other inventive sounds. According to the band, Chad lays down the law on bass by driving in his cool and steady grooves while continuously meshing time with Mike on drums.
One of the most recent stops for Ten Cent Lure was at the Lake of Sky Music Festival put together by Nick Catanella of Paesano Productions. It was at Lake of Sky where the band created a heartfelt memory through one song, a cover of Voodoo Lady. They played early morning and turnout was bleak, but one guy made their day. He rocked out to Ten Cent Lure for the entire one-hour set. At the end he met the band and said their Ween cover ultimately made his day.
Another fantastic moment of the summer for Ten Cent Lure was the day they cruised on the Tahoe Queen in a five-hour jam session, Jason said.
“These are two of the best gigs we have had all summer. [But as a far as crowds go] the kids in Squaw at the Dubliner are the best, we have never felt such a great response from the crowd,” Jason said. The North Shore has welcomed Ten Cent Lure with open arms but the steadfast love from the South Shore fans continues to inspire the band to keep on truckin’.
Newfound local fame has not let their hearts’ desire falter. Jason, Sean, Chad, Fuzzy and Mike keep one aspect in mind when making the music they love (and hope their growing fan base will also love): keep creating something you can build on.

- Moonshine Ink

Listen to Ten Cent Lure and you will be hooked
Tim Parsons, tparsons@tahoedailytribune.com
February 23, 2007

Ten Cent Lure, which has a studio in a two-car garage, is definitely a band to catch.

A group of veteran musicians who have each played in various bands seems to have discovered a good combination. And for a jam band with name like Ten Cent Lure and with members named Wilder and Groover, it had a good start right from the get-go.

Sean Groover (guitar), Jason Sherman (guitar), Mike Wilder (drums) and Chad Oleson (bass) knew they had something special about the third time they practiced.

"We hit it off right off the bat," Sherman said. "We started playing at the end of September and were giging by the end of November."

A three-song demo offers a smart, clean, groovy sound. The guitar riffs are tight and unpretentious, the percussion solid and Groover brings smooth vocals. Sherman and Wilder sing as well. It doesn't sound at all like a new band, which isn't surprising because they previously played with each other in various combinations. Groover and Wilder, in fact, have often played together for eight years, and Groover and Oleson were in the Waterhouse Band.

Many bought their own compositions into the mix and they already have about 30 originals.

"We mesh very well together," Sherman said. "We're drawing different styles but still make it our own. That's what's exciting about this band: We're a little funky, a little skanky and a little honky-tonk."

Groover is from Georgia and Sherman is from North Carolina.

There is a little Southern influence, especially in Jason's stuff," Groover said.

Wilder is from the musical hotbed of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, but he didn't get serious about his music until moving to San Francisco almost 10 years ago.

"I'm a big fan of country," Wilder said. "I probably like country music more than two band members from the South."

The band wanted to go by the name of Mr. Plow, but when they tried to get it licensed it was revealed that there's already a band with that name in Texas. That's when Wilder offered Ten Cent Lure.

"The name was stuck in my head for a few months," he said. "It's a little bit fishing - we're trying to hook people in. Music can be a lure. And we didn't want to be 50 cent, that was also taken anyway."

A native of Sacramento, Oleson, who is a bartender at Kalani's, is excited about the future.

"It's already taken off much better than any of my other band," he said. "(At shows) everybody typically dances from start to finish. Energy that comes back is always good. We have a light show. We want to give a full concert experience."

Wilder expects a lot more recording sessions.

"We want to get an album out by the end of year and continue to gig around the lake and build a fan base then eventually take it on the road," he said.

Veteran percussionist John Oxedine often sits in with the band as does keyboardist Tim Roberts. Sherman said the band eventually will add a full-time keyboard player.

Something about this city - it is in a seminal musical period. New, quality bands include O.C.T., Waiting for T.I.M., Absynth and the Heyenas.

"The music scene here is hot now and we're just happy to be a part of it," Sherman said. "Smiles all around."

- Tahoe Daily Tribune

Entertainment Feature: Taking the Bait
by Joy Michiel

Their sound is called “funkin’ swanky tonk” and local band Ten Cent Lure has been going on a fishing expedition for the past year capturing the attention of the Tahoe and Reno audiences with amazing momentum. The dynamic, multi-genre band combines elements of groove, funk, rock and country to create their trademark sound, mixing East Coast Southern rock and blues with West Coast funk and rhythm.
“Everyone puts in their own different vibe and it works,” says front man Jason Sherman.
And in this band the vibe is diverse. Ranging in age from 28 to 61 the South Shore-based band is fueled by a pure love for music and fun, transferring inspiration and good vibes to crowds in an exciting, high energy rock ‘n’ roll experience.
“More than anything we all just enjoy what we do,” Sherman says. “We get together and we play music and it sounds like music. That’s a big criteria. We have good songs and there’s something to be said for good old fashioned songwriting.”
“Our job is to make people forget about their problems,” says drummer and percussionist John “Fuzzy” Oxendine.
A living product of the 60s San Francisco psychedelic scene, Oxendine’s 40-year professional career has landed him spots in Moby Grape, Sons of Chaplin and The Jerry Miller Band. But just because he has the experience, it doesn’t mean that he is the big daddy in the group. Following the motto of “everybody plays their own part,” the band focuses on a strong “team before individual” concept that allows each member to add their own distinct flare to the sound.
“We value Fuzzy’s opinion, but more than anything he sits back and lets us hammer it out for ourselves,” Sherman says.
“I feel very paternal at times,” Oxendine admits, “but most of the time they make me feel like one of the kids.”
Joining Oxendine is bassist Chad Oleson, whose steady style and musical presence on bass solidifies the bands’ natural ebb and flow between tight, focused rock tunes and open-ended improvisational jams. Together they lay down the driving grooves that are the foundation of the Ten Cent sound.
Completing the lineup is co-front man Sean Groover, who excels as a singer/songwriter with lyrical prowess that ranges from witty to inspirational to “poetically in your face.” Together with Sherman’s songwriting skills, they account for the backbone and the creative force behind the bands’ music. On guitars, Groover’s smooth rhythms blend seamlessly with the melodic, improvisational styling of Sherman’s leads.
“We all get along and have a good time when we’re playing. We’re very approachable,” Oxendine says.
The band delivers a 70/30 mix of originals and covers. Sherman and Groover are the predominant songwriters, starting with the good idea and then bringing it to the rest of the members to turn it into a TCL collaborative piece.
“We pick songs that work well with the solid music we play,” Sherman says.
Bands like The Meters, Ween, Widespread Panic and a little Dead are all included in the TCL repertoire. They also do a share of old blues like B.B. King, Freddie King and Albert King.
“We do all the Kings,” Sherman quips.
TCL is a relatively new band, emerging on the scene in late 2006. They have entered 2008 with a new album, “ Trollin’,” and the promise of even bigger things to come.
“We want to grow as musicians. Our goal is to take it as far as it can go.” Sherman says. “You always have to start small and then it becomes how quick you grow together and in the public eye. We’re always interested to see what everyone’s take is on us.”
Sherman and the guys are not likely to get ahead of themselves though.
“Right now it’s just about getting out there, playing god music and living in the moment,” he says.
For more information about Ten Cent Lure or for booking visit www.paesanoproductions.com - Tahoe Weekly

A band with a laser strobe light, smoke machine and purple amp that goes to 11 has a new item to bring to its shows — a CD.

Ten Cent Lure will celebrate its debut album, “Trollin’,” on Friday and Saturday nights at the Divided Sky in Meyers.

Just a year and a couple of weeks since it formed, the band put together a solid nine-track CD with four- to five-minute songs, which contrasts its longer live, improvisational outputs. Influences of Widespread Panic, the Allman Brothers Band, Frank Zappa and the Black Crowes are apparent in what is generally thought of as a jam band.

“I consider us more of a rock band that jams,” said Jason Sherman, who uses the Saldano amp with a customized “Spinal Tap” paint job.

Ex-North Carolinian Sherman and fellow guitarist Sean Groover, a native of Georgia, give the band a Southern flavor, which blends with Northern California stylings from bassist Chad Oleson and “Fuzzy” John Oxendine, who plays drums, percussion, washboard and an appropriate amount of cowbell.

Oxendine, 62, is a living piece of rock ‘n’ roll history coming out of the San Francisco psychedelia scene of the sixties. He played on a Moby Grape album and later with the Jerry Miller Band, and has jammed with numerous San Francisco bands such as Sons of Champlin, Boz Scaggs and Santana. He became proficient on the washboard playing in a zydeco band called the Sundogs.

“Playing with Fuzzy is more than inspirational,” said Oleson, whose friendship with Oxendine’s son led to Fuzzy’s inclusion to the band that formed near Thanksgiving 2006.

The improvisational style suits Oxendine, who noted that the songs start in the same place before leading in other directions, “But you’ve got to catch the bus at this point,” he said. “You get intuitive after a while and start thinking like the others think.”
The intuition has sharpened during the band’s year together with the philosophy of the rewards of risks are worth occasional musical train wrecks.

Some of Ten Cent Lure’s highlights for the year were playing at the Lake of The Sky and Earth Day festivals, Aqua Boogie cruise aboard the Tahoe Queen, the Brews, Jazz & Funk Fest in Squaw Valley, the Moosapaloosa Angora fire benefit, and playing with On The One at Coopers in Nevada City and with Delta Nove at the Mount Tallac Brewery.

“We made steps to become a good local band, now we want to become a great local band and a regional band,” Sherman said.

The greatest thrill came in August, when Ten Cent Lure opened for the Jerry Miller Band at a festival in the Santa Cruz mountains. Miller, No. 68 on Rolling Stone’s list of the top 100 guitarists of all time, joined Oxendine for the show, as well as Tiran Porter and Dan Ockerman, who both played with the Doobie Brothers.

“I’m still nervous thinking about it,” Sherman said.

Oxendine was impressed with the lyrics of songwriters Groover and Sherman.

“They draw a line in the sand and say ‘This is me,’ ” he said. “It’s poetically in your face.”

Adam Northway of the band Absynth contributed percussion and electric percussion on “Trollin’,” while Ten Cent Lure’s original keyboardist, Tim Roberts, played some Rhodes and Wurlitzer piano.

Drummer Mike Wilder, who had to leave the band to meet other obligations, donated the use of his digital recording equipment setup in the studio at Sherman’s home in Meyers. Wilder also contributes some hip-hop verses on “City,” written by Alex Lyons, who played with Groover and Oleson in the band Waterhouse.

Ten Cent Lure started “Trollin’ ” with 12 tracks and narrowed it to nine. The songs were put in the order of what could be a set list for a show. Any of the tracks live can take off improvisationally in a live setting.

Like the live shows, the sound is tight and unpretentious but nevertheless comes across with a sense of urgency that get folks on their dancing feet. The album ends with a Groover tune called “Rise Again,” which indicates that Ten Cent Lure will come back with more.

“I wouldn’t mind starting another one in a few months,” Groover said. “We have a lot of material.”

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Tim Parsons, tparsons@tahoedailytribune.com
December 13, 2007
- Tahoe Daily Tribune 12/13/2007