The Jean Marie

The JeanMarie
By Jarrod Dinwoodie

Jean Marie is not the archetypical name you'd usually find belonging
to a 400-pound holding cell guard. But Jean Marie wasn't your
typical guard --– this one played host to an incarcerated singer who
went on to found the band that took its name from the muse-like
guard. Correctional officers may not be the most common sources
for monikers, but the Jean Marie, a Miami based quintet, always
finds uncanny and unique things to plug into their musical venture.
The lyrics, sound, performance and all around philosophical views
belonging to this band play out to a fitting delivery of art, rock,
independence and social commentary. In a sometimes-too-small
indie scene in Miami, the Jean Marie has found their place.
One evening, after a show in the back alley behind Miami's Studio
A, RAG got to meet up with a socially acceptable level of inebriated
members of the Jean Marie (Curtis Nystrom, guitar; Jordan Davidson,
vocals/guitar; Jeffrey Remarkable, bass; Jason Haft, drums; Richard
Laudenraudy, keys/ synth) to talk about what makes this band tick.
Originating between the University of Miami and a Miami-Dade
holding cell, the Jean Marie got together three years ago, and have
been steadily circulating the scene ever since. With loads of gigs
under their collective belt, the band has experienced many highlights
in their time – most notably, opening for Bloc Party earlier this
year. Although the circumstances of that particular opening stint
were a little out of the ordinary, with the band being thrown into the
mix on very short notice, Laudenraudy says, "It's like one of those
bad dreams you have, when you show up in, like, your seventh
grade class, not wearing pants and you forgot your homework."
The band's sense of humor really sets a precedent when it comes
to both their personalities and their music. One needs only to
visit their MySpace page [www.myspace.com/thejeanmarie], go to
one of their shows, or share a drink or two with them, to get the
idea of how this band handles their work. A thin line between humor,
hyperbole and heart attack seriousness, one doesn't quite know
where to follow this band, and that's exactly the way the Jean Marie
seems to want it.
A ramshackle mix of pop, rock, indie, groove and dance colors their
sound and presents itself on a dish that is not ordinarily appearing
on the menu. Given their strange mix, even the band seems
undecided on what to call their work. "Dance," "art," "rock," "pop,"
and "groove" were all thrown into the mix upon asking the group
what they call the type of music they play. "You're going to start an
argument," commented Remarkable, amidst shouts of "Next
question!" from Laudenraudy. The debate was resolved when
Laudenraudy said, jokingly, of the music they play, "we started
saying on one of our self booked tours, we play 'art fag,' 'cause it's
like we play music for like the art fag crowd. It's like asymmetrical.
We play for people who supply us with free beer."
Despite the discrepancies that exist within the band's style of music,
they seem to be on the same page in terms of the music they listen
to. Loudenraudy rattles off a list of names mimicking a want ad
Yeah, it'll be built.they once posted for a drummer: "We listen to, ah, fucking Talking
Heads. We like Arcade Fire. Fucking, ah, a little bit of Brazilian
Girls." At this point newly appointed drummer Haft pipes up, "and
when I jammed with them, they sounded nothing like any of those
bands."
One may be able to detect a slight jazz influence when listening to
the Jean Marie, but as Nystrom points out, "It's subtle man, it's
definitely there, but it's subtle. The chops are there, but the
composition isn't." So, influences aside, the band is finding their
own sound, and not being able to pin point it is, according to them,
a step in the right direction. With good laughs all around, the
individuality of the members seems to be what pulls them all together.
The Jean Marie has two self produced EPs and the intention of
working up towards a major release and some label interest. Despite
their big business dreams, the band seems content, now, remaining
independent. Says Davidson, "Labels are a funny thing, because
it's a double edged sword. You think you're going forwards, but
you could be going backwards. So, the goal right now, is to go
forwards. So, when we put out our EP, the goal with putting out the
EP was to go forwards."
Creativity within the band is in ample supply, with every member
bringing something to the table. Nystrom explains, "basically, like,
one person comes up with an idea and we work with it. We do a lot
of work on a scratch pad, or a pre-recorded something, and then
we'll distribute it amongst the rest of the people." These creative
ideas are all lyrically blended with sarcasm, as Davidson points
out: "It [is] the whole winking with a straight face idea. It's sarcasm.
The overlying theme in our band, in our music, is sarcasm. 'Delancey
St.' has a line, 'what's a revolution without backup dancers?' It
also has a line. 'sobriety is a new form of inebriation, so don't tell
its junkies, let us all die out,' you know? It's our underlying theme
in everything, and you can either look at it seriously and self
absorbent, or you can laugh about it."
Underneath this sarcastic disposition, separating themselves from
everybody else is not an easy task. Dedication is key to the
success and forging their own identity for the Jean Marie. This is
made particularly clear as Loudenraudy explains: "I get home from
work, and I just worked eight hours and I rode my bike home, and
I'm fucking exhausted, and I don't wanna do fucking shit. But we
gotta fucking rehearse. You know? It's basically just finding the
time for it. But for me, the hard part is, once all of that happens,
you have to figure out how to separate yourselves from the other
fucking bands out there, doing the exact same thing that you're
doing. So the problem becomes not only making yourself practice
after that long day of work, but then putting the amount of thought
into it that rises you above all the other bands that all have to work
hard." Perhaps this is the reason they aim not to categorize their
music in any one set genre or style. Loudenraudy further
contemplated the scene and their place in it: "We're inundated with
so much fucking music these days. Where the fuck do you place
yourself? There's so much content. Where the fuck are we? Who
the fuck knows where we are? It doesn't even matter anymore.
Who the fuck knows?" Davidson contributes to this pondering, with
what seems to be an answer to this dilemma. He says, "You invent,
you know, your homemade, like, iron cleaner or whatever it is, and
you know who your market is. You establish who you're selling to.
And when you're creating music, you have absolutely no designated
audience. You have to, sort of, just stick your cock out and hope
that someone puts their lips on it."
The Jean Marie loves to party and have a great time; they want to
bring their little family to other people. They've sent out an open
invitation to come on down to their shows, and dance, and have a
good time. Why not put on your best shade of red, shake your body,
open your mouth and sing along to Miami's the Jean Marie. It's a
revolution without backup dancers – and everyone is invited. - rag

The Jean Marie
Annie Jump Cannon
It’s been a long time coming for Miami quartet, The JeanMarie’s full-length debut, Annie Jump Cannon. Taking its name from the famous American astronomer, this shimmering catalog of funky prog rockin’ reveals a more expansive post punk troupe. A couple of favorites from the group’s stellar EPs are brought back - Vampires Pt. II reappears with a dose of more wallop and a touch of reverb on Jordan Davidson’s emotionally charged vocals, and Delancey Street is polished up and reborn with area rock size guitar solos. But these Tropical Bohemians (as noted in a recent New York Times article) have many more tricks up their sleeve. (We Play) Pianos revels in an Elvis Costello quirk with its “pawnshop” organs over choppy guitar licks. Their inner jam band comes out on “Bonepickers” where chimey chords buoyantly take the lead over dub infused beats. Throw in subtle elements of jazz and R&B and you got an instant classic that tickles many fancies. Well worth the wait the boys! ~ Alex Rendon - thehoneycomb.com

The JeanMarie
What's a Revolution Without Backup Dancers? (Self-released)
By Jonathan Zwickel
Article Published May 4, 2006


Music Details
Who / What:
The JeanMarie
Music Genre:
Rock/Pop

It's an amazing feat when a mere four songs contain as many ideas and as much fun as the JeanMarie's debut EP. The title alone What's a Revolution Without Backup Dancers? hints at the highbrow pop playfulness of this Miami quintet. And right from the kickstart opening of "Late Last Night" grungy guitar, squiggly synth, simmering cymbal-and-bass-drum boogie it's clear that these guys are serious about their good times. Bouncy but hardly light, dignified with a Brit-like swagger but truly, effortlessly soulful, the JeanMarie makes funk-fueled dance rock that's both passionate and unabashedly silly. No surprise that the band is composed of UM grads and that Revolution was made with the help of close friends MJ and B-Rob from Awesome New Republic. Both bands share a way of winking with a straight face, of letting go while tightening up, that's pretty accomplished for such young acts. With "Late Last Night" and its follow-up, "Delancey Street," two songs flaunting all the studio depth, hook-heavy songwriting, and general greatness of a major-label production, you've got the best one-two combo of the local year so far. "Delancey" is especially accomplished, a multilayered, midtempo epic of growing up in the big city. Singer Jason Scott, singing "Got a flask in my pocket but it is leaking/You can tear off all my clothes and try to suck it out," reveals a uniquely timbred voice that's half Tweedy-esque yearning and half Strummerish boast. While not as immediate or concise, the second half of the EP comes awfully close to measuring up to the first; ambitious album closer "Madame St. Clair" gets swept up into a warm, fuzak meditation before pogoing into a goony, upbeat coda. For all you fans of multitasking: This is music that manages to be many things simultaneously, and all of them are good.
- New Times Broward

Just An Awesome Fucking Band
Are The Jean Marie the best thing to happen to post-punk since punk?
By Brandon K. Thorp
Published: August 23, 2007

What do you get when you grab the Au Pairs, ´80s-era King Crimson, Mungo Jerry, and the guy who mixes the harmonies for The Scissor Sisters, stick them in a blender, and hit "frappe"?

Goo. You get goo. It's disgusting. Never try it.

But! If you take those same ingredients, add an ear for weird hooks that sound obvious after one listen, and stick the resulting combo onstage — well, then you get something like Miami's jangliest, danciest, post-punkiest pop band, The Jean Marie. Their debut EP What's A Revolution Without Backup Dancers? showcases a group smart enough to nod to Emma Goldman and hungry enough to need you to notice. The follow-up is just as smart and voracious, but more assured. It's full of jokes that aren't quite jokes and moments of passion that can't stop winking, all surrounded by lovely guitar noise that recalls "Marquee Moon" and whoever your favorite stunt noodler might be. The live versions of these songs are like the pimped rides of their recorded cousins, maintaining their dancy, jangly cool but injecting more rock than the records hint at. Experience this firsthand tonight at 8, at City Limits (19 NE 3rd Ave., Delray Beach, 561-279-8222). Tickets are a steal at $5. For a preview, swing by www.myspace.com/thejeanmarie. - Broward New Times

ON a balmy November night here, Rachel Goodrich was playing to a rapt moonlit crowd in a courtyard of Churchill’s Pub. She had her red cowboy hat, her percussionist with a mix of blocks, bells and toys, her band of skilled players who are so tight they’re loose, and her kazoo. The ramshackle space in the Little Haiti neighborhood was full of fans and fellow musicians, who sang along with Ms. Goodrich’s gin-clear voice as she led her band through the kind of controlled hootenanny that has made her the queen of the Miami indie rock scene. She is the Feist-like jewel of a town more known for machined bass, booty and beats than for handcrafted songs.

“Rachel has everything: the band, the look, the sound,” said Nick Scapa, 25, a local musician and one of several young entrepreneurs trying to put Miami on the musical map. Ms. Goodrich, 24, was the most buzzed-about act at a benefit for Hear Miami, an organization dedicated to spreading the word about the region’s burgeoning music. For a city without much of an indie scene, there was an excitement level at Churchill’s that felt like Toronto or San Francisco or Boston. Except with that brilliant Miami moon.

Thanks to talents like Ms. Goodrich, Miami’s reputation as a dead zone for live music may be changing. A spate of CDs by Miami artists, propelled by local promoters and backed with national tours, are poised to raise the city’s profile. Ms. Goodrich released “Tinker Toys,” her charming debut album, on her own Yellow Bear label in October. Rough Guide has compiled the independent CDs by the Spam Allstars, the Latin-funk band that is a veteran of the international festival circuit. Jacob Jeffries, a 20-year-old pianist, bandleader and singer-songwriter, is recording the final disc of a trilogy. And record labels and music publishers are starting to pay attention.

Miami is “striving to find an independent music scene,” said Barbara Cane, vice president and general manager for writer and publisher relations at BMI, who is working with Mr. Jeffries. “It’s going to take one little person like Jacob to open doors to all those other Jacobs down there.”

The indie music scene is also getting a lift from the increasing international visibility of Miami’s creative class. This week tens of thousands of art makers and appreciators will descend on the city for the annual Art Basel Miami Beach, the fair that vaulted the region’s fertile visual arts to world-renowned status. At some of those parties the jet set will be serenaded by the newest exponents of this growing tropical bohemia, bands with jazz-school pedigrees and hybrid sounds: the punk-soul of Awesome New Republic (better known as ANR), the electro bliss of Airship Rocketship and the progressive pop of the JeanMarie.

“I have faith that eventually the international respect being paid to the art scene will carry over to the music scene,” said Michael-John Hancock, the singer of ANR. He and his band mate, Brian Robertson, were among the first in a small wave of graduates of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music to stay and make a stand as a band.

It may not seem surprising for a metropolitan area the size of South Florida to have a thriving rock scene. But Miami has never been a typical American city; as the joke goes, “It’s lovely, and so close to the U.S.” While Miami has countless dance clubs, there are very few establishments that support live local music. The city has long been a center of the Latin music industry, but Latin artists have trouble finding places to play too. Miami rappers like Rick Ross, Trina, DJ Khaled and Flo Rida have made “da Bottom,” as they call it, a major player in the world of hip-hop, but they’ve built their reps through strip clubs, mixtapes and cameos on other artists’ recordings.

For bands the city’s physical isolation presents obstacles. Whereas musicians in the Northeast can tour from one major city to another to build a regional fan base, for Miamians it’s about an 11-hour drive to Atlanta, the next musical mecca. “Geographically it’s a struggle to get out of South Florida,” Mr. Jeffries said.

And the transient nature of a city full of tourists and immigrants fosters a nightlife that’s built around partying. The music that D.J.’s spin in local clubs is heavily beat driven: hip-hop, techno, trance. Until recently, the primary outlet for the alternative crowd was the experimental electronic genre called intelligent dance music. - The NYTimes

It's almost as if these guys don't belong in Miami, and funnily enough, that's a big part of how they want to be perceived -- so much so that they've adopted a polar bear as their mascot. A little strange in a city where heat and humidity eliminate any chance of of as much as a frost. Somehow, The JeanMarie survive in this city, and their success is almost ironic.

The band has opened for such national acts as Bloc Party, The Noisettes, HelloGoodbye and Tokyo Police Club. Their name is an oxymoron, inspired by a tough, big guy who is the definition of cool with a sweet sounding name, JeanMarie. The uneven balance between this character's moniker and his persona runs parallel to the unbalanced way the group's sound fits into the Miami music scene.

Playing Miami haunts for 3 years, The JeanMarie offers an interesting combination of garage, rock and soul. Not such a strange amalgamation when one considers the band's heroes: Talking Heads, Prince, Al Green, Steve Reich, TV on the Radio, Paul Simon and even local influences like Awesome New Republic, Airship Rocketship, Down Home Southernaires and Rachel Goodrich.

Their first and second albums, 2006's What's a Revolution Without Backup Dancers? and 2007's Self-Titled helped solidify their following. Currently in the studio recording their yet to be named third album, The JeanMarie are working on creating music that listeners can get lost in. "It's really important to us that we play music that is fresh and new," says guitarist Curtis Nystrom. "With all the amazing music out in the world these days it's redundant to put something out there that just falls right in line with something you have already heard."

Along with his band members -- Jordan Davidson (vocals and guitar), Jeff Schechinger (bass) and Jason Haft (drums) -- Nystrom agrees that writing music is a true collaboration. "Jordan might come in with a quickly recorded idea for a song and we will play with it for a half hour. Then we'll take it home and someone else will come back the next day... adding new ideas to the last one."

Their live show features a wide set list with songs off of their two albums and includes cover songs by the likes of Prince, Otis Redding, Jamie Lidell and Johnny Cash. A display of style, unpretentious rock and unexpected leg kicks, their show will have you hooked.

For more info visit www.thejeanmarie.com - The Miami Herald

Miami quintet the JeanMarie played a midnight show last night at The Vagabond. I need a smack in the head for missing it because I think this band and I are soul mates. Here’s the line from their bio that convinced me: “Hailing from Miami, a city whose whole appeal is wealth and exclusiveness, the band may seem like a crew of outsiders with their grassroots desire for nothing more than a good time, and maybe a beer.”
The JeanMarie adopted the unMiami-like polar bear as a mascot and take pride in their role as outsiders inside the Miami music scene, playing a mix of pop, rock, indie, groove, and dance. “Bouncy but hardly light, dignified with a Brit-like swagger but truly, effortlessly soulful," wrote the Broward/Palm Beach New Times, "the JeanMarie makes funk-fueled dance rock that's both passionate and unabashedly silly."

The members of the JeanMarie met at the University of Miami, where they were music majors. They got a huge break last year when another local band pulled out of an opening slot for Bloc Party. Three hours before the show, the JeanMarie’s booking agent called and told them they were up. “It’s like one of those bad dreams you have, when you show up in, like, your seventh grade class not wearing pants and you forgot your homework,” said keyboardist Richard Laudenraudy.
The JeanMarie released their first E.P., What's a Revolution Without Backup Dancers?, in 2006. The follow up E.P., 2007’s Self-Titled, featured the band in its current configuration with all members helping to write, record, edit, and produce the album in a squalid corner of Miami's Little Haiti district. They are currently in the studio finishing the as-of-yet unnamed album that will act as their full-length debut.

- Licorice Pizza