Blood makes noise

 

This particular craftwork sprang out of the isolation of Covid.  The band I was in fizzled out to no activity & no live shows, we had all been working on other things by the time the biz began to open up again.  During this time, I’d go to my band room alone, experiment with keys & electronic instruments, create backgrounds to sing and play guitar over. Sometimes I’d have my friend Travis over to jam - we actually came up with two of the songs that Fort Lowell Records released on the This Water Is Life split 12inch.

 

I would video myself/us playing over these soundscapes and post on Insta & FB once a week; began to get positive comments, interest, and making new fans (these are still up on my Insta page). I kept writing, jamming, videoing at the rehearsal space and recording at my friend Ian Millard’s studio to work out ideas; sometimes going in with barely an idea and out game a song.

 

For the first recordings as “James Sardone”, I didn’t do it alone. Ian had a crucial part in drum programming and played on it.  I would tap other trusted friends to help: Lincoln Morris, Tracy Shedd, James Tritten, Travis Rayle, and Chuck Spry; It was a total “Little Help From My Friends” situation!

 

But back to the question! I needed to put a band together for the This Water is Life, Volume I release party, so we came together for a one gig, but stuck around for the kicks. Next effort will feature the whole band; We call the live band “the Sardines” - a play off my last name.   

Previous musical projects? How'd you first get into music?

 

The main previous bands would be Brickbat, Burnley Bros, Jimmy Nations Combo, Loose Jets, and quite a few bands in-between that didn’t go anywhere, but helped in development.

 

What started me up when I was a young teenager was listening to my sister’s and cousins’ rock records, My cousin Pat played me "Black Dog'' by Zeppelin and it freaked me out in a good way, you should put on headphones and listen to that one.  Been a die- hard Zepp fan ever since. The production is superb. I tapped my Dad’s Jazz & Blues records, too. Soaked up Nat King Cole, Big Joe Turner, and Sinatra. (later I would become a hard core Bebop fan).  At 13, I commandeered my sister’s acoustic guitar, took some intermediate lessons and self-taught the rest.  I don’t like to, but I can read music. The best musicians play by ear, in my opinion, because it’s wired in their brain.

 

I played trumpet in junior high concert band, then in high school marching band, I played the electric bass (don’t ask me how that was accomplished!) but I stopped  because I didn’t want to spend summers marching up and down a field in the heat of the summer – I had other goals in mind.  I joined the Jazz Band in HS but left after a year - the band director didn’t know much about real jazz or guitar and couldn’t teach me anything I was interested in. I quit to spend my time working on forming a band; I would jam and put together various groups.  I continued this through college and had a couple popular bands that played on campus, parties, and local venues - and kept on that trajectory.

 

Once out of school I moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, met and put together the noise rock trio Brickbat.  We played hundreds of shows, just on our own, grass roots, no representation. We achieved some marks of distinction by being the opening act for The Jesus Lizard  - on opening night of the current location of the Cat’s Cradle, Chapel Hill, NC. It was a magical event. After our set, JL bassist, David Wm. Sims offered to record us at Steve Albini’s home studio in Chicago, of course we said yes!

 

 

Technically Cheech & Chong in the mid 70s at a theater in Hampton Roads, Virginia, but the real, real is David Bowie, 1978 at the Capital Center in Maryland. My sister Pam took me. I was in awe. That show opened my eyes to what was possible with music.

 

 

I usually start out with the music first, then start working with lyrics/melody.  I think this may be a bad way to do it, every time I’ve done it the other way, it’s much better, haha. For the band, I present ideas to the band and we flesh them out at rehearsal. In the studio, sometimes I write in the studio and don’t know how it will sound until the final mix.

 

 

Early on, I was very much into the usual suspects of 50s/60s/70s rock. Later on in 1979 and forward, I was really into Echo & The Bunnymen, Souxsie and the Banshees, U2, The Cure, New Order, The Smiths, but also into Captain Beefheart and Ralph Records’ outsider bands like MX-80 Sound, The Residents, Snakefinger.

 

In college I had a 4-hour free form Radio show on Monday nights called the New Music Show (WWCU) that I inherited from the previous DJ who was graduating as we like the same music. I made a good friend, Mark Erdody (who later formed Kudgel and now with Black Helicopter) who was from Boston and exposed to more bands and records than me in the isolated mountains of NC. He used to listen to my show, make suggestions, and bring his records for me to play and that opened my ears to so many bands that I never heard of and was missing out on. I would start to play the Dead Kennedys or The Cure and Mark would say, check this out instead, they're called the Replacements. It changed me. The show became so much better after I met Mark. I did that for all 4 years of college. It was then I started to write more and try to come up with a signature sound - influenced by all those records my buddy brought me.

 

 

There’s a mix of new, established, and outsider music. Some Highlights: Charlie Megira “Alligator Man”, sort of a dark surf song. I only discovered him a few years ago, after his death; the last couple of years he has remained on my playlists.

 

The Dukes of Stratosphere’s first record 25 O’Clock blew my mind when it came out, it’s really XTC in disguise as a 60s psychedelic band. Blown away by the production, did I hear a rumor Todd Rundgren produced it? Not sure if that’s accurate.

 

Over the Rainbow by Gene Vincent - this version makes me well up inside. THE Rockabilly King.

 

Dinosaur’s (Dinosaur Jr.) first record was a game changer.  I love how there was no subtlety in the mix, solo comes in from the start cranked to eleven.

 

Richard Thompson was another influence in my lead playing, I’ve included this Richard and Linda Thompson song everyone should know “I Want to See the Bright Lights”.

 

I put a Sparks song in there because I feel that they are very unique and intelligent writers, still wrapping my head around them. “This Town Ain’t Big Enough…” def speaks to my competitive nature.

 

Minutemen’s History Lesson Part 2 is included; that song sums up my experience in the beginning of Brickbat. Minutemen was one of the bands we emulated.  Very nostalgic for me to listen to them.

 

I have the Replacements’ Skyway in there, love this sentimental piece from a rough and ready band. 

 

A few bands included are recently discovered or re-discovered. Sunflower Bean, Shopping, Ezra Furman, I’m a fan of outsider music and have included a biting number by Jandek as well as a soul ripping version of Lord Randall (traditional song) by Abner Jay. It was hard to stop adding music to the playlist. I’ll have to make more, I guess. There’s so much.

 

 

My live experience is always good because the musicians were always top shelf.  I’ve always attracted amazing musicians to perform with - whether it was 90s post punk noise rock of Brickbat, Rockabilly and Honky Tonk of Burnley Bros / Jimmy Nations Combo, or the 70s glam sound of Loose Jets –My experience playing in front of audiences has always been rewarding.     
 

 

Regarding playing the song “exactly like the record”, I’ve always rearranged and played my songs live differently from the record. I’ve always loved the way Bob Dylan never did that same version of his songs over and over, he changed the rhythms and melodies on the spot, his band had to be good to keep up with him, never knowing what he’s going to do. Sometimes you don’t even recognize a song until it’s half way through, haha. I like this way of playing live, it keeps it fresh for the band as well and the listeners; we have a high amount of improv in every set.

 

 

This band (The Sardines or as James Sardone) has only played regionally at this point, but in the past Brickbat did two tours with The Jesus Lizard, also with other bands on that bill - Blues Explosion, Brainiac, Kepone, Dead Moon and others I just can’t remember, haha. The Jesus Lizard guys asked if we wanted to tour as opening act and we burned up the road with them for two tours; precious memories, we love those cats, still keep in touch, and have played together a few more times since then, in various projects.  David Sims would sneak us rough mixes (on cassette) of their new songs; we were like “wow, we are allowed to listen to these secrets”?!  We were amazed at the dead simple production, nothing coloring the sound, just the actual sound of the band and they were/are a force! Loud as hell, too!

 

The Jesus Lizard put out an autobiographical book a few years ago, and they included some snapshots of us from backstage, goofin’, of course. They were an inspiration to us baby rock kids. We put out our first record on David’s label, Torsion Records, and then went back to record Brickbat II with Steve Albini, who was super gracious to us and it was an awesome experience.  This second one was put out by local impresario Kenyatta Sullivan on his Opulence! Label. Both of these records are on spotify, etc.

 

Great first big tour experience, sometimes a struggle for an example, slamming the drummer’s hand in the van door right before the set, a car wreck in the middle of a cornfield, breaking down in the desert and being so late getting there, just throwing the gear on stage, and playing immediately - those show usually were the best performance-wise. Breaking Steve Albini’s coffee pot and not having the money to go buy him another one - or food for that matter. Yeah, being poor and starving when touring and then coming back home to being poor and starving. Good times. Haha. We have fun performing, get some brain exercise, make fans happy, and that’s what it’s all about

 

 

We have this wonderful EP entitled Colors that came out on Fort Lowell Records July 21.  Hoping this one strikes a chord with listeners, keep us going, but immediate plans are to keep on writing, recording, and playing. I’m becoming more and more interested in scoring & getting my music on film & tv. We are playing the Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday, September 9th at Crank Arm Brewery.  The show never stops!