Mikey Jukebox
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| You Should Know |
| As the frontman for the Rochester-based outfit The Mercies, principal songwriter Mike James created a vehicle for upbeat, toe-tapping pop songs whose family tree was equally rooted on both sides of the Atlantic. (more info)
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| Location: |
Rochester, New York |
| Page Views: | 2080 |
| Total plays: |
189 |
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The band’s self titled debut release, The Mercies, owed as much to the Brit-pop stylings of Marc Bolan as it did to David Byrne and the quirky cool of American new wave. It is a balancing act that many bands talk about in theory, but very few actually put into practice.
The Mercies put pen to paper, music to tape, and created a record with energy, snap, and lush texture. Yet the dueling influences often sounded as if they were sparring for supremacy. After listening to The Mercies, one question lingered: Which side would prevail?
In the aftermath of The Mercies, who went their separate ways late in 2007, James has regrouped to create Mikey Jukebox. If The Mercies was a tenuous balancing act musically, Jukebox finds the opposite sides of the influence coin sharing the spotlight in a much more cohesive fashion. Compared to the leaner, more compressed production of the Mercies project, the Jukebox packs a much more raw vibe. Despite the painstaking efforts to create a richer sound, the first short release, the Insatiable EP features all of the jagged edges that give great rock and roll it’s bite and it’s impetus to make you want to get up and dance.
“Baby, Baby, Baby” is anthemic and straightforward, an honest homage to Kiss at their best. The backbeat of “Insatiable” gives the Jukebox a sexually decadent swing that can only be found under a giant mirror ball in a dark club full of dancers and romancers, Capricorns and Cancers. The final track Together, Good Weather sums it up succinctly and neatly – this is the work of a “Rock ‘n’ Roll Maker”.
So what’s the difference? What has changed to allow the musical statement to become more unified? If you ask James, it’s as if the songs have come full-circle. “I’ve had some of these songs for a long time. I went back and listened to the very first versions of them, the initial writings, and had to relearn the pure essence of the idea. The arrangements were different. The songs were in different keys. They still had the hooks, but sometimes the energy was completely something else, and I want that back." “It’s… less logical.”
Indeed, the variety of influence, attitude, and style from one song to the next creates an air of unpredictability – and of open interpretation. It’s possible to hear a dash of Debbie Harry, a little Les Paul crunch, and Clash chutzpah. Top it all off with vocal lines that are equal parts Bowie baritone and Lou Reed narrative, and you end up with a collection of songs that proudly wear all their influences on their sleeves. “It’s plastic soul meets rock-n-roll,” Mike James asserts, with a grin of pretention and contentment. And with that, he sits back in the couch, and continues an ongoing discussion as to the shape these songs will take when they are ready to take this project on the road. -Mehul Parekh
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| Favorite Mikey Jukebox |
