Culture Brats

Years ago in the hazy '90s, Roger Manning Jr. and Andy Sturmer, two guys who had survived the implosion of the San Francisco based Beatnik Beatch, shook off the new psychedelic moniker assigned to so many bands coming out of that area and formed the fantastic Jellyfish. Along with bandmate Jason Falkner, they produced 1990's Bellybutton and 1993's much heralded Spilt Milk. The sharp jarring melodies and lush sophistication of the music thrilled fans and critics alike, but sadly before they were able to show us more, the band split acrimoniously, leaving us with the question of what could have been.

We spoke to Roger Manning Jr. about the upcoming Radio Jellyfish, his current projects, and what the future holds.

Okay, so I want to get right into what's happening on December 10th which is the release of Jellyfish's live radio performances, coming out as Radio Jellyfish. It's a ten-track collection, nine of which were unavailable to your fans before. I know you guys are no strangers to live recordings, but there is something about the stripped-down raw honesty of the recording and the simplicity of a song when it's laid bare like that. Do you think a band and a song delivers when it's performed simply like this and live? In other words, does it test whether it's actually a well-crafted, well-written song without all the bluster of production?
Well, it really depends on what kind of style or genre of music we are talking about. I mean, there is some amazing dance/pop stuff that I guarantee you that if you took away all the computerized programming and computer sleight of hand, there wouldn't be much to stand on. And that's just fine. That music is built more around beats than it is actual melody and harmony content. But when you do any kind of music that's classic in a melodic sense and is built on very strong hooks, harmonic movement, with a lyric, it works well with all that. As far as I'm concerned, I love hearing artists do that--just a guitar and vocal, as well as the other side of the coin with full-on production from top to bottom. I love listening to what producers and bands come up with as far as arrangements. But that's only going to work with a strong catchy hook that can hold someone's attention. So I'm proud of those recordings because that's how the songs were written. They were ideas that came from me and my guitar and me and my piano and with the wonderful musicians we had working at our side. We filled in the blanks and we all enjoyed creating very colorful arrangements.