HANDSOME JACK
''DO WHAT COMES NATURALLY''
OCTOBER 7 2014
38:38
1 - Angies Song 3:28
2 - Going Down To The River 4:13
3 - She featuring Emmylou Harris 4:35
4 - Lonely Drifter's Cry 3:35
5 - Hard Working Man 3:27
6 - Pour Me 3:40
7 - There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight featuring Buddy Miller 2:32
8 - Memory Lane 3:13
9 - Gotta Catch That Train 2:35
10 - Burning A Hole In My Pocket 3:59
11 - She's In A Rock N Roll Band 3:28
12 - Baby Lost Her Way Home Again 2:37
All Tracks By Handsome Jack
Jamison Passuite - guitar, vocals
Joe Verdonselli - bass, vocals
Phil Allport - organ, guitar
Chad Salmen - drums
Forming as teenagers in 2004 as a blues-infused garage-rock band in Lockport, New York, the band developed a more soul-influenced sound after leaving high school, and have supported the likes of The Sheepdogs, Blue Cheer, Gov’t Mule, J. Geils, The Hold Steady and Robert Randolph. After a series of EPs, debut album Supermoon was released in 2011.
New album Do What Comes Naturally also features Bob Nave from the Lemon Pipers, whose bubblegum-psyche classic Green Tambourine reached number one in the US in 1966.
"Everything was recorded live with Zach Gabbard (Buffalo Killers) and Mike Montgomery at Candyland in Cincinnati", says Passuite. "We locked ourselves in the studio, slept on the floor, and after three days we had something that exceeded all our expectations. We left things in the mix like guitars rattling snare drums and vocals breaking up to keep that live energy flowing out your speakers."
REVIEW
by Mark Deming
Like the much loathed but brutally determined cockroach, the boogie never truly dies -- you may think it's been beaten into submission or forced into exile, but inevitably, somewhere, folks are getting good and greasy with their guitars and drums, and goosing those blues changes into something that can make you shake. The third full-length album from Lockport, New York's Handsome Jack, 2014's Do What Comes Naturally, confirms the band is part of a long and noble line of musicians determined to work a blues groove until it's properly funky, and their style and sound hark back to the late '60s and early '70s, when bands like this were a common sight at America's mid-sized rock venues. The blues is a wheel that had been invented long before anyone thought to reshape it into rock & roll, so it hardly seems fitting to complain that Handsome Jack is a bit short on originality -- they're mining a tradition, and Do What Comes Naturally digs solid ore from a deep vein. Jamison Passuite's vocals have the right amount of growl, Phil Allport's guitar and keyboard work is incisive without needless flash, and drummer Chad Salmeri and bassist Joe Verdonselli manage to keep the bottom end colorful and flowing without calling undue attention to themselves. The songs are rooted in the basic blues figures, but the band makes them effective with a loosely tight attack that's just dirty enough without pushing their raunch too hard. It's not difficult to find bands who do what Handsome Jack are up to here, but by remembering to emphasize the groove and easing back on the blues dude schtick, they've made Do What Comes Naturally into a celebration of laid-back but serious partying, and it'll make a fine soundtrack for your next celebration of the boogie.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming
Playing a lean, hard-grooving fusion of blues, R&B, and garage rock they call "boogie soul," Handsome Jack are a four-piece band from Lockport, New York, a city not far from Buffalo. Handsome Jack were formed in 2004 by guitarist and singer Jamison Passuite, Joey Verdonselli on bass, Phil Allport on guitar and keyboards, and Steve Sandman on drums. While the founding members were still teenagers when they began playing out, they'd already developed a strong taste for classic rock, boogie, and blues, and by 2008 Handsome Jack had recorded their first self-released album, Heatseeker, and hit the road on their first cross-country tour. In 2009, Sandman left the group and Chad Salmeri took over behind the drums; he made his recorded debut with the band on the EP Prologue, and in 2011 the band released its second full-length album, Super Moon. More touring followed, including dates where the band shared stages with the likes of Blue Cheer, the Sheepdogs, Gov't Mule, J. Geils, and the Hold Steady. In 2014, the band struck a deal with with Alive Naturalsound Records, and went into the studio with Zach Gabbard of Buffalo Killers and Mike Montgomery as producers. Handsome Jack's third full-length album, Do What Comes Naturally, was released in the fall of 2014.
OFFICIAL SITE
''DO WHAT COMES NATURALLY''
OCTOBER 7 2014
38:38
1 - Angies Song 3:28
2 - Going Down To The River 4:13
3 - She featuring Emmylou Harris 4:35
4 - Lonely Drifter's Cry 3:35
5 - Hard Working Man 3:27
6 - Pour Me 3:40
7 - There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight featuring Buddy Miller 2:32
8 - Memory Lane 3:13
9 - Gotta Catch That Train 2:35
10 - Burning A Hole In My Pocket 3:59
11 - She's In A Rock N Roll Band 3:28
12 - Baby Lost Her Way Home Again 2:37
All Tracks By Handsome Jack
Jamison Passuite - guitar, vocals
Joe Verdonselli - bass, vocals
Phil Allport - organ, guitar
Chad Salmen - drums
Forming as teenagers in 2004 as a blues-infused garage-rock band in Lockport, New York, the band developed a more soul-influenced sound after leaving high school, and have supported the likes of The Sheepdogs, Blue Cheer, Gov’t Mule, J. Geils, The Hold Steady and Robert Randolph. After a series of EPs, debut album Supermoon was released in 2011.
New album Do What Comes Naturally also features Bob Nave from the Lemon Pipers, whose bubblegum-psyche classic Green Tambourine reached number one in the US in 1966.
"Everything was recorded live with Zach Gabbard (Buffalo Killers) and Mike Montgomery at Candyland in Cincinnati", says Passuite. "We locked ourselves in the studio, slept on the floor, and after three days we had something that exceeded all our expectations. We left things in the mix like guitars rattling snare drums and vocals breaking up to keep that live energy flowing out your speakers."
REVIEW
by Mark Deming
Like the much loathed but brutally determined cockroach, the boogie never truly dies -- you may think it's been beaten into submission or forced into exile, but inevitably, somewhere, folks are getting good and greasy with their guitars and drums, and goosing those blues changes into something that can make you shake. The third full-length album from Lockport, New York's Handsome Jack, 2014's Do What Comes Naturally, confirms the band is part of a long and noble line of musicians determined to work a blues groove until it's properly funky, and their style and sound hark back to the late '60s and early '70s, when bands like this were a common sight at America's mid-sized rock venues. The blues is a wheel that had been invented long before anyone thought to reshape it into rock & roll, so it hardly seems fitting to complain that Handsome Jack is a bit short on originality -- they're mining a tradition, and Do What Comes Naturally digs solid ore from a deep vein. Jamison Passuite's vocals have the right amount of growl, Phil Allport's guitar and keyboard work is incisive without needless flash, and drummer Chad Salmeri and bassist Joe Verdonselli manage to keep the bottom end colorful and flowing without calling undue attention to themselves. The songs are rooted in the basic blues figures, but the band makes them effective with a loosely tight attack that's just dirty enough without pushing their raunch too hard. It's not difficult to find bands who do what Handsome Jack are up to here, but by remembering to emphasize the groove and easing back on the blues dude schtick, they've made Do What Comes Naturally into a celebration of laid-back but serious partying, and it'll make a fine soundtrack for your next celebration of the boogie.
BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming
Playing a lean, hard-grooving fusion of blues, R&B, and garage rock they call "boogie soul," Handsome Jack are a four-piece band from Lockport, New York, a city not far from Buffalo. Handsome Jack were formed in 2004 by guitarist and singer Jamison Passuite, Joey Verdonselli on bass, Phil Allport on guitar and keyboards, and Steve Sandman on drums. While the founding members were still teenagers when they began playing out, they'd already developed a strong taste for classic rock, boogie, and blues, and by 2008 Handsome Jack had recorded their first self-released album, Heatseeker, and hit the road on their first cross-country tour. In 2009, Sandman left the group and Chad Salmeri took over behind the drums; he made his recorded debut with the band on the EP Prologue, and in 2011 the band released its second full-length album, Super Moon. More touring followed, including dates where the band shared stages with the likes of Blue Cheer, the Sheepdogs, Gov't Mule, J. Geils, and the Hold Steady. In 2014, the band struck a deal with with Alive Naturalsound Records, and went into the studio with Zach Gabbard of Buffalo Killers and Mike Montgomery as producers. Handsome Jack's third full-length album, Do What Comes Naturally, was released in the fall of 2014.
OFFICIAL SITE