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Monday, April 1, 2013

ArenA II: Still Crying Over SPILT MILK

GAUNTLET ArenA EPISODE II:

Between the hair metal and pop synth of the 80's and the birth of grunge in the 90's, Jellyfish sprang onto the scene in 1990 with their debut album BELLYBUTON, providing a new colorful musical spectrum for the radio airwaves and a series of playful kaleidoscope videos on MTV.  With a throwback to the heyday of 60's and 70's sugary pop compositions, Jellyfish's complexity in songwriting and arrangements stood head and shoulders above most modern music of the time. Soon, the writing talents of Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning Jr. were in demand, and they found themselves writing songs for Ringo Starr, jamming with Brian Wilson and touring with The Black Crowes.  The future for Jellyfish was as bright as their album cover as Sturmer and Manning entered the recording studio in 1992 to create their second album, which would become not only their magnum opus and a masterpiece of pop perfection, but the final musical statement from the band.  






Never have the words woulda, shoulda, coulda been applied so properly for a musical group.  Fame and fortune would not follow the band, but twenty years later, their sophomore album SPILT MILK continues to cast a long shadow over musical composition, lyrical ambition and studio production in pop music history, maintaing a cult status for those in the know, and an amazing discovery for those who never knew.


Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of SPILT MILK and the Jellyfish Army, the Gauntlet crew dives back into the ArenA to wipe the tears away and dissect one of the most creative and brilliant power-pop albums ever made.  Featuring rare interview clips from Andy Sturmer, Roger Manning Jr., Demos, Live Acoustic and Electric tracks, with a few extra jelly surprises packed inside an epic length discussion.  


And you thought all fans clubs were a hoax?



Best Be Warned.

DOWNLOAD ArenA EPISODE II





Host:

John Jansen


Guests:

John Hargrove

Michael Stevens

Mark Paniagua







cause right behind you in the back
of the fray
is a blade he's a renegade
turning bullshit into marmalade
don't you know there's gonna be
a heavy price to pay
for pushing all these clouds away
it's bound to be a brighter day
it can't help but be a brighter day



NEW FOR 2016

JELLYFISH BIOGRAPHY - ORDER NOW
"Brighter Day - A Jellyfish Story" by Craig Dorfman

http://www.goodmusicguy.com/jellyfish-biography-brighter-day-a-jellyfish-story/

7 Years In The Making

The never-before-told lost history, adventures and unknown facts from ALL the players, personalities and people who helped create the LEGACY and LEGEND in Jellyfish.  


Andy Sturmer and Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. met as teenagers in the fall of 1980. Less than fifteen years later, the two of them had won jazz contests, written commercial jingles, become pen pals, joined a band with a San Francisco new wave icon, formed their own group, sparked a major label bidding war, recorded two critically acclaimed records, toured the world (twice), worked with a legendary producer, and backed a Beatle. 

In 1994, they met in a room and agreed that their musical partnership, as well as their friendship, was over. They shook hands, wished each other well, and left. They have not spoken since...

Drawing from dozens of interviews with all of the major – and many minor—characters in the Jellyfish story to create one seamless & complete master narrative, Brighter Day: A Jellyfish Story follows the course of that friendship from its earliest days in Pleasanton, California through the two decades of silence in search of the answer to the nagging fan question “Why, oh why isn’t there more Jellyfish music?”






PRE-ORDER - SHIPS IN MAY 2016

http://www.goodmusicguy.com/jellyfish-biography-brighter-day-a-jellyfish-story/

Be sure to check out all the goodies from Bruce and the gang at PopGeekHeaven.

Three book packages (Basic/Gold/Premium) to choose from.



BIG SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Steve Harris and his awesome interviews with Jellyfish in 1990 and 1993.










STUFF TO WATCH:

NEW 2016 VIDEO ARCHIVE: 
(Thanks to Kai Danzberg and Johnnie J. Young)
--Live Shows + Interviews
--Music Videos
--Solo + Side Projects


THE GHOST AT NUMBER ONE (MUSIC VIDEO)

NEW MISTAKE (MUSIC VIDEO)


LIVE JELLYFISH:



















http://popdose.com/uncovered-jellyfish-spilt-milk/


http://www.popgeekheaven.com/


http://www.mindspring.com/~jjyoung/Andy/

http://popshifter.com/2008-07-30/speaking-the-language-of-pop-an-interview-with-roger-joseph-manning-jr/


JELLYFISH FAN CLUB BOX SET LINER NOTES (2002)
http://albumlinernotes.com/Fan_Club__Box_Set_2002_.html


CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE 2014 JELLYFISH ARTICLE:








MODERN DRUMMER JELLYFISH ARTICLE:





NEW 2016 ARTICLES:
Roger Manning Jr. / Jambands




MORE JELLYFISH PODCASTS:

PABLO'S POPPIN' PODCAST
http://pppodcast.podbean.com/e/episode-1-special-guest-craig-dorfman/

DIG ME OUT - EPISODE #81  BELLYBUTTON BY JELLYFISH
http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/2012/07/episode-81-bellybutton-by-jellyfish.html

WHAT BRINGS US TOGETHER  - EPISODE #9 - JELLYFISH
http://whatbringsustogether.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/episode-nine-jellyfish/



GET SOME JELLYFISH:

SENSORY LULLABIES: The Ultimate Tribute To Jellyfish (Burning Sky Records)
http://burningskyrecords.com/bsrjellyfishv2.php

OMNIVORE RECORDINGS:
http://omnivorerecordings.com/artists/jellyfish/

--STACK-A-TRACKS
--LIVE AT BOGARTS 1991
--RADIO JELLYFISH (Acoustic)
--BELLYBUTTON & SPILT MILK ON LP AND DELUXE CD


GET SOME SWEET PICKLE SALAD:
http://remcot.blogspot.com/2009/09/sweet-pickle-salad.html



GET SOME FOAM FOOT:
http://soundaboard.blogspot.com/2012/04/foamfoot-crows-from-closet-jan-8th-1994.html







JELLYFISH FACEBOOK GROUP:
News, Memories and Memorabilia!
Special Thanks To Pablo Melons



NEW JELLYFISH BLOG: Videos, Music & More
Special Thanks to Kai Danzberg













12 comments:

  1. This is UNBELIEVABLE, John! I don't even know where to begin. First off, this is the most professional podcast ever. Second, all of your episodes are fantastic documentaries. Third, I don't know what drives you. I mean, whatever it is, I'm glad it does. I hope you are getting enough feedback and donations for this great work.

    On the subject of spreading the word about this particular episode...can I offer a heads-up on Bruce Brodeen's PopGeekHeaven.com site? There are so many people over there that would love this. I'd be glad to contact him and post something over there. Of course, you already own his Not Lame label's 4-disc Jellyfish box set, so you likely already know Bruce. I've got a few music loving friends that I have forwarded Hollywood Gauntlet links to and they said they'd check it out ASAP.

    Ah, Jellyfish...my experience. I found them right away in '90. Loved the "Bellybutton" album. Then I lost track of them and didn't hear the "Spilt Milk" album until about nine months after its release. Some station in Minneapolis played "Russian Hill" and I thought 'Oh yeah, I gotta pick that up'. Sadly by that time, JF was over, but not for me. I never saw them live because I thought there would be no way they would be able to reproduce their studio excellence. Stupid me.

    "Spilt Milk" is simply my favorite collection of any music ever. Every single time I listen to it (and that would be hundreds of times at least), I hear something different. That's not unique to this album, but this takes discovery to the extreme. At the risk of sounding like a fan boy (I'm too old for hero worship), "Spilt Milk" gives me goosebumps. A random guitar riff, three-part harmony, sleigh bell, hand clap, banjo, church bell, whatever..it'll make me tear up. Lots of things can trigger it. Dumb, I know but I believe it's sensory overload. Sometimes an artist creates something that resonates with certain individuals and "Spilt Milk" for me has always been a fastball right in my wheelhouse.

    Thank you very much!
    Whit

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  2. In many ways, this pitch was just for you whitsbrain...and all the other Jellyheads out there. We went deep with interviews, clips, demos, live acoustic and electric performances, plus post-Jellyfish output from each member for a 3 hour epic tribute and celebration. Please feel free to share this show with as many other fans as possible...and BIG THANKS to Bruce and everyone over at Not-Lame.

    Hopefully this will bring some new ears and traffic to the Gauntlet.

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  3. Absolutely loved this! Listened last night and enjoyed it all..very well edited, put together with informed hosts and comments. VERY well done!

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  4. Don't forget the Andy Sturmer Demos...

    http://www.mindspring.com/~jjyoung/Andy/

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  5. Shite, just typed a message and it was lost! Anyway...Bruce from Not Lame Recordings(R.I.P.) - my old label released the "Fan Club" box.

    Just wanted compliment you on the general awesomeness of the work that you did here! WOW!!! It's quite substantial, quite stunning, quite comprehensive and...well, quite awesome!

    Do drop me a line at(popgeekheaven@gmail.com) so I can, as long asyou want to, share this w/ the folks at PopGeekHeaven(over 3,000 power pop geeks that are members there). It will be adored by many. :-)

    Also, Craig Dorfman has been working for the last few years on an 'official' biography on Jellyfish that is going to BLOW Jellyheads away(promise) - everyone of any significance to the band has been contacted and interviewed, some many times. Craig is finishing up it up this year and I"ll be publishing it, hopefully, before the year is done(in 2013).

    More specific details coming soon...

    This past 12 months period has been a very, very good one for Jellyheads w/ the vinyl reissues and with the biography book, it's going to get better.

    Now, if there could only be an *official*, proper DVD of the band, we can keep the momentum going...

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  6. I just got done with the show...absolutely superb. Jellyfish truly changed my life, when I discovered them in 2006. I would not have went on to graduate with degrees in music business and music production, and I certainly would not be putting out music of my own if it wasn't for them. Their work as a band, and all of the off shoots, really helped me find my voice and a career direction...I owe them everything

    Having their work discussed in this amount of detail is truly a joy, Thank you! You may be interested in checking out my collection...it was a student loan well spent!

    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2711860120168.145558.1366839280&type=3

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  7. Thanks for this episode!! Haven't listened yet but am so excited!!

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  8. WOW!! Super excited to listen!

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  9. An amazing listen! Thanks John and the rest of the Gauntlet for all the effort and time in putting together such a great episode!!

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  10. This is quite brilliant. I got into Jellyfish when I read a People Magazine review on Spilt Milk, which compared them to Queen. I was 13, and Wayne's World had just come out, and when I heard Bohemian Rhapsody I knew that life would never be the same! You guys touch on this in the podcast. Before I bought Spilt Milk, my first exposure to Jellyfish was on some Battle of the Bands show on TV with Adam Curry. With my handheld taperecorder pressed to the TV, I recorded a beautiful performance of New Mistake, which I listened to in the car while my dad took me to Sam Goody to get Spilt Milk on cassette (and probably A Day At the Races, as I was averaging 2 Queen albums a week at this beginning stage of music obsession). I then got Bellybutton, joined the fan club, and saw them live opening for Tears For Fears, which I didn't stick around for some me and my twin brother were only there to see Jellyfish. You guys show so much love for this band that deeply resonates with me. I have heard this podcast episode several times, and am truly amazed at how well produced and thought out it is. As a fellow podcaster (www.twinfacekline.com) I respect and appreciate the love and hard work that went into this. Well done.

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  11. I'm listening to this for the umpteenth time having found it shortly after it first appeared online and I never tire of it! I recently received Spilt Milk & Bellybutton on vinyl as a present from my husband having owned both on cd when they were released. While listening to SM at the w/e I was amazed to hear things on the vinyl that had evaded my ears in digital form 😯 Thank you for the time & effort you put into compiling this tribute, it truly comes across as a labour of love with too many high-lights to pick out any individually!

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  12. Fascinating.Thank you so much!!

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