The JJMS Band
Over the years many people have wondered about the JJMS band. Very little was known about them. Initially started as a side project of Space Chords lead guitarest Morgan Smith, it grew of its own accord at times eclisping the Chords.
Founded in 1980 as a side project of the Space Chords, the JJMS band began recording at the home of Morgan Smith. The JJMS really had only two members, Morgan Smith and Joseph Jordan. Morgan and Joe spent a lot of time hanging around and playing with the recording equipment used by the Space Chords.After making several recordings Morgan decided that the music was good enough to release. They started with a single 'The Sick Freaks'. This was a quirky tune but strangely addictive. It featured a slide guitar solo by Joseph Jordan. It was released in the summer of 1980. The song , strange as it was, got plenty of airplay on FM radio. That summer, Morgan and Joe went on a trip to the Nevada desert. This became the inspiration for the song 'Desert Trip'. This song was based on a Pete Seger Classic, however because the lyrics were so different and the chords so standard there was no copyright conflict. Released in August of 1980 'Desert Trip' rose to the top of the folk music charts. By this time there were a lot of people that wanted to see JJMS live. However Morgan Smith was also busy working on the Space Chords album 'Basement Rock'. JJMS was still a side project and putting together a tour was out of scope. In the fall of 1980, Ted Kennedy lost the democratic nomination for president. Morgan And Joe went into the studio to record the classic 'Kennedy in 84'. A somber melodic song whose lyrics were about an eventual comeback. This was probably the most successful of the JJMS singles selling over 1 million units. On the heels of that success, Joseph and Morgan recorded another song 'Crime in the City'. This song was a heavy rocker with lots of distortion. Released in December, 'Crime in the City' sold 400,000 singles.
At this point Morgan's attention returned to the Space Chords. Joseph Jordan was also preparing to move away from SF so the JJMS band was defunct at this point.
Then in the Summer of 1982 when Joe was visiting SF for the summer, they started to Jam. Always influenced by Pillar of Fire, Morgan decided that he and Joe would record a cover of 'Slow Freefall' . The version was perfect. Faithful to the original but with enough stylistic influence from the JJMS band. This single was spun off in August of 1982 and rose intantly to the top of the charts. In the fall Joe returned to college in LA and the JJMS band went silent again. There was no revival for many years to come. In January of 1989 when Morgan was working on 'Freeride' for the Space Chords, Joe was visiting back from PA and they recorded a live album of all of the JJMS hits. This was released almost simultaneously with 'Freeride'.
Once again JJMS was quiet as were the Space Chords. No activity was charted until 1995 when JJMS recorded 'I'm not you're stepping stone ( you filthy bitch)'. This was a play on the Monkey's classic but with differenct lyrics. This song was a welcome offering to the starved JJMS fans.
All in all the JJMS band was a unique colllaboration that produced singles instead of albums. A side project of the Space Chords it acheived much on its own merit.
Songs
Rock and Roll ( You know it's true) 1979
The Sick Freaks 1980
Desert Trip 1980
Kennedy in 84 1980
Crime in the City 1980
Slow Free Fall 1982
Not your stepping Stone(You Filthy Bitch!) 1995
Albums
The JJMS Band Live 1989
Founded in 1980 as a side project of the Space Chords, the JJMS band began recording at the home of Morgan Smith. The JJMS really had only two members, Morgan Smith and Joseph Jordan. Morgan and Joe spent a lot of time hanging around and playing with the recording equipment used by the Space Chords.After making several recordings Morgan decided that the music was good enough to release. They started with a single 'The Sick Freaks'. This was a quirky tune but strangely addictive. It featured a slide guitar solo by Joseph Jordan. It was released in the summer of 1980. The song , strange as it was, got plenty of airplay on FM radio. That summer, Morgan and Joe went on a trip to the Nevada desert. This became the inspiration for the song 'Desert Trip'. This song was based on a Pete Seger Classic, however because the lyrics were so different and the chords so standard there was no copyright conflict. Released in August of 1980 'Desert Trip' rose to the top of the folk music charts. By this time there were a lot of people that wanted to see JJMS live. However Morgan Smith was also busy working on the Space Chords album 'Basement Rock'. JJMS was still a side project and putting together a tour was out of scope. In the fall of 1980, Ted Kennedy lost the democratic nomination for president. Morgan And Joe went into the studio to record the classic 'Kennedy in 84'. A somber melodic song whose lyrics were about an eventual comeback. This was probably the most successful of the JJMS singles selling over 1 million units. On the heels of that success, Joseph and Morgan recorded another song 'Crime in the City'. This song was a heavy rocker with lots of distortion. Released in December, 'Crime in the City' sold 400,000 singles.
At this point Morgan's attention returned to the Space Chords. Joseph Jordan was also preparing to move away from SF so the JJMS band was defunct at this point.
Then in the Summer of 1982 when Joe was visiting SF for the summer, they started to Jam. Always influenced by Pillar of Fire, Morgan decided that he and Joe would record a cover of 'Slow Freefall' . The version was perfect. Faithful to the original but with enough stylistic influence from the JJMS band. This single was spun off in August of 1982 and rose intantly to the top of the charts. In the fall Joe returned to college in LA and the JJMS band went silent again. There was no revival for many years to come. In January of 1989 when Morgan was working on 'Freeride' for the Space Chords, Joe was visiting back from PA and they recorded a live album of all of the JJMS hits. This was released almost simultaneously with 'Freeride'.
Once again JJMS was quiet as were the Space Chords. No activity was charted until 1995 when JJMS recorded 'I'm not you're stepping stone ( you filthy bitch)'. This was a play on the Monkey's classic but with differenct lyrics. This song was a welcome offering to the starved JJMS fans.
All in all the JJMS band was a unique colllaboration that produced singles instead of albums. A side project of the Space Chords it acheived much on its own merit.
Songs
Rock and Roll ( You know it's true) 1979
The Sick Freaks 1980
Desert Trip 1980
Kennedy in 84 1980
Crime in the City 1980
Slow Free Fall 1982
Not your stepping Stone(You Filthy Bitch!) 1995
Albums
The JJMS Band Live 1989
posted by hotair at 4:56 PM
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