Between January 1995 and December 1998, no less than ten separate Jett Brando recording sessions took place. These ranged all the way from the lo-fi 4-track demos captured in Pete Murphy’s basement to the more organized and deliberate sessions of songs like, “The Center of Gravity (Sink Right Down).” But both in between and after there were numerous attempts at songs that would ultimately end up on future releases in re-recorded form. “Disarray” collects most of the sessions that took place in 1998, before any JB releases were planned or even spoken of to any serious extent.
1998 was a year of great change for the parties involved. All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors was rapidly gaining some ground that included considerable critical praise along with the indie cred of being on Gern Blandsten Records, a label more known for hard-edged post-hardcore than ethereal dream pop or shoegaze. The release of Turning Into Small in April meant that college radio airplay and better shows were inevitable. While all of this was going on, Jeremy Winter booked as much time as possible at Sweetwood Sound Recording in Parsippany, NJ, which was where almost all of “L&L’s” recordings had taken place since 1995.
Perhaps due to the upheaval of All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors suddenly being busier than ever, or Winter having accumulated a considerable backlog of songs, the sessions that took place between May and December of 1998 were far less focused than those in previous years. In the past, the majority of songs had been played live at some point. And in those sessions, they went in on a Friday morning and then had four songs finished and mixed by Sunday night. Things were kept simple.
Never one to stay comfortable for too long, Winter decided to attempt more complicated songs with more complex arrangements, and with far more overdubs than they had previously used on the earlier sessions. While this seemed like a natural progression, it was a very difficult thing to pull off during such a hectic time; a time that ultimately resulted in the break-up of All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors by November of the same year.
By spring of 1999, the end result was two CDs filled with final mixes of songs, basically everything JB had done starting in early 1995 from the 4-track demos to the most recent sessions. There were not yet any real offers from labels, but the idea was to figure out how to make a cohesive EP or album out of the material available. After spending weeks driving around listening to the CDs in his car, Winter came to the realization that the songs that worked best were the ones on which Steven Doherty’s drumming fit with the mood. These ten tracks, plus “Who is to Decide,” are what comprise The Movement Toward You LP/CD, which is a compilation album in a sense.
The other songs, for the most part, would find their way into future releases after being revamped, re-recorded, re-mixed, or some combination of all of the above. The faster and harder rock songs just needed a different drummer; a role filled by both Brian Doherty from All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors and Dave Leto of The Rye Coalition during different future sessions in the early 2000s.
The 1998 sessions with Steven Doherty (also from All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors) on drums have their own kind of awkward charm. This was during a time that JB was still operating as a trio when playing live, with Winter on guitar and vocals, Pete Murphy on bass and percussion, and Steven Doherty on drums. Both the shows and records were loose affairs, with the loud distorted guitars of a shoegaze band, but delivered in a more Pavement-influenced package: rumpled and rough around the edges.
So here they are - those rough edges – scratched, warbled, but warm to any guests willing to sit at the crooked and uneven table.
JB Recording Chronology:
January – February 1995 (on Pete’s 4-track)
Magic Window Pt.1
Yellow
World-Go-Round
October 1996 (at Sweetwood Sound Recording)
Athuna
Love You Blues
Well, well
All Your Tongues
April 1997 (at Sweetwood Sound Recording)
Additional tracking and mixing on:
Magic Window Pt.1
Yellow
World-Go-Round
November 1997 (at Sweetwood Sound Recording)
Waiting…
The Center of Gravity (Sink Right Down)
Won’t You Treat it Like a Storm?
Who is to Decide
May – June 1998 (at Sweetwood Sound Recording)
Sass
Be So Kind
Displacing Disarray
In the Dead Hot Sun
Laughing (drums, etc. added to original 4-track demo from January 1997)
The Skies & Sea
Fayaway
My New Machine (4-track demo dumped into digital format for overdubs)
September 1998 (at Sweetwood Sound Recording)
Additional tracking and mixing on:
Sass
Displacing Disarray
October – November 1998 (at Sweetwood Sound Recording)
Last We Were Seen
December 1998 (at Sweetwood Sound Recording)
Amberglow
Otherfriend
See Me In (Green)
Seven Days (from "Scooby's Night with a Frozen Fright")
Jett Brando is the musical pseudonym of Jeremy Winter. Singer, songwriter, and member of the ‘90s Shoegaze/Dream Pop outfit,
All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors, Winter works with a semi-regular core of co-producers and band members. There is much material yet to be released. Live performances, whether solo or with a full band, continue to surprise audience members with a wide array of sounds....more
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