When you put ex-members of No Knife, Rocket from the Crypt, Boilermaker and Tanner (plus 2 touring members of Pinback) into a practice space together, you’re bound to end up with something highly unique, as the Jade Shader.Like the infamous Vancouver Island shipwreck from which the band takes it’s name, The Jade Shader is shrouded in the mystery of music stretching back across the ages. Birthed in 2003 when Chris Prescott (Guitar/Rhodes Piano/ Vocals) and Terrin Durfey (Bass/Vocals), both on hiatus from their most recent projects (No Knife and Boilermaker respectively), emerged from Prescott’s “Belly of the Whale” studios with promising demo work that was bound for a much larger audience. The band went through some initial line-up changes until they first took the San Diego stage assisted by the skillful Matt Lynott (Drums) and the multi-instrumentalist talents of Patricia Kavanaugh.
Drawing on the strength of their formidable past projects, The Jade Shader secured a record deal in Japan (Catune Records) before they even set foot on stage. Believe the hype. After talking with numerous domestic labels, the band finally settled on Seattle’s Sonic Boom. Those fans lucky enough to capture the Jade Shader live will experience the no-nonsense musicianship of seasoned artists who maintain high energy sets infused with a willingness to explore. They take the stage armed with a sense of fun about the music, segueing into tracks from the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts or adapting Philip Glass compositions to suit their own purposes. Their CD is entitled Curse of the Tuatara - an homage to the ancient Maori reptiles feasted upon by hungry seafarers. For hungry ears, the CD nourishes just as readily.
The Jade Shader’s influences range far upon the musical seas - listen - and you’ll find traces of San Diego’s punk lineage as well as obscure 70’s rock. No surprise there. But listen a little closer and you’ll find subterranean layers drawing upon 20th century minimalism, modal jazz explorations, sources as old as Baroque harpsichord music and as futuristic as the sonic experiments of indie rock and beyond. Equal parts chaos, noise and melancholic beauty. Dissonant while tuneful. A sound and it’s opposite. Sink further down and who knows what you’ll find deep in the depths? There are mysteries there that don’t have explanations. Ask the people at Loch Ness. Or better yet, take a listen for yourself. |
